Attack on Fire Emblem – Chapter 2 (The reports of Robin)
"You want us to what?" Some of the heroes murmured in disbelief as the pale-skinned strategist presented his plan to deal with the Titans' incursion. Robin's plan consisted of three stages: (A) the abandonment of the Southern camps, (B) evacuation of the villages and (C) the capture of a Titan.
Titan. The name caught on after Ephraim managed to retreat to the Southern camps and described his attackers as "titanic humans".
Everyone in the Southern camps remembered seeing a shaken Ephraim carrying a broken Peri to the gates. Despite the combined efforts of the healers to treat Peri's injuries, she passed away in agony.
"You guys do not understand the magnitude of the threat," Robin defended his plan. It had been a week since Finn's platoon engaged the Titans, and three days since the latest scouting party of mages encounter them.
Ephraim had already testified on the healing abilities and the speed of the Titans. When running as full speed, they could easily match a horse in full gallop.
Unsettlingly Palla, the leader of the famed White Wing mercenaries, had also confirmed reports that the Titans ate humans, and were seemingly uninjured by bladed weapons. Palla managed to toss a spear into the eye of the Titan, temporarily blinding it. However within minutes, that blinded Titan regrew an eye and continued its advance. That flier scouting party lost half their number in that encounter as the Titans proved to be speedy despite their clumsy appearance.
Another report from Micaiah, the light mage noted that the Titans were immune to all kinds of magic. Her attempts to construct a solid light barrier around the Titans failed as they simply walked through it. Elise tried to cast slow magic on them but it was also ineffective. That discovery cost them another three trainee mages.
Without knowing the weaknesses of the Titans, Robin knew that they could not hold the Southern Camps. Laying a giant map on the table, Robin elaborated on his plans. Calmly, he pointed to a small city near the Alps called Modena.
"We need to evacuate to Modena. There is a small mountain pass where we prepare our defences. I already assigned you all to squads, and you will cover assist the evacuation of these villages," Robin highlighted the territories near the Southern camps.
"Wait a minute," Ephraim interrupted Robin again. "What about these border towns?"
Ephraim gestured vigorous at the areas nearer to the last sightings of the Titans. Robin emotionlessly replied that he had dispatched messengers for their evacuation, but they had lacked the capacity to manage them. In other words, he was leaving them to fend off the Titans on their own.
"What! You want us to leave our base without defending it, and also not protect civilians?"
"There is no winning move in defending our base."
"My big sisters would have thought of a way!" Elise protested. "You just a coward! Having grey hair does not make you wise!"
Robin was taken aback from the young mage's comments. For a moment, he wished that Chrom was next to him. Chrom would surely understand and back him up. But Chrom was in the capital, and not here. Robin was on his own.
Having lost most of their cavalry and half their fliers, Robin rejected any notion of defence. Now he had to push his more audacious stage of his plan. They had to bait some of the Titans to another location. He pointed to a region of the map known as Rasputitsa. Explaining the idea to lure the target Titans into this area, they would use the advantage of the muddy environment to slow them out and immobilise them in the mud. This in turn, would allow Robin to study the Titans for any weaknesses.
A ubiquitous barrage of dissenting voices choked the atmosphere. Many of the heroes were military veterans, and saw little need risk lives capturing and studying a deadly foe. More heroes were unhappy in fleeing their bases. Almost everyone was upset about leaving villages undefended against the human-eating Titans.
To make things worse, some of the voices suggested putting Robin's plans to a vote. In response, Robin slammed the table with his right fist. He reminded the heroes that he was appointed to be in charge of the defence of South Askr by the royalty themselves. This was not a democracy; it was a meritocracy and the bested suited person should make the major decisions. That best suited person, as selected by both the royalty and military, was Robin.
"Then we demand a second opinion!" All eyes fell on Palla. Since Finn fell in battle, Palla was automatically took the position of Robin's second as head of the fliers. The nimble Pegasus knight almost tripped over her own feet from the pressure. Her approval (or lack of) would determine their next course of action.
For a moment all Palla could hear was the howling of the wind. Despite leading mercenaries for years, she had never made a decision that would damn hundreds of civilians to their death. Initially she rejected to answer, deferring the decision to Ephraim and other members of royalty. But they were having none of it. The choice was before her – yes or no.
The Pegasus knight's heart said no. In her hearts of heart she wanted her sisters of battle to mount a heroic and successful defence and save as many as possible. However, she knew the reverse was true. Barely five days ago, her engagement with the titans resulted in a massive slaughter of the fliers. Even her patented triangular attack formation failed to even injure one titan.
She concurred with Robin's plan reluctantly. She knew that this was a massive betrayal for her sisters of battle who swore to defend innocents with their lives, but she had to be practical. With that, Robin began issuing orders to the heroes and the Askr soldiers.
Some of them, like Ephraim, would be involved in the evacuation of the villages. Others, like Robin himself would attempt to trap the Titans. Palla however, had a special assignment. She would take charge of the defence of Modena. Palla's experience was invaluable, and could not be risked in other assignments.
"Move our ballistae and catapults nearer to the walls of Modena," Robin instructed Palla. "The problem is that most of our weapons are unable to pierce the hide of these creatures. We need to try using our heavy weapons to remove their heads. Few creatures can survive that. It could be a different story."
Author's remarks: I attempt to capture the desperation of the heroes in the face of the Titans but I did not want to make them stupidly throw their lives away. Even in a feudal society, the Heroes would be competent enough to delegate tactics to their strategist (in this case Robin).