Chapter 19) Naga's Voice

Robin has been poisoned by the assassin Bellona, apparently Walhart's most skilled assassin, though she's apparently known for being 'whimsical' about her targets and jobs. Just our luck she decided to play, or at least pretend such. But she gave up good information, the location of two more of Lucina's friends and the knowledge that Walhart was trying to burn the Mila Tree, and all who took sanctuary within.

Gods above, I do not like being played so well. But here we are.

The most notable thing about the Mila Tree was its sheer size. Large enough to stretch up towards the clouds, and then you had all the twisting branches that just added to the size. Helped, of course, by the fact that the tree was always in bloom. It always had bright green leaves swaying in the breeze. There was always some sort of flower or fruit blooming. Supposedly, in times of famine, the Mila Tree would actually grow even more fruit, to help the locals fend off starvation. I wasn't sure if that was true, but I did know that everyone was encouraged to pick the fruit, even traveling mercenaries.

"No matter how many times we saw it, traveling around Valm, we couldn't help but be awed by it," I murmured, running a hand through Robin's hair. Our group had taken a break in order to double-check our weapons and supplies, and I had chosen to sit by Robin while waiting for everyone to finish up. "It was the one place associated with gods where even we felt welcomed." Of course, Robin wasn't conscious to actually talk to me or anything. A couple hours ago, he had fainted and nothing would revive him. He was getting worse. "You're going to be fine." It was rather amazing. I should be freaking out more, but in the face of a crisis, I was just calm. Like my mind had something other than my own problems to focus on, so now, it was devoting everything to that instead. "Just be your normal stubborn self a little while longer."

"I take it that he has not stirred, then?" Virion walked over and handed me a cup of tea. I noticed the teacup was from the set his sister gave him, and smiled. "What was that assassin's name again?" he asked, kneeling to check on Robin himself. Robin, sadly, didn't look well. He was practically see-through, and many of the veins on his neck were black. Some of the veins on his face were turning as well. "Bellona?"

"Yes." I sipped the tea, and my smile grew as I recognized it as lemon balm, the same tea he had given me way back at the Ferox Arena, when we were trying to get an alliance. "Do you or Cherche know her?"

"Cherche has heard whispers, but she apparently made a name for herself after I left." Virion moved Robin's blanket to look at the bandaged wound. Robin was shirtless to make it easier to change. "Ah, he's bleeding through again."

"Whatever this poison is, it interferes with the body's natural clotting." Libra had said that the blood clotted as expected, but the poison would then 'corrode' the scab or something, resulting in it constantly closing up and reopening. I seriously wondered what the hell this poison was. "Here, I'll-"

"No, no, you should rest, my dear. I can change the bandages." Virion sat down properly and pulled the fresh bandages over to do just that. We kept an entire medical kit by Robin, just in case. "The next battle shall be difficult without our tactician. This Bellona certainly did a good job crippling us."

"It makes me wonder all the more why she didn't kill any of us."

"I'm curious as well. My best guess is that she really isn't Walhart's ally, so much as they are mutually using each other. Which, admittedly, is exactly what she said, but one shouldn't assume that an assassin is telling the truth." Virion easily began changing the bandages, cleaning the injury for good measure. Robin didn't so much as twitch. "I have never seen him so still."

"Neither have I, truthfully." I went back to my tea, and looked out at the Mila tree. Everyone else was milling about, and a few gave me worried looks. I smiled to reassure them, and they smiled back, a little strained. All of us were worried about Robin, and the next battle. "There's multiple stories about the tree's origins, yes?"

"There are three main stories about it." Virion tied off the fresh bandages and pulled the blanket over Robin again. "Some say that it marks the graves of both Mila and Duma, despite the name, and were once two trees that later intertwined. Others say only Mila is buried here, and Duma is buried at the Ingle that shares his name. Still others say it is only their hearts here, while their bodies are at the Ingle."

"I wonder how one buries a god." How did one kill a god? It was probably some dramatical license of the tale, but it was still the one consistent thing about the tale of Valentia. "I had another question."

"Yes?"

"Is it 'Saint-King' or 'Emperor' for Alm? And similar for Celica?"

"Depends on the version." Virion moved to sit next to me. "Technically speaking, they're all correct. Emperor Albein Alm Rudolf II and his wife, the Empress Anthiese Celica Lima, rulers of Rigel. Queen Anthiese Celica Lima and her husband, King Albein Alm Rudolf, rulers of Zofia. Saint-King Albein Alm Rudolf I and Queen Anthiese Celica Lima, rulers of Valentia."

"I suppose it's not helped by so many details being lost thanks to the Schism."

"That too. It's a miracle we know as much as we do. Even then, we could've interpreted things extremely wrong."

"Shame, really." I wondered if there were answers in the past, like 'can one actually change fate?'. "Hey, how's Olivia doing?"

"Maribelle is doing her best to cheer and distract her, but she is very tired and very drawn." Virion looked to Robin. "I fear we won't see her bright smile and energizing dances until Robin awakens."

"Of course." I wasn't sure how much Olivia had slept. Every time I had checked on Robin over these past few days, she had been awake, tending to him. "Chrom blames himself."

"All of us blame ourselves, I am afraid. We were too complacent." He smiled at me, though, and it was only a little strained. He worried terribly, just like the rest of us. "How are you doing though, my dear?"

"Surprisingly, I seem to be okay." I finished off the tea, and smiled wryly. "I'm frustrated. I'm annoyed. But Robin and I have been just as close to death in the past, and made it out." I supposed it was also just… after all the agonizing, and all the reassurance, it felt 'wrong' that he would just die. "Inigo and Morgan? I know Lucina and Chrom are sparring." Lucina was frustrated by how helpless she felt. Chrom offered to help her at least work out the frustration in a semi-healthy way.

"They went on a walk, actually. Inigo and Morgan, I mean." Virion frowned. "Then again, it has been a bit and I think they left the camp."

"If you don't mind sitting with Robin, then I'll go look for them?"

"That sounds like a plan." He held out his hand, and I handed the teacup to him. "Take it easy, though."

"I will. Thanks, Virion." I smiled at him and left, meandering through our makeshift camp.

People smiled as I passed, and a few made to stop what they were doing, but I waved them away and headed out of camp, walking along the edges and hunting for my nephew and niece. Which was still a very odd thing, but it didn't feel as overwhelming as before. I was slowly getting used to it. I was also slowly getting used to the sight of them huddled together, this time at the base of a tree. I was not, however… well, I was sure there was a witty way to connect the two, but frankly, I felt my mind stop when I got close enough to listen into their conversation, because Morgan apparently didn't have amnesia.

"I miss my Ophecia so much…" Morgan mumbled, leaning against Inigo. Inigo stroked her hair and murmured something comforting. "I see Cynthia with hers, and I'm so happy she's still has hers, and gods, Sumia's is so pretty and Cordelia's is so cool, but I miss mine."

"Of course you miss her," Inigo replied softly, pulling Morgan closer into a hug. He smiled kindly, yet sadly. "It was a big loss. And she died so painfully."

"The Risen… they just… they just ripped her apart…" Morgan covered her mouth, but there were no tears. I wondered if she felt ill at the memory. "They should've gotten me too, but she struggled to get me to safety, even when…"

"I know. I remember."

"And then after that, I saw… and then…" Morgan shook her head almost violently and she jerked her head up. Then she gasped, her other hand also covering her mouth as her eyes widened. "Aunt Kestrel!"

"Huh?!" Inigo half-stood, thought better of it, and then sat back down to pull Morgan protectively behind him. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was looking for you two to make sure you were doing okay," I replied, crossing my arms. I studied them for a moment, and then I sat down in front of them. "Morgan, you saw Robin, didn't you? After your Ophecia died."

"I… yes," Morgan replied, startled. She and Inigo shared a dumbfounded look. "How do you…?"

"First things first. Why are you lying about the memory loss?" I decided to act as no-nonsense as possible, and so, gave them my sternest look. "I am assuming there is a good reason for it, but you are hurting your friends with it. And your family."

"I… well…" Morgan hid more behind Inigo, or as much as she could considering the tree behind her. "Um…"

"It was my idea," Inigo revealed. He held his head high, almost defiant. But I saw the fear and worry in his eyes. "So that the others didn't press her about where she'd been."

"B-because I had been with…" Morgan tried to explained. Her voice cracked and she hid her face in Inigo's shoulder. "I attacked…"

"Easy, Morgan." Inigo instantly softened, hugging Morgan and patting her back. "It's not your fault."

"But I chose…!"

"You lost your pegasus, who are partners and best friends, and you had been fighting a long and brutal war, and then you saw your thought-to-be-dead father," I summarized, knowing from experience just where these sorts of arguments went. It hurt my heart that Morgan had to deal with that sort of self-hate. "Yes?" Morgan nodded, still hiding in Inigo's hug. "I agree with Inigo in that it's not completely your fault, but I can understand why you think so nonetheless. You did make a choice, but I wouldn't call it an informed one."

"See? And we know Aunt Kestrel is always right," Inigo told her, grinning victoriously. Morgan made a face, and I wondered where the hell he got that impression from. "But how did you know about…?"

"Robin and I have always known that Grima could use us as Vessels. It's what we were born for. He's a 'perfect' Vessel, and I am an 'imperfect'." I touched the back of my left shoulder, where my Brand was. "Both of us have the Fell Brand on us; you can see it on Robin's hand. He has a secondary mark on his chest, over his heart, that marks him as the 'perfect' one." I sighed and let my hand fall to my lap. "Robin is… mostly aware now. I've told him." It was strangely easy, telling them all of this. Maybe it was because they already knew. "It's possible we have half-siblings that are potential Vessels as well. The Grimleal has been painstakingly adjusting the family line for a thousand years for this purpose."

"That is… that is so beyond creepy, actually." Inigo grimaced, and Morgan looked a bit ill. "I mean; I am grateful. I like being alive, even if it's kind of been a living hell. But still."

"Creepy." I leaned forward slightly and smiled at them. "So? How did you two learn? And who all knows?"

"Just Morgan and me. Lucina does suspect Father, because we always learned that Uncle Chrom had been betrayed and Father…" Inigo sighed. "But she doesn't know, and she'd prefer to not think on it. Like me, like all of us, she's hoping there is a way to solve this with minimal deaths and sacrifices."

"Robin hopes that as well." And I hoped he'd prove my pessimism wrong. "I know how Morgan learned. What about you, Inigo?"

"When…" Inigo hesitated and looked down. "When you bought us time to escape, I had gone back to get something. It was very quick, but it meant I was around longer. So, I saw you and… and Father fighting. But it wasn't him at the same time. I managed to put it together from there." He looked up hesitantly at me. "I didn't tell the others. I worried it would shake their resolve. Though..." He looked sadly at Morgan. "It did hurt you, to not know."

"You were only thinking of what was best. It's not your fault I'm an idiot," Morgan retorted. The easy self-hatred was so hard to hear. "And when I saw him, I just… I wanted that comfort. That safety. Even though logically, I knew it was stupid. And logically, I knew something was wrong, I…"

"You are here now, fighting to protect everyone," I interrupted gently. I leaned over to stroke her hair and then I smiled. "You don't need to worry about me telling anyone. I simply ask that if things get too difficult, for either of you, that you seek help and comfort."

She stared at me for two blinks before she broke down in tears, throwing herself at me. I hugged her as she sobbed, patting her back. Inigo, after hesitating a moment, moved so that he was sitting next to me and rested his head on my shoulder, eventually dozing off. I stayed where I was, doing my best to reassure them. I knew, after all, the heavy burden of knowing 'the truth' and feeling unable to say anything. It was the least I could do for them.

There was no way to hide that Morgan had been crying. Her eyes were puffy, she had a horrible headache, and she was terribly snotty. When we returned to everyone, I lied and told them that Morgan had simply been crying from worry over Robin. Inigo backed me up with a smile, and everyone fussed and cooed over them both. Lucina in particular stuck close to Morgan, holding her hand and doing her best to cheer her up. Morgan smiled back and clung to her. I worried about how she felt, but that was probably something I should leave to her parents, once we had a good break. Because now certainly wasn't the time to fret about my niece's poor self-esteem and previous breaking. As soon as we got close to the roots of the tree, we were battling.

I prioritized keeping an eye on Olivia, who insisted on fighting despite everything. When we broke through the lines, I ducked back with her to help with moving the healers' infirmary, and Robin. Robin was still completely unconscious, hanging limply when I picked him up to carry him. I would set him up once we stopped again, and then go out to battle alongside Olivia. Lather, rinse, repeat.

"I wonder if this is how the Shepherds fought back before Robin and I joined," I murmured, pulling Robin onto my back. He didn't make any noise, and only his shallow breathing told me he was still alive. "This is way more defensive. Then again, we are at a disadvantage." We were fighting on the literal roots of the Mila Tree, which were easily large enough to support a person. In fact, many were large enough to support horses. However, these roots were surrounded by unexpected deep waters, meaning that a slip could easily lead to drowning. Not to mention how the Valmese forces were pretty secure in their footing and the like, unlike us, and we lost the element of surprise two or three 'lines' of enemies ago. "Has anyone tried to get a leaf for you, Robin?"

"Things have been too chaotic, and there are no fliers to spare to fly up to even the lowest hanging branch," Libra answered tiredly, walking over. I chose against telling him that I hadn't actually expected an answer. I'd just been talking at my twin to feel better. "Plus, our 'helpful' assassin neglected to mention just how this antidote is used." He checked Robin's pulse, frowning. "Does it go into the wound? Does he drink the mixture? We don't know, and so, we would have to spare a healer to tend to just him when it is administered."

"And with the number of wounded…" I didn't even have to look to know it was a lot. The only reason why the waters around the roots weren't dyed red and pink was because there was so damn much of it. Even then, you could see little pockets, and corpses bobbed up and down. Like… something I probably would want to eat later so I didn't actually want to complete the metaphor. "Hey, Libra?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you mind pulling the healer card and keep Olivia off the field for a bit?" I began walking, and Libra followed since the others in the group were doing the same. I could already hear the fighting up ahead. "She nearly fell. Her."

"Of course. I'll go take care of that immediately." His eyes narrowed and he leaned forward slightly to study me closely. "Do I need to do the same with you?"

"I'm actually okay." I smiled and, after a moment, he smiled back. "I still don't have my stamina, but Frederick's exercises have been helping. And…" I looked around, noticing we were almost at the base. Hopefully that meant we were almost at the end of this gauntlet. "I need to be the queen."

"You can be the queen and help in other ways, but I understand. You do look well, and I know your injuries are bandaged and not immediately fatal, so I won't insist." He rested a hand on my shoulder, right over one of those bandaged injuries. Most were shallow. "Just promise to fall back if you need to. You were going through some mental strain before all of this."

"I promise." I winked. "And I'll drag Cordelia too."

"Good. She pushes herself too much." He smiled finally and nodded to a larger spot on the roots. "Here. Let's set up Robin, and then I will grab Olivia."

"You got it." A strangely loud roar caught my attention, and I looked up frowning, because it was different from Nowi's. It sounded higher, younger. My eyes widened as I saw another manakete in the distance, and I knew it wasn't Nowi because the scales were pink instead of the yellow-green that Nowi's were. "I think we found Nowi's child."

"Then we must be close." Libra's smile faltered. "I wonder…" He shook his head. "No, never mind. Now is not the time."

"I'm here for you and Cordelia if you need to vent." I knew well the stress of having you child from the future appear out of nowhere. "Remember that."

"Of course."

We got Robin settled and I lingered just long enough to confirm that Olivia would be resting. Then I pushed through the battle to head towards the front, heading for where I had seen the pink dragon. It was difficult, because the Valmese were fighting with a near-possessed fervor. It reminded how I hated zealots. Almost as much as I hated nearly getting my head kicked off by a taguel. But, to be fair, the taguel in question wasn't Panne and likely hadn't even seen me.

"Ah! Please don't stab me!" The taguel, shapeshifted into his rabbit form, in question sounded much younger, male, and scared out of his poor mind. His fur was also darker, and the armored bits I could see were blue. "I'm… uh… wait, hold on…" His form was wrapped in light before shrinking down to a more humanoid form. "Kestrel?" he asked, tilting his head. I smiled, laughing a little. "Oh, wait, shoot, that's got to be-"

"You must be one of Lucina's friends, yes?" I asked. Without thinking about it, I reached up to ruffle his hair, noticing that it was actually multi-colored. Most was the same dark shade as his fur, but there were some parts that were the same color as Stahl's hair. I wondered if there were any children beside Victoria and Morgan who didn't inherit their father's hair color. "You must not have seen her fighting. I was heading to the pink dragon. Friend of yours?"

"Yeah, Nah." He smiled hesitantly when I frowned. "Her name is 'Nah'. I know. She's the first to be frustrated by it. I'm sure Lucina is already with her. She's one of our youngest, and then looks even younger."

"Let's go check on her then." I began walking and gestured for him to follow me. "You okay, by the way?"

"I… uh…" He yelped at a loud noise nearby, two heavily armored units crashing into each other. It took me a moment to realize one was Kellam. "I don't like fighting. I don't like being close to death."

"Yet here you are. That's quite brave." I smiled and he looked down. "Come on."

"Um… yes, ma'am."

Yarne stuck close to me and, amusingly, hid behind me whenever someone attacked us. At least, I found it amusing, because Yarne was easily bigger than me. But there was also something sad about it too, the way he twitched at every noise (and even noises that I couldn't hear because his senses were far sharper) and the genuine fear in his eyes. This was someone who was hypervigilant and probably anxious to the point that he barely functioned. I knew both things well, so each time there was a moment to breathe, I made sure to smile reassuringly at him and wait for him to calm down again before we continued on. It felt like the least I could do.

When we made it to the front, there was a calm portion where Cynthia was hugging a small girl with braided pigtails and pointed ears. Near them was Lucina, Brady, Laurent, Inigo, and Morgan (who was acting adorably confused). Almost immediately, though, Laurent looked over and waved. "Yarne!" he called. Yarne bounded over and got a hug. "Nah was worried. You two were separated."

"This battle has been a mess!" Yarne complained. He smiled, though, and I stepped back, not wanting to get caught up in their reunion. Lucina did catch my eye, and smiled brightly. "Nah, how are you doing? I know you've been cracking under the strain…"

A flicker of movement caught my eye, and I turned to see an archer aiming the group. But before I could shout a warning, the archer went down with a dagger through the neck. I looked up and barely saw a figure wearing black clothes of various shades and a silver and black mask before said figure disappeared. And, instinctively, I knew it had to be Bellona. She just saved… but why? What the hell was her goal? Destabilizing Walhart's forces from the inside or something? Why go through that sort of trouble, though?

"So, you've made it this far, Exalt!" Not that I had any time to determine that. Some distance away, Chrom was apparently facing off with the enemy general. "Well done!" the general laughed, brandishing his axe. I winced when I saw how heavily armored he was, since that meant Chrom might need help getting through his defenses, so I made my way towards him, cutting down people as I passed. Though I did just kick a few into the water. "I am Cervantes! See how my mustache moves in the wind!" ...I sincerely wondered if he hit his head.

"Are you trying to pretend you're stupider than you are to get me to let down my guard?" Chrom asked dryly. He held himself stiffly, and I wasn't sure if it was due to annoyance or pain. "Because considering everything…"

"Ah, darn, you're smarter than Excellus. Then again, that's not actually much of an accomplishment." Cervantes smiled briefly, barely visible thanks to his beard, before his expression hardened. "So then. Shall we?"

"Will you at least tell me why, first? Why are you doing any of this?" More like 'why did my husband make small talk with enemies who were trying to kill him?'. I supposed it was Emmeryn's influence, trying to ending the fight with words first. "What does this achieve?"

"Do you even need to ask whelp?" Cervantes scoffed. "Emperor Walhart is destined to this world!" The statement was so ridiculous that I nearly fell off the root and into the water. Which would've been bad because I was almost there. "His mind is beyond common man's grasp!"

"So you don't even know what you're fighting for?"

"I tend to my own beard, boy." Cervantes rolled his eyes and tried to attack. Chrom parried him, though. "A soldier does not question orders! He gives his loyalty, and maybe his life, in the service of greater men!"

"How is living to conquer so great of an ambition?!"

"What could be greater?" Cervantes laughed. I just facepalmed. "I once dreamed of commanding a nation myself, but Walhart? He dreams far bigger! He would rule the entire world! Mine is nothing compared to the moxie of the Conqueror!" He leaned forward slightly, eyes glinting. "Have you not tasted the thrill of being part of something bigger than yourself?"

"Not at the price of inflicting cruelty, no." Chrom glared banefully at Cervantes, and the raw hatred there made even me step back. Cervantes rocked back on his heels. "You're no better than my father, pressing your will on people just for your own self-importance!" Chrom lunged forward, but Cervantes blocked the strike with his heavily armored arm. Cervantes made to counter, but I caught up then, and so, blocked the axe on my gauntlet and countered, catching Cervantes across the face, closer to the scalp. A shallow cut, but enough to make him stumble back and give us some breathing room. "Kes?"

"Ah, so your queen meets us?" Cervantes grinned, ignoring the blood pouring down his face and into his beard. Head wounds bled a lot. "Well met!"

"The feeling isn't mutual," I replied cooly, making sure to stand right by Chrom. Chrom smiled warmly at me. "You're almost too stupid to hurt, believing in an idiot like Walhart, whose ambition far outstrips his sense." I glared. "Commanding armies is nothing compared to ruling a nation. And when Walhart falls, perhaps he'll understand it as he gasps out his last breaths."

"Have I mentioned I love you recently?" Chrom asked, grinning. Cervantes just shrugged, apparently not caring at the insults. To him, we were simply incapable of understanding. Which, admittedly, was true. I couldn't understand this sort of blind zealousness. And I didn't want to. "Shall we, love?"

"Been a while since we fought back to back, hasn't it?" I was actually nervous. "I'll try to not mess you up."

"You're the wind at my back and the sword at my side." Only him settling into a stance, and a serious expression, kept me from blushing. Of all the times to repeat part of his proposal! "If anything, I'm stronger with you."

"Yeah, yeah, let's just start the fight. I highly doubt Cervantes is the type to be sweetened."

We both moved at the same time, automatically flanking Cervantes. However, Cervantes had anticipated that, and sadly our banter gave him plenty of time to prepare himself, so he blocked us deftly. Though him wielding a heavy axe did mean that Chrom and I could dodge with relative ease. Of course, it being a tomahawk did mean that Cervantes had some range compared to us, but his slow speed meant that he couldn't take advantage of that. We could close the gap easily.

"Enough of this…!" I hissed, just annoyed by how little damage we were doing. With that annoyance came anger, and I let it. I let Vengeance spark, black flames wrapping around me and my blade. I lunged forward and, though Cervantes blocked it, the flames danced and slipped in the cracks of his armor, causing him to choke on a yelp of pain. "Let's hear your death rattle, shall we?" I twisted so that I could strike him again, but this time, the black flames turned purple-pink and shed 'feathers'. This time when I hit, the flames actually melted the armor, making Cervantes scream. "Oops?" I… uh… hadn't expected that second one.

"Your end has come!" Of course, Chrom was right on my heels, so I had to dodge. Strangely, though, his blade shone with green sparkles. Almost like Luna, but… not. And his attack outright shattered part of Cervantes's armor, blood spewing everywhere. A gentle yellow light rolled over over Chrom and knit together his wounds as he held Falchion right at Cervantes's neck. "Surrender," he ordered. Cervantes coughed up more blood and didn't answer. "I'll have my healers tend to you if you do."

"Fool boy…" Cervantes laughed, spitting up more blood. He brought up his arm sharply. "Now, soldiers of the Conqueror! Set this tree aflame!"

"What?" Chrom's eyes widened, and I looked around in fear, realizing something bad. Because of how large the roots were, and how far they spread out, there would… "We're at the base of the tree! If you set it on fire, unless your soldiers jump in the water, you'll burn with it!" As would we. All of our injured, at least, would burn. There would be no way to outrun the flames while carrying everyone. "Are you insane?"

"Why should I fear death? If I die, then it will be in the shadow of greatness and most satisfying!" Cervantes laughed. Smoke was already spiraling through the air, carrying screams with it. A few splashes indicated that some had already jumped in the water, but… "I told you! A soldier gives everything, including his life, in the service of greater men!"

Not wanting to even deal with the madman, I started running, barely keeping from slipping off the roots and into the water, pushing past people to try and reach the infirmary and give what meager help I could. Fire began crackling and popping, and the air slowly began to heat. A couple of paths were already cut off, and knights, on their horses, screamed as they tried to find a way out. Worse, the Valmese soldiers were still fighting. They killed those trying to flee the flames. Their mages shot thunder magic into the water, even with their own people there as well, to electrocute those who jumped to avoid the rapidly growing flames. Their archers shot at pegasus knights trying desperately to rescue people. Screams of agony joined the shrieks of panic, melding with the noise of battle for a raucous cacophony that just hurt. The smell of smoke and char began to overwhelm the more typical smells of battle, the blood and death.

A burst of pain, radiating from my left shoulder, made me stumble and I had to flail to make sure I kept my balance. The flailing caused blood to fling all over the place, and I looked to see I suddenly had a long cut on my left arm. I took off the gauntlet and saw it stretched from the tip of my middle finger, across my palm, all the way up my arm… and though I couldn't see the very top part, I could feel, from the pain and the warm wet blood, that it went all the way to the back of my shoulder. And it was under my gauntlet. It was under my clothes and armor. This was not from any sort of weapon. It was like my skin had just suddenly cracked open.

Then there was a voice echoing through my head. Like something was singing. A woman singing, but just a noise with no words. And with that 'song' came an unexpected peace. Relaxation. Like I was listening to my mother hum a lullaby again. At least, until I saw the roots beneath me were glowing. And it wasn't just the roots. The entire tree, all the way to the leaves way up above, was shimmering with a pale blue-green light. A light that slowly grew stronger and stronger, though the 'song' remained constant.

Then there was a flash and a red-gold light washed over the battlefield. Then there were screams again, but they were the screams of the Valmese soldiers being thrown… no, being hurled away from the tree, many of them flying through the air. And it was just the Valmese. I remained exactly where I was. My allies remained exactly where they were. And we all watched as the Valmese disappeared from sight, as their screams faded into silence. We watched as the fires just disappeared as the red-gold light passed through them. The smoke vanished.

Then the red-gold light disappeared, leaving only the blue-green light sparkling over the bark, leaves, and water. And leaving us standing on the roots, stunned by what happened. Wondering what just happened.

"...Gather the injured!" I finally ordered, my voice carrying easily through the stunned silence. I probably shouldn't be the one ordering the soldiers, but someone had to get us moving. "And I want a pegasus knight to get a leaf for Robin, please! Leave the dead until after we have all the injured with the healers!"

That got people moving, and some semblance of normality settled over us as everyone fell into their normal post-battle chores. However, curiosity got the better of me, so instead of heading to the healers to be treated for my weird injury, I headed for the area where I had seen Bellona. Because clearly, the smart thing to do after a battle was go looking for a known assassin who already nearly killed you and your husband, and poisoned your twin brother. The phrase should probably be 'curiosity killed the kestrel' instead of 'the cat'. But I headed there anyway, not sure what I was expecting to find.

She wasn't there, of course. That made sense, except for one thing. There was a blood trail. She'd been injured, or at least, someone standing here had been injured. And the blood trail was even paced droplets away from the tree, like she had left slowly. Not been flung. Had she left prior to the weird lights? Had the weird lights not dubbed her an 'enemy'? Why had she not killed us?

Argh… nothing made sense. I hated it.

It turned out that you just rubbed the mixture on the wound to clear up the poison. Robin showed improvements immediately, mostly in that his face gained a little more color and his veins weren't as black, though he still had a lengthy recovery and still was unconscious. But it was a relief for all of us. Especially since, once again, we underestimated our enemy and were complacent. We knew they were zealous, but we hadn't considered that they would be willing to kill themselves if that was what it took to accomplish their goal.

"So, Cordelia reported that Cervantes was being carried by his soldiers?" I asked Chrom as we walked up the stairs. A single staircase spiralled around the outside of the tree, leading up to the very top. Every so often, there were landings that led to bridges, which then led quiet 'houses' among the branches, where the caretakers of the Shrine lived, and where the refugees and fighters had been taking shelter. Many of them had already descended, though, to assist us, but not the Voice. So, we were walking up with Say'ri, along with Lucina, Lissa, Frederick, Flavia, and Basilio. "I'm going to assume he survives, then."

"Probably the best assumption," Chrom replied, sighing. It hurt him to have, once again, underestimated our enemies. If not for two lucky breaks, we would be a lot worse off. And we couldn't depend on luck a third time. "Are you well, though?" He took my hand and kissed it. Lucina glanced back at us with sparkling eyes, though she winced when her smile stretched the cut on her face. "Your injury?"

"You think Libra would let any of us hike up here unless we were well enough?"

"Okay, point." He smiled, and I smiled back, trying to hide my unease as I looked to the bandages on his right arm, easily visible since, like everyone else, he had changed clothes after the battle.

I hadn't been the only one with a weird injury. Chrom suffered a similar one on his arm, also radiating from his Mark. Robin's spiked up his left arm, right from the Brand, and had a secondary one from the mark on his chest. Lucina had one that had actually gone down her face and neck from her left eye. Then she also had a couple of smaller, shallower, but random ones. Lissa had suffered similar, as had Inigo and Morgan. Or, in other words, everyone with a blood tie to either Naga or Grima had suffered an unusual wound that appeared out of nowhere, under all armor and clothes. It was unnerving. I didn't like it. I also didn't want people asking why Robin and me got the strange injuries either.

"Ugh… why are there so many stupid stairs?!" Lissa complained from up ahead. Her voice startled me right out of my thoughts. "Seriously, why?!"

"I think everyone warned you that this would be a hike," Basilio pointed out. Chrom and I were actually in the back of the group, with Say'ri a good couple steps ahead of the front. "Multiple times, actually."

"Grr… carry me."

"Hell to the no."

"Oh, come on!"

The little argument sparked tired laughter from our group, and we continued climbing, bantering about this and that. No one carried Lissa, too dangerous given the staircase and height, but she did stop complaining after a while. Mostly because Chrom 'innocently' asked about Henry, earning squawks, protests, and 'how do you know?!'. It was surprisingly fun, all things considered, especially when Flavia joined in on the teasing with 'tips' for Lissa, and Frederick covering Lissa's ears.

Eventually, though, we made it to the top of the stairs, around the time our legs were absolutely numb and we were dreading the trip back down. Part of me wondered why we didn't take fliers up, but we had just followed Say'ri, who wasn't used to having fliers nearby. But that was neither here nor there. We stepped out onto, surprisingly, onto stone. It was a tiled stone 'floor', like you would see in a normal temple, except we were who even knew how high up. It looked like this had once been yet another branch that twisted up, but then was somehow cut off into something flat. Or something. Regardless, it was stone, with a series of stone pillars in the center, each one bearing some sort of moss or vines. Tucked off to the side was a small stone house, half-hidden by flowers and vines. There were no signs of animal life, but the fighting had likely chased them away.

"Lady Tiki?" Say'ri called. She walked about the small shrine, looking this way and that. "Are you here? Prithee, answer!"

"Ah, Say'ri…" someone yawned. A young woman stepped out from behind the centermost rock pillar, rubbing at her eyes. Despite the innocent gesture sleepily, power clung to her like a robe and there was a strange elegance to her. My eyes scanned her over before noticing her ears were pointed, like Nowi's. A manakete. "You are so loud."

"I am relieved to see you are well." Say'ri smiled before frowning. "You weren't sleeping during the battle, were you?"

"No, of course not. I fell asleep afterwards."

"My lady!"

Deciding that I didn't want to stick around for whatever sort of conversation this was going to be, I slipped away and actually headed for the small house, far too curious. It was as simple inside as it was outside, in terms of furniture and the like. A couple of dressers, a couple of tables and chairs, a closet, a bed. But every bit of free space was decorated with something. Pictures, toys, jewelry, trinkets, books… they were everywhere. On the walls, on the tables… just everywhere. And each bit was fascinating. There was signs of aging on some of them, but each one looked as if they had been carefully tended to and mended with love.

The pictures, however, were what held my attention the most. They were wearing clothes different than what I was used to seeing, for one thing. For another, all of them… well, none of them were stiff sitting portraits. Each one seemed like a scene from their lives, carefully preserved with whatever the picture used. Some were pencil sketches. Others were paintings, both oil-based and watercolor. Still others were inked. Each one was absolutely beautiful and warm, though. Like they could start moving at any moment. I had no idea how long I studied each one of them, picking out all the little details that just made them lifelike, like the stain on their scarves or the faint-faint scars on their hands…

"That one is of Tina, with Luke and Rody." It was, however, apparently long enough that Tiki was done talking to everyone, and was watching me study the pictures from the doorway. Thankfully, she was smiling. "Sorry, Kris, Luke, and Roderick," she continued, walking over. She pointed to the one I had been looking at, of a trio. A girl with blue hair tied back in a ponytail, laughing at a joke or something, with a sword and tome in her lap. A calm and serious boy with brown hair and green armor grinning at something, probably the same joke, with his arms crossed. Another boy with green hair and blue armor, expression hinting to some sort of liveliness, with his hands up like he was flailing with the words. "Kris is more commonly called the Shadow of the Hero-King."

"This is her, then?" I asked, startled. You knew next to nothing about her, and yet, Tiki had a picture of her. "She looks so young…"

"This was during knight training, or so I'm told. So, she was… um…" Tiki paused, clearly trying to remember. "Eighteen, I think. She was nineteen during the War of Heroes."

"Not much younger than me, then." Somehow, though, she seemed younger. Maybe it was because I'd always imagined her as… I don't know… some hardened badass. Not someone who would laugh freely. "What about this one?" I pointed to the picture next to it. This one had a girl with gold-blonde hair braided over her shoulder, talking calmly with a girl with brown hair tied back in a ponytail. The blonde was sitting, sewing a pink dress from the look of it, while the brown-haired girl hovered over her shoulder excitedly, like the dress was hers, or was going to be.

"Diana and Linde. Diana is the Shadow of the Empress."

"Ah…" Again, always pictured as a hardened badass, not someone who sewed. "Are all these pictures…?"

"Yes, they're of the heroes of the War of Shadows, and the War of Heroes. After all, I was a child during them." Tiki giggled at my incredulous look. "I am a manakete. The tales mention a dragon princess, yes? That's me."

"So, you're… over a thousand years old, then?"

"Three thousand. Give or take. However, I have slept for most of that time. Safety precaution while the Emblem is 'broken'." She shrugged, and I wondered what she was talking about. How was the Fire Emblem 'broken'? "However…" She leaned forward slightly, locking eyes with me. It was easy to see her age through her eyes. They were old and weary, but with a spark of determination burning quietly within. "You have it."

"Pardon?"

"You have a power like mine." She straightened, and dread pooled in my stomach. "You are Grima's Vessel."

"...One, and an imperfect one at that." The words felt like mush, dribbling out of my mouth. This wasn't… it was one thing to talk about it with your niece and nephew. It was another to talk about it with a stranger. "How…?"

"You give off a different aura, and radiate quiet power. And I am an old manakete."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Hmm? Why should I do anything?" She shrugged, and I could only stare. "I sensed it, and wanted to confirm. Curiosity, truly. I apologize for making you uncomfortable."

"No, it's…" I had no idea how to respond. She didn't look older than me, but she definitely was. And she lived through two wars. Maybe even more. Wars where Medeus… a dragon of shadows and earth… "Um…"

"Yes?"

"Is it… is it selfish?" I wrapped an arm around my waist to dig my nails into my other arm. "Is it selfish to want to live instead of sacrificing myself?"

"That's a tricky thing to ask. The easy answer is 'yes'. After all, you are only one person and the world is filled with many. However…" Tiki fell quiet, and I glanced up to see her looking thoughtful. "You could also argue that sacrificing yourself is selfish. After all, it is you saying that your life is not worth the world, ignoring how you could be someone else's world. Sacrificing the one for the many is a tactic you see commonly in life, and it is you declaring 'I will be the one' and leaving your loved ones with the scars."

"Ah…"

"But, really, if you aren't at least a little selfish, then how are you any different from a doll? A puppet being pulled by everyone else's whims?" She smiled warmly, and I tentatively smiled back. "Besides, often, sacrifices are the 'short-sighted' view. The easy way, the obvious way, but not the 'best' or 'perfect' way. That happened during the War of Heroes."

"Did it?"

"Yes." Her eyes unfocused slightly, and darkened with old pain and terror. "During the final fight with Medeus, the four we were trying to rescue were brainwashed. Puppets. And everyone reluctantly concluded that they might have to kill them to defeat Medeus. Worse when we learned that Medeus could devour them to heal himself." She laughed, however, smiling warmly. "Mar-mar… sorry, Marth refused to accept that. And he found a way, alongside everyone else, to save them and the world. No sacrifices."

"That sounds…" I couldn't think of a word. On the one hand, it was amazing. On the other hand, it was the Hero-King. "Um…"

"Then you have what happened here, in Valentia. Humans are always doing weird things.

Ban-Ban and Xaney would tell me about how one of the reasons why my mother, Naga, loved humans so much was precisely because of how regularly they made the impossible possible. She loved them for their creativity, their brightness. The way they never gave up." She laughed. I felt my mind stop briefly at the whole 'wait, she is the daughter of Naga' and then promptly decided to half-ignore it because there was too much else going on. "I agree with her, especially now that I'm older."

"...I want to be wrong…" Unlike before, it was easy to admit it to her. "But I…"

"It's hard to hold onto faith. That you still are shows quite a bit of courage." She walked over then and took my hands. "At least, that's what I think. I'm sure it'll take a while for you to believe that yourself."

"Ha…" And I desperately needed a change of subject. "So, question, if you lived in Archanea, which became Ylisse, then…"

"What am I doing here?" Tiki laughed. "Well, when I slumber, I need wards and the like. After the Schism, and Grima, the shrine here was one of the few remaining places on both continents. So…"

"Okay…" Why would she…? Wait, of course, she would be defenseless while asleep. I was an idiot. "So, are those wards what caused the light show?"

"No, the wards are only up here, at the shrine itself." Tiki crossed her arms, glancing up at the ceiling. I did as well, half-expecting there to be something there. But there wasn't. "I think it might've been Mila and Duma, assisting as they are able."

"As they are able?" Ignoring the whole 'ghosts helping' part. For now.

"Once a manakete dies, and becomes a spirit, interacting with the physical world becomes much harder. They need a physical link in order to do so. That is why my mother cannot simply descend and help anymore. There has to be a link, which is now called the Awakening Ceremony." She looked at the injury on my arm. "For Mila and Duma, however, they used blood. The blood of those connected to divine dragons, and earth."

"Divine and earth?"

"There are, or were, multiple tribes of manaketes. Mila and Duma were… unique, though. They were of two different tribes, Earth and Divine. It gave them very unique abilities, among other things. They were quite close because they were so different." She sighed. "So, if I'm right and it was them, their spirits used that technically shared blood as the catalyst needed to interfere."

"And, so, they protected us?" At first, I thought it was ridiculous, but then I thought of the Heritors of Arcadia. There was a verse that specifically stated Mila would protect her people, even after her name was lost. And it should have been… you know… creative nonsense, but… "Providing you're correct."

"Indeed. I could be very wrong." She laughed again, and I realized I was completely relaxed. Despite that air of power, she was relaxing. Maybe it was because she knew everything, and still smiled at me. "If there's one thing I've learned in my long life, it's that no one knows everything."

"I suppose so." Perhaps I was relaxed because she was so honest and sincere as well. "So, Grima is of the Earth Tribe?"

"No one knows anything about Grima, but since he has power associated with the Earth Tribe, the assumption is that he has some sort of connection to them. Considering his vast power, he might also have a connection to the Divine Tribe. For all I know, he is like Duma and Mila." She sighed and grimaced, reaching up to fix her ponytail. "Sadly, there is so little information on Grima, and so much is… strange. His sheer size is… no manakete gets that big."

"So, an anamoly?"

"Yes. Perhaps, when the Awakening is performed, my mother can tell us more. As a spirit, she would have access to a little more information. Due to being dead and having time to do whatever she wants." She giggled, and I burst into laughter, surprised by the joke. "However, for now, there are injured to tend to, and warriors who need their rest." She smiled gently and kindly at me. "We should join the others before Say'ri returns and scolds me for lazing about."

"I don't know. That might be fun to see." But I did want to check on Robin, so… "Ah, well. Let's go…" A horrible thought came to me. "Wait, did they walk down?"

"They did." She sighed, whimpering a little. "It's such a long way down, and I just woke up. I am not awake enough for exercise. Does Ylisse not have pegasus knights?"

"We have bunches." I facepalmed, exasperated. Sometimes, my family was very… "Let's just call out to one or two and not kill our legs, shall we?"

"That sounds like a grand, and smart, idea." She smiled warmly, with a touch of mischief. "I wonder if we'll make it back before them?"

Fun note: we did. It was hilarious seeing their expressions.

Notes on Inigo:

Class - Mercenary; Reclass - Myrmidon, Barbarian, Mage, Priest, Tactician

Son of Robin and Olivia, coming from the future. A flirt who makes sure he smiles no matter how much he'd like to cry. He's also unexpectedly shy, and speaks to girls in an attempt to work through it.

Though his defenses tend to be lacking, he is almost wickedly fast, and is strong enough to make good use of that speed. His style is mostly like his Aunt Kestrel's, due to being taught by her in the future.

A brilliant dancer, though he is mostly self-taught. There's some hints he actually inherited the Dancer's Gift from his mother, but he's never actually been tested for it. He's also a very good tactician, having learned from his father.

Author's note: Sorry for the delay on this one. I meant to have it earlier, but then May turned out to be quite the… interesting… month.

Regardless, have plot movement and two more recruits, our child char shapeshifters. Inigo being mentioned as 'fast' in his bio is due to Robin being a +Spd Avatar, meaning Inigo has a +6 modifier, the highest in the game (with these pairings). The mention that he might have the Dancer's Gift is due to his personal skill in Fates. "Your end has come" is one of Chrom's crit quotes from the game. The conversation with Tiki is a lot of exposition, but a grand deal of it has already been said, so I decided to have a bit of fun with the scene.

There is nothing in game to hint that Morgan (male or female) is faking their memory loss (if anything, it's proven that it's not faked), but I thought this would be interesting. Her turning against the group is due to her appearance in the Future Past DLC. Similarly, there is nothing in canon that hints Duma and Mila are half-Divine and half-Earth dragon. I'm adding that as an explanation for why both are shown to have power over the earth, and why Duma is described as having 'fell' magic. (There are other potential explanations, but I'm going with this.)

Celica's name is officially just Anthiese Lima (or so I am guessing, based on the whole 'Lima Dynasty' thing), but I like the idea of her incorporating 'Celica' as her middle name. It was not any part of her name prior to Mycen rescuing her.

The show of power is mostly just to give the impression that Mila and Duma are watching over Valm/Valentia, as well as give an excuse to talk a bit more about them. According to the artbook for FE15, the 'Mila Tree' is actually two trees that grew and intertwined, and it was born from the remains of both Mila and Duma. However, the Ingle is said to be Duma's Remains (outright called that in the Japanese version), so I added the whole 'here are the stories' as a further highlight of the knowledge lost from the Schism. It's never explained in-game why Tiki is on Valm, or residing in the Mila tree, so I made up an explanation.

The 'See how my mustache' line is actually from the game as a voiced line that you ONLY hear if you have Chrom fight Cervantes. Chrom's conversation with Cervantes is based off of the boss dialogue. He has a conversation with Say'ri as well, but I couldn't fit it in sadly. Messed up the flow.

Since this has been asked, I have no plans to do novelizations of Heroes or Warriors. I got my hands full as is!

Next Chapter - Interlude, Mila Tree