Chapter 16) Eldigan the Lionheart


The camp is nervous. The camp is tired. The camp is on alert at all times, and it drains them bit by bit. There have been a couple of skirmishes between the Cross Knights and Sigurd's forces, but nothing more than a token effort. Eldigan doesn't want to fight. Sigurd doesn't want to fight. The only one who wants this war is Chagall, but here we are were.

I missed Deirdre. She could make me laugh.


While growing up, I had often heard about the 'healing power of music and performances', but I never really paid it any mind. It had always seemed like a waste of time for me, time better spent in study. Others could enjoy it; I'd stay away. But I had to admit that there was something special and soothing about Lewyn and Sylvia's performances. The world didn't seem quite so chaotic while they played.

"Sylvia has a lovely singing voice," I murmured absently, watching them from the infirmary. While I was too injured to really tend to anyone still, I could and did supervise to free up Ethlyn. "I'm surprised she can sing while dancing, though."

"I asked her about it, and she said that it was partially breath control and partially making sure to do 'low energy' moves when she does," Oifeye happily explained. He looked up from grinding herbs to smile warmly. "She's really nice."

"She is." Still, I had to tease a bit, mostly because I noticed a slight sparkle to his eyes, and a pale blush on his face. "But you have a little crush, don't you?"

"N-no, I don't!"

"I haven't interacted with her much," Finn commented, frowning as he carefully measured out various powders. "Same with Lewyn, truthfully. But their performances are quite lovely."

"You don't really spend time with any girl besides Lady Lachesis," Oifeye instantly retorted. Finn squeaked and went bright red. "Lord Quan was wondering when you two will court."

"W-we're not… um…"

"Oifeye, save the teasing for when he's done measuring," I gently chided, laughing. I mostly only interfered because this was dangerous, and because Finn's face was red enough to be confused with an apple. "If he messes up the mixture, it could hurt someone."

"Yes, Alicia," Oifeye replied sheepishly. He smiled, though, and showed me the herbs he'd been grinding. "Is this enough, or…?"

"Make them a little finer, please."

"Got it!" He went back to work, and Finn's blush slowly cooled as he continued with the precise measurements. Since my injuries were still great enough that everyone insisted I do absolutely no work, Finn and Oifeye had cheerfully volunteered to make medicines for me. I would complain, except both were eager learners, and teaching them did help me not feel quite as useless.

Clapping signaled the end of the song, and little cheers made me look up to see Sigurd walking through the crowd, checking in on people. Seliph was, as typical, in his arms, carefully supported with a sling. Seliph was always either with Sigurd or Shanan. Shanan cited his promise to Deirdre whenever someone tried to get him to relax. I wondered if he clung to that promise in the hopes that he'd happily tell Deirdre he kept it.

"Oifeye, the herbs are fine enough," I murmured, resting a hand on his shoulder. Another glance showed that Sigurd was actually making his way towards here, but I didn't want Seliph to see the inside of the infirmary. It might be clean, but it was still filled with people injured and bloody. "I think Sigurd needs you back, though."

"Okay," Oifeye agreed. He very carefully set everything to the side, properly labeled, and gave me a hug. "Finn, let's hang with Shanan later!" And then Oifeye was off, catching Sigurd by the arm. Sigurd laughed, and led him off.

"I wonder if there was another skirmish," Finn murmured. He continued to measure things, pausing only to make sure they were precise. "They're bleeding us out, Alicia. I'm certain that's the strategy."

"You would know better than me," I replied quietly. All I knew, really, was that every day, there were more injured. "Still, facing them in open combat seems…"

"Lord Quan once told me that only a fool would fight a Cross Knight in an open plain, which is the only safe terrain we have at this point. That isn't even going into Lord Eldigan himself, and if it turns to real battle, he'll be on the field." Finn set down his measuring spoon. "So, I mix all of these?"

"Yes, while slowly pouring in water. It needs to be a paste." I passed him the already measured out water. "I suppose the Cross Knights are to Nordion as the Lanzritter are to Leonster."

"That's my understanding. They're some of the best fighters on the continent, and they're led by Lord Eldigan, who wields Mystletainn." Finn carefully poured in the water, frowning. "You hear the stories that the wielders of the Demon Blade cannot die in battle."

"Anyone can die in battle."

"Really?"

"If you're going off stories, those same stories said Loptyr couldn't be defeated. Yet, eventually, it was." Though, I supposed you could argue that it hadn't been. Its legacy continued to claw at everything, and dark mages were now causing chaos. "I'm more worried that Sigurd will just let himself be killed, though, to avoid having to fight."

"Lord Quan worries about the same. Lady Ethlyn says that he won't leave Seliph without a father." He glanced at me. "What do you think?"

"My worry will be that he holds back at the last possible moment, and then I have to try and hold together his insides." I smiled slightly. "I also worry that I will not be healed enough to do so. I am, after all, the strongest healer."

"That's thanks to your Vala blood, right? Lachesis mentioned that."

"Vala's bloodline is one of magic. It is said that the Vala was the most powerful magic user of the crusaders, stronger than even Heim." As a result, I simply had more power to use with my healing staves. "Considering that I can use all but the most powerful of staves as well, unlike Lachesis and Ethlyn…" I shrugged. "It's a simple accident of birth, really."

"Lord Claude mentioned you were stronger than him?"

"My magic possibly is. Blaggi's line is associated more with resistance to magic instead of magical power. But his skill in staves will automatically trump mine, especially since he is the Blaggi major." I smiled slightly, laughing. "It could also simply be him being humble."

"Oh, true." Finn laughed as well, smiling back. "Is this the right consistency?"

"Mmm…" I leaned over to frown over the bowl. "Continue mixing without adding water for now. We'll see how it is after a bit more stirring."

"Got it." He paused suddenly, and looked up with a soft smile. "Lachesis, hey."

"Hey." Lachesis did, indeed, walk up then and it took every bit of self-control to keep from teasing Finn that he'd known she was coming despite being distracted. "Can I talk to you two?" she asked softly, strangely hesitant. "Please?"

"Is everything alright?" Finn asked, frowning. "You've been quiet the past few days."

"I had a thought, and it won't leave me alone." She sat down in Oifeye's vacated seat, holding herself a little stiffly. "I'm planning on asking Sigurd if I can talk to Eldie… to Eldigan. If he approves, I'd like both of you to come with me."

"That's…" Finn frowned and glanced at me. I already knew what he was thinking. "I don't mind, of course, but…"

"But why have me come along?" I asked. Finn smiled slightly, a touch sheepish. "I'm injured, and I can't move quickly."

"True, but for one thing, Eldigan likes you," Lachesis pointed out. She fidgeted with her hands and messed with her bracelets. "For another, you have the most sense of everyone in the camp."

"I volunteered for all of this, remember." I had to fight to not wince. I remembered Deirdre saying the same thing, once, and I knew what her answer would've been. I knew what mine was. This was important to Lachesis, so the main reason she asked might only be 'because you reassure me'. "Let's bring Erinys into this. I know you don't know her well, but she can get me out of danger very quickly."

"That's true." She smiled, tired yet hopeful. "Okay, let's… let's come up with a plan and then I'll take it to Sigurd. It'll be a lot easier to argue if I have a plan, yes?"


I had no idea how Lachesis managed to convince Sigurd and Quan both to let the four of us do this. All I knew was that she went to talk to them, and came back within the hour to happily declare that she'd gotten permission. From there, it was changing into more comfortable clothing, dealing with a fretting Chulainn, and then an even more fretful Lewyn. Honestly, the whole thing was strangely amusing to me.

"I know I agreed, but I have to admit, I expected it to at least take a couple of days," Erinys summarized. In order to hide, she was actually walking with us, her pegasus keeping its wings tucked against its sides. "Clearly, Lady Lachesis, you should be a diplomat."

"Nah, it only worked because it's Sigurd and Quan and I know most of their weaknesses," Lachesis instantly teased. She shifted her hood a little higher on her head, another precaution that Sigurd had insisted on, and tightened her grip on my hand. The two of us walked side-by-side, in front of Erinys and Finn."Is your pegasus all right?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes." She petted her pegasus's neck with a small smile. "He can't keep the wings tucked for long, not like Thracia's dragons, but he'll stretch them out when you three are inside. I'll be watching your horse too, right, Finn?"

"Yes, if you don't mind," Finn replied. He gripped his brave lance tightly in one hand, and gently led his own horse with the other. "Ideally, this will just be us three walking in and he gets to much on yummy grass or whatever."

"Yes, I hope so too," Erinys murmured. Her smile became tired. "Silesse isn't quite as warring. There's tensions due to the succession dispute, but honestly, most of my job before this was dealing with the odd bandit and snow rescues."

"Silesse is the coldest country of Jugdral, right? I've heard it's always snowing."

"Depends on where you are. The highest peaks will have snow, but we still have our harvests and farmlands. Though the cold does play a large part in why Silesse tends to remain neutral in most conflicts."

"Really?"

"In the winter, we get terrible blizzards that more or less cut us off from everyone. So, we'd have difficulties getting supplies and soldiers during then."

"That… oh, that makes sense." Finn smiled, eyes lighting up. "You said a 'large part', though?"

"The other part is that Crusader-King Sety wished for peace and tolerance, not war and hatred. So, while there are always battles worth fighting, the process of actually getting the full army together and marching is very complex." Erinys giggled suddenly. "Lewyn used to complain about it. He had to memorize it."

"You've known him for a while."

"We're childhood friends. I've known him forever." Her cheer faded. "And I will be very glad when he decides to come home, if only for Queen Rahna's sake. He's all she has left, really. Her brother-in-laws are just… too cold and cruel."

"We're at the camp," I called, rather grateful. I had a feeling that more on that topic would just serve to dampen our mood, and we were already tense. "So, Erinys, you're staying here?"

"I am," Erinys confirmed. She looked around and stepped behind the nearby trees, using the foliage to hide her pegasus. "Finn, help me with your horse. We'll hide around here, and keep an eye out for trouble."

It took a moment for us to get Finn's horse to cooperate, mostly because Finn's horse didn't like being away from Finn at the moment. But Finn got him calm before long, and so, the three of us left Erinys and the mounts behind to enter the camp proper.

"State your business," someone called almost as soon as we reached the edge. They were a helmet that covered their faces, and shining armor. A quick look around showed there were others close by, archers with arrows on the string. "This is the camp of Lord Eldigan and-"

"Yes, yes, I know, Ivan," Lachesis laughed. She brought down her hood, and the guard's demeanor immediately relaxed. "It's me. I'm with two friends. You might know of Alicia?"

"I am aware that Miss Alicia is the reason why my daughter lives." The guard removed his helmet then, revealing brown hair matted down with sweat. "Jeanne."

"I remember her," I murmured. I brought my own hood down and smiled gently. "How is she doing?"

"She's doing well, Miss Alicia," Ivan replied. He bowed to me. "She likes the ribbon you left as well."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"We'd like to talk to Eldigan, Ivan," Lachesis explained, clapping her hands together. "Pretty please? We'll be good; I promise. I'm only not alone because Sigurd worried that Chagall's people might ambush me."

"…Yes, I think seeing you would do Lord Eldigan some good," Ivan murmured. Though he smiled, there was an unreadable look in his eyes. Finn and I shared a glance, both catching it. Lachesis didn't seem to. "You know how we normally set up, Lady Lachesis, yes?"

"I do!" Lachesis laughed, smiling warmly. "Thank you!" She happily led the way through, and to my surprise, the other Cross Knights greeted her just as cheerfully. At least, it was surprising until I actually thought about it. These were her brother's men. She'd told me, once, that she learned to heal to help them. Of course they knew and loved her. Of course she knew and loved them.

Yet circumstances led to her technically fighting them. Wasn't that just so hilarious?

We made it to a barely, but still noticeably, larger tent than the others, and Lachesis casually skipped inside without a word. Finn and I exchanged worried looks before following her inside, uncertain just what to do at this point. Inside the tent was… sparse. There was a cot, a desk, two chairs, a pack, and a rather exasperated Eldigan staring at an annoyed Lachesis. This was… awkward.

"Hello, you two," Eldigan greeted, not taking his eyes off his sister. He remained seated at his desk, and did not offer the spare chair. "I'm glad to see she didn't come alone."

"Of course not," Lachesis grumbled. She glowered, hands on her hips. "I've come to talk to you."

"Clearly." That was all he said. He waited, watching her.

Lachesis's glower intensified to a glare. "Why do you keep serving Chagall? By all the gods, Eldigan, you know he's an idiot."

"I am a knight."

"Is it a knight's honor to betray his friends?" Lachesis's glare deepened. Eldigan stilled. Finn and I glanced at each other worriedly and wondered if we should actually leave. "To… to rescind oaths?"

"Rescind oaths?" Eldigan's voice was deceptively calm. Finn shifted so that he could snag Lachesis if need be. "And which oath, exactly, are you talking about? I have sworn many over the years. After all, as the lord of Nordion, I am to govern it. As a scion of House Nordion, I am to serve His Majesty. As a knight of Agustria, I am to protect it."

"Sigurd doesn't want to hurt Agustria!" She stomped her foot, almost snarling. "You of all people should know that!"

"But does Grannvale?" Eldigan's eyes were sharp and clear, his posture rigid yet regal. "You're right. I do know what Sigurd wants. Sigurd wants to give Agustria back to us. Sigurd wants to return to Chalphy. That's how he is. His desire is to protect the people and to serve them well. He is, in many ways, the ideal of a knight. He always has been, since we were young. I love it about him. I always have. But not everyone lives by those same ideals, and I am no longer convinced that King Azmur, or his advisors, want to 'give back' Agustria."

"That's…" Lachesis's anger faded for a lost look. She didn't have a response. There wasn't really one. "But, Eldigan… Eldie, you… you don't want to…"

"What I want doesn't matter. I am the heir to Hezul. I am the Lord of Nordion. I am a knight of Agustria. My wants have never mattered. I was simply blessed that I could act on so many of them anyway, and I have always known it." He fixed her with another hard look before softening, smiling gently. "With that all said, I had actually planned on talking to King Chagall within the next few days. Your dramatic arrival… well, it simply makes me think I should do it. I'll leave in the morning."

"Really?" Lachesis smiled back, relieved. "Oh, thank you!" She lunged forward and seized him in a hug fierce enough to nearly knock him over, chair and all. "Thank you, Eldie! I love you~!"

"I love you too, sister." He hugged her back, and I noticed he clung slightly. "Goodness, though, where did you get such gall? Waltzing into an enemy's camp isn't a smart thing to do."

"But you're not the enemy, Eldie. You're my brother." Lachesis pulled away, still smiling. "You'll never be my enemy."

"…No, I suppose not." He smiled gently and nodded to the entrance. "You should see the others. They've been quite worried."

"I will!" Lachesis skipped to the entrance, snagging a confused Finn by the arm. "Come on, Finn! You should meet them too!" And out they went, Lachesis beaming and Finn struggling to not get pulled off his feet.

I remained behind, and Eldigan didn't look surprised by that. Instead, he offered me the only other chair in the tent, which I took gladly. "She has a crush on Finn, by the way," I informed him as I sat down. It was a relief to no longer be standing. It was more of a relief that things hadn't turned into a fight. "Just in case you didn't notice."

"Has it turned into a full blown crush now?" he asked, laughing softly. He smiled, amused. "I should've talked with him more. Ah, well. He seems like a good lad."

"He is. They work well together, in my opinion."

"I'll trust it." He studied my face, eyes darting to the healing wounds visible on my neck. "I'm pleased to see you live, Alicia. Last I heard, you were under attack at Agusty."

"So, you haven't heard anything else?"

"No, sadly." His smile turned rueful. "A couple of letters made it to me, but they unfortunately arrived when King Chagall's people were here. If I didn't burn them, they would've killed my men."

"I see." I closed my eyes to gather my thoughts before opening them again. "Well, Seliph is alive, but Deirdre was kidnapped. As you can probably guess from the injuries, I nearly died myself."

"Deirdre was kidnapped?" Eldigan frowned, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "I don't think it was King Chagall. I've heard nothing, and that's not something he'd keep quiet about. Though, truthfully, there's not much of anything King Chagall keeps quiet about." He laughed mirthlessly, shaking his head. "He is certainly enjoying playing at war. If Sigurd bothered with spies, he'd have discovered every plan he's come up with."

"I'm sure." I paused again, this time studying him. "I noticed you neglected to mention the other 'oaths' you swore, by the way. Marriage, blood, friendship…"

"I'm rather surprised Lachesis didn't pick up on that. Finn did, based on how his eyes narrowed." Eldigan closed his eyes, still smiling bitterly. "As Ares's father, I am to protect him. As Grahnye's husband, I am to protect her. I swore a promise to Sigurd and Quan to always help them. I swore again that I would not fight them."

"As Lachesis's brother, you are to protect her."

"Precisely." He opened his eyes, and sighed. Right now, he looked as tired as the rest of us. "It is a tangled mess, really. No matter what I do, I know I will break some of my oaths. I simply must choose the path that leads to the least regrets." He glanced up for a moment before looking back to me. "What do you do when your oaths are in conflict, Alicia?"

"…I am a healer first and foremost." I spoke slowly, picking my words with care. "It is a healer's job to be neutral. We are sworn to heal all, friend or foe."

"Just as a knight is sworn to serve his lord, as best as he can."

"Yes, I suppose that is a good analogy." I looked down briefly before meeting his eyes. "Sometimes, a healer's treatment isn't what a person wants. Few people want to have a limb chopped off, for instance, even if it was done to save their life. Some do not even want to be saved."

"But you do what you think is right for your patient, just as a knight should do what he thinks is right for his lord."

"Yes." A thought occurred to me then, and I settled back in my chair. Everything ached. "You know; you could just wait for Chagall to die and take the throne. The people won't care."

"I don't want to be king. I never wanted to be king." He smiled bitterly. "Besides, I swore an oath to never seek the throne."

"You could just say that you would care." I smiled slightly. "If you did not, you wouldn't have these issues of conflicting loyalties."

"Very true, and I do believe I hear Lachesis returning. It sounds like her singing, at least." He nodded to the entrance of his tent, and I picked up the wordless strains of music too. "Here." He passed me a couple of letters, carefully labeled with names, and a beautiful shortsword with a dull grey hilt and a gold and brown sheath. "Will you give those to Lachesis in a few days?"

"Yes, I will." I snagged a random cloth to wrap them in, to better hide them. I knew what he was doing, and I knew he wouldn't want Lachesis to know. "Is it just her?"

"Yes, she'll figure it out from there. She's my sister, after all." The singing grew louder; Lachesis wasn't far. "Alicia, can you also keep an eye on her, please?"

"Alicia. Can you keep an eye on her?"

"Of course." I smiled slightly. "I'll watch out for Sigurd too, until we find Deirdre."

"Thank you." He smiled back. It was strangely serene, and that more than anything proved he knew what he was doing. He knew what awaited him, but he would walk to that fate with his head held high. "I wish you luck in the days to come, Alicia."

"Farewell, Eldigan."


The next few days pass slowly. There is utter silence from Eldigan's camp, and by consequence, from Chagall. There were no skirmishes. No one stopped the scouts skirting near. The camp was occupied, but no one did anything. Thus, we were left in this very strange bit of hopeful anxiety, and everyone waited to see what would happen.

"It looks like they're finally starting to fade," Chulainn murmured. He carefully rubbed some balm into my remaining injuries, pausing every time I winced. "I'm glad."

"It does look like some will scar, though," I replied absently, studying the injuries. I'd need to jot down everything I remembered about the spell. It was probably safer to assume we'd fight dark mages again, at this point. It had happened twice. Why wouldn't it happen a third? "That'll be fun, I suppose."

"I could get some payback." Chulainn smiled slightly, and it took me a moment to realize what he meant. When I did, though, I flushed bright red and he managed a laugh. "Sorry, I had to tease."

"I'm sure." I glowered at him, but he continued to smile back, completely unrepentant. "Bandages."

"Yes, I know." He set the balm to the side and began bandaging me up. His touch lingered in a few places, and my blush darkened. "It's been quiet."

"It has." I scowled at him. "Seriously, you can't tease me when I'm still injured."

"No idea what you're talking about." His smile said otherwise, but he did start behaving. "Ethlyn said that she wanted to check on your injuries herself later. She mentioned that since it's been so quiet, she's going to try and just heal them up."

"That would be nice, truthfully." It would be nice for more than one reason, as Chulainn 'helpfully' reminded me. "You're quite mean."

"I'm sorry." He tied off the last bandage and kissed my still-red cheek. "Do you want to wear the dress you had on earlier or a different one?"

"I think a different one, at this point."

"All right." He moved over to where I had my clothes neatly arranged and picked one at random. Afterwards, he helped me stand up and get the darn thing on. "Anything caught?"

"No, I don't think so." I smoothed out the dress to check and then fussed with my hair to ensure no strands had awkwardly caught. "Yes, we're good. I will enjoy being able to dress myself again."

"I suppose." Chulainn hugged me gently and I leaned into him, relaxing. "I am sorry for teasing you, by the way."

"Mmm… I'll forgive you later." I grinned up at him, and he smiled back. "Well, it's back to work with…" I trailed off as I heard a commotion outside. "That's…"

"Something happened." Chulainn led the way out of our tent, and we stood there, silently taking in the sudden spike of activity. Soldiers were rushing this way and that, but there wasn't really a purpose to it. It was just frantic movements, people who suddenly needed to do something, but they had no idea what. "I wonder what…"

Finn ran by then, looking pained and guilty and looking like the only person around with a purpose. That told me everything.

"Make sure Finn doesn't trip on his way to Lachesis," I murmured. I leaned up to kiss his cheek, and he simply nodded, not questioning anything. "I'll see you later."

I left then, striding through the camp, looking for Sigurd and Quan. I kept myself serene, my healer's mask perfectly in place. The people I passed relaxed at the sight, as it always did. A calm healer left stability in her wake, and that was just part of the job. Now that I was no longer as injured, I needed to keep up the appearance again. No matter how much I ached, or how much I hurt… this was a healer's job, and it was needed more than ever.

I finally found Sigurd and Quan near a box-turned-table. Sigurd was ashen, trembling, visibly holding onto his calm with both hands. Quan's expression was blank, his posture rigid, supporting a sobbing Ethlyn with the absent air of someone who wasn't quite sure what was happening. Ethlyn, for her part, was bawling like the world just ended.

At first, I thought they were reacting to a letter. But then I saw the bucket resting on the box, and I saw the blood that seeped out from the bottom. I approached slowly, to not startle them, and I pulled back the crimson stained cloth that covered the bucket and found a head with gold-blonde hair. Two second later, Lachesis's heartbreaking scream echoed through the camp.

"Well, it seems Chagall executed Eldigan," I murmured. I kept my calm as I covered the bucket up again and looked at the others. Quan and Sigurd looked at me like I was insane, but I held onto that gentle serenity. It was needed, now more than ever. "What is the next step? What needs to be done immediately and what can wait for you to mourn?"

"Immediately, we need to…" Quan tried to say. He coughed a bit and closed his eyes. My questions had gotten him to think again, but now, he had to piece it all together. "I would love for this just to be him being stupid… well, it is him being stupid, but we need to assume some smarts or…" Quan growled, shaking his head. "Sorry, my head is a mess. But the Cross Knights won't follow Chagall now. He killed their lord. They'll go back to Noldion."

"We need…" Sigurd began. His voice was a croak, though, and he choked on the words. "Ah, sorry." He closed his eyes and clenched his fist to dig his nails into his palms. "What you're saying, Quan, is that we need to assume Chagall hired 'replacements', yes?"

"Yes, that. So, we need to strengthen the guard." Quan smiled bitterly. "I'll… I'll do that. I need something to do. Unless…"

"No, go on. I'm not sure I trust my head at the moment."

"Okay." He looked down to Ethlyn, still clinging and crying. "Dear…"

"Ethlyn?" I called, stepping up. I carefully pried her off of Quan and tipped her face up to look at me. "Ethlyn, I have a favor to ask. Can you do it?" I waited until Ethlyn nodded and I smiled. "Thank you." I used my sleeves to dab the tears off her face. Quan handed her a handkerchief before he left. "I need you to get Ayra and then both of you check on Lachesis." She nodded again and stumbled off, still silently crying, but making an effort to clean herself up some.

"Ayra?" Sigurd repeated. He coughed a bit and rubbed roughly at his face. There were no tears; he was scolding himself for even wanting to. "Why Ayra?"

"She and Lachesis are friends, and perhaps more importantly, Ayra might be the best person to know what Lachesis is going through," I reminded gently. I stepped to his side, doing my best to radiate calm, just as a proper healer should. "Remember, Ayra left her brother to die. It might have been at his behest, but she still did. Lachesis unknowingly did the same."

"Ayra would know that particular guilt better. I get it." He breathed in sharply, and breathed out slowly. I looked around, curious as to where Seliph was; I guessed that Oifeye and Shanan had him. "It's my-"

"No, it is not your fault. That statement is so false that I refuse to let you finish it." I fixed him with a stern look and he flinched. "If you need a person to blame, Sigurd, then I would blame Chagall. If you don't care about having a person, then I would go with his loyalty." I smiled sadly. "As someone of integrity, he swore quite a few oaths. They came into conflict, and took his head. He knew that. But he went anyway, because he decided it was the path he'd regret least."

"I wish I'd just… I don't even know." He groaned, hiding his face in his hand. "What am I going to tell Grahnye?"

"That he died keeping true to himself, and that Chagall killed him for it." I rested my hand on his back. "Try not to blame yourself, Sigurd. He made his choice, and he loved you dearly. He trusted you."

"I wish I could've seen him one more time." He let his hand fall and he smiled so bitterly at me. "I just realized. You know a lot about him."

"He and I had a lovely conversation. Healers are good at listening." In the end, he had needed someone to listen, one last time. He'd known Chagall wouldn't. "So believe me when I say he loved you. Believe me when I say that if you are at any fault at all, it is because he loved you."

"He was always too loyal, and too much of a knight." He began laughing, but it wasn't a 'happy' laugh. It was a laugh that skirted the edge of hysterics and madness, and he nearly buckled from it. I rested my other hand on his shoulder to help him stay up. "I loved it about him, though. I admired it. I wouldn't have wanted him to change, because it was so much a part of him."

"You should rest, Sigurd." I started guiding him towards his tent. "You need to rest for the day. You can take up leading again tomorrow. Healer's orders."

"Are you even well enough to give those orders?"

"I am always well enough to be a healer, Sigurd, and it is my recommendation that you rest and spend time with your son."

"Okay…" He nodded slowly, still laughing bitterly. "Okay."

It didn't take long to get him to his tent, where Shanan and Seliph were. I lingered only briefly before leaving them to check in on Lachesis. I found her with Ethlyn and Ayra, and Ayra was doing what she could to comfort both of them. She caught my eye as I checked in and nodded, silently telling me that she had it under control. So, I smiled and left, going to find Finn. To my surprise, I found him with Chulainn, the two sparring. Lex lingered nearby, and gestured to a barrel when he noticed I was near.

"Finn looked ready to punch something, so Chulainn snagged him for a spar when Ethlyn and Ayra got Lachesis," he explained quietly, watching the fight. Chulainn fought more defensively than normal, while Finn was more aggressive. "I'd been with Ayra, so I tagged along to keep an eye on both of them."

"I see," I whispered. I winced a bit at the sharp 'cracks' of the practice weapons. I thought I saw Finn's splintering. "So, you had been with Ayra?"

"Yeeeees…~" He stretched the word out and smiled teasingly. "So, I might have swallowed some pride and confessed."

"Good, good." I relaxed, and my smile became more real and less 'healer'. "I'm assuming she reciprocated."

"Yep." He laughed, shaking his head. It almost hid the slight pain in his eyes. "My dad is going to disown me, but I don't give a damn, really." That pain said otherwise, but I wouldn't point it out. He wouldn't want me to. "You look a bit tired."

"I'm still recovering." I was also around people who didn't need me to be the 'healer'. "But, if you have more happy gossip…?"

"I have tons." He shifted his weight a bit, and casually tossed Finn another practice

Lex and I remained on the sidelines, happily gossiping, while Finn and Chulainn sparred. Slowly, Finn's fighting settled more into his normal, more cautious, style, and the sparring session turned more into a teaching session, with Chulainn showing Finn how to defend against some dirty tactics commonly used against knights. I watched them both closely, and stopped the sparring when I noticed Finn was flagging, teasingly chiding them for working too hard. From there, I fussed over Finn while Chulainn and Lex chatted, and hovered over him to make sure he'd eat.

There were few patients in the infirmary, so it was my job to make sure their mental wounds could heal. I was, after all, a healer. It was my duty and pleasure.


Notes on Jamke:

King of Verdane, 21 years old. Once an enemy, now one of Sigurd's most trusted allies, he freed Aideen and Dew when they were imprisoned.

Perhaps because Verdane puts an emphasis on martial prowess, he is one of the most offensively impressive soldiers we have, particularly when he is able to set up an ambush, his preferred way of fighting.

He does his best to rule Verdane while being here in Agustria, though it's obvious he wants to return home as soon as possible. However, he promised his aid to Sigurd, and so, he keeps his word.


Author's Notes: The name of Game Chapter 3 is 'Eldigan the Lionheart', hence the title. Eldigan is of the Camus archetype, and you deal with him with one of two ways: talking to him with Lachesis or you fight him. I, like most sane people, go with the former option. Despite the choice, though, since Eldigan is of the Camus archetype, there is absolutely no way to save him.

Ftr: Eldigan in Chapter 3 has a strength of 22 and wields Mystletainn which has a might of 30, meaning he is effectively coming at you with a 52 attack. Thanks to Mystletainn, he has the critical skill and Mystletainn gives a passive bonus of +20 to skill anyway, meaning he's coming at you with effectively 38 (18 +20) skill. Critical chance is based off of solely skill in game (I think that in Fe4, critical evade is always 0, though I could be wrong), so he has a 38% chance of scoring a critical hit. This is combined with a defense of 24, and a resistance of 30, thanks to Mystletainn also adding +10 to res. And he has his Cross Knights fighting alongside him, who get a passive 40% to both hit and avoid if they're within three squares of him. A passive 40% he also has, btw. So, when combined to his skill, his accuracy score is 116 (hit rate is attacker's accuracy score – enemy's avoid, btw) and his avoid is 77. Yeah, Eldigan is kinda a beast and most people tend to just sneak Lachesis into the fray to talk with him because, while he IS still killable, talking him off the field is infinitely easier. And gets you a unique weapon, the Earth Sword, which basically is the prototype to the Runesword in later Fire Emblem games.

I also wanted to highlight that Eldigan is not just being 'stupidly loyal' here, but is suffering from conflicting loyalties, which leads him to his ultimate fate. I'll fully admit to taking inspiration from Game of Thrones here (it's practically a recurring theme). In game, Eldigan gives the sword and letter to Lachesis directly, but I chose to have him try to hide, just a bit longer, that he knew he was walking to his death. The idea of Chagall sending them Eldigan's head comes from the Oosawa manga.

As for 'Vala being more powerful', having a Vala minor gives a 30% bonus to magic growth, whereas Naga and Loptyr give 20% and Blaggi gives 10% (Majors just get double bonuses). So that's where that in-universe belief comes from. (They do stack, btw; someone with Vala minor and Naga minor blood would get +50% to their magic growths.)

Next Chapter – Dark Wings