So. I hope you all have been good since we last met. I've been doing good myself. Life's been good and nothing super crazy has been going on. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as it is the chapter right before the Finale! Man… I would never have guessed we would make it here… But, I'll stop talking about the end right now. After all, I'm going to begin this new chapter and it would be bad to talk about endings in the wrong place. As such, I'm going to stop talking and let you all enjoy the chapter. Have a good read, if you can manage it.
Chapter Forty Five: The Gathering
Well, the End Times are upon us! Grima, the ancient Fell Dragon that nearly destroyed the world a long time ago, has been awakened once more despite our best efforts. Alongside the Fell Dragon, entire armies of Risen have been spawning and wrecking havoc across the land. Entire cities are being razed to the ground, all because we failed to stop the Grimleal- Well, actually; we did! To our credit, we did stop Validar and the Grimleal. But… We didn't count on Grima coming from his future to assume his Fell Dragon form in our time. I mean if Lucina, Andy, Ana, and those other Future Children came back in time; why couldn't Grima as well? I mean, we should have thought about that notion…
I'm getting off track. I, We, have more important things to talk about. One such thing is how Grima left the Dragon Table after a "nice" feast on innocent souls to this volcano known as Origin Peak. A weird name, but everyone knows he went there seeing how big he is! I can see him all the way from Ylisstol, my current location.
Yep, most of the Shepherds and I have been stationed at Ylisstol to raise the biggest army in all of history from every nation that still wishes to fight the Fell Dragon. While we do this, Chrom and the Robins alongside some of the Shepherds are heading to Mount Prism. Apparently Mount Prism is where the Hero-King first paid tribute to Naga in order to unlock Falchion's full power. If Chrom undergoes the same ritual and it works once again, we will have a weapon capable of defeating the Fell Dragon!
But, we'll be needing every person who wants to fight with us if we'll have any chance at getting to Grima. After all, the Risen have come at full force and they will be eager and ready to kill us all before they let us anywhere near Grima. So, I best head back to work recruiting some more soldiers and warriors if we're going to stand a chance against the Fell Dragon!
I hope we actually have a chance…
"Denied." I say, shaking my head at the fourteen year old child in front of me. To help organize the massive recruitment drive, the Shepherds have set up a recruitment station in front of Ylisstol Castle; the station having little boxes where some Shepherds, like me, are sitting and taking volunteers. This station is to determine who we can allow to fight in this suicide cause of ours. We have a few rules for joining the cause: No one under the age of sixteen, no one above the age of seventy, and no one who is too sickly to properly fight. If they still want to join, despite being denied, we send them to some Shepherds who are organizing a group of people who are to make the weapons the army is going to need in the Battle ahead of us.
"B-But why?" The young boy asks me, gripping his rusted sword's handle tight as he tries to stare me down. He has spirit, but he is too young to fight. I will not let a child fight in a battle he would surely die in!
I sigh and gesture for him to leave so the next person in the long line behind him can come forward, saying as I wait for him to leave "I'm sorry, but you cannot fight in this battle. If you still want to help, head down to Ylisstol's Blacksmith Sector and ask for Donny. He has a way you can help." The boy growls, but does walk away; heading down the path straight towards where I told him to go. Like I said, he has spirit.
Next up is a rather thin, haggard man with a spear in his hands. He's dressed in some patchwork armor and speaks with a stutter. He says to me, making sure not to make eye contact with me "M-May I j-j-join? I u-u-u-used to be a Ylisse Soldier before I-I was discharged…"
"What were you discharged for?" I ask, looking him over with a cold glare. I don't like this guy, but if he is willing; I'll let him through.
He stutters for a bit, but eventually answers, saying "D-D-D-Drinking too much, and c-cowardice…" He sniffles for a bit before taking a deep breath and continuing. "B-But I won't run away now. N-N-Not while that D-Dragon i-i-i-is in the sky!"
"Okay. You're in. Head into the Castle and report to Sully, the lady in red armor." I order, gesturing at the castle behind me. The man nods gratefully before skittering past me and towards the castle, letting the next one in line come up. I hope I didn't make a mistake with him.
The next one up is a burly looking Fighter, carrying a new steel axe in his hand. He simply says to me "I fight. Yes?" Simple and to the point huh? I like it!
"Yes. Talk to woman in red armor." I answer back, letting him go by me as I wave the next person up. Simple and yes. I wish all of them were like that…
The next person in my queue is an old woman Mercenary with one missing hand. In her remaining hand is a Brave Sword! If she has that, and is willing to fight, then we're gold. But, she doesn't have a hand and she is pretty old…
"I want to die in a battle worth my mettle, and this is it." The old Mercenary says, glaring at me through her wrinkles and scars. "I ain't going to die in my bed, or waste away in the damn forges. So, will ya have my sword?"
"Depends, how old are you and can you function without a hand?"
"I'm sixty-three years old, and of course I can fight without a damn hand ya shit! I lost this hand when I was fifteen and I was fighting men twice your size back! Who are you to tell me-"
"You're good! You're good! Go on ahead. Report to Sully, the woman in red armor." I plead, letting the old woman grumble and walk past me. I let out a sigh as the next person walks up. Man… Will I ever catch a break?
I suppose I will as Kellam suddenly appeared right beside me and tapped me on the shoulder. I jump a little, but shrug it off as I turn to face him.
"Hey Aiden, Lon'Qu and Miriel want to see you. They're in the Castle's throne room. I am to take your place at the station." Kellam reports, pointing back at the Castle.
I nod, standing up from my seat as I clasp a hand on the Knight's shoulder; saying "Alright. Thanks for letting me know. You should find someone else to take my place though, because… Well, you know."
Kellam lets out a sigh at my words and nods before we split off; him heading towards a group of Shepherds while I head to Ylisstol Castle. As I head to the castle, I join the steady stream of recruits that are filing into the massive courtyard of the palace. Standing in the center of the courtyard is Sully and Vaike, shouting orders at the recruits to get into formations and make squads with their fellow recruits.
I eventually make it inside the castle, the doors closing behind me as I head into the throne room. The inside of the throne room has been changed into a makeshift "Chamber of War" with a massive oak table in the center of it, covered in maps and papers detailing supplies, battle tactics, and other things of marital warfare. At the head of it are Lon'Qu and Miriel, Miriel speaking while Lon'Qu grits his teeth and keeps a good distance from the female Mage.
"What do you need?" I ask, arriving on the other side of Miriel.
"Good. We need to talk about the size of this army, and potential additions to it." Lon'Qu says, cutting off Miriel's long and confusing words. "We've invited Say'ri, Gregor, Anna, and few others to join us here as well. We need to make sure that we have enough soldiers to fight."
"Indeed. If my calculations on Ylisse's army is correct, then we have an force of around 50,000 men and women; ever increasing with the influx of new recruits. We could have raised an army of nearly 200,000 soldiers, but we lost many in the wars in the past." Miriel says, pushing her glasses up as he relays her calculations to us.
"While the Khans went with Chrom, I was put in charge of Ferox's current army." Lon'Qu admits, stroking his chin as he speaks. "We have a force of 150,000 warriors left after everything we have been through these past few years."
"Good news! Plegia still wants to fight!" I turn and see Henry, cackling as he santers on over to us with a crow on his shoulder.
"Really? How many can they field?" I ask, surprised that Plegia of all nations decided to fight against the Fell Dragon Grima.
"About 5,000."
"Oh…" I sigh as Henry laughs, face palming at my hope for Plegia. I should have known that after everything Plegia has went through, especially after Grima had gone through them, that they wouldn't have an army to fight with! But, at least they sent something to us. That's good enough for me.
Anna and Gregor join the table next, with determined but somewhat grim looks on their faces. Gregor is first, saying "Gregor got the aid of many mercenaries. Gregor got about 10,000 mercenaries to fight after promises of good payment. Gregor thinks that they are smart for asking prices like that."
"And I got most of the Trade Syndicates to lend us a good chunk of their mercenaries as well!" Anna adds in, adopting her signature pose as she speaks. "We're getting 30,000 warriors to fight for us, but it is going to cost us! It is going to cost us big time…"
"So that leaves us with an army of 245,000 warriors to command…" I calculate, humming at how low that number was. The recruits we're getting won't be enough to increase that number. If anything, the most recruits we'll get from the drive will be somewhere up to 20,000! That is if we're lucky, but I imagine our numbers somewhere being in the 8,000-12,000s. That will make our current total Somewhere in the 255,000s! That is certainly not enough soldiers to face off against the Risen army…
Say'ri soon joins, her face pale as she joins us at the table. She quickly goes into her report, saying "The Clans have joined once more, the Clans that still care to fight that is. We can only give 40,000 warriors. Many other Clans either didn't want to join, or joined the remnants of Valm's Army."
"What about Valm's Army? They certainly must know the situation the world is in, and they must know that we're going to need everyone working together!" I ask Say'ri, only getting a grim look in return.
"It seems to me that Valm's Army is coming to Ylisstol… To sack it if the rumors are to be trusted. They'll be here in a few hours at the most-"
"Dad! Big trouble!" Suddenly, my son Andy comes running into the room; sweat pouring down his forehead as he reaches me. "A massive army of Valmese guys have arrived! Some guy named Nash has asked for you personally. I don't know what he wants, but it doesn't seem good!" I blink at Nash's name. He was that Soldier who was a part of Cervantes' army! How did he get to command the remnants of Valm's Army? If I know anything, Nash will probably want to kill me for turning traitor. That, and want to kill Ylisse for destroying the Valmese Empire.
"I'll go talk to him. Lead me to him son." I say, following my son out of the room. Behind me are the others, their hands on their weapons just in case things keep going from bad to worst in the form of battle.
I do hope that it doesn't come to it. I really do hope so!
We arrive at the city's gates, and I already feel fear creeping up my back at the sight of the Valmese Remnants in front of me. There has to be at least 500,000 of them with how many of them are standing there. If they are actually here to sack Ylisstol, then we have no chance to win unless a bloody miracle happens! In front of the massive army is Nash, sitting on top of a armored horse in Great Knight armor. It seems like Nash got an upgrade from his Soldier days…
"Let me handle this…" I say, opening the gates slightly to let me squeeze through. "If anything bad happens, flee as fast as you all can. We cannot hope to win against them, even if we tried."
Without waiting for the others to answer, I step on out of the gates and onto the stone road; standing right across Nash as he stares at me with a grim glare. I begin to walk towards him, breathing heavily as my heartbeats echo throughout my mind. It only takes one order for them to fill me with arrows or something of the like… I can die at any time… I can die right here, and right now…
Once I reach Nash, we stand in silence for a while as he stare each other down; tension in the air as we kept looking. Eventually, Nash broke the silence; saying "I never thought I see you again, Aiden. I had thought you had died alongside Floyd, but when I heard you had rejoined Ylisse and killed Walhart; I was surprised to say the least."
"Indeed. I'm even more surprised to see you commanding the remnants of Valm's Army." I answer, keeping a hand on my sword's handle just in case fighting broke out.
"It is a long story, but it does not matter now. I am Valm's new King, and they all obey me without question… And to their deaths…" Nash gestures to the massive army behind him, never breaking eye contact as he spoke.
"Indeed. Where is Norward and Jenna?"
"They are dead: Norward by my hands and Jenna by a Ylisse Fighter. I am all that is left of Walhart's original officer corp. I am the last ember of Walhart's massive bonfire."
"If you are, what will you do 'ember'?" I challenge, my jaw clenched as I wait for Nash's reply. The tension in the air soon flares, turning murky and hot as Nash stares burning daggers into me. He clearly wants to kill me, to murder the traitor that helped kill Walhart. The deserter who helped topple the Valmese Empire and turn his life's path onto a different course.
Eventually, I get my reply with Nash saying "If this was any other time, in any other place; I would have killed you where you stood." I let out a little gasp as Nash's gaze hardens even more, continuing to speak. "But, this is not the time nor the place to let such bad blood boil. If we are all to survive to continue such blood, we must band together and defeat the Fell Dragon! I hope that my army of 550,000 loyal men and women can aid our cause to save this world."
"Yeah…" I answer, stunned at the amount of soldiers he has at his disposal. 550,000 warriors eager and ready to fight to save the world… Wow… I would have never guessed something good would happen in the End Times.
"Alright. Can you tell your friends to let us in? We have much to discuss for the war." Nash asks, gesturing towards Ylisstol as he snaps me out of my stunned state.
"Yeah! When the gates are open, tell your troops to move in!" I say, turning away from Nash and the army of Valmese soldiers. I then begin to run back to the gates, a dumb smile on my face.
We have some hope!
"After another equation to total our new army, I do decree that we have 845,781 warriors to fight the Risen!" Miriel exclaims, earning some clapping and shouts of celebration. The war table has been filled, and it is now filled with people of all nations and creeds. I would never have imagined I would see Nash sit and chat right next to Say'ri or Henry make jokes with Gregor in such a situation. Here we are, the people who have essentially self-proclaimed leadership while Chrom and the others are away!
As the table chats, Andy and Anna scoot their chairs right next to mine.
"So handsome, how does the end of the world feel?" Anna asks, smiling coyly at me.
I smile back and say "Pretty good, especially after recent events!"
"I just hope it will be enough." Andy interjects, shrugging as he itches his head. "If Grima decides to go and personally attack us, and Chrom isn't here; then I think we're going to die."
"Oh cheer up son!" I say, patting him on the head. "We have a pretty good chance to stop all of this, especially once Chrom awakens his sword's true power. It will be tough, but we can do this."
"Does anyone hear that noise?" Anna asks, looking around with a frown. I adopt the same frown as well and focus on my hearing to hear what- What is that noise?! It's like a mix between a bell and a dragon's roar! It sounds super weird-
Suddenly, a flash of light erupts in the center of the table; soon revealing a ghostly form of a tall and beautiful woman/dragon. The ghost speaks loudly, saying "I am Naga, and I have come to warn you." This thing is Naga?! What? Why? How?
"Your leader Chrom has been given the power to defeat Grima, and I have sent him to face the Fell Dragon! However, the Fell Dragon has done the same with his minions… He has sent all of the Risen to raze this fair city to the ground, lead by a cruel one known as Rekar." Rekar… That's the name of the Risen that killed me in the future, according to my children.
"They come for you! You must survive until the next day's dawn! It is then Chrom and his allies will defeat Grima! Go, now!" With that, Naga disappeared and the doors to the throne room were thrown wide open; revealing what was happening outside. I'm the first one out of my chair as we rush out of the palace and outside. In the distance is a horde of Risen, charging straight towards Ylisstol. The horde is so big, that I don't see the end of it… There is too many of them to truly fight in a battle! But… We have to.
We have to save the world!
So. The next chapter is the final one. I hope you like this alternative ending I made. I wanted to doing something different instead of Awakening's battle on Grima's back. I always wondered what the characters who you didn't pick to join the final battle did, and I wondered were the Risen doing besides being teleported into the battle. As such, I made this new ending where the Shepherds and their allies band together to fight off all of the Risen as they try to raze Ylisstol to the ground. I hope you all will like it, though I understand not liking something I came up with. After all, look at all of the stupid and dumb plotlines I added into the story! Now those are some truly terrible things! But, I should reserve talking about those at our final parting. For now, we had best get going on our separate paths! I have a finale to write, and you have better fanfiction to read! See you next time!
