DISCLAIMER: HELLSING IS OWNED BY KOUTA HIRANO. I DO NOT ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.

FIRE EMBLEM IS OWNED BY NINTENDO. I DON'T OWN IT'S CHARACTERS EITHER.

ITALICS=THOUGHTS

BOLD=IMPORTANT DATES, PLACES, WEAPONS, ECT.

BOLD ITALICS=NARRATOR

(NOTE: IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS STORY THEN DON'T READ IT.)

Walter Dornez of the Emblem


West Regna Ferox ~ Arena Ferox
August 18 (10:01 A.M.)

(Play Song~ "Here we are! The Shepherds' garrison." [Fire Emblem Awakening OST])

"There you are, Walter! We've been looking all over for you!" Lissa was grinning from ear-to-ear as the aged butler walked back into the coliseum, though he did not look very comfortable. In fact, he seemed to look a bit different overall.

"Whoa, you're looking a little younger, Walts!" Lissa's eyes widened in shock as she got a good look at the "aged" butler's face. A few wrinkles seemed to have been erased from his face completely; an example being the wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes seemingly vanishing. The wrinkles that were still visible were not as prominent as before, some barely even noticeable. His hairline was no longer receding, at least not as much, and his gunmetal gray eyes seemed to have gained slightly more prominence.

"Yes, Lissa, I noticed." Walter replied, less than enthused by his sudden de-aging. "I'll explain everything as soon as we're on our way back to Ylisstol."

Lissa nodded, "Okay, but Chrom wanted you around for when Flavia congratulated us on our victory." Walter was caught off-guard when Lissa suddenly gripped his arm and began to drag him back into the coliseum arena. Chrom and Flavia were standing at the center of the now empty arena

"Ah, glad to see that Lissa..." Chrom's voice trailed off. The blue-haired prince and butler made eye contact and this seemingly translated to, "we'll talk about this later."

Flavia didn't seem to notice the change in Walter's appearance and began to congratulate Chrom on his victory. "Well fought! You have my respect!" She gave Chrom a pat on the back. "More to the point, you have your alliance. I will provide your Exalt with all the soldiers that she needs."

Chrom looked absolutely ecstatic at the news. Truly? Thank you, East-Khan!"

The East-Khan respectfully bowed her head to Chrom, showing the blue-haired prince her appreciation. "I should thank you! It feels like ages since I've held full power. Come my new friends!" Flavia started to make her way towards the coliseum's exit. "Tonight, we celebrate!"

As she left the coliseum, another figure made his way towards the Shepherds.

"Bah, any excuse for a party and Flavia jumps on it!" He complained as he stopped in front of Chrom.

"I suppose introductions are in order. I am the West-Khan that you so rudely removed from power!" Basilio glared at the blue-haired prince in contempt. "I thought for sure that I'd picked the stronger man, but turns out I was wrong."

Chrom returned the glare that Basilio was giving him, showcasing a bit of his own gutsiness as a result. "You choose your fighters well, West-Khan. I was nearly bested by Marth several times during our duel. This makes me curious as to how you managed to come across such a talented warrior."

"Talented warrior?" Basilio chuckled slightly. "That Marth kid was nothing but a deluded sellsword! Only reason I know him is because he beat my last champion in no time flat. The battle was over in a flash, it barely even registered to me that my champion had lost to him!" Basilio dropped the glare and grinned. "It was love at first sight, and I'm damn too old for that kind of thing!"

Chrom crossed his arms. "So can you arrange a meeting with him? I have some questions I want to ask him."

Basilio shook his head. "No, the guy up and fled the moment the tournament ended. I've no idea where he went."

Walter, despite his confrontation with Marth/Lucina, had no idea where she was going either.
Perhaps I should've asked her, it's best to keep tabs on all possible allies.

Lissa out a sigh as she stared up towards the sky with a dreamy look in her eyes. "He's so dark and mysterious…" She cooed.

Walter rolled his eyes as Lissa swooned over Marth, unaware that Marth was in fact a woman named Lucina and her future niece. Walter gagged at the very thought of Lissa and Lucina as a couple.

"Perhaps, miss Lissa, you should swoon over another person." Walter spoke up, suppressing his intense desire to vomit. "Someone that is a little less dark and broody maybe?"

The Ylissean princess grumbled a bit before replying. "Aw come on Walts! After all, he is kinda dreamy!"

Chrom turned toward Lissa and stared at her with a threatening scowl. "If he lays one finger on you, he'll find that finger cut off!"

"Hah! Nice to know that you care so much big brother!" Lissa laughed as she playfully punched Chrom's arm. "I was only messin with yah!"

Frederick stepped forward, "Milord? Milady? If the two of you are finished, we'd best return home to Ylisstol. Lady Emmeryn will be wanting to hear the news of our new alliance immediately."

Walter stepped beside Frederick. "I concur, It's best that we make haste and return as soon as possible."

Chrom scratched the back of his head as he looked at the two. "Yeesh, I thought Frederick was bad enough but now I've got Walter shadowing me as well." the prince chuckled. "You two are right, as always."

As the group prepared to leave, Basilio stopped them in their progress.

"I've got a little present for you. You can think of it as my contribution to our alliance." Basilio signalled for someone to come forward. A man with a scruffy mass of brown hair walked out from behind the shadows of one of the coliseum's pillars. He seemed to have a perpetual scowl on his face that shouted, "I really don't like you". His hand seemed to edge way too close to the katana strapped to his hip, making Walter somewhat tense.

"This is Lon'qu, the champion that Marth had beat." Basilio introduced the man. "He's not very talkative, mind you, but I can assure you that he's the best swordsman I have at my disposal. Even Though he was beat by Marth, I've faith that the man is just as good as Marth." Basilio's face scrunched up in disgust as he thought about the masked man. "Honestly, I still can't figure out how he bested him so quickly."

Lissa's eyes widened in shock. "You mean to tell me that Marth beat this guy! He looks so big and strong…" the blonde smirked as she approached Lon'qu.

"Away, woman!" Lon'qu growled as he suddenly tightened his grip on his sword. Before anyone else had a chance to react, Walter suddenly moved in front of Lissa. If looks could kill, the one on Walter's face would've killed Alucard.
"Unsheathe that sword and I amputate your sword arm." Walter threatened. The two spent several seconds glaring at each other before Lon'qu moved his hand away from his sword.

"My apologies…" The Feroxi swordsman immediately relaxed his posture, showing that he had no intent to kill.

Basilio erupted in laughter as he patted Lon'qu on the back. "As you can see, the poor man isn't exactly the best with the ladies. He tends to get tense around 'em!" The West-Khan let out a few more chuckles before he resumed his stoneface. "Nonetheless, he is indeed capable. I have no doubt that he'd make an excellent khan."

Chrom was taken aback. "You sure about this?"

"Yes, yes." Basilio nodded. "He's your man now. Lon'qu will have no objections either. He'll be loyal to you to the bitter end." Lon'qu nodded to signify that he agreed with Basilio's statement.

"Alright then." Chrom motioned towards the exit. "Let's head back home."

(End music here)


South Regna Ferox
August 18 (12:10 P.M.)

"It's time for explanations, Walter." Chrom moved to the butler's side. "General rule, men get older, not younger."

Walter nodded, "Yes, that is true for most people." The butler stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Of course, as you are no doubt aware, I am not like most people. I need to be honest with you, you are my master after all." He lifted the glove off of his hand to reveal the sigil tattooed to the back of his hand.

Chrom's face bore a confused expression. "What's that supposed to be?"

The butler sighed as he paced the glove back over his hand. "My punishment, I guess. Sealed within me is an unholy power that I dare not use under any circumstances. It's a power that is far too dangerous to be unleashed in this world." Walter stared up at the sky. "You see, the symbol on my hand is what is called a "sealing sigil". Where I come from, sealing sigils are used to contain someone- or something's- power. The seal is generally made to force something, most often a monster, into subjugation. This results in a master/servant dynamic between the sealer and the sealed. The sealer will be connected to the sealed through the seal. In order for the seal to maintain itself, the sealer must sacrifice something daily. The sacrificed object must be something connected to the sealer, one example being blood. So long as the the sealer continues to meet the seals requirements, the sealed will be unable to access whatever was contained without permission."

The Ylissean prince lifted an eyebrow. "So you're saying that someone placed a seal on you in order to seal your power?"

Walter shook his head, "Not exactly Chrom. You see the seal was indeed placed in order to seal the power within myself, but this is a case where I am both the sealed and the sealer."

Chrom's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean to tell me that you purposefully put a seal on yourself?"

"No, it wasn't me that put the seal up. Whoever created the seal did so with the intention of not controlling it." Walter stared at the back of his gloved hand with a forlorn expression. "The seal was created specifically so that I'm in control of it. It feeds on my physical energy in order to maintain itself."

"So that's why you're so easily exhausted?" The blue-haired prince crossed his arms.

"Yes, that is correct." Walter let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, that means my stamina is practically halved at all times."

Chrom raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't explain to me why you suddenly look a decade younger though."

"Yes, that's where it gets slightly complicated, sir." The butler had a dark expression on his face. "You see, the power sealed within me isn't simply just a large power boost. The power sealed is the result of an unholy experiment of sorts, one that I was unfortunately subjugated to. What this power does is it not only heightens all my senses beyond what could feasibly be possible by human standards, but it also returns me to the prime of my life; the prime of my life being my mid-twenties to mid-thirties." Walter clenched his fist in rage. "Me de-aging by about a decade is a result of the power of the seal weakening. My hypothesis is that the seal was made in order to contain the power, but only for awhile."

Chrom looked at his friend with a concerned look. "Does that mean that the seal will eventually be released of it's own accord?"

Walter shook his head. "No, no matter what the seal is connected to my own physical energy. So long as I'm alive, the seal will stay in place." Walter clicked his teeth in annoyance, "That won't stop me from steadily de-aging though. I'll continue to de-age until eventually I de-age to the years after my prime or…" Walter trailed off.

"Or what?"

"...or I will continue to de-age until my body wears down into nothing." The butler said gravely.

Chrom gripped Walter's shoulders and looked the butler in the eyes. Concern was written all over the prince's face, something that even the most clueless person could see. "Then why the hell are you keeping the damn seal up!?" Chrom's teeth clenched. "If that thing is killing you then what's the point in keeping it up!?"

Walter scowled and replied, "No, you haven't any idea what releasing the seal would unleash. As it stands, I'd rather I die as I am- a human- rather than live as a monster."

"I am ordering you to release that seal, Walter!" Chrom looked desperate.

"I refuse to carry out that order, sir." Walter spoke in a monotone voice. The butler released himself from Chrom's grip. "I am merely your butler, sir. Why do you even care?

The Ylissean prince was taken aback by the question. It took him a moment to think of how to word his response. When he did, he stared right into Walter's gunmetal grey eyes. "I'll do anything to protect those around me. You're not just my butler, Walter, nor are you just a subordinate. You're my friend, and I like to think that I'm your friend too." Chrom tightened his grip on Walter's shoulders. "Friends help each other, Walter. I'm asking you, as a friend, release that seal."

Walter saw a fire in the young lord's eyes, one that he had also seen when he served Integra. The idea of protecting everyone was far from feasible, no matter what a leader will lose someone under their command, but it was refreshing for the butler to see a young leader with the determination of a king many times his age.

Walter sighed, "I'm sorry Chrom, I will not release the seal." he said simply. "Even as a friend, that is a request I cannot grant. I'd rather it be you that buries me in the end, not me that buries you."

The fire in Chrom's eyes faded slightly, but the Ylissean prince was still determined. "In that case, you'll have to make sure to fulfill the other promise you made, to always come back from battle alive. If the prospect of dying by the seal's effects doesn't bother you, then make sure that that's what you die by. I won't let you die any other way."

Walter smiled, "Of course sir."


The Northroad
August 18 (5:30 P.M.)

As it was getting dark, and there was no way they were going to reach Ylisstol within the next few hours, the Shepherds set up camp along the Northroad. Everyone was going about their usual business until the sound of someone screaming for help caught their attention.

"Halp! You gots to help us! I'm beggin' you, milords!" A young man with what appeared to be a cooking pot on top of his head ran into the camp and dropped to his knees before Chrom.

"Slow down, what happened?" Chrom lifted the young man back to his feet. "Just calm down and tell me what's wro-" Chrom was cut off by the sudden appearance of a brigand.

"Oy, there's the wee little piglet!" the brigand squealed in delight.

"Great, bandits…" Chrom said unenthusiastically. The Ylissean prince unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the brigand.

"What's this?" The brigand was obviously amused by Chrom, possibly due to the fact that he had no idea who he was confronting. "A little lording come to watch over has chatt-" the brigand had not time to finish his sentence, as several deep gashes suddenly appeared on his legs. The bandit cried out in agony as he dropped to his knees.

"That's no way to treat royalty, brigand." Walter's voice sent chills down the brigand's spine. The criminal managed to look up to see Walter standing above him, several luminescent wires revolving around the butler. "Now hold still while I gut you."

The butler swiped his hand and ended the poor man's life without a second thought. "Such criminals are best dealt with immediately." Walter turned his attention to the young man cowering behind Chrom. "I apologize for subjecting you to that poor man's demise, young man. May you divulge your troubles to us?"

"Y-yes sir!" The poor man stuttered. Unfortunately, the poor boy was so nervous that he kept stammering through his sentences. Walter placed a comforting hand on the poor boy's shoulder.

"Calm yourself, lad. Why don't you tell us your name first?"

The young man nodded and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Donny, er I mean Donnel, sir. I live in a nearby village sir."

Walter gave Donnel a warm smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you Donnel. My name is Walter Dornez, retainer to the Ylissean royal family. Now that we've been introduced, can you tell Chrom and I what has happened?"

"Yes, of course sirs." Donnel replied, being much more comfortable then before. "The village that I call home's been attacked good sirs! You see sirs, them bandits were gatherin' up the folks of my village and haulin' 'em off to their camp. I'm the only one of 'em that got away, even then just barely!" The poor boy began to tremble as he continued. "My ma's one of them that was taken, sirs! I-I'm beg-beggin you! Please save them folks! They're good peoples, they don't deserve this!"

Walter exchanged looks with Chrom. "It seems that action once again calls to us, sir." Walter smirked. "Perhaps a bit of discretion shall suit this one; I shall take a small team of Shepherds to the bandit camp and free the villagers."

Chrom raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that is a wise decision, Walter? The seal-"

"The seal is of no consequence, sir." Walter cut Chrom off. "Leave this to me. I promise you that not a single brigand will survive my attack."

Chrom was silent for a moment, probably contemplating Walter's request. Eventually the Ylissean prince bowed his head in defeat.

"Allow me to gather a few of my allies and we shall proceed to the brigand camp." Walter moved back to the camp to gather those that he felt was best suited for the mission.


East of the Northroad~ The Farfort
August 18 (6:25 P.M)

The Shepherds, consisting of Walter, Kellam, Lon'qu, Virion, Sully, Miriel, and Stahl, marched east of the Northroad, following Donnel to the fort where the Brigands had set up their camp. When the group reached the fort, they immediately made their way to the top of a hill that gave Walter a good view of the camp.

Walter made sure to analyze each and every single one of the bandits present. "It seems that all of the bandits are axe wielders, with a couple of thieves and archers thrown into the mix." The butler spotted a single area free of enemies in the southeast corner of the fort. "We'll start our attack in the southeast corner. From there we split up into two teams. Virion, Miriel, and I shall move north of where we shall start while Lon'qu, Sully, and Stahl shall move west into fort and take out the bandits there."

"What about me, please tell me you didn't forget about me." Kellam suddenly chimed in, scaring everyone present.

"Of course I didn't forget about you, Kellam." Walter pointed to where the villagers were trapped. "You shall infiltrate the fort while the rest of us distract the brigands. For once, you should be glad that you're hard to notice. Freeing those people is imperative, as it is likely that the brigands will use their hostages to ensure survival if need be. If we free the hostages, the brigands lose the one bargaining card at their disposal."

As Donnel watched the group formulate their plan of attack, a part of the village boy yearned to help. He'd always dreamed of a life beyond the menial labor that came with working on a farm, but whenever he had brought it up with anyone he was met with laughter.
I can't let them naysayers get to me, I wanna help out in any way I can! Donnel puffed his chest and approached the Shepherds. "I wanna help y'all out."

Walter was taken aback by Donnel's request. "You wish to join us in the battle?"

Donnel nodded, albeit with some hesitation. "I mean, I ain't ever been in battle before. I ain't even had the guts to stuck a pig. That don't matter though." The farm boy spoke with vigor. "I wanna help y'all out, that's all that matters."

Walter stared at Donnel for awhile.
That youthful energy, good heavens is the boy eager to help. All warriors have to start somewhere, and perhaps this is Donnel's start. I can see potential, potential that you hardly see in a farm boy, hell you hardly see it in anyone. It would be a waste if I didn't let him help.

"Sully, hand him your extra bronze lance." Walter finally spoke up.

"Really?" Sully's jaw dropped. "It's your call boss, but I can't say I agree with your judgement." The red-haired cavalier tossed her lance at the farm boy. Poor Donnel barely caught the the thing, but he was quick to compose himself.

"Donnel, you stick by my side for the battle, understand?" Walter spoke as he corrected the boy's posture and showed him how to properly hold the lance.

"Aye aye boss!"

Several minutes later, the Shepherds were in position and ready to attack.

"Hey Ruffles," Sully moved behind Virion and lightly punched his arm. "You stay alive, 'kay? I still have to beat the crap outta you for shadowing me all the time!"

Virion shot her his usual "dashing" grin. "I am deeply flattered by your concern, my dear Sully. Even if it is simply because you wish to beat me, your concern is greatly appreciated but unneeded! I for one think that you should worry for yourself, as no dashing rogue shall be there to protect you from those uncouth barbarians!"

Sully scowled, "As if I'd need some pompous airhead watching my back! I'd sooner go to battle with a wet nurse AND her kid before I do battle with you by my side!"

"Is that out of concern that I'd hurt myself, my dearest Sully?" Virion replied in a smooth tone that would've made many woman fall head-over-heels for him.

When the two finally managed to stop bickering, the two groups mobilized as they had planned. Walter, Donnel, Miriel and Virion moved north while Stahl, Sully and, Lon'qu moved into the fort. Kellam, meanwhile, waited for the two main groups to gain the needed attention before moving.

Walter and Donnel moved through the trees, Virion and Miriel slowly tagging behind them.

"Beggin yer pardon, Mr. Walter, but are you sure this is gonna work?" Donnel asked as they moved toward a small group of ruffians. "What if somethin' goes wrong, sir?"

Walter pulled several wires out from within his gloves and let them surround him. "Well, I'm not the best tactician in the world, so it's likely that the plan will indeed fail. If it does, we simply improvise from there and hope for the best."

Donnel swallowed as he clutched his lance tightly. Without warning, the duo charged an unsuspecting brigand. Walter was quick with his wires, managing to nick the ruffian slightly. It dealt no real lasting damage though. Donnel, surprisingly, charged towards the surprised brigand and jabbed him with his lance. It seemed to only scratch him, as the jab didn't have much power behind it. Donnel froze up as the brigand recovered from the onslaught and lifted his axe over his head. Thankfully before the brigand could slam it into the farm boy's skull, an arrow embedded itself into his chest. The man fell to the ground, killed by the arrow.

"Another example of my incredible handiwork." Virion poked his head out from the bushes he was hiding in. "Have no fear, my boy! Virion, the archest of archers is here to protect you!"

Donnel laughed slightly at the nobleman's boastfulness.

"No time to celebrate, we've most certainly caught their attention." Walter spoke up as two more brigands moved towards them. One attempted to cleave Walter in half with his sword, but found himself cleaving air instead. The other pulled out a bow and fired an arrow at Virion. The arrow nicked the nobleman, but fortunately it did no real damage. Before the brigand could fire another arrow, the criminal archer suddenly found himself being pelted by fire.

"Such ignorant behemoths obviously lacked the foresight to assume that another enemy was waiting for an opportune moment to attack." Miriel suddenly dropped down from one of the many trees and eliminated the brigand with ease. "That lack of foresight is your downfall, brigand."

The final brigand attempted to escape, only to find himself being bisected by some seemingly invisible force. The last thing the brigand saw of the world was the silhouette of an aged man whose monocle shimmered in the moonlight.

"That's the last one in this area, let's move into the fort." Walter ordered. The three followed him without question.

Meanwhile, Stahl, Sully, and Lon'qu were cutting down brigands left and right. Lon'qu was proving himself to be quite the skilled ally. His swordplay could only be described as a flurry of disciplined slashes and stabs. Each slash had a purpose, despite the appearance of wild swinging, and each stab would always hit it's mark. It really begged the question of how exactly did Marth best Lon'qu.

"Been awhile since we fought side-by-side, right Sully?" Stahl commented as he parried an axe strike aimed for his head.

"Well that's simply because I don't work with wimps!" Sully aggressively ran her lance through a brigands chest. "I plan on rivaling the legendary knights of the hero king, Marth! I don't need some half-assed cavalier holding me back!"

Stahl sidestepped an incoming arrow before resuming the conversation. "So that means you DO think that Virion is a good archer." The mud-haired cavalier grinned.

"Hell no!" Sully charged towards the archer that was firing arrows at Stahl. "As I told Ruffles earlier, I'd sooner fight alongside a wet nurse and her kid!" The redhead drove her lance into the poor archer's abdomen, ending the poor man's life.

"So why do you keep fighting alongside him?" Stahl retorted. "Even when Walter doesn't specifically pair you with him in battle, you seem to always be fighting with him by your side."

Sully gritted her teeth in frustration. "That's because the idiot can't take a hint and keeps following me around!"

"Well…" Stahl's grin widened. "...you don't seem to ever complain about it on the battlefield."

At this point, Sully was far to exasperated to argue and simply moved onto the next section of the fort.

The other group of Shepherds had moved into the fort and began to dispatch the brigands on their end. Donnel, for the most part, was sticking by Walter's side and killing whatever brigands had managed to survive the Angel of Death. The young farm boy was amazed by how graceful the butler was, how quickly he was moving from one foe to another.

Unfortunately, Donnel was getting far too caught up at the sight of Walter doing battle that he failed to notice an archer taking aim at him. Before the farm boy knew it, he was pushed to the ground by Virion, who was struck in the shoulder by the arrow meant for Donnel.

"Oh sweet merciful heavens, I'm so sorry mister!" Donnel apologized profusely as he went to help Virion up. "I should've been payin' more attention and all that!"

Virion shot him his signature grin, albeit with a bit of pain. "Do not worry about me, young Donnel. I told you, I Virion, the Archest of Archers, is here to protect you! Just focus on defeating these uncouth brigands."

Donnel nodded as he moved to attack one of the many brigands in the room. Surprisingly, he was beginning to get the hang of using the lance. He may not have been as good as the Shepherds helping him out at the moment, but he was making progress.

It wasn't long before they finally met up with Stahl, Sully, and Lon'qu, the latter of which was easily keeping pace with up to four brigands. "I guess that goes to show you that the West-Khan, Basilio, wasn't kidding when he said that Lon'qu was Khan material." Walter commented as he watched the swordsman do battle.

"No kidding, he barely needed our help." Stahl added.

"Not like we needed his help either, we could've taken these brigands on blindfolded." Sully twirled her lance around. When the redhead caught sight of Virion's injury, she suddenly looked several times angrier than usual. "What the hell, Ruffles!? I thought I told you to come back unharmed!?"

Virion shrugged, obviously unperturbed by his wound or Sully's wrath. "I see that I have you worried for my well being, dearest Sully. A sign that you have indeed fallen into a deep love with me."

Walter found himself amused by Virion's antics. Injured or uninjured, the man still finds time to flirt with the most attractive woman within one hundred feet.

"If you lot are quite done, I believe we have a brigand leader to deal with." Walter placed his hands behind his back. "As a matter of fact, I wish to deal with this impotent criminal myself."

The Shepherds knew better than to argue with the butler and nodded in approval. It wasn't like this brigand would stand a chance against Walter anyway.

"Wait, I wanna fight 'im too!" Donnel spoke up suddenly."This is the man that done killed my pa, I gotta make sure that he gets what's comin' to 'im!"

Walter smirked. "Such an impressive spirit you've got, young man. Who am I to argue with that?" The butler beckoned Donnel to follow him. The cooking pot wearing farm boy happily obliged and began to follow Walter closely.

The two traveled a fair bit into the fort before they finally reached a main hub like area.

(Play Song~ One Million Bullets [Hellsing Ultimate OST])

"So you're them castle whelps that 'ave been killin my men!" An irritating voice rang out from the other side of the room. The source was a man that was obviously the leader of this particular band of brigands. "An old man and a little piglet, can't says I'm impressed by youse." The brigand lifted his axe up and rested it on his shoulder. "Time ol' Roddick shows you how we wild-born men do battle!"

Roddick charged at the duo, obviously unaware of the fact that the old man that he was fiercely underestimating was far more fearsome than anyone he had ever encountered.

Walter smiled as he lifted his hand, causing his wires to cut several deep gashes into Roddick's arms and legs. The poor brigand tripped and rolled across the ground, a bloody mess forming as a result of the many gashes formed on his body.

"How…. how the hell…?" Roddick writhed in agony. The brigand stared up at the butler, who was surrounded by several strands of monofilament wire. "You… you're him…" His eyes widened in horror. "You're the man! You're that man that… that I heard about!"

Walter raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" the butler took a step toward the criminal. "You've heard of me?"

"Get.. get away from me!" Roddick was quaking with fear. "Fear the man, the aged man that serves the Shepherds! I thought youse … youse was just a story! They say that… that you've killed countless brigands!"

A tinge of sadistic joy rippled through Walter as he stared at the pathetic man before him. He was so tempted to subject the man to a pain far worse than death, but Walter knew that Donnel wanted to be the one that ended the brigand.

"Count your blessings, brigand." Walter spat. "I am not the one who will be judging you today." Walter turned his back to call Donnel over.

Roddick suddenly leaped to his feet and lifted his axe over his head, "Youse should 'ave killed me when youse had the chance!" he cackled as he brought the axe down upon the butler.

In a move that surprised everyone present, Donnel suddenly moved between Walter and Roddick and intercepted the attack with his lance. The farm boy's buckled for a second from the force of the attack, but somehow he still managed to keep the axe at bay.

(End music here)

"What!?" Roddick gritted his teeth as he attempted push the axe forward, and into Donnel's skull to no avail.

Donnel glared daggers at the man that murdered his father. "You remember me, don't you?" he asked.

It took Roddick a moment, as his mind was far too focused on pushing the axe into the kid's skull. When he did manage to focus, he instantly recognized the farm boy before him.

"Youse is the kid of that fool that I killed." He realized that perhaps it was better to have been at the mercy of the old butler rather than the vengeful young man.

"Yeah, you killed my pa." Donnel's hand gripped his lance tightly. "Yer the bastard that done did it!" Donnel suddenly moved out of the way, causing Roddick to fall forward due to the amount of weight he was putting into pushing his axe into Donnel. As Roddick struggled to keep his footing, Donnel shoved his lance straight through the man's back. The lance skewered Roddick, going through his back and out his chest. The man let out a few pained breaths in agony before his eyes rolled back and his body went limp.

Walter, for the most part, had stayed back to watch the brief exchange between the two. He found himself impressed by Donnel, as most men wouldn't have been clever enough to have used their own opponent's momentum to their advantage.
He's actually not that bad. With the right training, Donnel could become an excellent warrior. Walter mused. Perhaps, the boy, if he were to join the Shepherds, could flourish. It would be a waste if he were left without a chance to ever hone his skills.

(Play Song~ "It appears the capital was spared the chaos" [Fire Emblem Awakening OST])

Donnel stared down at the man he had killed, the man that had killed his father, with a mixture of anger and pity.

"You seem troubled, young Donnel." Walter stepped beside the farm boy, not at all perturbed by the sight of Roddick's dead corpse.

Donnel shock his head, his eyes never leaving Roddick's corpse. "It's just that…" he struggled to find the words to describe how he was feeling. "I just realized that I killed a few men today. I was taught by my pa that all life is sacred, even the worst people don't deserve to die."

Walter placed a comforting hand on Donnel's shoulder. "Perhaps you're right, I guess I've killed so many times that I forgot what it was like to be in your shoes; the guilt that accompanies the first kill is difficult to handle." Walter continued to stare at the corpse, not an ounce of pity for the dead brigand present in his steely eyes. "Just remember, Donnel, that pity you feel for those that you kill is a sign that you aren't like this man. This man, Roddick I believe his name was, killed without even a hint of remorse. The men that accompanied him were the same, no pity in their eyes. Remorse is what separates you from these men, it's what keeps you from becoming a monster."

Donnel let Walter's words sink in. "Do you feel remorse for those you kill, sir?"

Walter was silent, unable to utter the truth out loud. "Let's go, Donnel." he dodged the question. "The others have probably freed your village by now."

Donnel nodded as he finally pried his eyes away from the ghastly sight and followed Walter out of the room.

(End music here)


East of the Northroad~ The Farfort
August 18 (7:05 P.M)

Kellam performed his duty flawlessly, going through the fort unnoticed by all brigands. The freed villagers were grateful that the tall knight had saved them, with some even offering payment. Kellam, of course, politely declined.

"Well done, Kellam." Walter approached the knight and patted him on the back. "You performed your duty perfectly, just as I expected you would."

Kellam grinned sheepishly, "Thanks for having so much faith in me, Walter."

As the butler and the knight engaged in a friendly conversation, Virion stood a good distance away flirting with a few enamored maidens.

"-and that's how I, Virion the Archest of Archers, single handedly eliminated several brigands with a single arrow!" Virion grinned as the maidens began to fangirl over the handsome noble. "Alas, I did not come out unscathed, for even a lion amongst tigers is injured once every blue moon!" the archer placed his hand over the shoulder that was struck by an arrow. "An enemy archer thought it best to attack one of my comrades while their back was turned! I, with my eagle-like vision, saw the attack about to hit my ally, and gallantly took the would have been fatal blow!"

"What do you know, the coward can be brave once in awhile…" Sully suddenly spoke up.

"Ah, dearest Sully." the archer, with his usual swagger, left the village maidens and went to Sully. "Has my gallant retelling of how I received my wound caused you give to in to your most primal desire for-"

"Hell no, you bib wearing pissant!" Sully slapped the archer across the face. "I'd sooner marry the village hobo rather then fall for you!"

Virion rubbed his cheek, but maintained his game face. "Ah, but that makes you all the more attractive to my eye. I dare say, your fiery spirit threatens to set me ablaze!"

Sully pinched her the bridge of her nose. "This'll be the last time I ever care to check on his well-being…" she muttered under her breath.

"Did I hear that right, dearest?" Virion had never looked as smug as he did now.

Sully began to curse under her breath as she quickly retreated away from the noble man.

Meanwhile, Donnel was reuniting with his mother, telling her about how he fought alongside the Shepherds to save the everyone.

"Thank goodness you're safe." his mother held him a warm embrace. "I'm proud of you, boy!"

"You have reason to ma'am." Walter suddenly chimed in. "Your son is a very brave young man, and I dare say that he has bravery beyond his years."

Donnel grinned sheepishly at the compliment. "Ma, this is Mr. Walter Dornez, the butler to the Halidom. He's the one that done led the rescue mission."

Donnel's mother immediately bowed her head. "I can't thank you enough, good sir! You've done a great kindness for us village folk."

The butler shook his head. "No ma'am, it was nothing at all. Besides, Donnel is the one you should be thanking." Walter smiled. "Your son practically led the charge into battle. He was surprisingly skilled for someone with as little training as him, something I wish to discuss with you madam."

Donnel and his mother grew interested in what the butler had to say.

"In this time of instability, Ylisse finds itself on the brink of war. We need good men, like your son, in our ranks. As part of the Shepherds, your son will be able to hone his skills and become a mighty warrior, the kind that this country needs enmasse." Walter held his hand out for Donnel to take. "So will you allow your son to join us? I promise you that, on my life, I will protect him."

Donnel's mother seemed to think for a second before she turned to her son. "Oh, you're a grown man now, my boy. You always said that you wanted to be something greater than a farmhand, something that you was made fun of. Now's your chance to be a hero." she began to tear up. "Go be that hero you always dreamed of becomin', boy. Your ma will make sure the village will be standing by the time you return."

Donnel smiled, embracing his mother. "I'll be sure to fight for all y'all, even for pa too."

An hour later, the mother and son said their goodbyes to each other before the Shepherds departed, with one more Shepherd within their ranks then they had arrived with.


Author's Notes

Donnel has joined the party! I'm happy to finally get the first paralogue out of the way, but I am not locking forward to writing these damned things.

You know why?

Because figuring out where to put the paralogues is a pain! In-game, the damned paralogues seem to pop up whenever they like to, even if it makes no complete sense!

Fighting a war on a completely different continent? *cough* Valm *cough* Why don't we head back to Ylisse for no reason and deal with this one thing.

In order to make the timing of the paralogues fit, I'm not taking their location on the in-game map into account. It'll be too much of a pain to deal with, especially when we get to the second half of the game when certain characters start getting introduced. Meh, a lot of you probably know the ones I'm talking about, since I'm assuming you guys played through the game at least once. If you haven't, go play the game!

...or at least look at a brief summary of the game's events if you don't want to.

If you don't plan on either, you'll find out which characters I'm talking about in the future.

Now for the behind the keyboard stuff!

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I am tired as all hell
When I finally had the drive to start writing this story again, it was 9 P.M. I had the glorious idea of spending the entire night writing this chapter, because I was so eager to get it done.

End result is I am still recovering from the all nighter. Not to mention the little mistakes I ended up making as a result of drowsiness.

Doesn't help that I did the same with the following chapter's I've written so far.

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Kellam lost prominence (what a surprise...)

I tried, I honestly tried, to write a stealth section involving Kellam! Several times in fact, and I'll tell you why each attempt failed

Attempt #1 - The section was too bland

Attempt #2 - The section became too long

Attempt #3 - The section became too short

Attempt #4 - It didn't fit well with the rest of the battle

Attempt #5 - It screwed with the pacing

Attempt #6 - I ran out of ideas

The result of 6 failed attempts to get the section right resulted in me rage quiting. This is funny, because the last time I attempted to write this paralogue, as detailed in the behind the keyboard section of the chapter "Two Falchions? The Identity of Marth!", I encountered the same problem and ended up postponing the chapter until I could write it.

Well, at least Kellam wasn't forgotten...

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Didn't you want Sumia in this chapter?

In the behind the keyboard section of the chapter "Two Falchions? The Identity of Marth!", I commented that Sumia was going to participate in this chapter's battle.

Nope, Lon'qu took her place...


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Next time on Walter Dornez of the Emblem!

Chapter 10: The Exalt and the Mad King