Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.
A/N: Hello, people! Sorry I am somewhat late; however, you may or may not understand after seeing the list of reasons below.
School started. (I need to say no more with this one)
My flashdrive with EVERYTHING on it is lost. So I needed a replacement. ;(
My brother has to take the computer to school on Mon-Fri, leaving me only the weekends and SOMETIMES from 9:00 pm to 10:100 pm Mon-Fri and the dead night, but I like my sleep.
A family member is in the hospital for surgery, but they'll be fine (by doctor's words).
And, that's all for now. Besides my blah blahs, let's read! On with the story!
It was the early morning when Aracho woke up. He rose and looked over his shoulder to see that Lyn was still asleep. Cautiously, he slowly got out of bed and got ready for the day. After getting dressed, he went outside to the sight of the sun just barely rising over the horizon. Seeing as there wouldn't be much to do, he just grabbed a tome of his and started training with his magic.
He grabbed a Bolting tome, a spell that he was almost done learning; however, he never managed to complete it before this whole fiasco happened. He simply sat down under a tree and opened his book, landing on a page near the end. Tomes were really just a long list of instructions of a spell and how to learn how to use it. He was nearly done and was simply re-reading the instructions on how to use the spell.
"While it is best to start this while it's raining for beginners, the best way to cast this spell is to think of the way lighting is. Quick and deadly, yet flashing away on a second, leaving destruction in its wake…" Aracho read aloud, before trailing off the book. He closed the book and decided to try it out on a tree, as they were often easy targets for lightning. He stood about one hundred feet away from the target tree he was using, which was right in front of the whole forest. He looked clearly at his target sharply, and took a deep breath while gathering magic in his fingers to cast the spell at last.
With a final gaze, he launched his hand forward at the tree, a lot of energy leaving him all at once making him slightly bend over. He heard a large boom of lightning as he buckled, and knew that he did it; although it wore him out quite a bit. He looked up to see a completely destroyed tree nearly bent all the way over with scorch marks all over it. He went closer to survey the damage and was surprised that he was able to do all of that on the very first try. Little did he know, he wasn't the only one shocked about the collateral damage caused.
"Father Sky and Mother Earth, that's amazing!" Lyn shouted, making Aracho quickly turn around, not knowing that anyone was watching him. He should have known, but he was too absorbed in trying to complete his spell at last.
"Yeah I guess. Were you watching the whole time?" he asked.
"No, I just saw the damage and the lightning. I rushed over after seeing a giant lightning bolt come out of nowhere when the sky is completely clear."
Aracho just sheepishly scratched his head in embarrassment, ruffling his turquoise hair (pay attention and maybe things will make sense later). "Well, as you can see, I was practicing. What about Sain and Kent?"
"Those two are like logs. Not to mention Sain's snoring problem, I'm surprised I went to sleep after he did," Lyn commented, enticing a quick laugh from the both of them.
"So…" Aracho started. "How are we gonna kill time before they wake up?"
"Well, breakfast was already taken care of, thanks to leftovers…" Lyn mentioned. An idea then came to her head. "How about a spar? It'll help keep us sharp, and pass the time."
Aracho just shrugged his shoulders in response. "Why not? Sure," he responded. The two went back to the tent together to get their swords and daggers for the spar. A few minutes later, the two walked back into the clearing they set camp at. They went to opposite sides of the clearing, and pulled out their respective weapons from their sheathes.
"Ready?" Lyn asked.
"Whenever you are," he shot back.
The two were in position, waiting for other the right moment to move forward. When a leaf fell from a random tree, the two dashed at each other. There was a clang of metal between the two, and sparks were flying as the two gave swing after swing, until they broke apart. Lyn, knowing about Aracho's magic, did not give him a chance to cast anything as she rushed forward, making him think on his feet, and most importantly, no magic.
They exchanged once again, this time, Lyn getting an advantage by doing a sideblow almost forcing the weapons out of his hands. Aracho quickly double-flipped away from her to make some distance so he could come up with a plan. Lyn quickly tried to close the distance, but this time, Aracho came prepared. As they met up in encounters again, Aracho tried a new trick. As they made more clashes, he steadily charged some magic into his hand, but not too much, of course.
The next time the two broke up, Aracho made the advance. He surprised Lyn by the sudden increase in speed. Lyn went for an overhead blow which he dodged by sidestepping, and quickly pocketed one of his daggers. Before Lyn could react, he grabbed Lyn's side, and released some lightning magic, paralyzing her for a moment, and that's all he needed. Next, all was done, as there was a dagger to Lyn's throat.
"I win," Aracho said as they broke apart. It was obvious that they both were somewhat tired out by now.
"That was some battle," Lyn said, putting her weapon back in the sheath, and dusting herself off. "You really got me there. That was some idea."
"Thanks. It really was just fast thinking. That's really the first time I even tried that," he modestly explained.
Lyn just rolled her eyes at him trying to play it off. "Yeah, sure. Let's go heat breakfast, I'm sure those two will be up and starving by now."
Aracho nodded and the two went back and got breakfast started for everyone, including themselves of course.
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After Sain and Kent woke up, they all ate breakfast as the two knights explained a good bit more about Lyn's relationship with Marquess Caelin and what they're supposed to prevent. When everyone finished packing, they unrolled a map to decide their next route.
"Okay," Kent said. "Right now we're right here," he told them, pointing to a spot in southern Sacae. "The quickest way to Caelin from here is to take a narrow passage through Bern by the mountains, crossing into Lycia and going through Araphen right before we get to Caelin."
"Okay, but first can we stop at the altar?" Lyn asked. "That is where the legendary Mani Katti lies. It is a custom to pray there to ensure a safe journey," she explained.
"I don't see why not," Aracho said, with the others agreeing too. With everything settled, they went towards the altar for the first stop.
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The ragtag group quickly reached their destination in about a half hour, considering it really wasn't that out of the way, like Lyn said. They came upon a seemingly desolate place around the shrine, save for a few houses at the foot of the hills overseeing the plains below. Beyond the hills was the altar, clear as day. The four traveled along the way, until the sight of a person with a sword to an elderly's throat made them rush to the scene, weapons being drawn.
"Come on, old man! Make the Mani Katti mine, or I'll kill you!" a man with dirty blonde hair shouted as he tightened the grip on the man.
"I cannot… do that. Only the sword can choose its rightful… owner," the priest choked out.
"Hey! Let him go!" Lyn yelled. The man turned his head slightly to see them ready to attack.
"Pah!" the man yelled as he threw the elder to the ground. "I don't need him anyway. Try to get me first, though. Come out, boys!" After his command, a few brigands jumped out of nowhere as the leader retreated into the heart of the shrine.
"Okay, here's the plan," Aracho started, right as they stood right in front of the shrine. "There are five bandits, so it shouldn't be too much trouble. Lyn and I can go around while Sain and Kent take care of the bandits outside. Then we meet up in the shrine and get the boss. Good?" he finished.
"I hate to say this, but there is an issue," Kent said. "Our horses cannot traverse around mountains like that. It is too steep for them."
Aracho didn't skip a beat, though. Being in the Black Fang meant being fast enough to think for every situation. "Then try to find another way in, after making sure all of the bandits are out of the area on your side. Let's go!" They then split into their teams and went their separate ways.
For Sain and Kent, everything was going smoothly. There was only one bandit in the way, and he was quickly taken care of right then and there. Now, they split up for a minute to look around for any bandits in hiding.
"All clear!" Kent shouted. "Sain? Are you clear?"
Sain was galloping back from the right, from the directions of the mountains that Lyn and Aracho went. "All clear!" he confirmed. "But, how are we going to get inside?"
Kent thought for a minute as he surveyed the surroundings in the vicinity. Something that caught his eye was a crack in a wall, which seemed to be able to be broken down if attacked enough. "Sain," he calmly remarked. "I think I know our way in…"
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When they split, Lyn and Aracho took the right side of the shrine, crossing the mountains, as Sain and Kent were not able to do so with their horses. They did have a good amount of trouble, since the brigands were more comfortable in the mountains, making it harder to land a good hit on them. Thankfully, Aracho's lightning spells combined with somewhat high altitudes spelled a disaster for the brigands, and exponentially made their part even easier. After taking care of the bandits in the mountains, they went for the shrine. They were on their way to the shrine entrance, where the Mani Katti lays. As they were traveling, they both noticed a bandit guarding the entrance of the shrine.
"What are we going to do? If we attack him, their leader might kill the priest," Lyn mentioned, getting no response from Aracho. He was in a deep thought until he decided what they would do. There was absolutely no way to just charge through the front, and magic would be too loud, as the only one he could use from this distance was Bolting. That only left one thing…
"Lyn," Aracho called silently. "I'm going to go down there. When I kill the bandit, I'll give you a signal, and we'll both go in the shrine, okay?" Lyn nodded, but she was still skeptical. "What are you going to do?"
"Silent kill," was all he said, before he began his way down from the hillside that went to the shrine. Aracho quickly went through the plains, stealthier than a snake, not even Lyn being able to hear a sound. It didn't take much for Aracho to get to the bandit without him noticing. In the last stretch, Aracho quickly started going along the walls, and began rushing at an extremely fast pace. The bandit turned around, but little did he know that Aracho was already behind him. He couldn't even muster a sound before his head was cut clean off, without a sound save for the thump as his head hit the ground.
After killing the bandit, he gave Lyn the signal, and she quickly came after him, stopping as she reached the entrance. "That was… brutal," Lyn told, staring at the decapitated body. She shifted her look to Aracho. He looked down, before taking a look at Lyn with a… guilty gaze? Not a moment later it was steeled and quickly covered with a cold look that chilled her to the bone.
"It's the law of the Fang. To help the poor, and break the overly proud… You wouldn't understand just yet…" Afterwards, he just left Lyn to her own shock. She has never seen this side of him before, and was baffled this was the same person as the free-flowing, loving Archy she has come to know. All she could do was follow him into the shrine to confront the boss. She rushed in to find Aracho standing in front of a throne-like chair with the leader calmly sitting atop it. They could see the priest laying on the ground in the corner, nearly unconscious but still alive.
"So, you've made it past my goons, huh?" he asked in a rhetorical manner. He was slowly taking his sword out of its sheath as he got up from the chair in an uptight expression, as if he owned everything and everyone. "You can't take me on though! I am Glass, the strongest one you will ever see!" he boasted, not even knowing what he got himself into.
"Sounds more like ass to me," Aracho remarked, getting an imaginary tick mark on Glass' face along with a clenching of teeth.
"That's it! You're first!" Glass yelled, charging after him. He was ready for Glass, and was ready to end this horrible man's life. However, something they both didn't count on was the walls being blown open with debris flying everywhere, forcing everyone to hit the floor to avoid getting a face full of stone. When the debris and smoke cleared, everyone looked up to see a sheepish looking Sain and a serious Kent, nothing out of the ordinary there.
"Did you REALLY have to break the wall down!?" Lyn shouted a good bit angry that they just tore down a sacred monument.
"Why yes, yes we did." All of the occupants in the room just tuned to look at Sain with the most flabbergasted expressions they could muster (minus the priest). It was cut short as Glass seemed to reach the peak of his patience.
"Enough!" he yelled, charging at the nearest person, which happened to be Aracho. Oh, if only he knew his mistake.
He did a rather sloppy vertical slice, which was easily dodged, before he slightly flinched at a somewhat deep cut that appeared right at his shoulder, nearly slicing his collarbone. He quickly hissed in pain while grabbing his shoulder. In retaliation, he swung his sword in a clockwise manner, only to strike thin air, making the fatal mistake of turning his back on his opponents.
In a very short time, Glass found himself pierced by two spears in an X-formation, as well as a sword going through his throat. Sain, Lyn, and Kent all threw back their weapons and let the bloody corpse fall to the ground. After cleaning of their weapons, they put them away in their respective places. Aracho was helping the priest up, and it seemed he was conscious once again.
"Thank you, for protecting the temple," he graciously said.
"It was nothing," Lyn replied. "We only ask that we may pray at the Mani Katti for a safe journey."
"Of course. Just put your hands on the hilt and pray."
With the confirmation, Lyn slowly walked up to the altar and laid her hands on the sacred sword. What happened next, shocked everyone.
As soon as Lyn put her hands on the sword, a bright flash turned everyone's eyes away from the sword. She quickly took a step back from the sword, confused to what is happening. None were more shocked than the priest, though.
"Amazing… To see it happen with my own eyes," the priest said, amazed to what he just witnessed before his eyes. "You… are the rightful owner of the Mani Katti,"
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A/N: And yet another cliffhanger! (evil laugh) Anyway, this chapter was supposed to be a lot longer (maybe the end result being about 7-10k words, but that would take too long, so here you go! Remember to Fav, Follow, and Review, and I hope you enjoyed it!
Blizzard, Out!