Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.
A/N: Hey, y'all! Welcome back to this NOT so discontinued story, and I hope you can get back into the swing of things like I'm trying to. With that said, I hope you read and enjoy!
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That evening…
"I think we should stop for tonight," Kent said a small moment after the sun set over the horizon.
"But…"
"We've already made up ground lost by the bandit attack, and we'll be ahead of schedule provided we leave tomorrow at daybreak," he explained.
"Yeah, let's break," Aracho agreed, trying and failing to stifle a yawn.
"Alright, then," Lyn caved. "We'll stop here." With that, everyone unpacked and began to take out the tents and sleeping bags. "Since we have nine people, there'll be three tents with three each." After some deliberation, Dorcas, Wil and Erk decided to share a tent, and all the girls got one to themselves, leaving Aracho with the Caelin knights Sain and Kent.
With that all worked out, they heated some rations with spells from Erk and Aracho and ate with limited conversation.
"We'll be off to bed now," Serra obnoxiously stated as she rose and dusted her robe. "See you in the morning!" she said, sounding the same as she did when clearly awake. Aracho had nothing to say, but simply shook his head while others followed her cue and began to go into the tents to sleep. The boy simply sat there thinking about things and how far he's come since he was separated from his family.
"Are you coming?" a voice said. Looking up from the ground, he saw Kent standing a little ways away, his armor removed.
"Yeah…." Aracho agreed, not sure if he actually felt like going to bed. Getting up, he went to the tent to hit the hay.
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Early next morning…
After a rough night of tossing and turning, Aracho fell into an uneasy sleep. Even then, he found himself waking up in the early morning hours, before the sun had even come close to showing its presence over the sleeping world below. Lightly stretching, Aracho grabbed his daggers and book before heading outside for some privacy. As he exited the tent, he felt himself find some solace in the soft wind beating his face and weaving through his light-blue hair. Walking to a tree, Aracho sat there and simply looked at the sky, despite the book in his hands that he didn't finish as of yet. A hurricane of thoughts plowed through his head like a shovel into a plot of soft dirt.
"I wonder how everyone's doing right now…." he said after who knows how much time. Sighing at the thoughts of the Black Fang, he finally opened his book on advanced fire magic spells. He remembered how Ursula told him that even within Anima magic, mages have a certain advantage in a distinct element; in Aracho's case, it was fire. Granted, Ursula had refused to test his efficiency with the wind part of the triad due to its volatility and destructive potential, so it wasn't set in stone.
Anywho, he really missed all the people he came to call family. Lloyd, Linus, Ursula, Uhai, Legault….even others like the mentally unstable Jerme had left their own mark on him. Sighing again, Aracho finally took note that the first rays of sun were appearing soon as the purplish-pink hue of the horizon started to come into view. Deciding that the others should be waking by now, Aracho closed his book and ran his head through his hair as he began the small trip back to the campsite.
When he arrived, he was surprised to see Erk already awake, dressed and reading a magical book, very one on thunder magic if the color of the cover was anything to go by. The two have never formally talked to each other, though Lyn did introduce him to both Serra and her escort when they joined.
"Good morning," Erk said curtly without raising his head from the book he had been reading.
"Good morning," Aracho returned. "What are you reading?"
"It's a magic book," he answered, finally looking up from his book. "With the magical arts, books are customarily a guide of sorts of channeling and using the spell designated in the specific book. This one, as indicated by the cover, is for lightning-based anima magic," he explained as if Aracho knew nothing about magic.
"Nice to know," the blue-haired kid remarked before holding up the magic book in his hand. Upon seeing it, Erk's eyes looked as if they were about to burst out their sockets.
"That book...it's usually reserved for mages deemed A-rank or higher," the mage muttered. "How long have you been doing magic?"
"Hm...I'm 14 now, so….7 years soon," Aracho answered with a smile.
"Starting so young, and reading these books already…." Erk said, though mostly to himself. "Who was your teacher? Surely a first-rate sage, I'd have to say."
"Well...she was very strict," Aracho carefully answered. He wasn't ashamed of being a part of the Black Fang by any means, but that didn't mean he wanted to tell people willy-nilly he was part of what many saw as a vigilante hitman group. "But she was an awesome teacher…" Thankfully, Erk got the hint and stopped the line of questioning about Ursula. Just then, Lyn stepped out her tent, stretching her limbs out.
"You two are already awake?" she said, sleep still evident in her tone.
"Yup!" Aracho said energetically, while Erk gave a curt nod. "Are the others going to be ready soon enough?" He was promptly answered by the emergence of Kent and Sain fully armored from the tent, as well as Serra and Florina stepping out as well. A few moments afterwards, Dorcas and Wil came out, both of them looking like they had been up for a good bit of time.
"I guess that means we get ready to set out, then," Lyn confirmed. After a quick breakfast of rations, Lyndis' Legion packed up camped and prepared for the day's journey ahead of them.
"With this timing, we should be in Araphen by noontime," Kent informed. "As soon as we arrive, I'll go to the castle to inform the Marquess of our presence." With that information ingrained in everyone's head, they headed for the Lycian city.
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That noon…
"Okay, this place is pretty big," Aracho said upon seeing Araphen's walls.
"Indeed it is," Kent said, turning to the rest of the group. "I'll go ahead to deliver the news to the castle. We can meet by the city square." With that, he took off on his horse, with the rest of the group taking a much more leisurely pace towards the Lycian city.
"How does it feel to be here?" Wil asked, referring to Lycia as a whole.
"I'm...not sure…" Lyn answered, truly looking bewildered by the surrounding area as the city growed nearer and nearer. "I guess...just excited. We're at the land where my mother came from." Seeking to change the topic, the green-haired teen turned her attention to Aracho, who looked deep into thought upon looking at the road to Araphen. "Have you ever been to Lycia before, Aracho?" she asked him, snapping him out his stupor.
"Huh? Oh, um….yeah!" he nodded, before a sad look crossed his face. "It was a long time ago, about three or four years ago."
"How'd you like it?" Serra asked, trying to be nosy.
"It was...nice," he mentioned, although he seemed rather reserved about the topic.
"Who'd you go with?" Wil questioned next.
"My adoptive family…." he answered. "Me and my magic teacher, although she felt more like a big sister after a while, came here just looking around." Granted, it was actually an outing for Aracho to learn about the different compounds and meeting points set up by the Black Fang throughout Lycia. There had actually been one south of Kathelet, if he remembered correctly. That was were he and Ursula went, not that he would say that of course. "It went rather uneventful."
After that, the questions died down as they kept towards the city. The sun hardly seemed to move after all their time walking, and was still shining strong in the sky when they arrived in Araphen, the second-largest city in all of Lycia. Everything was bustling; people paraded through the streets and everything gave the sign of a lively place.
"This is Araphen?" Lyn asked after a small walk-around of the city.
"Yes, it is!" Sain answered enthusiastically. "After Ostia, this is the biggest city in Lycia."
"The second biggest...Say, where's Kent?" she asked, reminding everyone about the red-clad knight that had gone ahead to talk to the Marquess of Araphen in an attempt to obtain a valuable ally to aid their cause.
"The castle isn't too far away, last I remembered," Sain answered. "He should be back any-"
"There he goes right there!" Wil told the crew, prompting them to look to the left to see the Caelin knight coming over to them.
"Milady Lyndis!" he said with a gleeful expression. "Let us come to the castle! Marquess Araphen has agreed to aid us in our plight and has prepared supplies for our journey."
Everyone in Lyndis' Legion lit up at the good news; they had got the breakthrough they had been looking for. "He's going to help us?" Lyn blinked, brimming with poorly-hidden happiness.
"Yes," Kent nodded with a small smile. "Caelin and Araphen have possessed a deep friendship for many years. When I informed him of our situation, he swiftly agreed to come to our aid."
"That certainly makes things easier for us," Aracho muttered.
"Well, that's enough celebration. We'd ought to get to the tower," Kent started before a man came running through the square with a frantic expression on his face.
"The castle is burning! The castle is on fire!" he yowled, pointing towards a large pillar of smoke. The populace went into a state of panic, scattering all through the area and running to their homes to hide.
"What is going on?" Dorcas said quietly, asking what everyone else was wondering. A few moments later, a man in a cloak with a bandana over his face came in front of Lyn, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"'You're Lyndis, aren't you?" he asked rhetorically, seeing as he knew her name without the two ever meeting.
Out of shock, Lyndis was too slow to draw her sword to defend herself. Jumping into action, Aracho's daggers flew in his hands as he prepared to confront the assassin. Before he could fight, however, an arrow flew from behind them and struck the man in the neck, killing him. Not knowing what to think, Aracho turned to Wil, who clearly didn't shoot the arrow upon inspection.
The archer was soon identified as a nomad rider with Sacaean garb came up to the group.
"Lady Lyndis! Are you alright?" Kent asked, rushing back up to her after getting separated by the chaotic townsfolk.
"Yes….he saved me," she said, pointing to the nomad. "Why...did you help me?" she asked, turning his attention to the one who shot the arrow.
"I thought a woman of the plains was under attack," he said in a quiet yet firm voice. "It appears I was mistaken," he continued, getting ready to turn away.
"No, you are right!" Lyn corrected. "I'm Lyn, the daughter of the Lorca chieftain." The green-haired bowman's eyes widened with clear surprise.
"There were survivors?" Lyn simply nodded in affirmation. "...You should leave at once," he told her, clearly more comfortable in the presence of another Sacaean. "A blaze has started in the castle and is rapidly spreading. Don't be foolish and waste the life I just saved."
"Are you from the castle?" she asked him. The nomad responded with only a nod. "What's happening? What's the severity of the fire? Is the marquess safe?"
"The marquess has been addressed, and the man who attacked you is likely one of the marauders attacking the castle. As captain of the castle guard, it is my job to rescue the marquess."
"Then we'll help you," she declared, drawing a strange look from the rider and some of her own group.
"Why?" he asked cautiously.
"These brigands are after me," Lyn revealed to him. "The one you killed knew my name. If they're attacking, it's my fault. That means I have to do something!" He gave her a long stare under a discerning gaze before nodding and readying an arrow.
"...Let's go," he said. "I am Rath of the Kutolah. Our tribes may be different, but I will not abandon a woman of the Sacae," he proclaimed.
"Thank you Rath! A thousand blessings upon you!"
"And a thousand curses upon our enemy!" he said as more marauders came into view.
Aracho didn't even bother whipping out his book, quickly striking a man with a bolt of lightning and rendering him incapacitated with one blow. While that happened, Rath dispatched the other marauder, before turning to the rest of the group, specifically Lyn.
"The secret passageway may be our best option," he said. "There are three triggers in the barracks. When all of them are pressed, the passage will reveal itself."
"But how will we open the barracks?" she asked aloud.
"Maybe the marauders have keys," Aracho suggested before going to look on the dead men's persons for said item.
"Maybe I can help," a new voice entered. Looking up, he saw a brown-haired man wrapped in a cloak come up to Lyn.
"Who are you?" she asked cautiously.
"My name is Matthew, a specialist in acquisitions of all kinds," he formally introduced. "Would you like to buy my services?" he asked.
"We have no need for a thief," Lyn instantly shut down. Matthew didn't even flinch at her tone, however.
"Then how do you plan on opening the barrack doors?" he asked, making her eyes widen in shock. Was he listening in on them? "Bullseye!" he celebrated, before seeing the multiple shifts of emotions through Lyn's eyes. "Don't be angry at me, please. For you, I'll even lower my standard rate," he offered.
"...Fine, you're hired," she said begrudgingly. "Why do you want to help us anyway?" she questioned, not taking her hilt of her sword.
"I was watching the battle from afar," he told her. "You guys looked a lot better off than the dead guys, so I decided to come with you. Pretty simple, really," he said as if talking about the weather, making Aracho snicker despite the urgency of the current situation. Right when he finished, Aracho returned to looking through the carcass of the marauders when he found a door key on the second one.
"I found a door key!" he announced. "I'll go to straight ahead," he told the rest of the group, seeing a barrack door off ahead.
"I'll go with you for back-up," Erk offered. Nodding, the two headed off for the barrack door. Reaching their target relatively quickly, Aracho pulled out the keys and unlocked the barrack. Opening the door, he was surprised by a spear being thrust right at his side. Jumping back, he cast an elfire spell out of reflex, effectively killing the man in an explosion of flame.
"That….was scary," he said, panting as adrenaline ran through his veins. Walking in the room, he saw a diamond-patterned switch on the floor. Going over, he hit the switch with his foot, and heard a click. A few seconds later, he could hear something opening up on the other side of the wall. "Looks like we activated it," he told Erk, who nodded.
"Let's go inform the others." Agreeing, the two went back over to where they came from to see Lyn and Rath squaring off against a knight while Matthew swiftly killed an archer. Running over to help them, Erk sent a fire spell at the knight, doing large amounts of damage and making him scream in pain. From there, Lyn took it upon herself to deal the final blow, piercing his armor and his stomach with Mani Katti.
Going over, Rath hit the last switch, causing the walls to shift and revealing the aforementioned secret passageway. "It is done. Come. I will finish the rest." Lyndis' Legion went through the passageway while Rath went to gather up some of his men to clear out the area. Before long, they arrived at Castle Araphen.
"We'll wait for Rath," Lyn said upon reaching the castle. Fortunately, the wait wasn't long as the nomad soon returned. With everyone accounted for, Lyn, Rath, Sain, Kent, and Aracho entered the castle and was greeted by a man in an important-looking garb, signifying his role as marquess.
"Ah, it's Rath!" he said in glee, while Aracho looked him over; he was always cautious of people in power. "You've done well. What a performance!"
"Sir, if praise is to be given, it would be better given to this group," Rath simply said, stepping aside slightly. The man then started at Lyn for a second before pointing at her.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Lyndis," she revealed, using her full name. Marquess Araphen's breath hitched for a second before a realization came into his expression.
"I see….You're Lady Madelyn's….Rath, leave us for a moment." Without so much as a word, Rath obeyed his command, leaving the room. "Now….Lady Lyndis, do you know the identity of the people responsible for this uproar?"
"Yes, I believe it to be my granduncle Lundgren." Upon hearing that name, the marquess' eyes narrowed.
"That means that my castle has been damaged in your petty family dispute," he said with venom, making Aracho take an instant dislike to the man. Lyn, however, just widened her eyes in fear at the implications of what he said.
"M….My apologies," she said.
"When I heard that Marquess Caelin's granddaughter was in trouble, I had thought it best to lend my assistance….I found that my mind had changed. I am retracting my support."
"WHAT!?" everyone yelled.
"Marquess Araphen, you gave me your word!" Kent said, flustered by the turnaround.
"Kent, is it not? You didn't inform me of the most important detail!"
"Which was?" Aracho jumped in.
"Although she looks like Lady Madelyn….she is tainted with the blood of Sacae."
"WHAT!?" Lyn yelled, about to explode in anger.
"Don't you feel the marquess of Caelin would be troubled to see this Sacaean mongrel?"
"Don't talk to her like that!" Aracho burst, while Sain had to be restrained by Kent.
"My apologies, Lord Marquess," he tried to amend.
"Your men are poorly disciplined," he critiqued, earning another withering glare from Kent and Aracho.
"If you would grace us with your aid…" Kent started, only to be cut off by a raised hand from the man.
"Word has said that Marquess Caelin is ill and abed….Upon his death, Lundgren would assume right to the throne….I believe it would do me well to avoid conflict with the incoming marquess," he explained, a devious smile on his face.
"Why you-"
"Stop!" Lyn shouted, cutting Sain off. "I understand, we will take your leave at once." Kent moved to try and get her to reconsider, but she beat him to it. "I am proud of the Sacaean blood running through my veins. I will NOT accept aid from anyone who disparages my heritage."
Without another word, she left the room to exit the castle. Sain followed her, with Kent close behind. Aracho, however, stayed behind, still staring at the man with a blank stare. "Do you not wish to accompany your friends out the castle?" Marquess Araphen asked.
"Rulers like you are the reason that good people like Lyn have to suffer so much more," he said, before lifting his head to pierce the marquess' eyes with his own. "Beware the wrath of the Fang." With his mind made up, the blue-haired teenager left the castle with a plan formulating as he went to rejoin with Lyn and the group.
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Later that day….
"This should be far enough for today," Kent said a little while after sunset came. The group stopped in a small clearing a little ways outside of Araphen. They had been traveling as soon as Rath joined them on their journey after overhearing the marquess' words about Sacae.
"Where do we head to next?" Lyn asked the red-dressed knight.
"Next would be Kathelet, about a five day trip," he said.
"It's due south from here, and after that, Caelin is next!" Sain added in an attempt to brighten things up. Surely enough, it allowed Lyn to crack a small smile despite today's events.
"That's good to hear. We're almost there!" Wil added.
"I think sleep would be good to hear as well," Matthew added in, giving a small yawn. "Shut-eye does wonders, you know."
"You just came today!" Lyn snapped, before looking over at Aracho, who remained silent for most of the trip. "Archy, are you alright?" It seemed to snap him out of his stupor, as his head shot up.
"Wha-Oh...yeah, I'm fine. Just….thinking about something," He answered, giving a small smile to reassure her.
"If you say so…" Afterwards, everyone set up camp and got ready for sleeping. Aracho shared a tent with Wil tonight, good for him considering the archer was a pretty deep sleeper.
A while after sunset, the moon was almost at its apex in the darkened sky. 'I should be able to get back before sunrise….' he thought as he got out his daggers from his pack. Grabbing a bolting tome and strapping it on his side securely, he cautiously left the tent without waking the brown-haired archer.
The air stood still, with hardly any breeze coming through the area. The sounds of night insects quietly permeated the makeshift campsite. Looking at the map one last time, Aracho turned north before putting it back away. He then left to finish his mission.
As midnight came, Aracho found himself on the outskirts of Araphen, simply a quick walk. It had proven much faster to arrive to the city alone than with an entire group. "Now….the passageway should take me straight to the throne room….provided his quarters are…." Aracho then got a chill up his spine. Taking out his daggers, he spun around and assumed a battle stance. "Come out now!" he challenged.
"You're pretty good at sneaking around, you know…."
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A/N: Aaaaaaaaaaand that's it! Sorry for any delays in updating, I really need to get to my other two stories, but I've been extremely busy lately and it's nearly impossible to squeeze in enough writing time to get these chapters out. Even now, it's 1 AM in the morning and I have church in six hours….Personally, I'm considering pulling an all-nighter in order to get at least Blue Wolf's chapter nearly done since I write longer chapters for that one and I'm only on page 7 on my docs…..
Anywho….I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! What will happen next I wonder? Will Lyndis' Legion ever stop growing? Will I actually come up with lines for Dorcas to say? Find out next time, on Fire Emblem: Blazing Light!
Blizzard, out!