Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.
A/N: Hey folk! Without further ado, welcome to the next chapter of FE:BL! Enjoy!
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"Where's Archy?" Lyn asked herself, worried. She knew where her traveling companion had gone, but she hadn't told anyone else. She would rather avoid having to tell everyone else about the blue-haired boy's whereabouts, but there wasn't much time left. Dawn had already begun to emerge, and she could hear some of the others beginning to awaken. "Please be safe," she whispered into the air, hoping that the boy would come back in one piece.
As if the gods heard her prayers, a small figure began to enter her line of vision. Looking closely, she felt herself get more excited upon realizing the figure had a mop of light-blue hair on his head. "Is that Aracho?" a voice asked Lyn, slightly startling her.
Turning around, she found Matthew standing there with a curious look on his face. "Yes, that's him coming right now."
"Where did he run off to?" the thief asked, making Lyn inwardly grumble as more people were starting to exit the tents and listen to the conversation.
"He went back to the bandits' base we raided yesterday," she answered truthfully. "Something wouldn't stop bothering him about the place and so he left late in the night to go search."
"Did you know about this, Milady Lyndis?" Kent asked, his eyes holding a great level of shock and suspicion.
"Yes, he asked me for permission," she confirmed. After that, Kent left it alone as Aracho entered the campsite radius.
"I'm back!" he announced as Lyndis' Legion started to rise for the day.
"How'd it go?" the female Sacaean asked.
"I couldn't find much," he answered. "What I did find though, was that it was a trainee-level base for the lowest of the low to begin, meaning that the people we fought were simple grunts."
"Those guys were absolute trainees?" Wil asked incredulously. "I'd hate to imagine the top of the ladder, then."
"That's about the end of the information."
"Well, as long as they're out of our hair, then we have nothing to worry about," Lyn deduced. "Let's pack up camp and get going."
After that short report, everyone quickly cleaned up the campsite and the group soon set out. Fully rested from the events of the day before, they managed to reach Caelin's territory by midday.
"No mistaking it, we're in Caelin now!" Sain exclaimed as he looked around the surrounding environment. Lyn couldn't believe her ears; they actually made it to Caelin after all this time. Not really sure what to think, she looked back to see the shrinking form of the mountains behind them.
"Look, Archy!" she called out to the mage, snapping him out of some kind of stupor. "The mountains seem so far away now."
"You're right...we've come a really long way," he replied.
"We can't be far from the castle now!" Sain jumped back in.
"By my estimate, we should be able to reach Castle Caelin in two days if we hold a steady pace," Kent added.
"Two days…" Lyn echoed in near disbelief. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes for a quick moment in thought. "Grandfather...hold on."
"Cheer up, Lyn" Florina encouraged. "If they see you looking so sad, everyone's going to lose heart."
"Florina...you're right," she realized. "There's nothing to be gained by worrying. We just have to keep going!"
"That's the spirit!" All of a sudden, a gasp from Nils grabbed the attention of the entire group.
"What's wrong?" Wil asked the kid who was standing next to him.
"Lyn...danger approaches," he said ominously.
"What did you say?" the Sacaean said, put on edge, not unlike the rest of Lyndis' Legion.
"I don't see anything...Are you sure?" Sain said, looking around for any potential enemy.
"I feel it, too…" Ninian admitted before she gasped in horror as Lyn began to walk towards Nils. "Ah! Milady don't move!"
"Ah!" Lyn shouted at the warning, not moving a muscle. Soon enough, the sound of something whistling in the air caught everyone's attention. Before everyone could even begin to comprehend the situation, a ballista arrow planted itself in the ground between Nils and Lyn, right where she would have been standing had Ninian not said anything. "What in-Where did this bolt come from?" Lyn shouted, utterly shocked.
"That had to have come from a ballista!" Kent answered with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Lord Lundgren is getting serious," Sain said grimly. "Deploying siege weapons is no small deal."
"What is a ballista?" Lyn asked, not aware of these terms.
"All in all, it's a giant arrow that will poke a hole in you," Aracho answered blunty. "A big hole."
"Florina, it's important that you stay close to the ground while someone is using the ballista. You would become a prime target," Kent explained.
"Is there a way to combat it?" Lyn wondered.
"Hm...I might be able to use some magic…" Aracho muttered, pulling out a tome with a giant lightning bolt on the cover.
"You would use the bolting spell?" Erk asked, slightly surprised he would have that. The blue-haired boy nodded in confirmation.
"Mind you, I'd have to get in a little closer, so just wait until you see a giant bolt before you advance," he advised.
"Okay, I believe in you." Looking in Lyn's eyes, Aracho nodded before heading off to take out the ballista. Fortunately, it didn't take long to see an archer who was preparing another ballista bolt to attack. The weapon itself was perched on a small hill chain that was really steep. Whispering an incantation, blue aura began to cover his right hand. A few moments later, Aracho threw his hand out, pointing it at the archer on the ballista. Almost instantly, a giant lightning bolt struck the archer. The loud boom almost completely concealed the archer's scream as he was fried to death. Looking back, Aracho saw Lyn and some of the group advancing.
"Matthew isn't here, and Rath went to warn the villagers nearby of the battle," Lyn quickly explained.
"Okay, let's go." Working their way down the path, they found themselves assaulted by incoming soldiers. Switching tomes, Aracho began to rain down fire spells on the enemy while Lyn, Sain and Dorcas took to the front line, slowly advancing through the thick underbrush of the lowerland. Eventually, they reached a bridge that clearly showed the last of the Caelin attackers awaiting them. "Let's finish this!" Aracho said out loud, taking out his daggers and heading straight for the commander.
"You dare to fight me?" he said, readying his axereaver. "Come!"
"My pleasure," the blue-hair boy grinned, running up and confronting the stubby knight. With one of his daggers, he jammed the end of the man's lance. He had a great amount of fun seeing the dumbfounded expression on the general's face. Without giving him a chance to talk, Aracho beheaded the man a clean swipe across his neck at the beginning of his armor. Getting his other dagger out of the axereaver, he calmly put them back in their holsters as the rest of the group arrived at where he was.
"That's a little...gruesome, isn't it?" Kent commented at seeing the man's head on the ground.
"I would prefer the terms quick and efficient," Aracho deflected. Kent once again opened his mouth to say something, but Lyn beat him to it.
"Is that the rest of them?"
"...Yes, I saw no other enemy soldiers," Kent answered, deciding to drop the discussion with Aracho for now. "But...something is troubling me."
"What is it?" the Sacaean prodded.
"During the battle, I noticed...our opponents were soldiers of Caelin," he revealed. "I even recognized some of them that we fought. We had trained together, many of them with me...but they turned their weapons on us without hesitation."
"They're black-hearted traitors who've joined Lundgren," Sain summarized, bitterness evident in his voice. "Good riddance, I say. At least we'll have less resistance at the castle."
"I hope you're right," Kent sighed.
"In any case, Ninian and Nils were with us," Lyn put in, doing her best to diffuse the tension of the two Caelin knights who just finished fighting against their former comrades. "If they hadn't, that first ballista would have likely killed me."
"We are honored to have served you," Ninian said, doing her best to curtsy despite her injured leg.
"We won't let you down!" Nils exclaimed with a lot more energy, giving the Sacaean girl a thumbs up.
"I know. We're depending on you." Just then, Aracho heard running, and looked to see Matthew coming up to the rest of the group.
"Well, lookie lookie! Long time no see, Matthew," Aracho teased at the thief (spy, in his mind).
"I see things are cleared here," he commented. "You even dealt with the ballista? Well done!" he complimented.
"Matthew, where were you during all this?" Lyn asked him.
"I was in the neighboring village sniffing for some information," he quickly answered. "I got some interesting news for my trouble, too."
"Let's hear it!"
"First, Marquess Caelin's illness," he started. "He has truly been seriously ill. He's been bedridden for about three months now." Lyn gasped in shock about the state of her grandfather's health.
"Oh, no...grandfather…"
"I heard a rather intriguing rumor about his condition," he continued. "The people believe that some people have been poisoning the marquess…" That piece of information led to an uproar among Lyndis' Legion.
"Poison?" Wil shouted, unable to contain his shock. Unfazed, Matthew continued his report with a grave look on his face.
"This someone…" the thief paused for a moment before continuing. "Well, everyone's too afraid to mention a name. However, the word around is that as soon as he became ill, a certain noble took control of the throne and the castle as it were his own. I fed a greedy innkeeper some coin, and he gave me a name...The Marquess' brother, Lord Lundgren." Stunned silence followed Matthew's revelation.
"Wha...How can this be?" Lyn whispered, before breaking out into a loud rant. "How can they let him get away with this? The villagers KNOW he's the one poisoning my grandfather, yet no one lifts a hand against him. Why?"
"That's how rulers like him operate," Aracho started, all eyes turning on him. "They use their position and power to silence the people at even the smallest disagreement to prevent any dissent from their rule. Then they control everything with an iron fist, choking the country's pulse under a fake respect that covers hatred and fear of retaliation for stepping out of line...He's the worst kind of human." People like Lundgren were exactly what the Black Fang was made for.
"That's...the truth of it…" Matthew agreed, his eyes darting from Aracho to Lyn. "Of the Marquess' loyal retainers that may have been able to lend credence to this accusation, there has been no word or sign."
"So...they've been kept quiet…" Dorcas muttered, voicing everyone's thoughts.
"That's a fair assumption," the thief said, basically confirming it if anything.
"I can't believe this!" Sain cried out.
"It gets worse."
"More!?" the green-clad knight huffed, his mood in rapid decline the longer this briefing carried on.
"An imposter has appeared, claiming to be the Marquess' granddaughter," Matthew said, looking at Lyn. "At least, that's what anyone willing to listen to Lundgren's story is told."
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"It means...that people are waiting for two traitorous knights of Caelin and a baseborn child to come and lay claim to Castle Caelin."
"...It can't be!" Sain cried out.
"We aren't traitors!" Kent followed. "That's ridiculous!"
"Lyn, do you have anything from your mother to prove who you are?" Aracho asked. Sadly, the Sacaean shook her head in the negative.
"When my mother left and joined the Lorca, she took nothing of Lycia with her."
"Milady, remember that Marquess Araphen himself remarked of your resemblance with Lady Madelyn!" Sain reminded. "Your very face is proof!" At that, Kent shook his head.
"No, they'll just say we found a lookalike somewhere...as betrayers of our vows as knights, our word no longer means anything."
"Our only hope is to push and see Marquess Caelin himself," Lyn resolved. "We have to hurry, or else, my grandfather…" she shook her head to relieve herself of the need to shed tears. "I must see him! Even if it costs me my last breath."
"But, we have to formulate some sort of plan!" Matthew brought in. "Even if we set out for the castle, the endless troops patrolling the land will cause a massive headache and strain on everyone. They have deemed you oathbreakers, after all."
"I've got it!" Lyn exclaimed, her face brightening up. "Eliwood! He's still in Kathelet! If we can talk to him, he might help us!"
"That's a great idea!" Sain mentioned, his spirits lifting in the blink of an eye.
"Well, we might want to hurry, then," Aracho mentioned.
"Back to Kathelet!" Lyn called. The group rushed back to the city to find Eliwood, who could very well end up being their last hope.
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Five days later…
"How long are we waiting for this guy?" Aracho whined in a rare moment of extreme irritation. "We'll all be skeletons by the time Eliwood gets back."
"Aracho, that is no way to speak of Lord Eliwood!" Kent chastised. "It'd do some good to learn to show respect."
"We're the same age, more or less," the blue-haired boy countered. "His title doesn't merit respect at all. Where you dumb people get this idea of groveling to royalty from, I'll never know."
"Hmph! I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand the knight's code of respect," the red-armored knight replied.
"Protect spoiled rich families so they don't have to lift a finger to do any work of substance? Hah! I wouldn't want that code if my life depended on it."
"Archy...you seem rather averse to people of nobility…" Lyn noted. "Is something...the matter?" The question came quietly, yet it seemed to have a great effect. Everyone in Lyndis' Legion stopped whatever they were doing to hear the answer that came out of Aracho's mouth.
After a couple seconds of silence, the teen grunted in amusement and turned his eyes up to the ceiling. "No offense, but I wouldn't expect any of you to understand," he vaguely replied, obviously deep in thought about something.
"Understand what?" Wil pressed, his curiosity piqued.
"...A lot. Maybe sometime in the future, you'll be ready to hear it." Before anyone could question the kid further, the door of the place they were staying opened to reveal Eliwood.
"Lord Eliwood! Did you get word?" Kent asked, spurring into action. The red-head nodded in affirmation.
"I've received word from Caelin's neighbors: Laus, Tuscana, Kathelet, Tania and Santaruz. They will not interfere in Caelin's affairs," he revealed, leading to a collective sigh of relief from everyone in the room. "This, they have promised."
"Eliwood...I don't know how to thank you!" Lyn said in pure happiness. This was the best news that they could've asked for.
"All I've done is convince them to remain neutral in the dispute," he downplayed. "That also means I cannot aid you in any way, either. Will you be alright?"
"I will win. I have to," she said in absolution. Her eyes held a burning conviction to stay true to the words that she just uttered. "It's the only way I can help my grandfather."
"I understand," Eliwood nodded, a small smile on his face. "Although I cannot help directly, as a friend, I will be praying for your victory and success."
"Thank you," Lyn returned. "I will not waste this opportunity that you have granted me." With that, the red-haired noble took his leave of Lyndis' Legion, leaving them to get ready to depart to Castle Caelin where Lundgren and Hausen stayed. "That's that...Come on everyone! We can still make it by the end of the week if we get going now!"
Bolstered by the good news Eliwood brought, the group had an extra bounce in their energy as they advanced to Castle Caelin. However, around the mid-afternoon, the beginning of a deep fog started to roll around.
"It looks like a heavy fog is rolling in…" Lyn mentioned while the majority of the group's vision started to diminish.
"This isn't good..." Kent said. "The thicker the fog gets, the worse it will be to fight. It will prove difficult to fight what we can't see."
"What do we do now?" Wil asked, speaking the question for the entire group.
"Hm...We can't wait any longer," Lyn decided. "We must keep forward to get closer to the castle...Kent, what's the best way?"
"Hold for a second, please," the red-armored knight thought, before his eyes widened in realization. "Our best path would likely be to the south...however, that runs directly by General Eagler's estate," he advised grimly. "It looks like we have yet another obstacle left to pass…"
"We've already come this far," Lyn resolved. "We'll just have to do what we've always done."
"...Come out!" Aracho suddenly yelled, taking a battle position with an elfire tome in his hand.
"So you've come…" a gruff voice said, which soon was revealed to belong to a towering man in the great silver armor of a general.
"You're...General Wallace!" Kent said with shock.
"Who is this?" the Sacaean girl asked, the name not registering anywhere in her memory.
"He used to be commander of the knights of Caelin," the orange-haired cavalier answered.
"Aren't you supposed to be retired?" Sain put in, directly asking the older man himself. "I heard you were sowing fields now."
"I am, and I was," he admitted, his voice booming with a great authority. "Then...I received orders from Lord Lundgren. I was told to capture an imposter and a pair of traitorous knights." Not liking that answer, Aracho began to quietly chant a spell in the case he began to move forward on them while letting the conversation drag on.
"Lord Wallace! Surely, you don't believe us to be oathbreakers, do you?"
"...Bring me the girl that claims to be Lady Madelyn's child," he demanded, completely ignoring the man's question.
"What are your intentions?" Sain asked, eyes narrowed and grip on his lance tightened.
"If I don't like what I see, I will take her," he said simply.
"We will prevent you," Kent followed almost instantly after the former commander stopped speaking. In response, Wallace released a great bellowing laughter.
"You? Prevent me? You must be-"
"Enough!" Lyn yelled, shoving her way past the two Caelin knights and standing face to face with General Wallace himself. "I'm right here. I am Lyndis." When he laid eyes on her, he did not move, but simply stared at her face in silence. "I understand if you don't want to believe me, but I've had enough of your foolish posturing. We don't have the time!"
"...Such beautiful eyes," he muttered, catching everyone off-guard.
"...Pardon?" Lyn asked, confused about what he meant. Then, out of nowhere, the general once again released a laugh that boomed from his mouth.
"I've been a knight for 30 years, and here's one thing I have learned along the way," he explained. "A person with eyes as true and as bright as yours is no deceiver! I like you, girl! Heck, I'll even join your little band of mercenaries!"
"...Are you serious?" Sain asked as he blinked in disbelief.
"This old bull has pledged loyalty to Caelin. I would never allow an usurper to take the throne," he declared. "Let's march!" he declared, effectively going ahead of everyone with an axe and chain in his hand.
"Lord Wallace! ...He hasn't changed at all," Kent muttered after seeing that the man continued his march down to Eagler's estate without stopping.
"I like him," Lyn admitted. "He's honest."
"Seems like it," Aracho agreed. "I'll go north to make sure we don't get blindsided."
"I'll go with you," Wil offered. Nodding at the archer, the two started their trek around the small hillsides to check for any soldiers coming their direction. Sure enough, the blue-haired boy soon caught sight of a brigand and a soldier farther behind coming close to them.
"Hey, can you tell the village to close their gates?" he asked. "I'll hold them back for the time being."
"Gotcha! Be right back," he accepted, before going to fulfill the request. Turning his attention to the approaching brigand, he gathered arcane energy in his hand and released the spell he had chanted for Wallace. From his hand, a small ball of blue fire raced ahead before catching the bandit in a pillar of flames that killed him in a matter of seconds. Chanting again, he blew another blue fireball in the face of the advancing soldier, killing him just as Wil arrived from the village. "Wow, blue fire? How do you manage that?"
"Trade secret," Aracho answered as the two advanced. Honestly, he didn't have much of a clue of why he summoned blue fire. It's been that way since he first started learning fire magic at the age of 9 since Ursula didn't trust him with fireballs to begin with.
Looking back with how he was with thunder magic starting out, that probably was the best decision she could have made, even if thunder magic is usually reserved for those with at least a little magical expertise. Perhaps it was her way of testing him.
Shaking the theories out of his head, he looked forward in the fog to see the outline of more soldiers coming. "Hey, can you see those lancemen coming?" he asked the archer.
"Well, maybe I can with this torch they gave me," Wil answered, holding up the item in his hand. "But I can't hold it up and a bow at the same time."
"Here, I'll take it," Aracho offered. Taking the torch, he quickly lit a flame, which diminished the level of fog around them to reveal two soldiers and yet another brigand heading towards them. "There they go!" he called, before chanting another spell. While the brown-haired teen rained down archers on the soldiers, Aracho shocked the brigand to death with his thunder magic. Before long, they continued to travel past to see a lone house in the field past the hills. "Should we see if anyone's home?"
"Couldn't hurt," Wil shrugged. In agreement, the two knocked on the door. As they waited, they kept a quick lookout for anyone who may attack them. A few seconds later, the house door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman with brown eyes.
"Yes? How may I help you?"
"We just wanted to warn you that there was some fighting going on," Wil told the woman. "It'd be better to stay inside for a while."
"Oh, dear...What of General Eagler? He's the general of the Caelin forces," she explained. "He's an honest man who has always treated us well."
"We're...fighting his forces," Aracho revealed, making her gasp. "He's fighting for Lord Lundgren...You heard any news between them?"
"No...but, he must be aware of Lundgren's plot to seize Caelin," she pondered aloud. "I can only believe that Lundgren's holding someone dear to him as a hostage." The mere suggestion made Aracho's blood boil; how much are these noblemen allowed to get away with before justice gets served to them. "Why do so many innocents get hurt in the foolish games of nobles?" she sighed.
"Don't worry about it, ma'am," Aracho comforted, a steely look in his eyes. Throughout his short life, he'd heard that phrase endlessly from regular citizens who had suffered under corrupt "leaders" and "rulers" who only seeked to exploit anyone and everyone possible for personal gain. "Soon, he'll be gone."
"I hope so...Be safe, and thank you for the warning," the woman returned before closing the door.
"Lundgren's gonna pay. Dearly," Aracho declared. Wil, who also took the news very seriously, nodded in agreement. "Come on, let's hurry down south. I can see Erk and Serra," he said, pointing to the faint silhouettes of a girl with pigtails and a mage. Running through the field, the blue-haired mage quietly called out to the two.
"Wil and Aracho!" Serra called out rather obnoxiously loud. Cringing at the volume of the cleric, Aracho quickly regretted doing what he did.
"Where are Lyn and the others?"
"They went farther ahead," Erk answered. "We're about to regroup with them now." Nodding, the four followed the route that led to Eagler's estate, eventually finding the remaining members of Lyndis' Legion standing around the corpse of who Aracho guessed to be General Eagler.
"What...kind of man was General Eagler?" the green-haired Sacaean asked Kent and Sain.
"When Sain and I first became knights, he was our captain...Our teacher…" the red-armored knight started, a sorrowful expression on his face.
"I think he must have known we were telling the truth," Lyn blurted, not believing that a man so good as described by all the Caelin knights as someone of great honor. "Why did he force the fight?"
"Someone close by said that they thought a loved one was being taken hostage," Aracho spoke up. "People know him as a decent man."
"...May Lundgren never know the embrace of Mother Earth!" Lyn shouted in complete rage. "I WILL stop that man!"
"We're right behind you," Aracho replied, trying to ease the girl's anger.
"Let's go. Now, timing is of the essence," Kent mentioned. Without any protest, the group continued their journey to Castle Caelin.
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A/N: Once again, I must issue an "I'm sorry" notice to everyone. This chapter has been half-done for a LONG time and I just got back around to updating it, especially since college and keeping Blue Wolf maintained. Yeah...times is ROUGH out here. But, the semester ends very soon and hopefully I can get past the time skip by next month while break is happening.
There's your update, and I hope y'all liked it! Do all those options the website gives you, and I'll see everyone later~!
Blizzard, out!