Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.
XXXXX
Last time on Fire Emblem: Blazing Light…
"It's me, Archy!" the boy yelled, running over Uhai. Kneeling down, he quickly pulled out a vulnerary and gave it to the Black Fang man. "Hurry! Take this before you bleed out!" he said, ignoring the pure shock on the nomad's face. "Come on, Uncle Uhai!"
"Uncle!?" Lyn shouted in shock.
"Aracho! What is the meaning of this!?" Eliwood shouted in confusion.
"You attacked us!" Hector yelled, angry when he got up.
"Stay back! ...Come any closer and I'll kill you," he threatened in a deadly serious tone, despite the tears in his eyes. With a defiant look, Hector was about to approach them anyways before he was stopped by Lyn, who blocked him with her arm.
The girl's large eyes held a look of pure confusion; how could Archy of all people attack them like that? "Archy...What are you doing?"
"..." Without answering her question, Aracho looked back to see Uhai shakily getting back on his feet with the help of his horse. Seeing his uncle figure back on his legs, the boy only slightly lowered his dagger, before completely lowering his hood, showing his full face and head. "...No more hiding," the boy said to himself, before raising his head to look at all three Lycian nobles in front of him.
"...My name is Aracho Reed. I am the adopted son of Brendan Reed, and the Blue Raven of the Black Fang."
XXXXX
No one moved. No one knew what they would do. The three Lycians looked at their companion in complete and utter shock. "..." Without sparing another look at them, the blue-haired boy turned back to Uhai, who had done his best to patch up his wounds with the given vulnerary. "Is it better?"
"...yes, Archy," the Sacaean responded, though it was clear that Aracho's presence was just as jarring for him as it was for the rest of them. "How are-"
"I'll answer that later," the teen cut off. "First, we have to get you to safety…" At the sound of more steps, he turned around to see more of the group arriving at the scene, confused since they had not seen the entire event play out. "..." He had no words for the people he just betrayed. Looking over, he tracked all of their confused looks until his eyes finally met with Lyn's.
They had so much hurt and betrayal in them that it felt like he was stabbed in the gut. The one that he knew longer than all of them, Uhai excluded of course. They had known each other the longest, she had known the most out of everyone about him...which apparently wasn't much, as it were. "...Uncle Uhai," the assassin called. "Do you know where the Dragon's Gate is? Eliwood's father is there. Their quest is to bring him home," he explained, pointing at the red-headed noble. "...Please."
"...From here, go south," the nomad said, momentarily forgetting his complete shock. "Turn at the rotted tree. Head west. There lies the path to the Dragon's Gate." With that done, he climbed back onto his horse with help from his adopted nephew.
"...We're going back to Fargus," Aracho said, not even turning his head to face the rest of the group.
"Hold on! Do you believe that after attacking us, you can-"
"Hector!" Eliwood called, cutting him off. "Let them go."
"But Eli-"
"My father is still out there. Now we know where he is. We can deal with this later," the Pheraean explained. While he was clearly in a better place mentally than his friend, confusion still filled his voice.
Without anything left to say, Aracho started to walk, with Uhai right behind him. He didn't expect anyone to stop him, but something deep inside of him wanted for someone to call out...to at least show that they still cared. When nothing reached his ears other than his steps and Uhai's slightly labored breathing, the blue-haired teen sighed in sadness. Continuing through the fog, the two eventually reached the coastline, where they traveled until they caught sight of an older man with an axe over his shoulder surveying the surrounding area. "Hm? Well, if it isn't one of the little whelps!" Fargus commented as they walked closer. "Who's the big one? And where's the rest of yer crew, kid?"
"They went ahead...This is my uncle," Aracho answered quietly. "He was injured, and I brought him back."
"...Bring 'im up," the pirate captain directed, turning to head back to the pirate ship. With a quiet hum of affirmation, Aracho followed the man's steps, going up the small wooden board to the ship's deck. Looking over, he saw Uhai get off his horse, before guiding it to the top. When they both made it onto the ship, he cringed in pain again.
"Here, come lay by the room. Up here," Aracho directed, offering his body as support. "Up...and there. On the wall." As carefully as possible, he slowly helped the nomad lower himself onto the wall, where he sat. "I'll go get an elixir. Stay right here."
"..." Uhai didn't say anything as he saw the person he believed dead go under the deck for something. Nothing occurred in the time elapsed between when Aracho left and when he returned, so there was no cause for conversation.
"I'm back," the mage announced as he made his way back to Uhai with a glass bottle that contained a blue substance. "Here you go."
"...Thank you," the Sacaean said, before drinking the elixir. Almost instantly, he could feel his strength coming back as his body started to repair itself, though the feeling of exhaustion would only be resolved with time. Seeing that his uncle would be alright, Aracho sat down next to his family member, feeling both relieved and saddened at what just happened.
"...I can't tell you everything right now," he started, knowing that Uhai was one to listen more than to talk. "But I've had to pretend to be dead for the last year. Only Ursula knows I'm alive out of the entire Black Fang. She was the one who told me you'd be here…"
"Hey, whelp!" a voice called, interrupting his conversation. Looking over, he saw Fargus standing near the mast of the ship. "We can take care of 'im if ya want. Need to go back and help your friends, I reckon?"
"I…" Aracho paused. They wouldn't want his help. Who in the world would accept help from someone who attacked them? Someone who spent all that time with them, only to end up stabbing them in the back? ...Well, Eliwood was technically the only one he cut with a dagger, but that was besides the point.
"Aracho. Go," Uhai said, shocking the child.
"But...Uncle Uhai, they won't want anything to do with me...Not after…"
"The Sacaean woman seems like she would understand," he advised, looking directly at the boy. "Do not be afraid, Archy. Go. You must aid them."
There it was again. Even after saving him, Uhai was still the one giving him encouragement to get past his own fear and worries. "...Okay, I'll go," he admitted. "...What's ahead for them to deal with?"
"...Powerful mages," the nomad informed. "Aion, an expert in the art of thunder magic. Teodor, a user of the darkness. At the Dragon's Gate, lies Darin, Marquess of Laus and Nergal...Jaffar, the Angel of Death, stands by Nergal's side. Do not falter, Aracho...The smallest lapse of judgement will prove fatal."
"...He's there, too...He killed the spy, didn't he?" Aracho asked. At the man's nod, he stood up, pulling his hood up. "...I'll be back soon. Old man Fargus! I'm leaving."
"Haha! Ain't lost a bit of spunk, I see," the captain laughed, most likely referring to the dig about his age. "Get going. He'll be looked after just right." Going off the ship, Aracho ran back into the fog-ridden forests to find Lyn and the others, hoping in his heart that they'd forgive him for what he did.
XXXXX
A little while later…
In front of the whole group stood a great, tall tree. After going directly south, as Uhai directed, they found exactly what he had described. Looking distinct from the rest of the forest's trees, this one had a host of green-yellow mold that signaled that it was dying. "A great rotted tree…This appears to be the place of which Uhai spoke."
"...So if we move west from here, we'll reach the Dragon's Gate, right?" Hector asked. "Ok, let's go!"
"Hector, walk quieter. You're too loud and your armor is too noisy," Lyn said harshly. After the...incident, she had been noticeably quieter than usual. These were her first words since the two left back for Fargus' ship, actually.
"Oh...How's this?" he asked, tiptoeing. The metallic sound of his armor still made a rather heavy sound, however, much to Lyn's irritation.
"You're still clanking," she bluntly said, rolling her eyes.
"Do you not see what I'm wearing?" Hector burst, now irritated. "This equipment is not light! How do you propose I walk "quietly" in this!?"
"Stop yelling at me!" Lyn burst. "We just have to move quietly, that's all I'm saying. Nothing more!"
"I know! And I'm doing my best!" the Ostian yelled back.
"Quiet! Both of you!" Eliwood hissed. "Armor or no, if you two keep shouting, every enemy from here to Pherae itself will hear us!" After that, Ninian gasped, putting everyone on edge. "Ninian? ...What's wrong?"
"Someone...is coming," she said ominously. Drawing their weapons, they looked around, alert for any ambush. After a long time of silence, they started to lower their weapons, feeling that it may have been a false alarm.
...Until Matthew caught something moving between the nearby trees. "Milord, there!" he noted, pointing.
"Come out! Show yourself!" Hector challenged, raising his weapon. The walking did not stop, but increasingly got louder. Readying themselves for an attack, they prepared for an ambush, an attack from the side, behind, a stray arrow, anything.
What they didn't prepare for was a single person, one that they trusted, walking up to them with a serious look and a hood over his head. For a moment, nobody moved, only staring at each other and at their visitor.
"...Why are you here?" Hector spoke up first, raising his weapon and pointing it towards the Black Fang member. "Decided to try and finish the job, traitor?"
"...Come on. Let's go to the Dragon's Gate," Aracho simply said, before walking to the west. As he tried to pass by, Hecor, in all his rage, ran forward, axe raised and red in his eye. Jumping back, Aracho quickly snapped his fingers. Filling his palm with magic energy, he touched Hector's arm with his right hand, paralyzing him. Before anyone else could react, Marquess Ostia's brother had a dagger placed dangerously close to his throat, only mere centimeters from piercing his skin.
"Hector! Aracho, let him go!" Eliwood shouted in shock. At once, he complied, letting the large teenager go without a scratch.
"You dare assault Lord Hector in such a way!?" Oswin intervened, coming to the defense of his ruler.
"He assaulted me," Aracho said in a cold voice, completely devoid of the warmth that everyone had come to know him by. His eyes were a cold blue, like ice from the tallest mountain in Ilia, and had no emotion in them whatsoever. "This is the second time he's tried to do so. Be glad he's alive."
"...Why are you here?" Eliwood asked cautiously, not wanting to provoke the teenager any further. "Surely your...uncle needs you."
"Fargus is helping him. I'm here to help you."
"Pah!" Hector spat, though he didn't try to advance this time for obvious reasons.
"...Why?" the red-head asked again, narrowing his eyes.
"...Family is an important thing to have," Aracho said sincerely, letting the smallest amount of emotion carry through his expression. "I wouldn't want you to lose yours."
"...Do you think we would believe that? After your actions?" Marcus spoke up, with him and Lowen forming a defensive position around Marquess Pherae's son. Kent and Sain did the same with Lyn, and Matthew came to Oswin's side next to Hector. "You are a liar and a killer."
"...I am a killer, that's true," Aracho admitted bluntly, utterly shocking everyone. "But a liar, I'm not."
"That's rich," Hector said sarcastically. "You've lied to us for the whole time we've been together!"
"...Actually, I haven't," the Blue Raven quietly refuted. "During this entire journey alongside Eliwood, and even a year ago during the Caelin affair, I have not lied to a single person here. Uncle Uhai didn't raise me to lie." Hector looked like he wanted to say something, but was stopped by Eliwood, who raised his hand to quiet them.
"...Prove yourself. How can you help us?" the Lycian Lord asked him. "You've already betrayed us once. How can we take your word?"
"Past this tree, you're going to be attacked by two more sets of forces before reaching the Dragon's Gate. One is headed by a thunder sage named Aion, and the other by a druid named Teodor. When you arrive, Darin, Ephidel and Nergal will be there, on the inside. I'd assume your father is being held there close by."
"...Lyn, what do you think?" Eliwood asked, turning to the first person who Aracho met. "You've known him the longest…Should we trust him?"
"...He's telling the truth," she judged rather quickly, surprising the Lycians.
"How can you be so sure!?" Hector challenged, clearly irritated.
"...Archy has never lied to me." Lyn revealed, doing her best not to snap again at the Ostian. "He was also raised by Uhai. Uhai is a Sacaean; he would not lie. I believe them, at least."
...Lyn's words held a conviction that surprised Aracho greatly. Looking directly into her eyes, he found that despite what happened, she believed in him, as a friend and as an ally.
"...Alright. You can come with us," Eliwood finally agreed. "But understand that you will be closely watched."
"Nothing I'm not used to," the mage shrugged, pulling out his daggers and twirling them around. "Come on." With that...technically settled, the whole group set out west, nearing the location where they had to get to. As they walked, Aracho noted that almost everyone kept their distance away from him, with a few exceptions; Lyn, Guy and Fiora were the only ones who didn't give him the cold shoulder.
He understood the first two, since his connection to Sacae through Uhai most likely convinced them that he told the truth, but the blue-haired girl (whose hair color was actually extremely close to his), he could not think of an explanation. Then again, he remembered that the name was familiar to him, though he could not remember why. Perhaps she'd confront him after this whole Dread Isle affair ended. Whatever the case, it certainly was the least of his worries. After they get off the island, it'll be nearly impossible to maintain contact with Ursula considering all of the Lycians that will be breathing down his neck and watching his every move.
Then again…No, that's not an option. 'I refuse to do that to them,' Aracho told himself, shaking his head. He was a killer, true, but a murderer? He'd never stoop that low. Never.
Thankfully, he was brought out of his mental thoughts by Eliwood, who was at the front of the group.
"I can see ruins. Is that the Dragon's Gate?" he asked, pointing towards a large structure south of some mountains.
"...No, it's further than this," Aracho denied, before Ninian suddenly gasped.
"...Beware...The enemy comes!" As soon as the words left her mouth, a hooded shaman teleported right in front of them.
"Eliwood of Pherae! Prepare yourself!" he warned before quickly retreating back. As he left, Aracho could see many more troops making their way from the ruins to the west, including a rather fancy looking sage, who he quickly concluded to be Aion.
"We won't reach the Dragon's Gate if we stay on the defensive!" Eliwood said. "Hit their commander and attack the ruins!" Pulling up his hood, Aracho prepared to go into combat.
"Aracho!" Hector called with a rough tone. "Is that their commander over by the ruins?"
"Yes," the boy quickly answered, getting more irritated by the second. "He's a mage. You won't be much help against him. Better to stay back."
"What nonsense is that?" the axeman replied indignantly, clearly offended by the remark. "I can't fight from the rear."
"Shame." Without any warning, Aracho bolted forward, leaving the rest of the group in his dust, more or less. Running into a group of anima mages, the assassin quickly yanked out his Elfire tome as he chanted. Finishing quickly, he sent a ball of blue fire at one of the mages that engulfed him in a pillar of flames, making them scream as they got burned alive. Looking to the right, he snapped his fingers, using the magic gathered in his hand to block the fire from the second mage. Aracho rebounded with another spell, making short work of the other mage. "Hm...these are some weak mages...Did they only bring newbies here?" he wondered aloud.
"Aracho!" Lyn yelled, running up to him. "...Let me fight with you."
"...Okay," he agreed, stepping back to come closer to her. "...Thank you." Despite the short exchange of words, an agreement was made between the two. For how long, that was anyone's guess, but something happened.
Advancing with Lyn, the two found their path to the nearby ruins blocked by a small unit of armored knights. "Here, let me," Aracho said before breaking off into a chant. After a few seconds, he sent an Elfire spell at one of the enemies, cooking them within their own armor. Preparing another spell, he set his sights on the advancing lance knights that he knew would be a hassle for him and Lyn to take on directly. Again gathering energy in his hand, he pointed it towards the knight to make quick work of him.
...Except no spell materialized. "What?" Aracho said aloud, snapping his fingers, only to find out that he couldn't manipulate the arcane energy at all. "My magic...It's gone…"
"What do you mean?" Lyn asked, as the knights started to advance on them.
"It's gone, Lyn!" the teen yelled back, feeling a sudden rush of irrational anger. Wondering where it came from, he quickly forced it back, covering his face with his hood and taking out his daggers. "Sorry for yelling." Without another word, he ran up to the knight, readying for a melee attack. Barely dodging a strike of the lance, Aracho whipped around behind the Black Fang lackey, cutting the exposed back of his neck deeply. Without any reservation, the boy also cut the front of his neck, mercilessly letting the body fall to the ground gurgling blood.
"Thunder? Thunder, hear my cry!" they heard a voice shout. Aracho quickly deduced that the voice belonged to Aion, meaning that his magic didn't work either.
"...The enemy's magic doesn't work either!" he told Lyn, who nodded before motioning back to the rest of the group to advance. As they came, he and the Sacaean mopped through the defenseless enemy mages, making their way up to the ruins and coming into contact with Aion, who dressed rather regally for a Black Fang member, Aracho noted. Thankfully, Eliwood, Hector and the others arrived and engaged all of the armored attackers, leaving the enemy leader at Aracho and Lyn's mercy.
"This...can't be happening!" the man yelled in disbelief as the two approached him rapidly. "Curse you!" After those words, he met his end by a slash from Lyn's sword to the abdomen and a diagonal slice across the neck from Aracho. As his body dropped to the ground, the two looked back to see Eliwood, Hector, Marcus, Guy, Matthew, Wil, Florina, Fiora and Dart coming up to them.
"Lyn!" Hector yowled, completely ignoring the Black Fang teenager's presence. "Florina spotted someone slightly to the north. We're going to investigate."
"Okay," she nodded. Coming along, Aracho quickly felt an influx of emotion, particularly anxiety, creeping through his entire body. That feeling intensified when he caught sight of a mysterious, hooded figure guarded by four soldiers with...glowing eyes.
"What in the world?" Aracho muttered aloud, noting instantly how similar they looked to Sonia's eyes. He stopped in his tracks, along with the rest of the group. However, none of the people in front of them made any effort to advance, merely watching them with their inhuman gazes. "...They're just watching."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Hector irritably called, rushing forward despite Eliwood's calls. Without a choice, the rest of the group had to go and back the petulant Lycian Lord up.
They quickly found out that the four were no pushovers, as they snapped their weapons up when Hector approached, quickly meeting his blow. Amazingly, the big Ostian was being pushed back slightly by the knight, while the two snipers took aim at them. Falling back, Aracho narrowly avoided an arrow that pierced directly into the building behind them, making a dent in it. "What the hell are these things?" he asked himself, amazed at their strength. Before he could ponder the question, the second knight came upon him, thrusting its lance forward.
Jumping to the side, he quickly swiped its neck with a dagger. To his shock and disgust, blood did not come out. Instead it was some sort of...gray-blackish goop. Caught off-guard by what he just saw, Aracho didn't prepare for the knight's strike and was directly hit on the side by the silver lance's blunt side.
Amazingly, the teen was thrown back for many feet, rolling along the ground before he hit a nearby tree. Gasping in pain, he shakily stood up to see the knight staring at him with that look, still in front of the weird figure that hadn't moved since they saw him. When he laid eyes on the hooded...thing, something in Aracho snapped. "Leave!" he yelled, gathering magic in his hand.
'When did my magic come back?' he wondered mentally, though he didn't care at the moment to find out. Now, he was able to use his strongest power to kill these abominations. Pointing his hand towards the two, Aracho released every bit of energy he was able to gather, draining him to near instant-unconsciousness.
A slow whistle started to sound across the whistle, followed by a chilling breeze that caught everyone's attention. A few moments later, the whistle and the wind got louder, while the temperature dropped drastically in the immediate area to the point where Aracho could see his own breath. The winds eventually made a circular motion, surrounding the weird figure and the knight. A deep blue-green shade of wind became visible to everyone as the gust eventually turned into a whirlwind, forcing some to close their eyes.
Then...The wind converged in the middle of the vortex, creating an explosion of blue ice crystals and swirling ice shards. In the midst of the giant attack, Aracho heard a deformed cry of extreme pain. When the wind died down, the mysterious person in the robe seemed to glare at him angrily, before teleporting away. "Aracho!" Lyn called, running up to the boy. Looking over, the teen found himself walking to her, feeling oddly weak. "Was that your wind magic? That was...incredible!"
"..."
"Is everyone well?" Eliwood asked, looking around the entire group.
"Yes, somehow," Hector answered, giving a suspicious look at Aracho.
"Eliwood...I'm sorry," Lyn apologized, as the whole group congregated. "I said things I shouldn't have."
"No, I was shouting without thinking," Hector interrupted, actually managing to show a look of sorrow on his face. "I was wrong. Forgive me."
"It's no one's fault," Eliwood denied, looking back at the patch of ice where the mysterious person stood. "There's an eerie force here."
'He felt it, too,' Aracho thought, doing his best to distract himself from his blurring vision.
"The Black Fang couldn't use magic, either," he heard Lyn say. "So it wasn't an ally of theirs…"
"Who knows?" Eliwood sighed.
"It's gone now," Hector noted. "There's no sense in worrying about it. We should concentrate on pushing forward."
At that, the Pheraean hummed in agreement. "Let's make haste to the Dragon's Gate." Shaking his head in a futile attempt to clear his blurring vision, Aracho quickly started to walk as fast as he could without stumbling, refusing to show weakness.
'What was that? How could I use my magic?' he asked himself, looking down at his hands. 'No...It wasn't magic...Was it?' Before he could think any further, his vision went from blurry to black as he descended into darkness.
XXXXX
A/N: And that's that! Now, one actually astounding thing I have to address is the "never lied" thing from Aracho stated earlier in the chapter. After I wrote that, I honestly was not sure if that was true and had to re-read the entire story to fact check the statement.
As crazy as it may sound, Aracho had actually NEVER said a single direct lie to anyone in Lyn/Hector/Eliwood's group. (Omission of info doesn't count as lying since it technically presents no contradictions of fact/fiction.) To the writing of this Author's note, he has only told ONE explicit lie, which I found abso-freakin-lutely amazing.
But yeah, besides that, I hope you enjoyed this installation! As always, remember to fave, follow and review and please pray for me on these finals so I can end the semester a happy camper!
Blizzard, out!