Robin - War Camp
Robin bolted upright in bed as he awoke from yet another nightmare. He choked back a scream as he reminded himself where he was. The lions had marched out of Garreg Mach with the Knights of Seiros reserves two days ago. Tomorrow morning they were set to launch an attack against Lord Lonato and his insurrectionists. Placing his head in his hands, Robin tried to erase the nightmare from his mind. Whatever was happening to him, he couldn't let his emotions distract him from the coming battle. Robin was about to go back to sleep when he got the sudden sensation that he wasn't alone in his tent.
"Hello, Robin..." A whispering voice rose from one of the darkest corners of the tent. Robin felt his blood freeze as he recognized the owner of that voice. It was his own. Stepping into the light was a figure who looked exactly like the young tactician, save for one crucial detail. Instead of two eyes, this Robin had six. They all stared daggers at Robin, glowing red in the low light.
"Grima?! How are you still alive?! I... I killed you at Origin Peak." To Robin's surprise, Grima began to chuckle.
"That was an... unfortunate turn of events, but you are mistaken. You killed ONE version of me. Your version." The dragon watched as realization and horror dawned on Robin's face.
"So you're Lucina's Grima. The one from her future."
"Precisely!" Grima clapped his hands slowly, mocking the tactician. "While I had to sacrifice my physical body to summon myself in your timeline, my spirit still lingered within the other me. My only miscalculation was thinking that my younger self would be less... impulsive. We could have destroyed you at the Table, but He chose to flee to Origin Peak and gather power which gave you and your little band of misfits enough time to awaken that accursed sword. Naturally, when He was destroyed, all that Fell power had to go somewhere, and there happened to be a convenient vessel standing by." Grima smirked as Robin looked down at his Brand. Robin felt overcome with a sudden urge to vomit.
"So why are you addressing me now then? You could have taken my body at any time or..." A light went off in Robin's head. With a newfound clarity, he turned to face his inner demon. "You're weakened, aren't you? You must have lost quite a bit of power when you sacrificed yourself. You were the reason I've been hearing voices and having those nightmares."
"Guilty as charged. While I can't exert my control over you, my presence within you has already had quite the effect on your human body. The dark magic? That little stunt you managed to pull during the mock battle? That's only a sampling of the power you now possess. Even more so if I can drain those... what do they call them? Crests? It would seem this new Realm is somehow influencing my magic. Whenever I'm near one of those 'Crest-Bearers' it's like a feast of energy! All the souls your father offered at the Dragon's Table are just a snack in comparison to one of those children!" Robin turned pale as a sheet from hearing those words.
"You won't harm a single one of my students! Over my dead body!" Without thinking, Robin reached out his left hand, causing his Brand to glow. Grima suddenly doubled over in pain, groaning as his form began to vanish. When the dragon was gone, Robin leaned back on his cot, panting heavily. "It seems as though I can control you for now, Grima." He looked down at his hand, and the six-eyed Brand returned his gaze, "But for how long?" Robin was so lost in thought that he didn't register the rustling outside his tent.
"Hey, Professor? You in there?" A gruff woman's voice could be heard as a head popped inside the tent flap. "I thought I heard shouting coming from in here and came to check on you."
"Oh... I'm fine thank you. Just a... rough dream."
"Feeling nervous before your first assignment huh?" The lady threw back the tent flap and stepped inside. She was a rather tall, muscular woman with messy blonde hair tied in a loose ponytail. Robin recognized her from the other morning when he and his students departed Garreg Mach. According to the students, her name was Catherine, and she held a rather high position among the Knights of Seiros. "I wouldn't worry. The Knights will do most of the heavy lifting on this one. At best we'll just be there to take care of the stragglers. If anyone strong shows up you've got me and Thunderbrand to take care of things." Catherine patted a rather ornate-looking sword that hung on her waist.
"Thank you... Catherine," said Robin. "But I think I'll be fine tomorrow. I can keep an eye on my students, and I'm more than formidable enough to challenge a few foot soldiers from this Lonato fellow." To his surprise, Catherine just laughed.
"I'm sure you are, Professor. We'll show 'em what happens when you turn your blades against the Church of Seiros!" With that, Catherine reached into her robes and retrieved a silver flask. Taking a swig, Catherine let out a small belch and saluted Robin, "Well... Goodnight, Professor!" With that, Catherine left the tent, leaving Robin alone again. Robin took a deep breath and laid back down, trying to get some sleep.
Robin - Magdred Way
Robin kept a hand on his sword as he and the Blue Lions made their advance towards the battlefield. There had been a steady stream of fog rolling in that morning, making it nearly impossible for the convoy to see anything more than ten feet in front of them. Annette had tried to blow some of it away with a wind spell, but the fog seemed to keep pouring in. Something in his gut told Robin this fog wasn't just a natural occurrence. He felt his left hand readying a flux spell when someone shouted from across the battlefield.
"Enemies from the North!" Catherine shouted. The Blue Lions turned in time to see a group of soldiers spring from the mist, lances ready to attack. Robin was about to prepare his counterattack, but all of a sudden, a bright glow cut through the heavy mist. Catherine charged forward and in a matter of moments, all five of the soldiers were lying dead on the ground. Her sword, now glowing bright orange, began to fade as she sheathed her blade.
"What was that?" Robin looked around to see if anyone else had noticed the strange-looking sword. Felix stepped forward, his blade drawn. As he spoke to Robin, the youth never once took his eyes off the mist in front of them.
"That's the power of a Hero's Relic, Professor. Every noble house in Fodlan carries a weapon once wielded by one of the Ten Elites, ancient warriors of Fodlan's past. The only way for one to draw out the full power of a relic is to carry that relic's crest." As Felix spoke, another soldier burst from the mist, only to be knocked backward by Robin's flux. Felix angrily turned to the mages in the party, "Can't you do anything about this damn fog?! If we keep fighting blind like this, we're going to be overrun."
"Shut up, Felix we're trying! Also, stop yelling! You're giving our position away!" Annette puffed her cheeks as she launched a fireball towards a lancer. Felix turned his attention back to the battle, moving his attention towards the encroaching mist.
"Robin..." The tactician felt a chill rush down his spine as Grima's voice entered his mind. "This is no ordinary mist. There's... a mage. If you gave me control I could find him in an instant. It would be as easy as killing a fly."
"No! I'm not submitting to you!" A few knights turned to Robin in confusion as he shouted into the air. Realizing no one else could hear the dragon, Robin quickly turned to search the battlefield for his students. As the mist kept getting thicker, it was getting harder and harder to keep everyone together. As the battle raged, the sounds of shouting and weapons clashing only added to the chaos. Robin shouted into the mist, but couldn't make out any voices replying.
Suddenly, a light began to shine through the mist. Then another, and another. A small silhouette could be seen moving the battlefield and lighting torches. Whenever a new torch was lit, the mist seemed to recede. As the last torch was lit, the figure was revealed to be an archer with a shock of silver hair.
"Everyone!" Ashe waved frantically, "Regroup near the torches. They will hold off the mist for a bit." Little by little, members of the Blue Lions gravitated toward Ashe's haven. It seemed fighting blind had put everyone through their paces. Dedue's weapon was gone and his knuckles were bleeding from being beaten raw, Ingrid's uniform was torn in several places, and even Dimitri looked like he'd taken quite a beating from his unseen opponents.
"Ashe, what's going on," asked Ingrid as she joined the circle, "Do you have any idea how to repel this mist?"
"Unfortunately I don't," came the reply. "Lord Lonato's men were carrying these torches when they emerged from the mist. If I know Lord Lonato, he wouldn't send his men into combat with a disadvantage. My best guess would be the torches are charmed to repel the mist, wherever it's coming from. Do you have any ideas, Professor? These torches won't last very long and we'll be blinded again."
Robin looked down to the torches and saw Ashe wasn't lying. The torches didn't appear to have long wicks, meaning they were going to burn out at any moment. They would need to find that mage soon, or things would just get worse. Then, an idea came to him. Grima said he could sense magic. Maybe there was a way out of this. With a sigh, Robin concentrated and closed his eyes as the Brand began to glow. He felt Grima's presence within him. Summoning up all his courage, Robin called upon the power of the Fell Dragon, taking care not to let him take over.
When Robin opened his eyes, they glowed purple. His irises had shifted from their usual brown to a bright crimson. Suddenly, he felt a strong magical pull towards his left. The same energy that made up the mist surrounding him. He could see him perfectly, an old mage wearing long black robes. It seemed as though he was in a deep state of focus. Summoning the mist was clearly taking a toll on him.
"Annette!" Robin shouted. "Aim a Cutting Gale to my left! Fifty-five degrees! Straight forward!"
"On it!" She readied the spell and fired it into the mist. Robin smirked in satisfaction as he sensed the mage fall over in pain as the blade of wind sliced through his chest. The magic energy emanating from him vanished and so did the mist. Little by little, the clouds dissipated from the battlefield, and everything became visible. Across the way, an older man in silver armor could be seen with a sizable battalion.
"Lord Lonato..." called the mage. "Please... do-" He didn't get too far before Catherine plunged Thunderbrand into his back.
"Thunderstrike Cassandra!" Lonato raised his spear and leveled it at the knight. "It was YOUR righteous zealotry that killed my son. The fog has lifted. There is nothing to hide you and the filthy Central Church from the goddess' judgment!"
"Sorry to disappoint you, Lonato. I go by Catherine now! Prepare to taste the blade of one who truly serves the goddess! You face a Knight of Serios!" Catherine charged across the battlefield with the rest of her forces rallying to her.
"Lions!" Robin shouted. "Charge!" The Lions all roared in agreement and charged along with the knights. Robin meanwhile, was about to run with them, but suddenly collapsed from a splitting pain in his head. He looked up through watery eyes to see Grima standing over him.
"Hmph. You thought you could use my power without me? Let this be a lesson to you, Robin. You need me to survive here. Every time you use my power, I get stronger. You'd do well to remember that." With a wicked grin, Grima vanished, leaving Robin to writhe in pain on the ground.
Robin - After the Battle
"Ahh... Much better. Thank you." The cleric nodded and moved her hand away from Robin's forehead. The ice spell she was casting had relieved his headache enough for him to get off his cot and resume moving around. From what Robin heard, Catherine had defeated Lonato in single combat. He'd been arrested by the Knights and was to be sent to Garreg Mach to face trial with the archbishop. Based on the looks some of the other soldiers in the medical tent were giving, Robin surmised it wasn't going to be a long trial.
As Robin left the medical tent, he spied the blue tents where his students had set up camp. He began to walk over when Annette suddenly rushed out to meet him.
"Professor! It's good to see you're doing alright!" She stopped when she reached Robin, breathing heavily. "I wanted to ask how you did that thing during the battle? Nothing Mercedes or I could do was breaking through that mist, but you were able to figure it out so easily! What sort of spell did you use? Or... is it some secret from your home country?"
"Er, I'm not really sure how I did it, Annette," Robin replied. "It was more gut instinct than anything. You... develop that when you been in as many fights as I have."
"Wow! You'll have to teach me some time though! You will won't you?" Annette followed Robin back to the Lions' campsite. "Also, I think you may want to check on Ashe. He's been acting really moody ever since the battle ended."
"He is? What's wrong?"
"Well... I'm sure you already know the story about Lonato being his adopted father. He tried to stop Catherine during the fight with Lonato. He almost got killed by Catherine for butting in, but Lord Lonato ended up taking the fall for him. Even as the knights were dragging him away Ashe was still trying to save him."
"That's terrible. It must have killed him to see his foster father in chains." Robin sat down by the campfire, rubbing his temples as he processed this new information. As he did so, Ingrid and Felix approached.
"It's worse than that," said Ingrid. "There was a report just now that the knights found a scroll on Lonato's body. Apparently, it detailed a plot with the Western Church to assassinate the archbishop in the next month."
"What?!" Annette squeaked. "Has Ashe found out yet? This'll crush him..."
"He's shut himself inside his tent. He won't be coming out for a while." Felix sat down next to Robin. "It's a waste of energy to worry about it now. We'll be heading back to the monastery soon. If Ashe can't handle his emotions, then he has no place being a knight."
"Felix!" Ingrid and Annette moved to slap him on the head but were stopped by a hand from Robin.
"I have to side with Felix on this one. We have to return to Garreg Mach and report this. We can deal with Ashe later." The students all reluctantly nodded and walked back to their tents, preparing for the journey home.
Hey, guys! Wow, it's been a few months huh? The good news, the story isn't dead. The bad news? My life has been getting really hectic (translation: I'm playing way too many video games in my spare time). Hope you like this newest installment as it's or I've been dying to write since I started this story. Before you say anything, everyone's favorite Fell Dragon has returned! I hope I surprised some people with this reveal since THIS Grima is very different than the one you encounter in the game and I'm excited to explore this route more in the future. I hope to have the next chapter going in a month or so, but time is going to be the key factor here. Fingers crossed! Also... Holy shit, I've been writing this story for over a year! Why is that so crazy to me? Anyway, stay original and I'll see you on the next one.