The Light at the Harbor has been revised on 2020/02/01. Originally published in 2015. Small note: When I played Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light, it was with the name "Akaneia," "Doluna" and others… so those are the names I prefer and will use going forward. ;;

From this point on… This is a retelling of Shadow Dragon that will develop into something more later. So, FE1/11/6/7 spoilers ahead and continuing through the rest of the fic.

Thank you to randomadorablepikachu for proofreading and thank you for your reviews over these last 5(!) years!

The Light at the Harbor

The young prince Marth, exhausted yet relieved that his most recent bout—one against a group of unpleasant pirates who had been ravaging the ports of Galder—had ended in victory, walked down the stony roads of the town and checked on the townspeople and his army. Though there was some struggle at first, Marth had been able to successfully rout the enemies in the area whilst simultaneously recruiting more people into his ranks. Ogma, Bord, Barst, and Cord all joined him as soon as the skirmish had started; their loyalty was declared swiftly, and Marth gratefully accepted their assistance. Castor and Darros were both fine men that ended up on the wrong side of the battlefield, but with the prince's understanding of Darros and Caeda's taking pity on Castor, they were both turned around and fought alongside the small army to free the port.

"Thank you again for all of your help," Marth spoke to the group of new recruits. "Your assistance has helped us free the people here…"

"No, thank you sire for allowing someone such as myself fight alongside you and Princess Caeda, even after my initial betrayal…" sheepishly responded Castor.

Marth smiled. "Castor, your heart is in the right place. I can assure you that neither I nor Princess Caeda bear you any ill will."

The bowman quietly nodded before casting his gaze downward again.

After Marth dismissed himself from the group, Caeda approached him.

"Marth," she greeted.

Marth smiled at her. "Hello Caeda… is there something you needed?"

She nodded. "Yes. There is elderly man here that wishes to speak with you… he came here from a house on the outskirts."

"Ah. I'll go see him, then," Marth said. "Is the matter urgent?"

"Yes, he says so," Caeda responded. "I'll show you to him."

The two walked together to an old house near the edge of town, where an elderly man was waiting along with a younger villager. As soon as the prince came into view, the elder perked up with anticipation.

"You're here!" he exclaimed.

Marth nodded once and stood a few feet away. "Yes… I heard you had something urgent to tell me?"

"Yes, yes… Prince of Altea," he started, his voice growing grim. "Could you please help us? A woman from this town, Sister Lena, went up to the Ghoul's Teeth to tend to the sick there and she has yet to return. She is an angel to us, and we could not live with ourselves if something were to happen to her. We would go to find her ourselves, but…"

The prince was rather alarmed. "Yes, of course. We must travel through Samsooth Mountains on our way to Aurelis, anyway, and if she is in danger, we will rescue her."

The younger villager shifted his weight and scratched the back of his head. "The Ghoul's Teeth… they're dangerous mountains, sire. The Soothsire bandits call those mountains home, and they would kill you without even battin' an eye."

"I have heard of them," Marth responded with a small nod, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. "But the best path to Aurelis is through there, and we must not hesitate. Besides… we definitely cannot ignore it if there is a young woman there in trouble."

Both the villagers seemed relieved to hear such an answer.

"Thank you so much, Prince Marth," the elder said and held out a pouch. "Please take this…this should be enough gold to cover for anything you need to find her."

Marth gratefully accepted the gold. "Thank you… it will not go to waste."

A short while passed as Marth and his army made sure that the port was rid of the pirates. Once everything was considered safe for the villagers to once again return, the young prince, along with Cain and Abel, headed out into the fields to survey the area.

"We will leave early in the morning," Marth said, looking over the grassy terrain. "But tonight, we should rest… it has been a long day for everyone."

"That sounds like a plan to me," said Cain with a smile, "It looks like it's going to rain here anyway."

Marth nodded in agreement as he looked up to the sky. There were dark clouds looming overhead—a sure sign that storms were coming. The blue-haired prince let a small sigh escape his lips as he allowed his gaze to fall back down to the grass. Abel looked over to his young lord, noting his solemn expression.

"Sire, there's no need for the long face," he said, causing Marth to look up to him. "We will reclaim Altea… I am sure of it."

Marth was quiet for a moment before smiling a little at the cavalier. "Yes…" he spoke slowly as he looked up to the sky once more, "Though there are dark clouds in the sky, there is nothing but a shining future ahead of us. Today, we took our first steps towards reclaiming our homeland."

The cavaliers smiled at one another before looking up at the sky as well. The breeze blew from behind them, the scent of rain lingering in the air. After a few moments, the once calm atmosphere began to feel rather unsettling and charged.

". . . Do you feel that?" Cain asked.

"It feels like magic," Abel responded as the tension in the air put him on edge.

Marth looked around with his brow furrowed. "We are in the middle of an open field… if there were any enemies, they would not be able to hide. They would be out in the open just as we are."

Abel readied his javelin and slowly trotted his horse forward. "Sire, please stay behind me," he said.

Marth looked to Abel. "Abel, you mustn't—"

Just as the prince began to speak, a large explosion echoed throughout the sky, followed by a blinding light. All three covered their ears and clenched their eyes as the wind sucked up into the sky like a vacuum. Cain and Abel's horses reared back with loud neighs, nearly throwing both cavaliers off.

"Gods—Cain! Abel!" Marth yelled out to his friends, but his voice was swallowed by the roaring wind.

Suddenly, the wind completely stopped. Marth stumbled forward and looked up to the sky, his eyes squinted nearly shut. But as soon as he beheld the sight, his eyes shot open. All the storm clouds had been sucked into a condensed ball of energy above them, and it looked like it was about to burst.

"Cain! Abel! Get down!" Marth cried out before ducking low to the ground.

Upon seeing the orb in the sky, the cavaliers practically leapt off their horses to get on the ground. There was a loud cracking sound before the ball of clouds exploded.

All the wind and energy sucked into it was expelled from it once again, rushing through the sky and fields. The trees that had once dotted the fields were quickly blown over or snapped in two from the force of the wind. Bolts of lightning and spurts of flame shot out from the epicenter of the blast.

Marth could barely lift his head against the incredible power of the wind and his fingers dug into the ground. He struggled to look up to the sky, but once he finally could, what he saw both amazed and terrified him.

"Gods…what is this?!" he thought, shaken.

A huge fireball shot out from the energy's source, travelling far across the fields ahead of them. It crashed into the ground and skidded through the grass, leaving a long path of scorched earth in its wake. Not long after, the remaining energy dissipated from the skies and the wrath of the elements had ceased.

Shakily, the young prince pushed himself to his feet. His two friends soon followed suit, with Cain stumbling slightly as he tried to regain his footing. All of them were out of breath.

"Wh... what… was that?" Abel breathed out; his voice was barely audible now.

"I… I don't know…" Marth mumbled, still in shock.

There was a stunned silence between the three of them as they all tried to process the event that just unfolded before them. Abruptly, Marth straightened up and grabbed hold of his sheath. "Cain, go check on the town! Abel, come with me! We need to check where that ball of fire landed!"

Cain, still slightly shaken, nodded and mounted his horse before taking off back to the town.

Abel looked to the prince. "G-go there? Sire, we don't know what could be there!"

Marth nodded and looked to him. "Maybe so, but this was in no way a natural event, and those flames soared quite far! If it is indeed something dangerous, we cannot let it roam these lands freely."

The green-haired cavalier stared at Marth for a moment before letting out a slow sigh. "Yes. You are right," he said with a curt nod. "Alright. Let us go then, sire."

Abel mounted his horse once more and he and Marth made their way across the field to where the ball of flame had first touched the ground.

"Incredible… Everything is charred…" Abel spoke with worry.

"Yes… stay on your guard, Abel," Marth advised, his grip tightening on the hilt of his blade. "We do not know what awaits us at the end of this charred trail."

The duo crept along the side of the burnt streak, their steps hesitant and wary. When they neared the end, Marth noticed a figure lying on the ground, still cloaked in the clearing smoke. Once they were but a short distance away, the prince was able to make out the figure as human.

"Gods, there's a person in there!" he observed, astonished. Without a moment's hesitation, he ran over to the seemingly lifeless person lying amongst the cinders and debris.

"Wait, Prince Marth!" Abel yelled out with his hand outstretched. "Ah… it could be dangerous…"

Marth completely ignored Abel as he approached the figure.

What he saw was a young man with flaming red hair, lying wounded and unconscious amongst the debris.