Maiden of Darkness
The desert sun was harsh as it blazed overhead, shining upon the sea of sand that was the Nabata Desert. Beads of sweat dotted the cavaliers' foreheads as they ferried Nils and Fa through the desert, with Fa directing them as she perched behind Lyn on her horse. Sain was almost certain by that point that they had gotten lost, and that Fa was just sending them in circles, but the small manakete insisted they were almost there.
For the sixth time in the last couple hours she insisted once more that they were certainly, assuredly almost to Arcadia. Nils let out a small sigh as he put his hand to his forehead. Though being a manakete provided him with great resilience, he was an ice dragon, so this heat was certainly not something he was used to—and honestly, with how excruciating it was, he would be more than happy to never be subjected to it again.
How he hated the burn of the sun. It reminded him of the flames of that day all those years ago…
He let out a small sigh, and Kent looked back to his passenger. "Something on your mind, kid?" he asked.
Nils grumbled. "I am not a kid," he corrected. "And… no. I'm just a little hot, is all."
Lyn glanced back over her shoulder in the direction of Kent's horse. "As an ice dragon, this must be quite difficult for you," she commented, and Nils only hummed in confirmation.
"Fa promises we are—" she started, only to be cut off by Sain.
"—Fa, you've promised us this like seven times now. When will we be there?" he prodded.
The manakete puffed her cheeks with a scowl and fluttered her wings as she shot Sain a look. "Why did you interrupt Fa? Fa was saying, Fa promises we are there now! Look that way!"
She pointed somewhere between one and two o'clock, and in the distance, what appeared to be a wall of sand came into view. With a few rapid blinks, Sain groaned.
"Not this shit again…" he grumbled, and Kent rolled his eyes. "I'm so tired of these sandstorms."
"Oh, quit whining," Kent said. "This just means we're actually almost there!"
Lyn nodded. "Let's go, we've no time to waste," she ordered. "Hyah!"
With a kick of her heel, her horse took off towards the sandstorm with Fa gripping tightly to Lyn's dress so she would not fall off. Kent and Sain fell in line behind her and Nils preemptively pulled his scarf up over his face to protect himself from the vicious sandstorm.
The howling wind was deafening as they trudged their way through the violent sands. Though their voices were sucked away in the tempest, Nils was fairly certain he heard more than his fair share of curses coming from the two cavaliers as they tried to steer their horses. As they neared the eye of the sandstorm, Lyn could see the light peeking through ahead, between the flying granules of sand. With one more push, she bid her horse to go faster, and eventually, they broke free of the storm.
With a loud inhale, Nils pulled his head from his scarf- he had been holding his breath that entire time to keep from swallowing any sand. He opened his eyes to look ahead and immediately tensed from amazement at what he saw.
A beautiful oasis in the middle of the storm, with grass, trees and springs was before them. Buildings made of sandstone dotted the area, and he could see people outside, interacting with one another.
"We're here, we're here!" Fa cheered as she hopped off Lyn's horse. "Let's go!"
Without a moment of hesitation, the smaller manakete hurried off, practically skipping as she went towards the old city of Arcadia. The other four looked between each other and Lyn nodded and continued behind Fa. As they neared the city, a few of the inhabitants looked their way, their expressions tensing in shock at the sight of foreign people coming into their city through the sandstorm. Though once they noticed Fa, they visibly relaxed, recognizing the small manakete as a friend.
Once Fa reached the town, she turned on her heel and hopped a few times with her wings fluttering behind her. "Come on, come on!"
Lyn could not help but smile faintly at the girl's enthusiasm. Nils was quiet as he glanced around a bit, examining the area.
"This is the city of humans and dragons…?" he mused quietly. It was more quaint than he had expected. Lyn slowed her horse to a stop ahead of Sain and Kent, and the two cavaliers followed suit as they surveyed the area as well.
There were a handful of buildings and a large temple in the outskirts, near the water's edge. Lyn put her hand to her chin and thought about something for a moment before dismounting her horse.
"Fa," she began. "Who is it that we can speak with here for help?"
The little manakete smiled and thought. "Fa can take you to the Elder! Maybe the Elder can help."
With a puzzled glance, Lyn looked back to Nils, who only shrugged before he carefully got off Kent's horse. He had never been to Arcadia himself, so he knew just as little as the Lyn.
Fa bounded over to Nils and took his hand. "Come on!" she pulled on him, almost causing him to trip as she fluttered down the path towards the old temple. The two cavaliers dismounted their horses and joined up with Lyn before following the two manaketes towards the old building.
As they walked—well, for Nils, stumbled—up the steps to the temple entrance, the boy felt a strange tightness begin to form in his chest. It was an unsettling feeling somewhere between foreboding and loneliness. It grew more and more overpowering the higher up the stairs they climbed, and Nils found himself pulling his hand away from Fa, which made the smaller manakete look back to him.
"Nils?" she asked. His brow was furrowed and he shook his head.
"… What is that feeling?" he asked.
Fa frowned a little. She knew what feeling he was referring to, it seemed. "Fa will show you, but, you have to keep going, okay?"
Nils stared at the girl for a moment. Their pause had given Lyn, Kent, and Sain the opportunity to catch up, and the others stopped just behind the two manaketes.
"Is something wrong, Nils?" Lyn asked him, noting his hesitation.
"… No," he finally responded. "Let's… keep going."
Fa nodded and continued up the stairs, this time letting Nils walk himself, and he quietly ascended the steps behind her. Lyn's expression hardened as she watched Nils walk ahead, knowing that he had lied, though she was unsure why.
"… I suppose we will find out soon enough…" she mumbled to herself as she also continued onward.
They finally made it to the entrance to the temple—the sandstone doors were many meters higher than any of them were, their imposing nature only amplified by the pit that Nils felt in his stomach. They were ornate, but in a very primitive way, as if the runes and depictions on the doors had been etched in thousands of years ago. The doors groaned and scraped the ground as they opened, revealing the inside of the temple.
In a way, the sight was haunting, yet beautiful, like a glance through a lens that saw back in time to an era long since passed. The halls were a beautiful azure and crystals lined the floors and walls. Pillars reached high into the ceilings that almost seemed too tall to be real.
Though the sight was incredible, Nils found the experience greatly hampered by that growing feeling of loneliness that clutched his chest, threatening to suck his life dry. By this point, he just wanted to turn away and get as far from this place as possible.
"Elder, elder!" called Fa, and off in the depths of the main hall, an older man looked towards them. Beside him was what appeared to be two women: both had long lavender-tinted hair, and one of them was holding a book. The other one…
Nils' breath caught in his throat as he made eye contact with the other woman; her mismatched red and green eyes gazed back into his, and though they were quite a distance away, Nils could feel her energy as it pierced through him, reaching to his very core.
He had never felt anything like it. This woman was clearly a dragon of some sort—but who was she?
What was she?
The older man smiled. "Fa!" he exclaimed. "You've returned…"
Fa happily bounded towards him and gave him an excited hug once she was within reach. She then turned to each of the other women and gave them hugs, as well, though the woman with mismatched eyes did not seem to return the gesture—she only watched with a small smile as the smaller girl nuzzled into her purple robes.
"Who is this you've brought with you?" the other girl asked Fa in a gentle tone.
"Oh!" Fa looked to the four she arrived with. "Come here, come here!"
She waved her arms to encourage Nils and the others to approach. Lyn, noticing Nils' tenseness, elected to take the lead and walked over first, with Kent and Sain following. Sain patted Nils on the back to coax him into moving as he walked by, and Nils pursed his lips before unhappily following suit.
"This is Lyn, Kent, Sain, and Nils," Fa introduced excitedly. Lyn bowed, as did Kent and Sain in introduction, but Nils stood firm.
"It's nice to meet you," the elder said. "Welcome to Arcadia. I am the elder here… these two beside me are Sophia and Idunn."
Lyn froze for a moment. "Idunn?" she asked. Though she had not met Idunn herself, she had heard stories about the demon dragon that had apparently been slain by Roy himself with the Binding Blade; but if the woman in front of them was that very same Idunn, then…
The elder nodded. "Yes," he responded, knowing where Lyn's mind had wandered. With her concerns now confirmed, she furrowed her brow, realizing why Nils may have been hesitant as he approached the temple. Nils looked between Lyn and the elder, not catching on—he knew nothing of "Idunn," but it was abundantly clear that there was some history between them.
Sophia frowned a little. "I know what you may be thinking…" she started. "But there's no reason to be worried about her now. She's no longer under the control of Zephiel…"
With an unsure glance, Lyn shifted and put her hand on her hip. "If that is what you say. I was told that she had been killed a few years ago."
"The Binding Blade that Roy used…" the elder stroked his chin, "That blade did not kill her. In truth, it freed her soul from the confines of the darkness, which Zephiel had been taking advantage of to keep her under his thumb when he was still alive. It has been a slow process, but she has been more emotional as of late. It is as if her soul is slowly returning to her as time passes. Lord Roy took mercy on her, and Fa brought her here, so she could live in peace, free from the dangers of mankind."
Nils took a slight step back as he glanced to Idunn again. Her eyes were trained on him once more, her gaze rooting him to the spot. Her power was immeasurable—to compare his power to hers would be like comparing a single grain of sand to the force of a raging sandstorm. The oppressive weight of her attention left him with a feeling akin to that of a trapped bird.
"… An ice dragon…" Idunn said quietly, making note of Nils' energy. With that, all attention was turned to her. Nils shifted uncomfortably as the elder's eyes narrowed.
"An ice dragon?" he questioned politely as his gaze shifted to Nils. "I see… it has been many years since one of your kind has come to Arcadia…"
After a moment of silence, the elder brought his hand to his chin once more in thought. "Though… this begs the question: what is it that brings you here?"
Fa's wings fluttered. "We need help!" Sophia tilted her head at Fa's exclamation.
"Help?" she asked.
"Yes," Lyn interjected as she removed her hand from her hip. "We need your help. May we have a moment of your time, elder?"
The older man only nodded. "Of course," he said.
Lyn recounted the situation to the three Arcadians. Roy's disappearance through the Dragon's Gate, the gate's destruction, and Eliwood's desire to build a new gate in Pherae. She further explained that needed extra help to power the gate and could not do it with just Nils and Fa alone.
"A new Dragon's Gate?" the elder questioned, bewildered. "That is an incredibly dangerous proposition."
Lyn only shook her head. "He is aware. But it is the only option we have left to try to retrieve Roy…"
Sophia frowned sadly. Roy had always shown her and the others nothing but kindness on their journey through Elibe. The thought of him being lost forever was troubling, to say the least.
"I am afraid I cannot condone the construction of such a portal," the elder said. "There will be no help from Arcadia in the reconstruction of this Dragon's Gate."
His words echoed through the hall, and the air grew still. Tensions rose as Lyn knit her brow and set her jaw in frustration. There had been the chance of this happening, but none of them sincerely considered it as they made their plans back in Pherae.
"Wait—what do you mean you won't help?" Kent asked, clearly annoyed. "We can't do this alone! Eliwood's never going to see his son again at this rate!"
The elder shook his head. "I am sorry for Marquess Pherae, but the dragons of Arcadia have already suffered enough at the hands of men trying to obtain power. While Eliwood's cause is pure in intention, the assistance of Arcadian dragons in the powering of this new Dragon's Gate will surely draw the attention of the nefarious."
Silence fell between the members of the group once more. While his answer was not the one they had hoped for, they could not deny the validity of his concerns. Kent let out an aggravated sigh, and Sain looked towards the floor with his hands firmly placed on his hips. Lyn clicked her tongue and crossed her arms under her chest as she tried to think over what to say next.
Nils was quiet. That guilt he had felt before they left Pherae had reared its ugly head again, consuming him. This trip had given him some hope that there would be a light at the end of this lonely tunnel, but alas, it had also ended in failure. That crushing feeling of defeat was only exacerbated by the lonely energy that was exuded by Idunn, and Nils lowered his head in sorrow.
The demon dragon watched as Nils' expression grew distraught, and she frowned slightly.
"… You need… power," she said quietly, which made everyone look to her again. Her eyes stayed fixated on Nils', however. "To… save Roy…?"
Nils swallowed. She had asked him that question, and the look in her eyes demanded an answer.
"… Yes…" Nils answered, his voice small as he held her gaze. Never in his life had he felt as insignificant as he did right now, cowering before what was objectively the most powerful dragon alive.
"… I want to help," she said quietly.
"Idunn," the elder started to interject, but she slowly looked towards him.
"No…" she said quietly. "Roy… he forgave me…"
There was a long, tense silence as the Elder and Idunn held each other's gazes. It was clear that Idunn was not going to back down, and at that, the Elder let out a slow sigh.
"… Please be careful," was all he said as he closed his eyes. "I do not wish for you to have your freedom torn from you again."
Idunn quietly returned her gaze to Nils, not paying anyone else in his party any mind. The fabric of her cloak rustled and slipped out of the way as she reached out her hand to him, a look of resolve hidden somewhere deep within her eyes.
"… I will… lend you my strength."