Hello, everyone!
I know that I haven't been active in a long time, and I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting for so long,
The thing is that I have been lately dealing with things, nothing serious, that couldn't let me focus on the story,
And for now, I can't promise that I will update constantly, though I will make an effort,
The only promise I can make is that I'm never leaving this story,
Also, I can't believe that it has already passed one year since I started this story!
Thank you so much to everyone who joined me in this adventure, I really appreciate you :)
So, I hope you enjoy this one...
"Inigo, we were worried about you! Where have you been?" Lucina told his brother, her face only showed surprise.
"I went to Plegia" Inigo answered in a secure tone, but the fear of repercussions was all over his face.
"Plegia?" Lucina got even more surprised, then she looked at Morgan with an accusatory glance. Morgan immediately looked away. Everyone who was paying attention noted the uncomfortable exchange of gazes.
Inigo, in an attempt of protecting Morgan, moved his horse in front of Lucina, so she would focus on him.
"You haven't answered my question, where are you going? And why do you have Falchion with you?" Inigo questioned.
It was clear for Inigo that something serious had happened. Lucina wearing a blue outfit for missions, Falchion resting on Lucina's scabbard, and the escort of pegasus knights accompanying her, were all the signs that he needed for worrying.
Lucina blinked twice because of the sudden apparition of Inigo in her gaze. It took some seconds for her to answer.
"Yesterday, father received a letter from Regna Ferox's khan, Lon'qu. He says that Regna Ferox is passing for a dire situation, and that he needs to speak with our father. But father doesn't want to leave the castle because of Plegia's situation. He wanted to ignore the letter, but I think it is a mistake. So, I'm going on his behalf" Lucina explained.
The answer surprised Inigo. He hadn't heard about Regna Ferox in a long time. It usually was an auto-sufficient country. He remembered assisting at the ceremony where Lon'qu became Khan of Regna Ferox, after the previous 0, Basilio, passed away. He was too little back then.
After that, his father and the Khan just reunited once or twice per year. But in the last years, nothing had happened between the two nations. Until now…
"What's going on?" Severa asked, who just got out of the carriage along with Owain, Noire, and Brady. She got surprised by the image of Lucina and her brigade. Specially, since two important persons for her were involved.
"Mother!? Father!?" Severa exclaimed. His father was beside Lucina. He was wearing his knight armor and was on his horse. Cordelia, Severa's mother, was behind Lucina and Frederick, leading the brigade of pegasus knights.
Her parents didn't say a thing, just gave her a glance that indicated to "stay out." So, Severa stayed just where she was.
"Our parents know about this?" Inigo asked.
"Just mother. She didn't agree at first… but at the end, I promised her that it would be a short visit. We just are going to evaluate the situation, then we will return for more people if it is necessary" Lucina answered.
"I'm going with you. You can't stop me" Inigo said abruptly.
With the possibility of being a dangerous mission, Lucina didn't want Inigo to go with her. They couldn't afford to lose both heirs to the throne. But at the same time, Lucina new that the Shepherds' help would be useful.
"Okay, you and the Shepherds can come with us" Lucina accepted.
Inigo turned with his horse towards his comrades.
"It seems that we are not going to rest soon. We have a new mission, Shepherds. To escort Princess Lucina to Regna Ferox" Inigo announced.
No one of the Shepherds felt happy with the new orders. Despite that, nobody emitted a complain, they just followed the orders. The Shepherds went back into the carriage, and they started to advance.
Kjelle, who was driving the carriage, moved the carriage from the street, in order to let Lucina's brigade pass. Then, she followed them from behind.
"Morgan, what was that?" Kjelle asked out of the blue.
"What thing?" Morgan asked.
"That look that Lucina gave you. It seems like she hates you" Kjelle commented, without losing her focus on the track.
Morgan looked at Kjelle, her face was serious as always. "I don't know, maybe she suspects that the trip to Plegia was my fault."
Kjelle frowned and said "even if it were true, she wouldn't be angry at you for that. You must have done something. Are you sure that you didn't offend her in anyway?" Kjelle indagated.
"Do you think me as the type of person who usually upsets people?"
"You may be a wise tactician, despite being so young. But when is about communicating with people, you are not as brilliant" Kjelle confessed.
"Ouch…" Morgan emitted. He was impressed by the honesty of the girl.
"But don't worry. It also has happened to me before. People usually think I'm a rude person, and that's okay. My mother was the rudest knight of the Shepherds. I want to be just like her…"
"I also wanted to be as great as my mother was…" Morgan commented, his voice sounded hopeless.
For just one moment, Kjelle looked at the boy and saw his melancholic look. She arched one eyebrow and asked, "you don't want that anymore?"
"I don't know. Have you ever questioned your parents' actions?"
"Never. My parents are the most honorable persons that I know. Many people have tried to change my mind about them. They say that my father was a coward, a womanizer, an arrogant person, but that was his past. I know my father as a noble, brilliant, and caring person. That is what matters. How was your mother with you?"
"My mother was the best mother in the world. She took care of me all by herself. She raised me. She taught me everything about strategy. She said that she loved me above anything else…"
"And It doesn't cross your mind that maybe everything she did was for that love?"
Morgan opened his eyes wide, "No, the thought hasn't occurred to me…"
Then, they remained in silence for some minutes. Morgan was just thinking that maybe Kjelle was right, may his mother did everything for his safety.
"Maybe it wasn't correct that you hid all that information. But you did it because you thought it was the right call. Anyone can make a mistake, so I forgive you, mother…"
Kjelle notice that his co-driver was smiling, and it was a contagious smile. Morgan looked at her and said, "Thanks Kjelle, who knew you were good at cheering people?"
Kjelle emitted a tiny smirk, "And then again, you didn't think before talking. You are lucky that I don't care what people say about me."
Meanwhile, in the frontline, Lucina and Inigo were riding alongside.
"Are you sure you want to come with us like this? You just came from a long trip. I imagine that your friends and you are exhausted" Lucina asked his brother.
"We are going to be okay. We are strong, Lucina" Inigo reminded her sister.
As they were advancing, all of their people were looking at them with concern. It was uncomfortable seeing the commoners whispering about them, so Lucina and Inigo decided to ignore them and focus on the path ahead.
As soon as they exited the city and entered in an open field, Cordelia gave a sign to all the pegasus knights, and they started to fly in formation. For Morgan, it was a spectacle how the animals extended their wings and flapped them until their feet left the ground. Gerome and Cynthia started to fly too, following the pegasus knights from behind.
Lucina sighed in relief. Despite being worried about her mission, the princess could enjoy her time in the nature. Sometimes she would wish to have the adventurer life of her brother, but sadly, she had important duties to fulfill in the castle.
After admiring the view for half hour, Lucina went back to her senses and realized that she still had to talk with his brother.
"Hey, Inigo" she caught her brother's attention.
"What is it, Lucina?"
"Why did you go to Plegia?"
"Because I thought that we could find answers of the curse there. But we didn't find anything useful, just the things that Queen Aversa told Morgan."
"She just spoke to Morgan?" Lucina asked with suspicion.
"Yeah. For some reason she just wanted to talk with him" Inigo answered with naturality.
"And you let him!? Do you realize that he may be conspiring with her?" Lucina complained.
"Conspiring? Ha… Aversa doesn't have resources nor will of initiating a war. I've seen it with my own eyes, Lucina. But I know that this isn't about Aversa, is about your fear for Morgan."
Lucina opened her eyes like plates and her face angered, "What are you talking about?" she questioned.
"I know that you think that he is a menace, that he may hurt us. But I trust him, and you should do so. You haven't been fair with him, you just judge him and don't realize an important thing: he didn't ask to be born like that" Inigo tried to reason with her sister, but only managed to confuse her.
Lucina didn't want to say a word, she just stared at her brother with seriousness. Inigo knew he should leave his sister alone, so he moved forward. Leaving a thinking Lucina behind. "He didn't ask to be born like that", those words echoed on her mind.
As they were advancing, the travelers could feel the chill coming from the North. At the distance could be seen mountains covered in snow.
"It's getting late, milady, we should establish our camp here" Frederick suggested Lucina.
Lucina nodded, that led Frederick to make a sign for the pegasus knights, so they would land. Everyone got off the road and entered the woods. They stablished their camp in the forest, lots of trees surrounded them. If there were still light in the sky, the foliage of the trees covered all, creating a gloomy environment.
In a few hours, the sun disappeared. Fortunately, they had enough torches to light up the place. During dinner, Inigo and Owain offered themselves to do the patrol that night. By their eager looks, Morgan knew they were planning something. But the tactician decided to let them be because it probably was a cousins-thing.
When Morgan finished his meal, he went straight to his tent. It wasn't difficult for him to fall asleep. But his dream wasn't a good one.
He was surrounded by darkness. Desperately looking to different sides, trying to find an exit. Then he heard some steps approaching him.
"Who is it!?" he demanded to know.
From the darkness, the figure of his mother emerged. He knew it was her because of her robe. The hood was covering her face, so she slowly removed it. Her eyes were closed.
"Mother?..." Morgan was scared.
Robin's eyes opened, revealing red pupils.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" the diabolic voice that always tormented Morgan asked.
Morgan woke up because someone was moving him. He almost screamed when he saw Owain's figure beside him, but Owain covered Morgan's mouth with his hand.
"Don't scream, you are going to ruin everything" Owain told him while releasing the tactician's mouth.
"Owain, what the hell!?" Morgan angrily asked with a low volume.
"Follow me, this is going to be great!" Owain whispered with excitement while getting out of Morgan's tent.
Morgan followed him, outside was Inigo waiting. The prince was embracing Falchion, holding the sword against his chest.
"Inigo!? What are you doing with Lucina's sword?" Morgan questioned. Inigo immediately placed his index finger on his mouth indicating Morgan to shut up.
Inigo and Owain started to run, both of them were giggling like two little boys. Morgan knew that following them would mean trouble.
"Like if Lucina didn't hate me enough" Morgan thought. But he knew that he couldn't ignore those two. Reluctantly, Morgan ran to reach Inigo and Owain.
The trio walked away from the campsite. Morgan could see how the light was staying behind and with each step, he was getting more immerse in the dark.
A tiny light suddenly appeared ahead of him, it was Owain's lamp. Morgan decided to illuminate his path too, so he casted a flame. The flame was floating over his hand, and it advanced along with him.
As they were advancing, Morgan though that it was kind of nice. The night breeze blew the leaves, making a relaxing sound. From time to time, a "who" could be heard from the owls that live in that forest.
After walking a while, they arrived at a strange part of the forest. Morgan's jaw dropped at seeing how a great quantity of trees was cut. There were fallen trees and pieces of wood everywhere. Neither Owain nor Inigo seemed surprised.
"What happened in here!?" Morgan asked.
"Oh, these?" asked Owain naturally while kneeling so he could remove the sawdust from one tree trunk.
Owain stood up again and looked at Morgan, "It was Sir Frederick. After Severa and I told him about our relationship, he came here to collect some wood" Owain explained.
"Aren't you worried about that, Owain?" Morgan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I told him" Inigo commented.
"Why should I be worried? He didn't tell us anything bad. He just came to collect wood"
"He almost destroyed the forest!" Morgan exclaimed.
"Sir Frederick has always been strong" Owain replied.
The blond turned around, and he started to take some pieces of wood.
"There's no use in reasoning with him" Inigo told Morgan while looking at Owain. "And you know? I think is better this way."
"Sure, as long as he is happy" Morgan commented. Then he remembered the current situation.
"What are we doing here? Why do you have Falchion?" Morgan asked Inigo.
Inigo walked a few steps forward, then draw Falchion, ending in a battle pose in front of Morgan.
"Do you know Falchion's secret?" Inigo asked.
"I'm sure that Falchion has a lot of secrets, but I know none of them" Morgan answered.
Inigo straightened himself and started to rub Falchion, "it is said that Falchion just answers to those members of the royal family that are worthy."
Morgan eyes widened. He couldn't believe that a sword would have a mind that judges the members of a royal family. His mother had told him that Falchion was special, but he didn't imagine that it would be this special.
"So, are you going to test if you are worthy?" Morgan asked Inigo.
"Exactly" the prince answered.
"Everything is ready" Owain announced.
The blonde prince had placed a large piece of wood above a tree trunk.
"Okay, here I go!" Inigo screamed.
The armed prince charged towards the wood. He used all his strength and cut the wood in half. It resulted in a clean cut.
"I made it!" Inigo exclaimed with a wide smile, on his eyes there was a glow that wasn't common. Owain and Morgan clapped.
"My turn!" Owain exclaimed with excitement.
Inigo handed Falchion to Owain, who took the sword and started to do multiple fighting poses. After that, Inigo placed another piece of wood on the trunk, and immediately Owain charged at it.
It was a fast blow, it landed, but Owain struggled with cutting the wood. But at the end, he managed to cut the piece in two.
"Woohoo!" he exclaimed. Morgan and Inigo clapped again.
After doing a heroic pose, Owain walked towards Morgan and handed him the sword.
"Your turn" Owain told him.
Morgan almost felt his soul leaving his body when Falchion was a few inches before him.
Morgan stepped back as the same time as his head was shaken. "No, no, no. Why do you want me to prove myself with Falchion? It doesn't make sense!" he complained.
"Come on, Morgan!" Inigo yelled while placing another wood in the trunk.
"Yes, man, we haven't seen what happens when a normal person uses it" Owain told him.
Morgan looked at Falchion with fear. He didn't know what would happen, but he knew that there wasn't a way out. He took the sword with his shaking hand.
Morgan felt observed, thought there were just Inigo and Owain. With slow steps, he walked towards the tree trunk. When he was close enough, he took an offensive pose.
Some seconds before attacking, he looked at Falchion and though "Please Falchion, don't let them know my secret."
Then he struck, with Inigo and Owain witnessing.
The only sound that was heard, was a tiny air blast.
When Morgan finished, the three guys got close to see the wood. The piece was intact, which didn't surprise Owain and Inigo, but Morgan seemed really affected.
"Well, it seems it's true. The sword can just be wielded by the royal family" Inigo said.
"Now we need to find a royal member who is not worthy, but that's impossible! All members of our family are noble and heroic persons!" Owain exclaimed.
"I suppose we will never know that. Anyways, we must go, I have to return Falchion to Lucina's tent" Inigo said while taking Falchion from Morgan's hand.
Inigo and Owain started to walk back to the camp. But they stopped when they noted that Morgan wasn't following them.
"Morgan, are you coming?" Inigo asked.
"Go ahead, I'll be with you in some minutes" Morgan told them.
The two princes continued their path, meanwhile Morgan was frozen in the same position, looking at the trunk.
The guy felt disappointed, and he didn't know why. He knew that he shouldn't feel like that, after all, his secret was kept safe.
"I suppose it is for the best" he said in a sad tone. And then, tears started to flow down his cheeks. "But why can't I stop thinking about the fact that not even a stupid sword can accept me?" he cried.
Morgan tried to clean his tears with his robe's sleeves. When he saw the robe, he remembered his mother and all the love that she gave him. He also remembered Noire, his first real friend. And then Libra and Tharja, who cared for him, on their own way… And also, his new friends from the Shepherds.
He smiled, "That's right, I don't need the approval from a stupid sword, nor Lucina's, nor my father's" he declared.
The tactician looked again the piece of wood, but this time with rage.
"And I don't need a stupid sword to cut wood!" he screamed.
His aim was to take the wood with both hands and break it with his knee, but he didn't expect that the wood would be already cut in two.
Stunned, Morgan held both pieces of wood. His eyes couldn't stop going from one half to the other. It was the cleanest cut that he has ever seen.
"How is this possible? It is like that trick where someone pull off a tablecloth without moving any dish or object…" Morgan thought.
And then, he realized something. He was worthy, and Falchion had helped him to hide his secret.
He looked at the sky, full of stars, and smiled. "Thank you, Falchion" he whispered. Then he went back to the camp.
As soon as the first sunbeams touched the earth, Lucina and Inigo's brigades woke up and prepared everything to continue their path.
The road was quiet, and the party didn't suffer any mishaps. By midday, they left behind the grass, and started to follow the snowy road. Fortunately, Lucina's brigade was prepared for the cold weather, and the Shepherds still had their special clothes from Plegia.
Some people were amazed by the snow, after all, not all of them had the opportunity to visit Regna Ferox before.
Morgan couldn't believe that yesterday he was in a hot desert, and now he was in a snowy paradise. His eyes shone at seeing the white beauty of the landscape. He remembered that his mother once visited Plegia too. She didn't say much about that trip, just that it was difficult to fight in the snow, and that the Khans had an eccentric personality.
The trip continued, it was getting late, and the sun was about to set. The brigades managed to arrive to the border, where there was a huge stone wall that divided Ylisse and Regna Ferox. In front of them there was a sturdy iron gate, that was closed. On the top of the wall, there were three men, one was a knight fully covered by his armor, and the other two were archers that had their faces covered by a hood.
"I see that you Ylisseans are finally here, but I don't see King Chrom with you, as the Khan requested" the knight greeted not so kindly.
"King Chrom was unable to come due internal issues, but I, his daughter, came on his behalf" Lucina, who was at the frontline, announced.
"Oh, I see, then welcome, princess Lucina. I'm sure the Khan will be glad with your visit" the knight answered, and then the gates started to open.
"Let's move" Lucina ordered.
But there was something that didn't feel alright, especially for Morgan.
"Just three people guarding the border, none of them showed their faces or said their names, and the knight was really interested in father. This cannot be good" he thought.
Morgan, who was riding a horse in the middle of the formation, speeded up to reach the frontline. Before anyone crossed the gate, he said "Wait! We can't continue!"
Everyone stopped and looked at Morgan with concern, except Lucina, who made an annoyed grin and, without looking at Morgan, asked "Why?" with the coldest voice.
"This is too suspicious, princess Lucina, we should retreat" Morgan suggested.
Frederick, who was beside Lucina, agreed. "I'm afraid he is right, princess, we have never had this kind of welcome in Regna Ferox before" the knight said.
"Luci, you should hear them" a worried Inigo commented.
There was a silence that lasted some minutes, until Lucina spoke.
"Regna Ferox has been an ally from years, and Lon'qu is a great friend of my parents. We can't abandon them in times of need" the princess said with a decided tone.
No one felt secure with the princess decision, but also, no one would dare to defy her.
The brigades crossed the gate, on the other side, there were more snow, pine trees, and nothing else. The gates started to close slowly.
"I don't like this, it is getting colder with each second" Kjelle, who was riding the carriage, commented.
"The wind is heavy, I can't see Cynthia nor Gerome" Laurent, Kjelle's co-driver, said.
"I can't see the gatekeeper anymore" Frederick said, looking at the top of the wall. The door was already closed.
Suddenly, they felt the ground rumble. Alarmed, the party looked everywhere to find the source, then, they saw two huge snow waves coming to their way, one from the left and the other from the right.
"Let's move! Quickly!" Frederick ordered, and everyone speeded up.
They had no other option than move forward. They tried to advance as fast as their horses could go, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough. The two waves managed to catch them, and now all of them were dragged by the snow.
"This is not an avalanche! This is magic!" Morgan screamed, while doing his best for not sinking in the snow. Morgan was fighting for standing still, as well as his partners, but then he saw something in the sky that left him stunned.
The pegasus knights were being slaughtered by a rain of arrows. Like flies, all of them, were falling one by one.
"Cynthia… Gerome…" Morgan muttered with terror. He extended his hand to the sky, like if he could grab his friends and save them. But the only result of that was that Morgan couldn't resist anymore and he sunk into the snow.
The last thing he saw was Cynthia's pegasus falling, and then everything went black…
Don't panic, this is not the end
Special thanks to:
Mysterious guest: I'm sorry, but there's no invation to Plegia. And in this story, the ones who received Grima's brand were just royalty or important people, as far as I remember, Henry and Tharja were simple soldiers, they were proficient at magic, but nothing more, so, Noire couldn't have inherited the brand. And for Nah... there is going to be a surprise soon. Thanks your comment!
Deuce: Another apology, there's no invasion hehe. And yes, Plegia's situation has to come to an end in some point, so let's hope for the best. And thanks for your comprehension! I'm sorry that this lasted longer, but I will try that it doesn't happen again.
YellowHello1: You are right, poor Inigo, but yes, he will get a hug soon! Thanks for your patience! I hope you liked this chapter.
Mal: Yes, Fire Emblem is such a strange game, but we love it! I think Validar as a grandfather would be so funny, like trying to convince their grandchildren to be bad. And I also like to imagine a Universe where Chrom have multiple marriages so he had all five possible children, it would be like Nohr's family from FE Fates. About Chrom fathering Morgan, if you mean how he conceived him, it was an affair with Robin, but Chrom raising Morgan didn't happen, because Chrom didn't know about Morgan's existence. Thanks for your comment!
Yoman66: Oooww thank you, well I'm back, and I will try to be constant. And for Nah and Yarne you will soon receive a surprise. Thanks for your comment, sorry again for taking so long.
Thanks for reading!