Chapter 2: Dawn of Evil
"Why couldn't we stay in town for the night? They were going to give us a feast and everything."
Lissa was walking beside her brother, with Robin on his other side and Frederik bringing up the rear. Frederick was on foot at the moment, giving his steed a rest from riding him for most of the day.
"While it was a generous offer, weren't you saying earlier you were ready to head home?" Frederick said with a serene look on his face. "Besides, the chance to sleep under the stars, make our beds with twigs and the like, is all a part of being a Shephard. I believe you said you would be 'getting used to it' if I'm not mistaken."
"Frederick, sometimes I hate you." Lissa wore a sullen look on her face, dragging her feet slightly to prove her point.
"You've quite the stern lieutenant there," Robin commented, giving Lissa a sympathetic look.
"Ha! Stern is one word for it. I can think of a few others," Lissa replied, sharing a conspiratorial glance with Robin.
"For reference, Frederick only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe," Chrom said casually, smirking as Robin raised her eyebrows at him.
"Dually noted," she said dryly, and then turned when Frederick gave a polite cough behind them.
"You are aware I AM still present, yes?" he was giving Chrom a pointed look.
"Oh, we realize," Chrom responded, his smile widening as his comment earned a small laugh from Robin.
"In any case, did you notice milord? Those brigands had Plegian accents," Frederick continued, his expression returning to a serious mask.
"Plegian? What's that?" Robin looked between Chrom and Frederick with a puzzled look.
"Plegia is Ylisse's western neighbor," Chrom replied, his mouth setting in a grim line. "They periodically send small bands into our territory, hoping to instigate a war."
"And it's the poor townsfolk who suffer! Completely innocent and defenseless," Lissa chimed in, a look of worry crossing her face.
"I never thought being a Shephard was such a serious job," Robin commented, glancing up at the setting sun. "Perhaps now would be a good time to set up camp. I don't know about all of you, but I'm starving."
"I concur," Frederick said, leading his horse to a nearby grouping of trees to tie down. "If you would care to join me in hunting for dinner tonight, we can leave milord and milady to gather firewood."
"Sounds good. We'll meet back here just before nightfall," Chrom added, dragging his protesting sister with him as everyone left to complete their assignments.
Once camp was set up, everyone sat down around the newly built campfire, eating with varying degrees of enthusiasm the meat that was collected.
"Ah, it's been too long since I last ate bear meat. Delicious!" Chrom sighed in content, setting his pieces of bone to the side.
"Gods, why can't you catch meat normal people eat for a change?" Lissa was looking at the slice she was holding as though it were going to bite her.
"What's wrong, Lissa? Dig in," Chrom encouraged, trying to hand her another chunk of bear meat.
"I'll pass! I mean, seriously, you're messing with the food chain! Right, Robin?"
There was no response, as Robin was busy devouring an entire leg by herself.
"Well, I guess anything would be enjoyable after not eating in who knows how long," Lissa sighed, shaking her head at Robin's enthusiasm.
"Come on Lissa, just eat some. Meat is meat," Chrom said, grinning at his sister's reactions.
"Since when does meat smell like old boots?! No, I take it back-boots smell better!" Lissa retorted, setting her piece down.
"Every experience makes us stronger, milady. Even ones we don't enjoy," Frederick said sagely, giving his young companion his usual stoic look.
"Really? Then why aren't YOU eating any, huh?" Lissa gave him an accusing look, her nose wrinkling in disgust.
"Me? Oh, well…you see, I'm not hungry. I…had a large lunch! Yes, quite," Frederick responded, quickly covering his hesitance.
"Yeah, right!" Lissa glanced at the pieces sitting in front of Frederick, clearly not having been touched at all.
"In that case, don't mind if I do," Robin spoke up, leaning over to swipe up his meat, which caused Lissa to make a gagging noise, Frederick to look startled and Chrom to burst out laughing.
Later that night, Robin woke up out of a light sleep, her dreams all a blur of images and sounds.
Geez, why do even my dreams have to be confusing? It's bad enough I hardly remember who I am, let alone where I am or came from.
She sighed, gazing up at the stars above her.
Maybe more memories will come back later. But why do I feel so nervous? Like I know something's coming, but can't see past the moment? Or like I'm running, but don't know what from? What if-
At that moment, the grounded started shaking violently, causing Frederick's horse to whinny in alarm. Robin sprung up, looking around and startled to see Chrom and Lissa absent from the campsite. Fire erupted around the camp as the earth spit open, and high in the sky a ring of light formed, shaped like an eye. Robin was filled with dread as shadows seemed to drip out of the ring of light, the runes circling the portal speaking to her of power and doom.
"What-where are they?!" Frederick was on his feet, going to calm and mount his horse.
"I don't know!" Robin heard cries and the sound of battle coming from the woods beyond the flames. "Probably where all that noise is! I'll go ahead and find out!"
"No-wait!" But Frederick was too late; Robin had dashed into the trees, faster than he thought possible.
Despite having no memories of the area and the rising smoke obscuring her view, Robin ran flat out, her instincts guiding her forward, fighting down the fear that was threatening to consume her. She drew her sword, not trusting herself to use magic until she knew who and where the enemy was. Off to her right, she thought she saw someone running parallel to her, but then lost focus as she jumped down a small cliff. Looking up, Robin saw what looked like charred corpses attacking a small band of people with a familiar face leading the group.
"Chrom!" Robin lunged forward, impaling a shadowy warrior through the chest before it could bring an axe down on his open side. To her shock, the corpse seemed to disintegrate in front of her upon defeat.
"You know this person, milord?" A female knight, wearing red armor in a similar style to Frederick, wheeled her horse around, hefting an iron lance with apparent ease at the same time.
"Yes Sully, she's an ally," Chrom replied, withdrawing his sword from a fading corpse. "I'm glad you're alright Robin. What about Frederick?"
"We got separated," Robin said, feeling slightly guilty about what happened. "I think he should be here soon. I just wanted to find you as soon as I could."
"I'm grateful you did," Chrom said calmly, stepping forward and putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It'll take more than an earthquake and a few monsters to take down Frederick. Don't feel bad about it; you saved my life, which I will always be indebted for."
Robin smiled, feeling a thrill at his touch and sentiment. Then frowned as they heard the snarls of more of the shadowy monsters in the woods around them.
"Speaking of which, are such creatures commonplace in this land?" Robin reached in her robe, pulling out her tome with a grim expression.
"There not from Ylisse, I can promise you that much," Chrom said firmly, turning at the sound of hooves approaching, Frederick bursting out of the woods a moment later.
"Milord, milady! Are you hurt?" Frederick quickly looked over the group, assessing everyone present.
"Frederick, Robin!" Lissa appeared to be slightly in shock, but otherwise appeared fine.
"So, no injuries then? Thank the gods," Frederick muttered, giving Robin a pensive look before nodding in acknowledgment.
"You should thank the masked man who saved me!" Lissa seemed to return to her previous self at this comment. "If it weren't for him, I'd have…" After a quick glance around, she looked slightly dejected. "Where'd he go?"
"We can worry about him later, AFTER we put these-things-to the sword," Frederick declared, leading the charge deeper into the woods with the rest of the group following behind.
Despite being small in number, it took almost an hour for Chrom and Robin to clear out the remaining monsters. As they discovered at the cost of minor injuries, only fatal attacks truly destroyed these creatures. Seeing that the fires were beginning to die down, they met back up with the rest of their group, with an additional person present now.
"The remaining creatures have been vanquished. This young man took care of some stragglers," Frederick informed the pair, as the figure in question turned to face them, an ornate mask obscuring the upper part of his face.
"Um, I never got a chance to thank you for earlier," Lissa said, giving a small curtsey. "So, thank you. You were very brave."
"You saved my sister's life," Chrom stated, giving the youth a smile. "My name is Chrom. Might I ask yours?"
"You may call me Marth." The young man spoke with a serious tone, after a brief glance in Robin's direction.
"After the hero king of old?" Chrom frowned in thought before bringing back his smile. "You certainly fight like a hero. Who taught you how to wield a blade?"
"I'm not here to talk about me," Marth replied sternly, dismissing Chrom's question with a small shake of the head. "This world teeters at the brink of a terrible calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude. You have been warned."
A chill ran down Robin's spine at those words. For a moment, the lingering flames around them seemed to flare back up, and she could almost hear the echoes of maniacal laughter in the smoldering remains.
"Not much for conversation, is he?" Robin shook herself out of her trance, just noticing as Marth vanished into the woods in front of them.
"It appears his skills lie elsewhere. I wager we'll hear his name again." Frederick wheeled his steed around, indicating everyone should follow his lead. "But for now I'm more concerned about the capital. We should make haste. From our current position, we should arrive before midday with minimal rest."
Nodding in agreement, Robin followed everyone else as the nighttime march began, her thoughts as smoky as the woods they left behind.
Wow has life gone crazy right now. With the fact I'm lucky enough to still have a job but working nearly 40 hours a week, I'm amazed I can still function some days. However, it's the stories I plan and write that help keep me going, as well as bring some small amount of joy and pride. Thank you to anyone who reads my stories, and I hope I can help bring some joy in this scary and uncertain time. I don't know when the next chapter will be posted, but I'll keep working to put out more stories that can bring a smile to at least one person. Stay safe and healthy everyone.