Crossroads of the Heart
Author's Note: Fire Emblem is the property of Intelligent Systems and Nintendo. There are spoilers for Chapter 32H/30E, "Victory or Death," in here.
Chapter 2: Arrival
The Dread Isle. This land was often rumored to be cursed among the common folk, and facing it so close -- even for the second time -- seemed to confirm every terrible word of gossip spoken about the place. Thick forests stretched before them, shrouded in fog and mystery. Lyn shivered, remembering what they had found the last time they walked this path. Her thoughts immediately turned to Matthew; she turned her head slightly, catching him in her peripheral vision. He crept along ahead of the army on one side while Legault, a highly skilled thief from the Black Fang itself kept watch on the right. Both could see better in the gloom than the rest of them, and if Matthew was feeling badly about returning to the site of Leila's death, he certainly was showing no outward sign of it.
There was little to be done but trudge onward; their destination, the Dragon's Gate, loomed invisibly somewhere in the distance. Goosebumps appeared on Lyn's arms as she thought of it. They had dealt with numerous ambushes, and had won against unlikely odds here on this very land not so long ago... no, she wasn't concerned with an ambush. Nergal was waiting for them...
A shadow overhead prompted her to glance upward -- their airborn army was a force to be reckoned with on its own. Florina flew overhead, looking every bit the professional pegasus knight in formation with her equally talented sisters. Heath and Vaida, Wyvern-Mounted deserters from Bern's formidable military force, flanked the sisters on each side, eyes darting about sharply for signs of anything amiss.
"Are the skies so interesting to you, Lyn of the Lorca?" A soft voice at her left side startled her, her hand reaching for her sword before her mind completed its translation of the voice as belonging to Rath, a nomad from her home, the plains of Sacae.
"Rath! You startled me." Lyn shivered, allowing herself to relax once again.
"Perhaps you should concern yourself more with what lies ahead, than what lies overhead," Rath suggested, shifting subtly on his steed.
"I... Well. You're right. It's dangerous to let your guard down, especially at such a critical time," Lyn relented. She wondered how this man managed to humble her so, time and again. If anyone else had thought to make such a pointed criticism, she likely would have countered with some sharp retort. Yet with Rath... he nodded in reply, seemingly satisfied with her observation.
"This isle... everything about it is an ill omen unto itself," he continued, surprisingly. He did not often speak his mind, even around her, and she found herself compelled to listen. He had somewhat of a hypnotic voice -- each time he spoke, Lyn found herself wishing he used it more often.
"Omens notwithstanding, we must be triumphant in the battle ahead," Lyn replied calmly, closing her eyes for a moment, visualizing victory, holding the image close in her mind. "By Mother Earth and Father Sky... that man will not escape his due."
A sharp nod in response, and Rath was once again riding ahead, alone. He seemed to enjoy solitude, but Lyn could not help but wonder if that was merely an effect his lonesome upbringing had had on him. She could not imagine having served in the service of that vile Marquess Araphen as long as he had... and to be outcast from his tribe so young... she sighed. He chose to speak with her, at least, occasionally. That would have to be enough.
Silence was not something Hector particularly enjoyed, but each time he thought to say something, the look on his friend's face stole the words on the spot. What could he say in the face of such obvious sorrow? This journey... it had not been kind to Eliwood. First his father, and that had been bad enough! To have Ninian stolen away from him as well... especially in such a way. Hector was Eliwood's best friend, but he certainly felt inadequate for the title as the march wore on. He wished, as he often had in the past, that he was a bit more skilled in the art of condolences.
What few people knew, of course, was that he himself had suffered quite a loss, though not as a direct consequence of Nergal. He tightened his grip on his axe, determined not to dwell on his brother's death, at least not now. Not when Eliwood was depending on him. Hell, the entire world was depending on them. He would mourn Uther when they returned -- victorious -- to Lycia. He had never felt so many conflicting emotions... he set his jaw, concentrating on the task ahead. Everything could be sorted out later, surely.
"...Hector?" Eliwood was fixing him with an odd stare, a look he couldn't quite place.
"Yeah?" At least he was talking.
"You all right?" He inquired, his voice still somewhat subdued, though his inquiry was clearly meant to be serious.
"What kinda question is that? I should be asking you that!" Hector fixed him with a glare, unable to help himself. What in blazes was he talking about? Surely he couldn't read minds, now.
"...I'm fine... I've told you."
"I know. I-I'm sorry, all right? It's just, here you are, looking like hell itself, and you have the mind to ask me if I'm all right?"
"Well, I... Nothing. All right, I understand."
Silence, again. He'd rather be arguing with Lyn, bantering with Matthew, putting up with Serra... well, maybe not Serra. Silence was preferable to that. He shot a cautious glance ahead, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw her pestering that Etrurian mage... Erk, was his name. If she asked him for vassals one more time...
"Lord Hector..." Now there was a voice even more unwelcome than Serra's.
"Oswin. What."
"It seems that boy you left with Fargus has decided to join us, after all..." Oswin, a man Hector had thought to be his most trusted knight. He had certainly proved that to be wholly untrue, if nothing else! Hiding his brother's condition from him, then, keeping his death a secret as well! Anger blazed through him, remembering how he had all but begged Oswin to tell him the truth... and this was how he was repaid. Hector brushed by him without saying a word, but with a look that said it all.
Oswin merely sighed, and let him pass.
"Nils?" Hector exclaimed, as the young bard emerged from the trees. They had finally made it through the majority of the forest on the edge of the Dread Isle, emerging into the more open inland areas. "What are you..."
"Lord Hector! Lord Eliwood! Look out! Move!"
The urgency in his voice was more than familiar to the two men, and they obliged immediately, scattering apart. Moments later, a flash of lightning rained down on the very place they had recently occupied, crackling with energy and ill intent. Hector had his axe ready in an instant, but knew whoever had cast that spell probably wasn't within striking distance -- they had seen it before. Lyn came running toward them, concern evident on her face.
"What...?"
"Nils!" Eliwood exclaimed, before Lyn could complete her inquiry. "You came!"
"I did..." The boy looked unhappy, and that was his right... but he had also shed that despondent air that had enshrouded him since Ninian's untimely death. "I can't run away any longer. I'll take Ninian's place. I have to do her part."
He paused for a moment, then continued, with more conviction than before.
"No, I have to do Ninian's part and mine! I'll fight with you, and we'll change the course of fate!"
"Well spoken!" Hector exclaimed, smiling broadly. He had never thought this little boy had such strength of character. "Now you sound like a man!" Lyn offered him a rather scathing glare for that remark, he couldn't fathom why. The woman was crazy.
"Nils!" She greeted the boy warmly. "Glad to see you."
"I'm sorry to have worried you. I'm fine now," He assured them, holding his head high. He fixed a rather angry look on his features, his crimson eyes flashing with fury. "And now... Stop skulking and come out!" He directed this command to the trees ahead, but only silence greeted him. "I know you're there!"
Nothing, for several heartbeats. Then, from some unknown distance, the familiar sight of a simple warping spell. The woman who appeared was clearly a morph, sporting jet black hair and eerie yellow eyes, but unlike Sonia, this woman lacked... emotion. Sonia's face had reflected feeling -- anger, arrogance... but this woman's face was like painted porcelain, devoid of soul.
"Limstella..." Nils whispered, an undercurrent of loathing in his voice. "The one who's always at Nergal's side."
"I've come for you quintessence," The unsettling morph woman replied coolly, her voice as stoic as her chillingly placid facial features. "Come out, my humble servants..."
Before anyone could react to this cryptic statement, the morph, Limstella, had warped her way to safety, leaving an army of morphs in her wake. They stood, cold and emotionless, awaiting their advance. They would fight to the death; they knew nothing of human emotions like mercy... or self preservation, for that matter.
"We'll have to fight our way through!" Hector exclaimed, stepping forward, a formidable warrior in all respects. Lyn, agreeing with him for once, stood at his side, equally determined.
"No matter how many there are, we cannot retreat!"
"He hasn't called any dragons yet..." Nils said calmly, surveying the trial ahead of them. "If we hurry, we may yet defeat him."
Hector crept grimly forward, surprised to see Lyn following at his side.
"You ready?" He grunted, focusing ahead on the foe awaiting them.
"Are you?" Lyn shot back, sprinting by him in a blur, without warning.
"Hey! You... You'll get yourself killed!" Hector exclaimed, following after her as swiftly as his armor would allow. "Blasted woman...!"
Eliwood took a deep breath, shaking his head as Hector and Lyn rushed off ahead into battle. He'd have been worried, but he was certain they'd watch out for each other, as much as they argued back and forth. Besides, the Knights of Ostia and Caelin respectively were already rushing after them. Eliwood spurred his mount after them, intent on one person in particular. Nils ran ahead, exclaiming something about having to give Hector something."Oswin!" Eliwood exclaimed, catching up to the heavily armed general with ease. He may have been impossible to injure in that fortress he referred to as armor, but it certainly impeded his movement.
"Lord Eliwood?" he turned, surprised. "What is it?"
"It's Hector. ...Has something happened?"
"No, nothing really." There was something odd about his tone, though... Eliwood eyes him suspiciously. Did everyone think him so weak? If something had happened... no one should feel they had to spare his feelings and hide it. Yet it was just the sort of thing Hector would do.
"He acts as if nothing is wrong and yet... Yet... I know. That's how Hector's been since he was a child. This is how he acts when something is troubling him..."
"Lord Eliwood... please, don't concern yourself. You're likely seeing his concern for you, nothing more."
"...All right. I'll accept that for now..."
He wheeled away, troubled and now somewhat irritated. He was well aware of Hector's concern for his own wellbeing... as much as he thought he hid what he was feeling well, he had always been an open book to him. Oswin, on the other hand, he wouldn't have expected lies from. That Oswin would be so quick to respond in such a way... a terrible thought struck him.
"He wouldn't dare hide something like that from me, would he?" Eliwood approached the front lines, rapier drawn, battle instincts taking over his actions. If something had happened to Uther... he glanced over toward Hector, who was engaged in combat with a rather fierce looking Wyvern Rider, Lyn fighting gracefully by his side. He wanted to believe that his closest friend would not keep such a thing from him... but...
Grimly, Eliwood charged ahead. He would find out.
This battle was easily one of the toughest they had faced, Lyn observed, dodging yet another foolish axe wielding foe's clumsy blow. These common bandits were easy prey for her, and Hector did a fine job keeping the more dangerous lance-wielding wyvern riders off her back. She spared a glance at him -- he certainly was a terror to behold on the battlefield. She stuck to her original opinion that he was quite reckless, but Eliwood had been correct -- he certainly was no danger to his allies. She winced as his axe found yet another target. Battles were something she was good at, but she still held no love for watching things die.
Even these unsettling morphs, who made no sound even as their final breaths rattled free. Abominations, each and every one. She fell into the familiar rhythm of battle, leaping when opportunities presented themselves, nimbly avoiding disaster when appropriate... it was like performing a gruesome dance.
A shadow swept over her, and she glanced up, blood freezing in her veins -- was that an enemy wyvern? It swept down to meet her, impossibly fast, and she knew instinctively that this was one attack she would not be swift enough to dodge; it was already far too late for that. She steeled herself for pain, heard Hector's cry of warning behind her -- then, suddenly, an abhorrent scream as the wyvern facing her reared up in pain. Its silent rider made no motion to move, made no sound as the wyvern rolled in agony, taking back to the skies, its flight quite obviously hampered.
"Lyn. It appears I might have been wrong earlier... some attention to the skies is worthwhile," Rath observed. It had the makings of a joke, but his impassive face lent no insight as to whether or not he meant it as such.
"Rath! I... Thank you. This is twice, now, you've saved my life," Lyn observed, her heart racing.
"It is nothing. Here... you're a Sacaen. Take this... use it." He looked down at her, extending his hand. An iron bow -- Lyn nodded. She had watched him often enough, she was certain she could use it. Besides... as he said, she was Sacaen. Archery was in her blood.
"Ah... and you, take this. They're useful in a tight spot," Lyn offered, exchanging bow for sword. It was a well-used iron model, yet for all their weakness, iron swords were light and easy to use.
"I'll keep it close at hand," Rath assured her, their fingers brushing as they exchanged weapons. Lyn looked up at him, suddenly filled with an urgent desire to say something -- anything -- but even as she thought it, he rode away, bow already raised toward another target.
"Lyn!"
There was Hector, barreling toward her. She smiled at him, strapping the bow to a comfortable resting position on her back.
"Are you all right? There were a lot of them, and I didn't see that one slip by, I--"
"I'm fine, Hector," she assured him, surprised at the ferocity of his concern. Did he think her so weak? No... that wasn't fair. She would have been grievously injured at best had it not been for Rath...
"Ah, well... Good." He paused for a moment, peering at her. "That a bow? Eliwood tried getting me to use a sword earlier..."
"Oh? How did that work out?" Lyn grinned at the thought. She couldn't imagine Hector using a refined weapon like the sword.
"Er... he got mad and gave up. Said I used it just like an axe, so it was pointless."
Lyn laughed at the image that statement imprinted on her mind -- Hector, swinging a sword like he did that axe? The worst part, she thought, was that it was entirely believable.
"Hey! Hmph. You two are too hung up on style, I swear..."
"No, no..." Lyn laughed again, placing a hand on his shoulder for balance. "It's not that, it's just..."
"Well. Anyway, looks like this area's cleared out... the rest of 'em must be behind that hill, right?" Hector started forward, a thunderous expression on his face.
"Aw... don't be angry," Lyn patronized him slyly, following after him.
"Why not? You seem to jump right to the anger part quick enough."
"It's hardly my fault that you're so... impossible!" Lyn exclaimed, making a face at him.
"Huh."
"Hector..."
"Say, Lyn." He looked back at her, the angry expression softened to the slightly less angry expression she recognized as his normal face.
"Yes?"
"You remember when we first met?"
"...I do." What an odd question that was. "I remember it well. It was when Caelin Castle was taken by Lord Laus. My grandfather had been taken prisoner, and you and Eliwood came to the rescue... then together, we fought the armies of Laus." She fixed him with an odd stare. Why was he thinking back on that all of a sudden?
"...Lyn. Why are we together now?"
The shock on her face must have been evident -- what a stupid question that was! She could feel anger flooding into her just at the gall he had for asking it. Were they not friends? Did friends not aid one another...?
"Hector!"
"...Because we're friends, right?" He interrupted her, another thing that would have furthered her anger had the question not completely knocked the fury from her. Did he think...? Something terrible twisted at her insides. She hasn't been that awful to him, had she?
"Say if you were much stronger than I was... would that make me useless to you?" He wasn't the type prone to joking around, except perhaps with Eliwood, and his face clearly implied that he wasn't kidding. He actually worried about this!
"No! Of course not," Lyn scrambled for a reply, reeling with utter confusion.
"Fighting isn't everything on this journey, you know..." He looked at her, and it seemed as though he was trying to say something more... "I mean, if fighting was everything, what use would we have of Merlinus?"
"Well, I suppose..."
"You are strong." She blinked. Did he really think so? She was certain after their... sparring match... he would never think of her that way. "I can vouch for that..."
"Hector..." She said softly, those lesser acknowledged feelings for him surfacing again. She didn't bother trying to fight them, this time, though... did he really think...
"Just, I was stronger."
"Hah!" She exclaimed, immediately fighting those cursed feelings down, after all. What a guy this was! And to think, she had thought he was trying to be considerate!
"W-What?!"
"You're too much-- saying that kind of thing with a straight face!"
"You gotta problem with my face?" He growled, looking away. "I've just gotta be me, you know..."
"Yes, I know." And she found, looking at him this way... she did. "...Thanks. I didn't think you cared so much about how I felt." He was stupid sometimes, but... she had always known he never meant to be callous. Somewhere inside, she had known... "Or is Hector gentler at heart than Hector looks?" She teased, only half joking.
He rewarded her with a bland stare, and she smiled at him. She didn't know what it was, but she felt...
"You've certainly done much for my courage today."
"Hmph..." They trudged forward together, reaching the pass that would lead them past the hill the Wyvern Riders had emerged from. Many more enemies greeted them ahead, and Hector sighed, bringing his axe up to bear. "...I'm not this way to just anyone, you know..."
"What?"
"Ah! The enemy! Let's go, Lyn! Don't lag behind!" He took off then, leaving her bewildered, watching him go. What had he meant by that?
"Wait!" She yelled furiously, determined to find out. "Wait up!"
Florina maneuvered expertly downward, eyes scanning the battlefield, analyzing everything. One thing in particular caught her eye -- Lord Hector and Lady Lyn, sprinting from their previous cover back into the fray. What they didn't see from their position was the fearsome looking swordmaster crouched in a clump of forest ahead. Lyn engaged a warrior wielding an axe that rivaled Lord Hector's in size, her speed overcoming his slow, clumsy swings. Hector moved forward, certain Lyn could handle that trial, eyes on some other foe in the distance.
The swordmaster sprung, intent to surprise Lord Hector, no doubt, but instead met with an entirely different surprise -- Florina swooped down, directing Huey with her knees, lance in hand. Her heart raced as it often did just before she struck... Careful, Florina... remember your training... The hapless morph turned a moment too late, just in time to see the face of his fate before his blasphemous existence was put to an end.
Exhilarated by this victory, Florina let out a happy shout, patting her pegasus on the neck.
"Good job, Huey! We showed him!"
"Nice shot, Florina!" Hector yelled at her, and her heart nearly stopped when she realized he'd been watching. She nearly lost her balance on her pegasus, who let out an irritated whinny at her sudden lack of poise. After a few moments, she thought to respond with a thanks, but by then he was already out of hearing range.
Besides, as he marched forward, an entire platoon of archers emerged from the fortresses ahead -- more than enough reason to keep far, far away.
"I saw that, that was well done, baby sister!" Farina came up behind her, startling her.
"Oh... Farina. Yes, well... Thank you."
"You know, I think if you went back to Ilia, they'd promote you right away! The way you fight, I never would have thought it of you, Florina! You should be getting paid for those skills, you know?"
"Ah, no... it's my duty, as a knight of Caelin..."
"Whoa, not that again. A lot of the people in this army really need to lighten up! It's always, serve my lord this, do my duty that... I mean, jeez. They're going to give themselves an ulcer or something!"
"Funny... the only person I know like that is Sir Kent..."
"Yeah! That's exactly who I mean! I mean, him and Fiora are always talking, and listening to them... my God! They're like peas in an overly serious and totally uninteresting pod!" Farina made a gagging noise, pointing aloft at where indeed, Fiora and Kent stood, standing fast against another platoon of wyvern riders to the south.
"I always told him that he'd get along with Fiora," Florina observed. "Oh, you don't think...?"
"Blech, if those two end up together, I just hope they don't have kids."
"Farina! That's a terrible thing to say!"
"But look at them! I mean, that kid would have to be the most boring, duty-obsessed person on the planet!"
"That is still an absolutely awful thing to say," Florina exclaimed, waving her lance in a scolding gesture. "I'm sure Fiora... I'm sure they'd be very happy together."
"Yeah, I'll say," Farina snorted. "Say... what about you, Florina?"
"Wh...what?"
"I saw you checking out Lord Hector a minute ago. You know, I don't blame you. He is kind of cute, and he's filthy rich to boot! In fact, if I didn't see you roving your eyes all over him, I might go after him myself!"
"Farina!!"
"What?!"
Florina rolled her eyes, but she could feel her face flaming scarlet. The very thought of... of.. how could she even say such a thing!
"I am not roving my eyes all over... aaah! You're impossible!" Florina exclaimed, darting away, still blushing furiously.
Farina's laughter followed her, but thankfully, she herself did not.
Hector grunted furiously as a wave of freezing cold washed over him, chilling his armor to a painful degree and sending shards of sharp ice scraping across his skin. Blasted mages! He could take a blow with ease, but these magic users of Nergal... metal didn't do much to stop bolts of lightning and cyclones of ice! This creepy Limstella... he'd show her a thing or two, that was certain! The spell concluded, and Hector stood upright, shaking bits of ice out of his hair.
"That's all you have?" Actually, it had hurt quite a bit. But he wasn't about to let on. "Well see if you can stand to this!"
He charged forward, perhaps a bit too hastily. He was sure he'd finish her with one solid blow, but she was much faster than he expected. She whirled away just as he committed to the swing, and despite his best efforts the blade of his axe merely grazed the woman, tearing her robes and drawing some blood. Yet it was nothing fatal, and the woman didn't even wince! Instead, she fixed that creepy gaze on him again... and... he cursed as he knew what was coming next. He braced himself, unsure how many more of these blasted spells he could take.
From behind her, he saw something he hadn't quite expected -- it appeared Eliwood had caught up to him at last. He fixed the woman with a grim look, a look she never saw, as she was quite intent on the spell she was preparing to blast him with yet again. Eliwood's horse let out a fierce sound, a sound he'd frankly never heard a horse make, and he charged forward, catching the woman square in the center of her back. She froze, the spell dying on her lips, the anima tome falling from her hands.
"This heart and this body are constructs..." She choked out, as Eliwood grimly wrenched his sword from her body. "Yes... as is this sorrow..." she crumpled to the floor, and Hector could not help but wonder if she even had the soul to rot in hell.
"...Thanks, I dunno if I could have stood another one," Hector muttered, aware that he was injured, but not wholly concerned.
"You might want to have Serra look at that," Eliwood replied, looking morosely at the corpse of the morph he had just dispatched. "Is it wrong that I feel sorry for... her?"
"What? What is there to feel sorry for? She was a puppet, dancing for Nergal. She was probably happy to die for him!" Hector spat, clearly unfazed.
"Even so..." Eliwood slid off his horse, crouching over Limstella's fallen form. "She's still another casualty of Nergal's madness," Eliwood reasoned, reaching for the book the woman had wielded only minutes before. "...Perhaps Nino can use this. She's gotten remarkably good with magic in such a short time. Pent is quite impressed with her, you know..."
"...Well. I suppose this is it, then?"
"...We must wait for Athos... but yes. The final battle awaits..."
