--Legend of the Twin Swords--

By: Kratos the Judgment

Chapter 14: Arrivals

I awoke to find that I had a splitting headache and a small arm draped loosely over my back.
Gently I removed Rayne's arm and got up out of bed slowly. It would be best if I were here when
she awoke to explain what had happened, but it wouldn't be appropriate to have her wake up with
me beside her. I remembered what I had said to Matthew a few days earlier.

"I am not Sain." I repeated to myself.

So I got up and put on some fresh clothes while I waited for my young guest to wake up. I
doubted she knew how strong Ostian alcohol was when she had some last night, even if she had
been exposed to other drinks before. I might be in for a long wait. Eventually, however, she did
come around.

"Welcome back," I said.

"Why am I in your room? Did I hit my head?" She felt her forehead. She must have a serious
headache.

"No, you didn't hit your head. Apparently you had a bit too mush to drink last night. Though I
think that any at all would be too much for someone your size!"

"But I don't remember anything."

"That's not surprising. Listen, you should rest here today. I'll let your brother know where you are,
so you just sleep." I'm not sure if she heard that last part, because as I spoke, her eyes closed
and she appeared to fall asleep again. I left and found Ralts in the children's room.

"Where is my sister?" he demanded when he saw me.

"It was late when we left dinner, and she fell asleep on me, so I just let her stay the night in my
room." I half lied. "She's still there so you can go see her if you want."

My job accomplished, I set off for the library again to do more research but was interrupted by
Hector, who ran into me in the hall. Unlike me, he seemed to have suffered no ill effects from
dinner.

"Sorry, but it looks like we won't be able to spar after all." He told me, noticing that I was wearing
my sword again. "News has arrived that Eliwood should get here later today. I'm sure he'll want
to see you again."

"I plan on doing more research, so I'll be in the Library of History." I said.

"You feeling alright?"

"Just a little tired. It was a late night."

He saw through my statement. "Don't worry, you'll build up a tolerance soon enough." Hector
laughed. It was easy for him to say that. He was twice my size.

He moved on and I did the same. Just then I remembered my deal from the previous day.

"Hector, wait!"

"What is it?"

"I owe a clothier a lot of money, remember."

"Oh, that, don't worry about it. I took care of it this morning."

"Thanks Hector."

He nodded, and we went our separate ways again. As I expected, my efforts to tease out the
puzzle of the sage's prophecy proved fruitless. After a while, I simply couldn't take the strain
anymore and left the library. These translations were too hard to deal with. The poetic license
each author took with the phrasing and vocabulary only served to deepen the problem.

As I walked back to my room, the thoughts twirling around in my head distracted me from
everything else. Without thinking, I turned a corner and ran right into another man. The impact
with the ground snapped me out of my reverie.

"I'm sorry," the man and I said in unison. I looked up and saw just who it was I had hit.

"Eliwood, is that you? My friend, it's good to see you."

Eliwood appeared a little confused, whether it was from the collision or my new attire I wasn't
sure, but quickly enough, he righted himself and addressed me as a friend should.

"I didn't recognize you in those Ostian clothes," he admitted.

"Sorry about the rough meeting. My mind was elsewhere."

"Ah, I see. Marquess Hector told me I would find you in the library. You must have been thinking
about something you read." His face turned a bit grim. "Does it have anything to do with our
enemy?"

"Indeed, I don't think our enemy is really who he says he is."

Eliwood was rather surprised at this. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"I believe so. I'll explain when we find Hector. He should hear this too."

When Eliwood and I found Hector, he was in the middle of greeting the next group of arrivals.
Aside from Marcus, Lowen, and Isadora who had traveled with Eliwood, the paladins Kent and
Sain were now present. Upon seeing me, the former Caelin knights greeted me warmly and
talked about how they would assure victory in the coming battle.

Next to arrive was the young Etrurian sage, Erk. He dismounted the Pegasus that had carried
him here and looked around cautiously, as if avoiding someone. That someone found him soon
enough though. The pink haired cleric that Erk feared more than anything else jumped him
before he could take two steps.

As the day went on, more and more Pegasi arrived with their passengers. One particularly tired
one even brought in General Wallace. As it would seem, he had lost himself somewhere in Ilia.
"I wonder how they ever found me." He remarked, "Normally even I don't know where I am."

I even found Karel and Guy the swordmasters had been brought along for the battle. Apparently,
Guy had challenged Karel to the match they had promised each other, but neither could claim
victory. Upon realizing this, Guy let down his guard and Karel tried to kill him but stopped short.
Guy then gave him his new title "Saint of Swords."

By the end of the day, all the Pegasus knights had returned except those who were scouting and
Farina. All told, they had brought in Lucius, Canas, Legault, Heath, and Vaida as well.

To the assembled group, I explained the entirety of the situation. Everyone was fully distraught at
the news that Lyn was being hunted, especially Kent and Sain, her former knights. But the real
shock came afterwards.

"There is still one mystery that has me baffled though." I told them. "For the last few days, I've
been searching through Ostia's records for any information on our foe and his claim that it is his
destiny to take Lyn's life. Indeed I have found many accounts that may point to this occurrence.
However," I paused, surveying the faces around me, "if this man truly wields the Katti Umbra,
then the sword he was holding when I saw him should have been bathed in a black aura, not the
red one that it had.

"So maybe he doesn't really have the Shadow sword. It could be some sort of fake or a
completely different sword altogether." Sain interjected.

"That's hard to say, but for this man to know so much about the Shadow sword and the Sword of
Light and still be intent on killing Lyn, he must have found it and somehow drawn it. I can't see
another way, unless he's completely delusional."

At this point Kent interrupted me. "Excuse me," he said, "but aren't these swords only capable of
being drawn by their true owners. I saw Lady Lyndis the first time she held the Manni Katti and
you did too. How could he wield this sword if it's not his?"

"You're right Kent, and as far as I am aware, that truth still holds. I can't disprove it, but I'm
finding it easier and easier to doubt as more information reveals itself.

"Whether it's his or not, he still sounds like a dangerous enemy," added Eliwood.

"Agreed," said Hector.

"Blood of maidens." muttered Karel. All eyes were fixed on him.

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Kratos