Dislcaimer: I don't own FE and whatevever
I'm thinking of the most horrible pairing I can think up for Serra since the most important guys I already have a pairing for...I haven't decided yet; I'm thinking of putting her with either Guy or Raven right now...
On a side note, Hiro will be back when Eliwood reaches Castle Caelin, because that's where our main protagonist is staying.
THE TACTICIANS' WISH
Eliwood's and Hector's Tales chapter 2: Birds of a Feather
"This is going to be a looong trip," Hector complained.
"Oh, it couldn't possibly be this bad, milord. We have Matthew to keep her company," Oswin chuckled.
"...Hey...hey...WHAT! YOU WISH!" replied the thief. Apparently, even this cheery one can't stand the horror that is the unbelievably talkative Serra.
"Well, we should camp here tonight," Eiji commented. "It's getting really dark...and I think Miss Serra will also stop complaining about her feet when we do..."
"Hey, I need to keep the beauty of my feet in perfect condition in case someone wants to kiss it!"
"She wishes..." Hector sighed. 'Yup. This is going to be a looong trip.'
Lucifer walked away from the camp to climb up a tree and sleep there. He couldn't stand large gatherings of nobles. Back in Ilia, those drunken fools didn't bother him. He just couldn't fit in with high ranking people, not after what happened to Karel, his best friend...at least, his best friend when they were kids.
Flashback:
"...Look, Karel, you have a younger sister now! Her name is Karla," said the loving voice of the boy's mother.
Karel and Lucifer were 6 years old back then. They were both naïve and innocent little boys who liked to play games with the other village children. Lucifer was adopted into the family because of his natural ability with handling swords, as Karel's family lived on the way of the blade. Karel's mother found the baby in a bundle on her doorstep one morning, with a note telling her of Lucifer's age and name, but not why he was there.
Also, in the bundle, was a beautiful golden necklace with a diamond in its center.
The family was lived peacefully in the plains of Sacae, but only when the father of the family isn't there. He was a fugitive from Ilia who had a drinking problem, hiding in the plains to avoid people that wanted him to pay his debts, which amounted to about a million gold. Karel's mother offered him shelter, and they fell in love, and soon after, had Karel as their first son. Things were going smoothly for a while, until the father came across alcoholic drinks again.
He became his old self again, always getting drunk. The mother managed to rehabilitate him for a year, which was the year they had Karla. But then he became drunk again, and this time, he was hooked on something far more powerful than even Ilian rum. The Sacaeans of the village wouldn't allow it, and banished the family out of the tribe.
He went on a journey to create the perfect brew that won't get him addicted, but failed to find anything like it. However, he did create the drink that he became really addicted to. The materials, however, were expensive, and he had to buy them from the city that they lived in after they were banished. They had to borrow a lot of money from the lord of the castle because of the father's debts. Soon, however, the lord realized that he wasn't going to get any of his money paid back, and sent his men to hunt down the drunkard.
The drunkard was obviously very scared when he heard of this from his drinking buddies. So he went to his last resort, and to make one final debt. He went to the Black Fang, and asked them to protect him from the noble. The Black Fang agreed to do it, because the noble was an oppressor. However, this journey took months to complete, and during those few months, the family starved in his absence because no one would lend them any more money. The noble raised his taxes to recover the wealth he lost, and made everyone in the city hate the family because of the drunkard's debts.
"...I can't take this anymore. This is all father's fault," said the young Karel, hardened with starvation and hatred for his father. That day, he packed up his things, and...just left.
Then the Black Fang came and liberated the people from this lord, and had the son of the lord take his place. The son of the lord apparently is a much better leader than his father, and the city went back to the state it was in before the drunkard arrived, and further improved.
However, the small Sacaean family still had problems. Like how they were going to pay the Black Fang for this one. The drunkard didn't think about this when he asked them for help; he just wanted to save his own life. So he and their leader came up with a solution; his children will work for him.
Everything fell apart soon after. Karla was sent out to do a mission on a faraway continent, and the mother fell ill with an unknown sickness. The drunkard got drunk even more, and sometimes went and beat Lucifer and his wife. The mother soon died after, leaving only Lucifer and the drunkard behind.
Lucifer, having been trained in the arts of the sword by his adoptive mother, wanted to forget the Sacaean style of sword fighting so he wouldn't have any memories of her. He was trained by the leader of the Black Fang himself, seeing that the boy had such great potential.
Lucifer was befriended by a then-young man named Legault, who is a thief, when he first arrived at the headquarters. They easily became good friends. Then Brendan Reed found a red-haired boy, and took him in, named him Jaffar, and trained him as well. Lucifer became one of his mentors. Everything was good, until SHE ruined it.
She was a beautiful black haired lady, always wearing a black robe, and a white cloak with red patterns on it over the robe. She let her long hair flow freely. She was an object of lust, but there were a few creepy things about her. She had piercing yellow eyes that glow in the dark, like a cat's. That, and it seems that she doesn't age. She's been married to Brendan for 25-or so years now (now as in the timeline of the story, not the flashback), and they had 2 sons, Linus and Lloyd, who became fast friends with Lucifer. During those 20 years, Sonia never grew a wrinkle on her perfect face.
Then a girl washed up on the shore. Brendan felt pity for her, and took her in. Sonia, however, disliked the idea, and it seemed like she wanted to throw the girl out, but restrained herself. They called her Nino.
Lucifer was 20 years old, only a few years older than Linus and Lloyd. He was about to go out on another mission, when Sonia summoned him. With her was another beautiful woman; she looked younger than Sonia; Sonia looked like she was in her 30's but this one was only in her 20's. They looked like sisters; their clothes and looks were very similar, except the younger one tied her hair in a ponytail; and instead of a long flowing dress, she had a skirt on. Lucifer was attracted by this new girl.
"Lucifer, meet Limstella. She was sent by...our father to seek out a...husband. I noticed that she seems to be attracted to you. She likes that necklace you have on..." Sonia spoke for her ...sister. Oh, if only he knew back then.
"...May I see it?" Limstella walked up seductively towards Lucifer. Taken in by lust, he just handed her his necklace. However, when she touched it, she was hit by a dark energy ball that came out of the necklace. "...Ow..."
"Oh...my...I'm...I'm sorry," Lucifer begged for forgiveness. Limstella looked at Sonia, and nodded.
"Oh...it's all right, Lucifer. Stand up," Sonia commanded. The mercenary obeyed. "Now, don't you have a mission to do?"
'Damn, I blew it big time! My necklace hasn't ever done this before, WHY did it have to do that NOW, of all the times? GEEZ!' Lucifer complained to himself. He headed towards the back door of the Black Fang headquarters.
The back door, however, was barricaded by...people. Lucifer walked up to them, and asked them to move, but they didn't respond, not even blink. He did this for a long time. He got annoyed, and waved his hands in front of their eyes. What happened here scared him. He waved his hands under the person's nose. The person didn't even breathe.
"HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!" Lucifer jumped back. "What are you people?"
"...They are morphs...they can't think, see, feel, talk, age, or breathe. They are just mindless golems made to do the dirty work of their creators, like killing people..." Limstella said as she walked out of the shadows. "Get the necklace," she ordered the morphs.
"HEY! What the?" Lucifer yelled as the morphs, 3 mercenaries and 3 archers, attacked him. "Is this about this morning? Didn't I already apologize?"
"...As a matter of fact it is. Lord Nergal wants that necklace, and we will have it," Limstella said.
"...Nergal..." Lucifer said while dodging another attack from the morphs. "Why does he want it?" He took his Silver Sword out of its sheathe and sliced one of the morphs in half. He saw that it could still move, so he beheaded it, finally making it stop moving.
"As you know, Lord Nergal has...become a benefactor to the Black Fang, you could say. This was only done for a grand scheme of his," Limstella explained. "These morphs are his, and so are Sonia and I."
'So that's why she doesn't age,' Lucifer thought. "But you're a morph, too! How come you can talk? And you look like you actually have feelings."
"It's called acting. Lord Nergal wants that necklace because he thinks that you, its owner will become a threat to his plans," Limstella explained. "Though he is yet to tell us why."
"Well, I'm not staying long enough to find out!" Lucifer said, as he finished off the last of the morphs.
"...The necklace will be Lord Nergal's," Limstella said, launching an Elfire spell towards Lucifer, who got burnt pretty badly.
"URGH!" he grunted. He had experienced being hit by this spell before, but never by one this powerful. Obviously, Limstella is a powerful sage. "...Grr..." Limstella launched another spell, and aimed it at the silver sword in Lucifer's hand. It melted from the spell's power. "Damn!"
"You should just stand still, if you don't want to get hurt even more," Limstella said, walking up to the mercenary.
"...I won't die here! NOT NOW!" Lucifer yelled.
To Limstella, after he yelled it, a flash of white light appeared where Lucifer was, and she felt a powerful dark energy engulf him. After the flash disappeared, she saw that Lucifer had a new sword in his hand.
'Etherion?' Lucifer thought to himself.
"...Hmph. So I am too late. It looks like I must take the sword as well," Limstella said, charging up another spell, and launching it.
"RAGH!" Lucifer swung his sword like a bat at the flaming projectile. Surprisingly, it sent the projectile flying back instead of melting the diamond blade of the sword. Limstella didn't foresee this and was his by her own spell, sent back at her at twice the speed she sent it, and was damaged badly. She was lying on the ground, her white cloak burnt from the spell. "...Damn...so...finish me," she said.
"...Morph or not, I don't kill women..." Lucifer said.
They just stayed there not moving for a long time.
"...You said that morphs don't have feelings...what about Sonia...and you?" Lucifer asked the sage.
"...We're special, but we still aren't supposed to have emotions. Sonia was the first one to break that rule, by having children with Brendan. Or she could just have been acting," Limstella explained.
"...How about you? Don't you wish you could feel? Anything, like regret, fear, hatred...love?"
"...I was not created to think about such things..."
"...Maybe you can feel, though, or at least...act a bit rebellious. You're opening up to me right now even though...you're supposed to kill me, but you lost the fight and I'm supposed to kill you," Lucifer said.
"...That's true...I...didn't notice that," she stuttered.
"...Are you all right?" Lucifer said, helping the sage get up.
"...Why are you helping me?" Limstella asked him. "...I am...confused..."
"Maybe to prove that you CAN feel...to help you break that barrier of not being able to feel...to show you what a gentleman I am...to hit on you..."
"...That would be pointless."
"Really?" Lucifer pressed his mouth into Limstella's. Limstella, for the first time in her life, blushed, and felt heat coming up from her face. Her heart beat faster, and she was confused by this. "...I wished we could have met under different circumstances," Lucifer said sadly, and left the base. "...And tell Sonia, I'm quitting the Black Fang. I hope you're a good liar; because I want you to tell her...Aw hell, just say whatever you want." With that, the mercenary dashed out.
'...What...what is that...feeling?' Limstella thought, holding a pillar to support herself.
Lucifer became a freelance mercenary after that. He moved to Ostia, hoping that the Fang couldn't find him there, and served the lord there for 2 years, and became a good friend of one of the castle staff. However, the Fang somehow found him, and he had to leave. He left for Ilia to work there. His friend died soon after he left.
Lucifer decided to change his looks if he wanted to remain invisible to the fang. He cut his long Navi blue hair, and combed it so that his bangs almost covered his grey-eyes. He put on a dark grey tunic, black pants, brown boots, and bought a new black cloak.
On his way to Ilia, he met a man called the 'Sword Demon.'
"...Karel? Is that you?" Lucifer was overjoyed to finally meet his adoptive brother again. However, Karel was...different. He didn't have that carefree attitude and friendly face he always had when he was a kid. No...now he was a cold-blooded killer, as the stories say. Karel admits it.
Lucifer couldn't believe it, until Karel said, "...If you weren't family, I'd kill you where you stand." Then Karel just left.
END FLASHBACK:
"NO! MINE!" Lucifer woke to the sound of Serra screaming...and fell out of the tree. "The ladies should have their shares first! Right, Fiaa?"
"eheh...eheh...um...right?" Fiaa agreed, sweatdropping, after seeing Serra's death glare.
"That was a great meal! Shall we get moving?" Kyo asked Hector.
"ONWARDS! And Serra?" Hector asked the cleric. Serra turned to look at Hector. "No complaining, or you WILL get your dinner last."
Meanwhile:
"So have you sent the message to Lord Helman?" Eliwood asked his messenger.
"Yes, milord," replied the messenger.
"Then let's go to Santaruz castle."
At Santaruz Castle:
"What? Eliwood is coming?" the marquess panicked.
"Yes, He has set camp up on a hill south of here. He seeks permission to enter Santaruz. He seeks an audience with you," replied a black cloaked man with piercing yellow eyes.
"Ephidel... Could it be... Do you think Eliwood's come to ask of his father? If that's the case... I... I know not what to tell him," Lord Helman panicked even more.
"Tell him you know nothing, and send him on his way," replied Ephidel calmly.
"Yet... I know young Eliwood well. His father, Elbert, and I are old friends. I've no children of my own, and I've always treasured Eliwood. I do not believe I could look him in the eye and... I could not lie to him. I could not," the marquess replied with conviction.
"We've no choice then. Let us chase the boy away. If you do not speak with him, you need tell no lies," Ephidel said, about to leave the room to give his orders.
"Wait! Do you mean to harm Eliwood?" Helman asked the cloaked man, worried.
"Not harm. Frighten. A scratch or two will leave no scars. He will run home to Pherae and be done with his adventure. He is, after all, all that Pherae has left..." Ephidel calmly replied, and left the room.
On the way to the Castle:
"Instead of entering Laus with such a small group, we should meet with Marquess Santaruz and request his assistance... I see the sense in that. It's a good plan, Mark," commented Marcus.
"Lord Helman... He's not only my father's friend. I've known him since I was a child. I'm sure that he will help us," Eliwood told the group.
A man, by his looks a bandit, came up to Eliwood and the group, and started to beg. "Heh heh heh... noble sires, Alms for a poor villager."
"Poor villager? You look nothing like an honest man! Clear the road, and step quickly, or.." Marcus commanded, but the bandit interrupted him.
"Step quickly? Heh heh... Good advice. Maybe it's you who should follow it!" the bandit laughed, and started walking back. "Someone wants the boy in an early grave. A shame if you ask me, but he'll die here today. C'mon, boys! Earn your keep!" he called for his comrades.
The group walked by a house. "Hmm... You look like you've some experience with battle. No need to conceal it. I've fought in many a battle in my time, I assure you. Let me tell you one thing about combat, though. The most important thing is technique. If you've no skill, you'll rearely strike your enemy. My instructor gave me this secret book long ago. It will improve the fighting prowess of the one who reads it. I'm too old to make use of it, so why don't you take it?" A man gave Mark an old book, and went back inside his house. "He's...really generous..." he commented, sweatdropping.
"I saw them, I did. About a month ago... Marquess Pherae and his men passed right through here. They've all gone missing, haven't they? A group as strong as that just up and vanishing... Couldn't have been bandits, but... I don't believe it. Must've been something terrible. The world's become a dangerous place, it has," another man commented as they passed another house.
"The marquess who leads Santaruz is Lord Helman. He doesn't aks for much, and he's a nice enough fellow. I wouldn't call him weak, but he is more follower than leader. Lately, he's been meeting with Marquess Laus quite a lot. I hope nothing bad comes of it, but..." commented another villager.
"If that is the case...could Lord Helman have ordered these men to attack us?" Marcus pondered.
"That's...that's impossible! Lord Helman is a friend of my father's; he would never..." Eliwood said, not wanting to believe what Marcus said.
The group killed brigand after brigand. The enemy forces are decreasing, slowly but surely, but Eliwood's group are being pushed back, however.
"Damn!" Mark cursed. "They're pushing us back! They want to corner us on that ledge!"
"How many are there...this looks hopeless," Hilda commented.
"Hey! What's going on over there? Looks like some rough business. You! Soldier! Are you just going to stand there and watch?" Hector asked a guard.
"Who do you think you are? This is Santaruz. What occurs here is no affair of any foreign lordling!" the guard replied.
"I believe I'm going to have to disagree with you. You see, the man they're attacking happens to be a friend of mine," Hector told the guard.
"A friend...OOF!" Hector punched the guard hard in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.
"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry," Hector apologized to the slumped man.
"EEEWW! That's terrible! I loathe violence!" Serra said.
"Says the person who whacks people with Heal Staves..." Matthew trailed off, and was whacked by her heal staff . "See what I mean?"
"It was an act of self-defense!" Serra said, which was always her excuse.
"I cannot condone resorting to violence so quickly..." Oswin started.
"Chastise me later, Oswin. First, we deal with these brigands! Come! We must help Eliwood!" Hector commanded.
"Help Eliwood? Sounds like a convenient excuse for more violence," commented the knight.
"OSWIN!"
"(sighs) yes, yes, milord, I'm coming..."
"Matthew! Take Serra and find someplace to hide," Hector commanded the thief.
"WHAT? WITH SERRA!"
"NO! I'm going with you!" Serra said forcefully.
"...You know, while you're arguing, Eliwood's group is getting massacred out there..." Lucifer commented, and ended the argument.
Eliwood thrust his rapier into an enemy knight, cutting through his target's armor and piercing his gut. Eliwood was about to be struck down from behind, however.
"Lord Eliwood, behind you!" Mark yelled. Eliwood turned around to see a mercenary barreling down on him. He struck his rapier out quickly to stab the swordsman's throat. His strike hit, but the mercenary also made a deep cut on his shoulder.
2 Fighters rushed in at the wounded lord, and was about to strike him down, when Kyo dived and grabbed Eliwood off the ground. Kyo flew towards Hector and put the young lord down.
"Thank you. Hector!" Eliwood thanked Kyo, and looked up to see his best friend. "...What are you doing here?"
"Serra. Heal him," Hector commanded. Serra walked over and applied her healing magic on him. Eliwood thanked her. "Well, I came to help you find your father. Originally, only I meant to go, but my brother forced these other ones to accompany me as well. Why didn't you send word that you were leaving, though?"
"Your brother was just named Marquess Ostia. He's going to be very busy setting up his court council. Lord Uther must need your support. You are his brother, after all," Eliwood pointed out.
"My brother is not so weak. Oh, he has mentioned some things in public, but... He knew exactly what I was planning, and he let me go," Hector told his friend.
"Is that so? Well then, it would be unwise to refuse his kindness! It does me good to see you, Hector. Thank you," Eliwood bowed his thanks.
"Think nothing of it. Here's my crew right now," Hector showed his group to Eliwood. "Now, how about we help Eliwood's group?"
"I'm running out of Flux tomes to use!"
"My heal staff just shattered!"
"My Javelin!"
"My quiver's empty!"
"...Wimps..." Marcus complained, and becomes a human wall for his group while they restocked their supplies, parrying blows here and there with his shield, as his Iron Lance was just recently broken.
"We're coming!" Eliwood yelled. Hector's group attacked the bandits from their rear flank. Kyo let loose a giant gale from his sword, killing a large number of the bandits.
"Gravity Star!" Lucifer yelled, raising his sword up high, like you would normally use a Light Brand or Rune Sword. A 6 pointed flat star of dark energy appeared above a small group of bandits. Lucifer swung his sword downwards, and as he did, the star came down on the group, crushing them. When the star disappeared, the bandits under it have suffocated from having the giant weight force all the air out of their body.
"Bah! You put up a good fight for a pampered noble pup. It's up to me to finish you!" a fighter, who seems to be the bandits' leaders, yelled as Eliwood, Hector, and Mark ran towards him.
"FLUX!" Mark summoned a ball of dark energy, and exploded it on the fighter. The fighter, however, was quick, and dodged the blast, though just barely.
"My turn!" The fighter threw a hand axe at Mark, who ducked under the projectile.
Eliwood swung his rapier, only to have its blade blocked by the bandit's axe. The fighter swung his axe mightily at Eliwood, who ducked to avoid it. Eliwood stabbed at the fighter's knee, stunning him. Hector chucked his Wolf Beil at the fighter after that. The fighter blocked it with his axe, but his axe shattered from the sheer force of Hector's throw, and he was sent sprawling backwards. He got up again, only to receive a rapier cutting one of his major arteries.
"Now, let me introduce you to my group," Hector said. He pointed at Kyo, Fiaa, and Lucifer. "The wyvern rider Kyo is a mercenary from the continent of Chija, and the other two, Fiaa and Lucifer, are from Ilia. They're very good fighters and are some of my brother's most trusted warriors." Hector pointed at the knights. "That's Eiji, another person from Chija, who became a knight at our castle. And I believe you already know Oswin, Eliwood." Eliwood nodded.
"It's good to see you again, Oswin. So you came as well?" Eliwood asked the knight.
"Yes. Lord Uther was worried about Lord Hector traveling alone. I've been ordered to keep a close eye on him," Oswin confirmed what Hector told Eliwood before.
"Of course," Eliwood chuckled. "Glad to have you with us."
Then Serra and Matthew came running towards the group. "LORD HECTOR! Why didn't you tell us that the fighting was done?" Serra asked Hector.
"I'm sorry, milord, but I couldn't restrain her any longer..." Matthew apologized.
"...Are they also your travel companions, Hector?" Eliwood asked his friend.
"Oh... Yes, I suppose they are. One might have hoped for better, but..."Hector sighed.
"That was uncalled for! I can't believe you said that! Matthew, did you hear what he said about you?" Serra said angrily.
"Me? He was talking about you!" the thief argued.
"(sigh) The noisy one is Serra. Believe it or not, she's a cleric," Hector pointed towards Serra. Eliwood's group sweatdropped as Serra beat Matthew senseless with her heal staff. "...Don't worry, that's pretty normal," Hector said, shaking his head.
"And that's Matthew. He does a lot of... sneaking around," Hector pointed at the thief who is now lying on the ground, knocked out.
"...Hello, milord..." Matthew said, struggling to push himself up into a standing position again.
"Sneaking...around..."Eliwood said.
"Well... I, er... gather information, open doors, chests, and such. I've got... nimble fingers," Matthew managed to grin, and dusted himself.
"That sounds like a thief's work..." Eliwood commented.
"Well...don't let it worry you. This journey... I suspect it will be harder than you imagine. You may have to accept things like this if you want to survive," Hector said.
"What is it, Hector? Do you know something?"
"Nothing specific. Rumors abound, though. A league of assassins from Bern has been moving around in Lycia. Experienced bounty hunters and mercenaries are vanishing..." Hector started.
"That reminds me; one of the men who attacked us said something odd..." Eliwood remembered.
"What was it?"
"Lord Eliwood, if I may?" Marcus stepped in to answer.
"Marcus! Good to see you!" Hector greeted the paladin.
"Lord Hector, it's been far too long. Your assistance is greatly appreciated," Marcus bowed.
"Come now, Marcus. No need for such formalities. Tell me what you heard."
"Of course. The apparent leader of that gang of thugs... He indicated that someone was watching Lord Eliwood... That someone needed him dead," Marcus told Hector.
"Hmm... That is troubling. Actually, a captain of the guard was watching the fight when we arrived. He was a knight of Santaruz, and yet he just stood there and let a lord be attacked. I think he was planning on seeing you die," Hector remarked.
"So...Mark, what do you think?" Eliwood asked the shaman.
"I think that something may have happened to Lord Helman. You remember what that villager said, right, milord?" Mark asked Eliwood.
"Yes... You might be right. Something may have happened to Lord Helman, too. Come! We must hurry to the castle!" Eliwood urged the group.
"How about introducing me to the rest of your group, Eliwood?" Hector asked his friend.
"Oh, of course. The archer is Rebecca; she lives in a village close to Pherae. The cavalier, Lowen, is one of Marcus's knights. The fighters, Dorcas and Bartre, the one in yellow and the other in blue, respectively, are freelance mercenaries. The shaman, Mark, and the cleric, Hilda, are tacticians."
"I see. Well then, shall we get moving?" Hector asked, and the group moved towards Castle Santaruz.
End Eliwood/Hector's tale chapter 2
Please R&R!