I got the initial idea for the narrative after seeing "Fire emblem - animatic" by Shahaechan on YouTube; aside from that, everything else is my own narrative.
Please Read & Review
high above the Dragon's Altar
Owain cried out as a putrid purple surge forced him back. Robin quickly reached out and grasped his future son by the arm before he could fall off the fell dragon's back.
"Sorry Dad."
"Don't worry about it. Just keep your guard up and keep your feet on the ground-er scales, on the scales!"
"Graah!" Lucina yelled as she leapt forward. Robin's negative merely held up a hand, a cloud of viscous vapors condensing in the air and halting the path of Lucina's Falchion.
"You again?" Grima's puppet pandered. "You know how this will end."
"I lost to you once," said Lucina, "I shall not lose again! Die now, that our future can live!"
"Foolish spawn of Naga! YOU CANNOT SLAY WHAT MAY NEVER DIE!" Lucina was repulsed and fell onto her back. Grima followed up, sending another gust of Expiration toward her. Chrom dashed forward and deflected the attack, covering his future daughter as she scrambled to her feet. Farther back, Lissa was mending a severe shoulder wound to Frederick, purging the nasty wisps of Grima's breath before magically sewing the flesh together. She felt a pair of auras flare beside her and knew it was the twins. Morgan and Morgana looked to each other, and nodded to each other. Morgana unveiled her Forseti tome and Morgan brandished Eliwood's Blade. The duo charged forward as Grima swatted away arrows from Virion and Noire.
"Forseti!" Morgana shouted, a barrage of wind impacting Grima while Morgan swept up and swiped at the demonic doppelganger's legs. Grima stumbled back, snarled, and attempted to immolated Morgan as he leapt back.
"Ignis!" the pair yelled, their auras flaring in unison. Morgana dashed ahead, brandishing Eirika's Blade, and swiftly slashed Grima once-twice-thr-four times before backing off as-
"For Naga!" Morgan roared, now holding a powerful tome instead of his sword. A bright blast of luminous light streaked across the dragon's back and enveloped Grima.
"GAAAH!" Expiration vapors lashed out as Grima's puppet staggered back. He was weakening!
"Time to finish this," Chrom uttered aloud, bearing the Exalted Falchion.
"Alas, Grima cannot be slain. Sleep alone can be your victory."
"There is, perchance, a power that could end Grima. However... 'twould be his own."
Chrom suddenly felt a sharp pain in his leg and dropped to his knees. What the hell? He looked down and saw no wound. What caused that pain then? Robin strode right past him.
"Robin?! Wait, Robin!" Robin's demonic double was still snarling as it regained its footing. Straightening its posture, Grima looked up to see Robin, arm raised, gathering dark mana in his palm. Its eyes widened.
"What?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
"For once, I'm glad you and I are the same. Now I can give my life to protect those I care for."
"You... would not... DARE!"
"I would and I will! The evils you visit upon this world are unthinkable. In some way, I- we share the blame. It's only right we meet our end together!"
"NOOOOOOO!" Robin threw the vaporal orb of dark magic at the embodiment of Grima. The Fell Dragon beneath their feet screeched and shuddered. Grima, barely standing, eyes still wide, stumbled back a step, and another, and another in utter disbelief. Vivid violet vapors enveloping its form as it slowly dissolved. Robin would've stumbled too, but what he felt was less impactful then he expected. Regardless, being part-Grima, he could feel his body beginning to fall apart, just not violently.
"Robin! No!" Robin looked over his shoulder at everyone. Chrom was closest, still bearing the Exalted Falchion, beside him was Lucina, then Morgan and Morgana, Owain, and Lissa just behind him.
All things considered... not the worst way to pass on...
"Thank you Chrom, Lissa, everyone, for everything. Tell the others... my last thoughts were of them..."
"Father no!" Morgan cried out, holding the Book of Naga close to his chest, barely able to stand straight. "You can't leave us now! Not like this!"
"Father!" Morgana was on her hands and knees as the dragon beneath them began to sway. "You better come back, you hear me? Promise me!" Robin felt the pressure build behind his eyes, like a dam about to break. He closed his eyes to keep it back. He wanted to make that promise, but what if he couldn't keep it.
"Robin!" That was Lissa! His eyes snapped open and he could see her holding onto Lucina, the ring on her finger glinting in the light of the setting sun.
"May..." what was he saying? "may we meet again..." he could barely see "in a better life..." And he was gone.
"Robin! No! Ah Naga! NO!"
So this is what it's like to die, Robin thought, feeling nothing, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, smelling nothing...
His memory wandered somewhat~
"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know."
Chrom... Lissa... that was so long ago, but I remember it so well...
"I know the legend! Give me the Fire Emblem!"
Mad King Gangrel...
"The world teeters on the brink of calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude. You may call me Marth."
Marth? No wait...
"And quite the actress too. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't figure it out."
Ah, Lucina...
"Plegians! I ask that you hear the truth of my words! Free yourselves from this hatred!"
Exalt Emmeryn...
"I love you, Lissa. I love your loyalty, I love your candor, I love your spirit..."
"I'm happy! I've loved you for so long, since the very beginning! We've got all the time in the world to spend together!"
Lissa... I want to hold you Lissa...
"Emperor Walhart, claims dominion over these lands!"
Walhart the Conquering Barbarian...
"Oh Father!"
Lucina... and...
"Radiant...DAWN!"
ha ha... Owain...
"Look Robin, Owain is here now."
So small... to think he will grow to have so much energy.
"There you are Father. Ngh! M-my head!"
"GET AWAY FROM HIM! YOU WILL NOT HURT MY BROTHER!"
Morgan and Morgana...
"Father? Mother?"
"Can we... stay with you tonight?
I hope Morgana get's over her fear of the dark.
Validar's smirk and that "other Robin" lowering his hood.
"You are of my flesh, but of sacred blood. You already know it's your destiny..."
shut up...
blades flash
swords clash
"I'm scared Robin... I don't want to lose anyone... especially you and Chrom and Owain, both Owains, and the Twins..."
Lissa... from the night before... that last night...
"This is not your- your fault..."
no no!
the Fell Dragon roared!
Peace...
What?
Peace Robin... child of fate... hero of heart... warrior of destiny...
I'm not that much of a hero. If I was then I would've figured a way to save Emmeryn, to destroy destiny.
No... you defeated fate.
Pardon?
Everyone is fated to live and die... but destiny is decided by the living.
And your decisions have spared generations of calamity.
Okay, I know that voice from somewhere.
You remember me Robin. You did very well.
Wait... Naga? Is that you Naga?
The celestial image of the Devine Dragon formed before him in the void, nodding its head toward him.
"You've done more than enough to redeem your past soul.
Now go; I cannot promise that you will reunite with your loved ones, but I can assure you the chance.
I wish you success in your endeavor."
And he was gone.
another time, another place
Robin felt a cool prickly sensation against his face and slowly opened his eyes.
He was lying in a thick forest, surrounded on all sides by towering spruces and firs. The star-filled sky was of a purple hue, near dawn.
He was... alive?
Robin slowly sat up, lowering his hood. The land around him, even the air, felt somewhat alien to him. It was almost like... was this still Archanea? It most certainly wasn't Ylisse or Ferox or Valm for that matter. He got to his feet, gingerly swaying somewhat. Oh, he still had his satchel! He held up the bag by the straps and gave it a quick shake. It weighed the same, so maybe he had everything he had before the fight with Grima. What else did he have? His clothes, obviously, and also- yes! He still had his sword, holstered on his left hip. He drew the blade from it's scabbard. The Blade of Seliph, so it was called, still light in his grip, despite it's remarkable durability. He swung it round a few times. Yes, it felt the same as always. He sheathed it and fingered the shoulder of his satchel's strap.
"Well," he said to himself, "you can't get anywhere by staying here. Let's start walking." And thus, Robin set off.
It took a while, the sun was now high and the sky blue, but now the soles of his boots were treading upon an actual dirt path through the forest. The path itself was well traveled, judging by the near-fresh wagon tracks and the layered footprints. Since the accompanying animal tracks went both ways, Robin couldn't figure out which way was closer to civilization. He decided to go left.
When was the last time he traveled alone? Probably before he lost his memory, when he was (he hoped) running from his insane excuse of a so-called father. He really didn't like being alone, especially when traveling. His mind wandered back to when he would journey alongside Chrom and Lissa and everyone else. Lissa would either implement a well-planned but spontaneous scheme, or she would walk beside him, sometimes leaning against him, prompting him to put an arm around her. Owain, the one who came back with Lucina, would often go around in circles around the Shepherds as they marched, but would seriously converse with Robin and Chrom about previous battles in often vain attempts to learn new "special moves." And the Twins, Morgan and Morgana... he remembered Morgan showing him some flowers, turned out they were a rare type of Mithriam blossoms that could be used to concoct antidotes, when Lissa and Morgana came up behind them and dumped a bag-full of live rabbits over them (how they somehow got the rabbits in the first place, he never found out)... remembered finding Morgana, sweating profusely, having been swinging a stick against a tree to try and improve her sword skills... remembered showing both of them blade forms that he designed just for them... remembered Morgan staying up late, scouring books on botany for information on the Naga's Bell rose...
Robin tripped a bit as the toe of his boot struck a bit of uneven Earth. Gah, he should wait until later to reminisce. Right now he should focus on the road in front of him. After all-
He heard roaring and shouting. Up ahead!
Robin ran forward. At the top of a rise, he came upon a battle between armored warriors and what he could only describe as giant snarling lizards, two of them. Observing the scene, Robin noticed a baggage train attempting to move further up the path, with the armored warriors (most likely knights) acting as a bulwark against the two... might as well call them beasts.
Well... no good just standing there.
Robin knelt down beside a tree, glad that the two beasts were focused on the defenders. He sorted through his satchel, pulled out his Arcfire tome and drew his sword, holding it blade down with his thumb on the pommel. Speed, no doubt, would be the best weapon against these beasts.
He waited a bit longer, the beasts lumbering more toward the knights, their long, scaly backs and tails fully exposed.
Robin rushed down hill, toward the shouting and snarling. He quickly came up behind the nearest beast, leapt forward, and stabbed Seliph's blade into the beast's hindquarters. The beast made a roaring shriek (not even close to being as loud as Grima) as Robin pulled his sword out and kicked off its thick hide. He landed, dropped the sword, spun round, summoned energy from the tome he had at the ready and aimed his right palm at the bloody gash on the beast's back.
"Arcfire!"
Vivid red flames shot out, engulfing the earlier wound and then some. Robin shook his casting hand, casting off excess flame, grabbed his sword from the ground and rapidly ran around as the beast twisted about, stomping and growling. Still in the beast's blind spot, he stepped forward and slashed at the nearest hindleg before spinning away and continuing to run around. The beast was still stamping round as Robin reached back into his satchel, drawing power through his left hand.
"By the Goddess! Now! Now! It's confused! Charge it now!" The beast was still turning, if- Robin stopped short and the beast was finally able to fix its yellow eyes on him.
"Arcfire!" Robin cast with his left this time, fire engulfing the beast's head as a squad of the knights charged the beast, impaling spears and halberds into its sides and hindlegs. It roared as it slumped backside first into the ground, the head rearing this way and that. Robin aimed, dashed forward and lunged his sword into the beast's throat at the base of the jaw. Dark purple, almost black, monster blood began to seep from the wound as the beast made a gurgling sound.
Yes, that's one down-uh oh- the beast's body became limp and the heavy head and neck fell atop of Robin, forcing him into a crouch. He just might be able to out from under- nope. He fell on his back and the heavy, scaly monster's head kept him pinned. Well this is just great! Robin grumbled as he attempted to lift the bloody thing.
"Here! Here! He's still alive!" Some knights came around while the other beast raged on. Two of them knelt down on either side of Robin's head as he freed his left arm and tried again to lift the bloody thing. "Hold on, we'll get you out from under."
"Yeah, please do." The knights pushed against the beast's carcass. Robin, feeling the weight shift off of him, writhed his shoulders and used his left arm to pull himself free... mostly.
"Is your arm stuck?"
"No," Robin said, shaking his head, "but my sword is still stuck in this lizard's throat."
"We can get it later," another knight snapped, "we still need to slay that other-" oh right. There was another roar and the second beast was now lumbering towards them.
"Saint Cichol help us," Robin heard another utter as he reached back into his satchel. What could he use that could-
A long length of scourging cord glinting with golden barbs whipped around the beast's neck. The beast shrieked and lurched back, but then started to buck forward and back again, seemingly moving twice as fast as before.
"Woah!" There was now someone on the beast now. Well... "on;" the tall young man with a black outfit, dark teal hair and deep blue eyes was holding on to the other end of the golden whip while struggling to get a footing on the back of the bucking beast. That was more than enough.
Robin peeked into his satchel, placed his left hand on the tome he wanted and aimed his purple blood soaked right at the bucking beast.
"Thoron!" A beam of lightning shot straight into the beast's throat, right on top of where the golden scourge bit into the scales. The beast stopped and gurgled. The young man with the whip yelled and pulled on the handle, causing the beasts neck to be cleanly severed. The knights cheered as the young man stood up, his whip forming back up into its... oh, it's a sword, okay. Speaking of which.
Robin turned back to the first beast and slid his arm back under the humongous cadaver. He found Seliph's handle quickly enough, but of course he couldn't just tug it out.
"Need a hand?" Robin looked up. The young man was standing over him now, at least half-a-head taller than Robin; five-foot-nine he would guess.
"By all means, my sword is stuck in this monster's throat." The young man simply nodded, his expression completely neutral, and gestured at some of the knights. It took six of them to fully turn the neck over and retrieve Seliph's blade from the beast.
"Are you a mercenary?" the young man asked while Robin knelt in the dirt, cleaning his sword on the lower portion of his robes.
"No, I'm not," Robin answered. "I've fought wars, but I have never done so for money."
"Regardless, thanks for your help." He held out a hand. "I'm Byleth." Robin instinctively reached out with his right, but seeing as it was still covered in beast blood, made point to shake with his left.
"I'm Robin, nice to meet you Byleth."
"Where did you learn magic?" That was a question that Robin would love to have the answer to.
"Mostly on my own. I studied both sword skills and tome work at Ylisstol."
"At where?"
"Ylisstol." Byleth frowned and Robin immediately knew what was wrong. "In Ylisse... you don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"
"No, I don't." At this point, asking "where am I" would lead to nowhere. But if he doesn't know of Ylisse, then...
"Far to the west, across the sea, Archanea. Ring any bells?" Byleth shook his head, but became visibly relaxed.
"Sorry, I have never set foot outside of Fodlan." Fodlan, this land, or country, is called Fodlan.
"I'm not surprised," Robin said, shrugging. He sheathed his sword, stood up and stretched. "Are these monsters normal for these parts?"
"Not usually, by they do show up from time to time. You fared pretty well on your own." Robin had to suppress a prideful grin.
"All I did was provide an opening, nothing more."
"You took down a demonic beast on your own."
"Oh come now," Robin leaned over to scrutinize the beast's torso, "I seem to recall the knights getting more hits in." Byleth also looked over, seeing the spear hits.
"Fair point, but you are definitely more skilled then your average knight. Are you traveling? Where to?"
"Nowhere at the moment," which was the truth. "I am still unfamiliar with this land, not to mention the wildlife."
"Well, if you have no current obligations, would you be interested in a position at Garreg Mach?"
"Garreg what?" Byleth pointed up the path.
"Garreg Mach Monastery, specifically the Officers Academy." Academy?
"What sort of position?"
"One of our professors is recovering from a recent incident, so we're one short until she comes back." A teaching position, that would mean access to a library at the very least.
"Is it alright for me to do so? I am a foreigner."
"You helped us defend a merchant caravan, you're obviously skilled and experienced, and you have me vouching for you; there won't be a problem." Well then, he shouldn't he accept this offer?
"Very well, I'm in. Lead the way."
