Chapter 4) Ancient Horrors

Renais has more than 'fallen'. It's outright shattered. Bandits running amuck, villages annihilated… and we're not even near the front yet. Not near where death and destruction were expected. Though, maybe those areas were at least… cleaned? The bodies buried? Buried in the middle of nowhere, probably… far, far from their homes where their loved ones may or may not visit…

...I'm tired.

"So, I was thinking for tonight we could try to saute those mushrooms we found earlier?" Neimi suggested, her eyes shining with excitement. I was glad, since earlier this morning, they'd been 'shining' with tears. Vanessa said she'd had a nightmare about Lark again, and she'd be the one to know. She and Neimi shared a tent, after all. "Oh, wait… I don't think we have any butter or oil…"

"I remember hearing that small amounts of water or broth can be substituted?" I mused, trying to also remember if that bit of knowledge had been from a reputable source or not. Sadly, I couldn't figure it out. "Maybe we'll experiment tonight and if it works, we'll do that for tomorrow? We can use some broth tonight for a sauce." We'd used the last of our current stock for the soup earlier today.

"Hmm… yeah, that's probably the best idea. Oh, right!" She beamed suddenly. "Colm managed to snag some honey from that beehive we passed earlier. We should take advantage of that!"

"I'm strangely unsurprised." Mostly because I knew Colm had been actively hunting for a hives as we'd been walking and, thanks to some earlier prodding, I even knew why. Neimi loved honey-flavored snacks. Kind of wished he'd stop being so sharp-tongued around her, but little things like that showed he did really care for her. "In that case, I insist on showing you how to make Jehannan honey cakes. And how you can bribe Seth with them."

"Do we have all the ingredients?"

"For the Jehannan version, we do actually. Not the Renaisi, though."

"Oh, yay! Ah, switching back to the sauce, though, there's actually this sweet-berry sauce we could make that goes good with most types of meat! We use a bit of honey with it and..."

Such conversations had become part of my normal walking routine ever since Neimi and Colm joined us. Mostly because no one in the group even pretended to be subtle when Neimi said she could cook and Colm didn't make any sort of barbed compliment when he agreed. They'd just assigned her cooking duties alongside me, and the two of us did our best to pool together our recipes to get some sort of variety for the meals. There had to be a lot of substitution, which… well, we did 'experiments' for that reason. We couldn't waste food for things that wouldn't taste good, after all.

"Can you two at least keep it down when you're talking food?" Colm complained, joining us. He passed Neimi a small bundle of… whatever he'd foraged. Looked like some wild onions, which I would just leave to Neimi. Surprisingly, chopping onions didn't make her tear up. "At the rate Ross's stomach is grumbling, we're going to get ambushed by some soldiers."

"Well, he's still growing?" Neimi gently teased, muffling a laugh. I tried to think if that was actually true or not and decided that it might be. Franz still had some growing to do, and he was a year older. "Must you single him out though, Colm? He can't be the only one hungry. It's been a few hours since we ate, right?"

"He's the easiest to tease with that sort of thing." He had a bit of a point there. Ross tended to sputter and protest. "And it has been a bit, so how are you doing? You're klutzy enough without your feet hurting. Surprised you haven't sprained anything yet."

"Emma keeps me safe." Neimi grinned and tucked the bundle of onions into her pack, carefully wrapping it in… something I couldn't quite see. "My feet do hurt, but it's nothing bad. All that hiking we did growing up is certainly paying off."

"Right…" Colm frowned, but nodded. "I'm back to ground-scouting. Please don't trip and break something while I'm gone."

"I'll try." Neimi giggled and Colm rolled his eyes before departing. "Lots of ground-scouting…"

"Well, Vanessa can't fly very well through the woods," I pointed out. I glanced around at the others in the group, wondering how they were holding up. Ross and Franz were walking beside each other, chatting animatedly about something (training tales, from the bits I overheard). Not far from them, Eirika was laughing at some story Garcia was telling her about King Fado when he was young (something Garcia volunteered to do when he saw the remnants of her nightmare-caused-tears this morning). Gilliam and Seth were discussing something quietly behind us, taking up the rear guard, while Vanessa and Moulder took point. Or, rather, Vanessa took point and Moulder gently kept her from fidgeting since she was on the ground for once. "So, we have to rely on sneaky-sneaks for ground patrols."

"That's true," Neimi murmured. Noticing her worry, I offered her my hand and she took it gladly. I wasn't surprised she was worried; neither she nor Colm could go very long without seeing each other unless they were focused on something. Probably a reassurance that they really had survived. "Why are we going through the woods again?"

"While the woods are fairly populated and have known paths, you can't exactly march an army through easily." So, in theory, it would provide ample cover until we made it closer to Serafew. And from there… well, from there, we would be firmly in 'enemy territory', instead of simply 'conquered areas'. Meaning there was no real 'plan' until we actually arrived. "Plus, the woods have better foraging."

"Particularly when we're this deep." Neimi nodded and… almost tripped over a root. She managed to skip instead and I helped her stay balanced. "Makes sense." She smiled before gasping and pointing above us. "Oh, look! Those fruits look fresh!"

"That they do." And I was glad Neimi had good sight and a habit for looking at everything around her. Because we would've missed them otherwise. "They'll probably be a good afternoon snack for the growing little boys of our group if they're edible." I let go of her hand and swung up to climb up the tree. "Moulder! Think you can identify these for us?"

Moulder did identify the fruit, as something not only perfectly edible but perfectly tasty as well. So, I gathered enough for us to munch on as we walked, and a few more to store for 'proper' meal times. Of course, the fruits (whatever they were) were very juicy and, therefore, messy. Meaning it wasn't long before all of us were actually laughing at the mess we were making. Not a single one of us could eat them with any sort of dignity. Seth made the best effort, via actually finding a handkerchief to use, but even he ended up messy. Amusingly, a couple like Moulder and Vanessa didn't even bother trying to be neat. It made for some teasing and continued laughter, just what we needed after a long morning march.

Should've known the fun times would end quickly. And, of course, it ended because of bodies. The smell alerted us first. Rotting decay that made you gag and dry heave (if not outright throw up), and it didn't 'waft' towards us. No, it fell on us like a landslide, dropped by the wind that had grown stagnant from the weight of it all. We staggered under it, but kept going. No more laughter, no more talking. Just a silence as heavy as the stench, and as sharp as the glints of light at the end of the path. Glints that became brighter and sharper with each step, warnings to stay away. And yet, we kept walking. We kept on walking until we stepped out of the shadows of the trees and into bright, glittering sunlight…

At one point, this might've been a beautiful meadow. Or grove or… whatever the word was. A place with bright green grass and fragrant flowers nestled amidst the trees. Now, though, the bits of grass that seen amongst the bodies were a flattened rust-brown, and there were no flowers in sight. They'd all been crushed into the mud, by the battle that took place here. Or, rather, the massacre, given the number of dead. The entire area was filled with broken bodies, shattered armor, and scattered weapons. On the ground, trampled. Pinned to trees. Just… filled. Whatever life had been here had been swallowed up by the dead, leaving only this silent testament to their agonizing last seconds of life...

In the middle of it all, a single flag fluttered weakly. The shaft of its pole had snapped, but surprisingly, it still stood tall enough to catch the wind. The blood and muck had stained it, and the sun had bleached parts of it, but still, you could see it had once been blue. Despite the holes from weapons, burns and char from magic, you could still see the Renaisi White Wings. And, underneath those wings, in faded and fraying but still legible embroidery, it proclaimed just who the dead had been: 'Seventeenth Infantry Regiment'.

The words froze me. Froze my breath, froze my heart. Because… because I knew that regiment. I knew it very well. Affectionately nicknamed the 'Lucky Bastards' among the army due to being stationed near Serafew and how peaceful the border between Grado and Renais used to be… it was Daniel's regiment. It was Daniel's regiment…!

Immediately, without even thinking about it, I lurched forward and began looking through the dead. Looking at the rotted remains of their faces to try and discern any recognizable features amidst the maggots. Rummaging through the filth-encrusted and insect-ridden packs for pictures or journals or letters. Anything at all that could be used to identify the corpses strewn about. Anything to see if Daniel was among them.

I recognized a lot of the dead, thanks to rifling through everything and finding names. Some were by name alone, from Daniel's stories and letters. Others were by what remained of their faces, from the sketches Daniel would send. Arnold, for instance, was a bright-eyed young man who joined at the same time Daneil did and used the most creative not-curses to avoid actually cursing; half of his head was charred off now. Elizabeth was one of the few women in the Renaisi army, and always wore a ribbon in her hair that her brother made for her; the ribbon was now so saturated with blood that it was impossible to tell the original color, though I supposed she couldn't complain since she'd been cut in half. Samuel, the third son of a baron who opted for the army instead of knighthood, had been a known flirt, but was always the first to leap to anyone's defense; there'd be a lot of broken hearts now that his own had been skewered.

All of those little stories whirled through my head as I checked each body. Each and every one. Wondering who was missing. Wondering why they were missing. Alive? Dead before this massacre? Dead after? Dead at Serafew? Dead and body dragged off by wild animals? Or could I just not recognize them? The corpses were rotted, after all. Bloatedness warped some features. So did the ruptures in sagging skin. Worms and maggots squirming through. Rips and tears from where something had bitten through for the bone and marrow.

I wasn't sure who the last one I checked was. They weren't Daniel, or I hoped they weren't. I didn't find a charm bracelet, or the remnants of one, nor did I see the scar across his neck from a childhood prank gone real wrong. I hadn't been involved, so I didn't really know what all happened, but almost led to Daniel dying via hanging and the scar remained as testament to how deadly pranks could be if you weren't careful. The person I checked had a surprisingly intact neck with no scars, just the mottled remains of skin. Their skull, however, was caved in. Caved in to the point that one eye socket had collapsed. No sign of the eye at all. Covered? Smashed into a pulp? Pecked out by a carrion bird? Hard to say, and I supposed it didn't really matter. Because it wasn't there and the person was a little too dead to worry it.

I returned my attention to their wrist, loosely holding their hand as I checked for any sort of sign that this person had worn a bracelet. Just to be sure. Just to be sure that this wasn't Daniel, and Emilia wasn't hoping in vain. Probably shouldn't, considering how many people died around me. But I had to check anyway. Be certain. Even if I was so tired and scared that I imagined the person was twitching…

All at once, the hand I held twisted and latched onto me. Blunt, chipped, and blackened nails dug into my wrist. Slowly, the head rose, bones grinding and popping with the movement. Thin, dried lips twisted into a snarl as the very-dead-body slowly pushed itself up. Their free hand lifted and a strange mist wrapped around their fingers. No, not fingers… claws. Razor sharp claws where bone should've been, rotten flesh sloughing off.

I stared, frozen, not able to comprehend what I was seeing. Surely this was some strange dream, or nightmare. One of the more typical ones that didn't make sense. But their clawed hand 'caressed' my cheek, claws digging in, and the pain was enough to tell me this was very real. The pain and the warm blood trickling down as the claws got closer and closer to my eye…

"Emma!" Distantly, I heard Eirika calling for me. "Emm… ack! Ugh, I thought I had stepped around that one…" Stepped around…? That meant she was probably walking… through… when there were dead… "Emma!"

The ice in my blood melted. The fog in my head cleared. I groped for some sort of weapon and snagged the shards of some sort of blade. The metal bit deep in my palm, but I still held it tightly before shoving it into the dead thing's arm. It barely reacted, but the blow did snap the arm and ripped the claws from my cheek. Briefly, I wondered why it had broken so easily, but then I saw it had already been hallowed out. Probably by a wild animal long before we'd gotten here. Lucky me… except the thing was still moving, damn it!

"Emma?!" Eirika yelped somewhere behind me. I scrambled to my feet and nearly fell when the corpse latched onto my ankle. Automatically, I stomped on their arm, but it did nothing. Not getting lucky a second time, clearly… "Emma, why in the world are you… wait, why are you bleeding?!" I really wished I had the time to answer her, but I had a particularly clingy dead person trying to bite my leg! "Seth!"

Like the knight in shining armor that he was, Seth quickly swooped in and slashed the corpse's arm in half to free me. Which should've been the end of that little problem, except the bodyless arm still clutched and clawed at my ankle, digging in deep enough to make me bleed. It didn't loosen its grip for one measly second… not until Seth managed to slam his lance into the corpse's skull and shatter it into pieces. But there was no time to sigh in relief, because the other dead were twitching and contorting and slowly rising to their feet…

"Princess Eirika, I recommend that we regroup and escape into the trees," Seth advised calmly, as if the dead rose every day. But I could tell by how tightly he held his weapon and the slight widening of his eyes… he was terrified. He was as terrified as the rest of us. "Now."

Well, life just decided to add the traditional type of horror to everything now, huh?

We barely made it into the woods before we were ambushed and separated. Because of course we were separated. Why wouldn't we be separated? I supposed I should be grateful that I'd at least gotten basic treatment and my lance prior to the ambush. And that I wasn't alone. Vanessa and I had somehow managed to head in the same direction, and now, we blundered about the roots and branches and brush and whatever else was in the woods. With Vanessa being silent because she was always quiet. And I certainly didn't know how to start a conversation with her. Now that I thought about it… did I know anything that she liked? She never showed preferences for food, and the only thing she ever seemed to do was… well, scout. Scout, eat, and sleep.

While we walked and tried to find the others, I struggled for some sort of topic because the silence was just overwhelming. Made me twitchy especially since we had the dead attacking us from nowhere. As such, I really didn't pay attention to my footing and so when I stepped on a root that was far more slippery than a hunk of wood had any right to be, I fell. I fell, flailing about as I tried and failed to catch my balance. Vanessa, being a sweetheart, immediately tried to catch me, but thanks to the angle and flailing, it was more that we both fell, with me nearly giving her a black eye in the mess because of course.

"Ugh… sorry…" I mumbled, getting off her as soon as I could. When I was sure of my balance, I pulled her up as well. Her pegasus fluffed out its wings and stamped its foot in irritation. "Didn't think a root would-" A surprisingly loud hiss startled me, and I whirled to try and figure out what it was. It wasn't until Vanessa's pegasus stomped again that I realized her irritation was… was at a snake. A very large snake that I was… actually, I was fairly certain was venomous (based on what bits I could see) and it blended in far too well with the undergrowth. In fact, after it ducked down, I only knew that it had disappeared when Vanessa's pegasus calmed down.

"Thank you, Titania," Vanessa murmured, carefully walking over to her pegasus to stroke her neck to calm her. Her pegasus responded by shifting one of her wings around Vanessa, almost like a hug. "That… was a…"

"I didn't get a good look, but I have heard that pilami snakes are notorious around here." It was mostly just from Daniel's letters, though, since the Za'ha Woods went all the way up to Serafew. They were a mottled brown not unlike the color of decaying leaves, and they favored the shadows of roots and other plants for rest. And they were easily the most venomous snakes in Renais, though they were thankfully relatively docile. But without some sort of healing, you were easily losing the limb if it bit you. If not your life. "So…"

"Ha… then I think I should be thanking you for the fall, since I would've stepped on it otherwise." That… huh. She was probably right, given where Titania had been. "Syrene told me about 'Jehannan luck', but I have to say that I didn't quite believe her until now."

"Haha…" I didn't even know how to respond to that. "Surprised your pegasus didn't freak out at the snake. I know many horses would."

"Pegasi are immune to most poisons, so snakes just annoy them." That was interesting. Wondered how they got that little adaptation. "Titania in particular doesn't like them, though. She doesn't like worms either." Vanessa smiled a little. "I think she just doesn't like wriggly, squirming things."

"She'd get along great with a few noblewoman I've been acquainted with over the years." And I couldn't think of anything else to say. So, we went back to silence as we continued on our little hunt. Or, well, so I thought.

"I heard what happened to your sister." That… that wasn't the typical conversation starter. Re-starter, rather. Especially in these circumstances. "I'm sorry for your loss. I don't know what I would do if I lost Syrene…" She smiled a little sheepishly. "I have been meaning to… well, I suppose express my sympathy. But it's not really a happy conversation subject. But the silence is driving me crazy."

"It is, huh?" I wouldn't have guessed. "Me too. I've been trying to come up with a topic as well."

"Yes, though I'm not all that great at talking." She shrugged, looking away almost like she was embarrassed. "I never know what to say. Thankfully, most of our group is more than willing to be loud."

"That's an understatement." But it was nice they kept their energy. "I'm surprised you heard about Monica, though."

"Moulder talked to Sir Seth, worried about how melancholic you could be." He had? "I also caught Franz mentioning a 'Monica' while he talked to Sir Seth, but quickly cut himself off and look guiltily at you, even though you were busy." Oh, Franz… "It was fairly easy to figure out, from there."

"I imagine so." Not sure… what else to say to that. "She died six months ago. Illness." That was the easiest way to explain it. "Probably a bit of a good thing. She would've been stuck in Ivroria when it fell." Or in Rosewatch when it… though, would Rosewatch had burned if I hadn't selfishly returned after...? "Her health was always poor, but she was always bright and cheerful. Mom died when I was fairly young, so she and Orson kind of raised me." I had joked a few times that I'd been a great way to practice for their own kids. Now, though…

"So, I take she hadn't been a lady-in-waiting like you are." 'Was'. Like I 'was'. I left, like a coward. "Bit different with Syrene and me, then. She's my role model, the goal I aspire to. I became a pegasus knight because of her."

"Nah, I would never say Monica was my 'role model'." Did I love and respect her? Oh, absolutely. But I'd always known my path in life would be different from hers. She'd known it too. That was why the time we spent together had been all the more precious. And our paths did diverge, meeting again where and when we could, before… well, before death stopped her path cold. And now I was the one left walking, just as always. "So…" I trailed off as something rustled in the bushes up ahead. "Willing to bet that's not an animal."

"I doubt we'd be that lucky." Not two seconds later, a couple of skeletons burst from the shrubbery to try and attack us. Hilariously, they were as coordinated as I was when it came to roots: not at all. The first ones actually tripped and fell on their… wait, would you say that a skeleton had a 'face'? I supposed so, but… "Oh joy. At least these ones smell better." Gods above, I'd kill to be as calm as Vanessa sounded.

But there wasn't much time for regrets. After all, skeletons felt no pain and so the tripping didn't do anything but delay them. And, like their corpse-fellows… the separate parts didn't stop moving even when you knocked them off. You had to specifically destroy the skull in order to keep the things from clawing into you, or attempting to hack your foot off when they were just arm-bones holding a weapon. It made no sense to me, really. But, then again, magic and creepiness. What was creepier than an enemy you had to target a specific point on in order to destroy?

"Emma!" The last of the skeletons had fallen when I heard Vanessa's shout. It was all the warning I had before her Titania freaking tackled me! Full on tackle at that, with far more speed than I'd expect a pegasus to have while in the woods. "Emma, you okay?" she asked, helping me up. I wanted to answer her, but all I could do was cough and spit up… something. Not even sure what it was. I was fairly certain I was bruised and might have even some cracked bones, though. "Titania, what in the world… what is that thing?"

"What thing?" I croaked, still coughing and trying to get some air in my lungs. Monica's last moments flitted through my head, her gasping for air as everything gave out… "I haven't seen anything unusual…?" Vanessa just pointed towards… towards the giant, floating eyeball that was half-hiding behind the branches of a nearby tree. A giant, floating eyeball that had magic swirling around it. "Oh. That thing." I turned my attention to where I had been, and where Titania now was, and noticed her white coat was no longer white. Minor injuries, thankfully, but… "Your pegasus…"

"Looks like she intercepted the magic for you." And if it managed to pierce through a pegasus's famed resistance, I had a bad feeling about what it would've done to me. "Do you think you can run?"

"No." But I would anyway. Because otherwise, we'd be in trouble. "Giant eye might mean that its strongly hurt by light and whatnot, so if we can get some place with a good amount of sunlight, we might be able to blind it and-"

"Evil shade! May the blessed light drive you from this land!" ...Well, that was a convenient light spell. Very convenient. Even more convenient was that it popped the eyeball. "Travelers, are you well?" The caster was, of course, a monk, one who wore white robes that nearly blinded me with how crisp-white they were. Not… quite what I had meant by my earlier suggestion. Not quite what I had meant at all, actually. "Please, you must leave this area quickly," he murmured, frowning in worry. "Before you are surrounded…"

"Sorry, but we can't exactly leave?" I replied, reeling from the sudden change in circumstances. Vanessa, smartly, took advantage of the break to tend to her pegasus. "For one thing, we're lost. For another, it's not just the two of us."

"Ah, more to your mercenary group then?" ...Red hair and eyes strikes again. I wasn't even trying to utilize it this time. Certainly saved in explanations, though. "Then please, allow me to assist you. More monsters such as these have flooded Za'ha recently."

"Yeah, sure, that'll be-"

"Oh, my!" ...That was a new voice. A very loud and very new voice which echoed harshly through the trees. Who was that? Where were they? "These travelers have been besieged by the agents of evil!" Took me a moment to look up, where there was a cliff. And three people at the edge of said cliff: one on a horse, one laughing loudly, and one who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. I was definitely agreeing with the third one there. "Quickly, we must rush to their aid!" The one of the horse was the one speaking, and they… they looked like they were ready to charge straight off the cliff.

"My lady, if I may?" the third one began dryly. I only heard them because everything seemed to have frozen at the strange situation. "We charge off these cliffs and we'll just rush to our deaths. Let's find a path down."

"Oh…" The rider instantly deflated before sulking. "Oh, very well. But we must hurry!"

"Yes, yes." And the three disappeared from sight, as abruptly as they'd showed up. This was… I just… what?

"Did…?" Vanessa began slowly after a long and awkward beat of silence. She lightly pinched her cheek, like she was checking if she'd dropped into some fever-dream. "Did that just happen?"

"Let's pretend it didn't," I deadpanned, since we had enough to worry about. Instead, I returned my attention to the monk, who simply looked curious. "So, which way are we going? And what's your name again?"

Gods, it would be nice if you at least gave us consistent luck, damn it!

The monk's name was Artur. Not Arthur, but Artur. I misheard him the first time, and called him repeatedly by the wrong name until Vanessa corrected me. Swore my face heated up to match my hair when I realized what was wrong, but Artur at least took it with good humor. More humor than I would've expected (and more humor than he probably should've). Oh, the lecture Monica would've given me if she were still alive…

But, regardless, the monk's name was Artur, and he easily led us through the woods to a village, most likely his home. As luck would have it, that was where the others of our group were, desperately fighting against the monsters. Because the village hadn't had time to evacuate or even set up fortifications before the monsters came, and these monsters… they proved just why Valter was always called one. Like him, they didn't discriminate between 'soldier' and 'civilian'.

When we arrived, I saw one of the corpses (revenants, a distant part of my mind supplied. They were called 'revenants' in the stories) raked a misty claw across the back of an escaping civilian. They stumbled from the pain, and that was enough for the corpse to catch up. Catch up and… and rend them to pieces. Others joined in, ripping and tearing again and again, until the civilian was nothing but pulp. Nothing that even remotely resembled a human. But at least that had been quick. Not like the one that was caught by the largest of the corpses, one that was more green and black than the others. That one wasn't content with simply ripping. No, that one was apparently hungry, and it had a craving for anything with meat. Including humans.

The screams of the child it had caught tore through my heart and even though I knew I was too far away, I lunged forward, hoping stupidly that I could make it anyway. I didn't, of course. I didn't even make it to the green-revenant before it dropped the remains of the child and lumbered off for its next meal. I didn't chase. Instead, I knelt by the child and shakily brushed some of their sweat-matted hair out of their face. It was still twisted with fear, dead and glassy eyes staring at me accusingly as the last of their terrified tears seeped from the sockets to join the blood. Their shoulder was just… gone. The top part, at least, with some of the bone crushed underneath. Their shoulder, part of their side, part of their leg… All gone. Testaments of just how the monster had killed them…

The bone 'crunched' when it moved. That was the only warning I had before the dead-child swung its partially-eaten arm at me, mist-wrapped claws grazing my neck. I jerked back instinctively, and stared in horror as the dead-child twisted and contorted into an upright position, swaying before they 'grinned' and lurched forward for another strike. Instinctively, I dodged and whipped my lance up and around for a counter. I got their neck and knocked them to the ground. They writhed in the mud, attempting to stand again, but I… I used all my strength to slam my lance into their skull. First try only caused a crack. Second one led to blood bursting (somehow), bone fragments flying, and the dead-child growing still. Their hands were still clawed.

I wanted to be sick. I wanted to scream. But I didn't have time to do either, because I knew others in our group would be shaken by the children-turned-monsters. And the one shaken the worst would be… actually, there were no real 'degrees' for this sort of screwed up shit. But Eirika was closest to where I was, and Eirika had frozen as two children-monsters lurched for her, so it was Eirika I bolted for and Eirika I protected. I did gag when I knocked them down and cracked their skulls open, though. I only kept from outright puking because I didn't want to vomit on their corpses.

"Princess Eirika, go to Seth," I croaked. She didn't even twitch. She just kept staring at the children who had been killed, and then twisted into the very things that had killed them. "Now."

"I…" she tried to reply. But her voice creaked like a rusty hinge, and was just as brittle. "No, you're right…" She tried to take a step back, but slipped. She caught herself though. "Seth. Right." Because that would be good for both of them. Seth might hesitate at these particular monsters, because he was a knight and damn it, knights were supposed to protect children. But he'd prioritize Eirika's safety. "You…"

"Will do what needs to be done." Because someone had to and if we didn't, then they'd kill more. They'd kill more civilians. They'd kill some of our group. So… I… "Go on."

"..." Eirika leaned against my back briefly, as much of a hug as she could manage. Then she was gone, and I… I specifically targeted the monsters that had once been children. So that none of the others had to.

I couldn't count the number of injuries I took, focusing as I did. I knew it had been enough that Colm had tried to snap at me, after I saved Neimi from a child-monster that had skirted too close. But I didn't hear him. I just kept going. Kill one child, move on to the next one. No matter the injuries I took, no matter how much my arms and back ached… I kept on going. Even when my lance broke in one child's skull and I had to steal one from a fallen skeleton… I kept fighting.

I could ask myself why there were so many children, but I knew the answer. The village had clearly been taken by surprise and children were slower. Their strides were shorter. And, truthfully, even the 'one' I had first fought and killed had been 'too many'. So, I knew it would feel like a lot even if there were only a handful. And it was more than a handful. It was far more than a handful. The toddler I had to kill… I might've screamed if a girl with purple hair in pigtails hadn't shown up from nowhere to poke my cheek.

"Hmm…" The girl studied me closely before nodding. "Your skin shows no signs of putrefaction," she murmured, looking me up and down. I had… well, I'd had people 'check me out' before, but I never quite felt like a specimen in an experiment before now. I didn't like it. I liked it even less when the body of a three-year-old was at my feet. "It seems you are not a revenant."

"I'm… yeah, I'm not," I replied, stumbling over my words. Just what was with today and everything? "Who are you?"

"I am Lute, a mage of superior wisdom and rare ability." And I supposed that 'rare ability' wasn't humility, huh? "I've read up on revenants and, so, I've decided to join the battle. They are no match for me. I am, after all, superior." No need to say 'superior' twice there...

"Just…" Sighing, I looked around for Eirika, feeling my neck creak and pop at the movement. When I found her near Seth, I pointed. "Go tell her that. She's the leader." Sorry, Eirika… but I had no patience for this sort of thing even on a good day. And considering how her 'superiority' hadn't done a damn thing for the dead… yeah, it was either get her away from me or biting her head off. And I was too tired for the latter. Besides, might help her focus on the here and now and not… not the dead. Not the children I had to kill because...

I… had to keep going. Just a little longer, and then I could collapse… I hoped...

I didn't remember when the battle ended. I just knew that I went from killing the dead to puking my guts out in the house of some kindly villager. Vanessa held my hair back. I hoped I remembered to thank her, but I couldn't remember. My nerves were raw and I felt like my head was filled with fog. And I was cold, bone-deep cold that I couldn't seem to get rid of, no matter how much I shivered. Moulder checked me for illness or poison while tending to my injuries, but nothing like that was wrong. Just some shock and some muscle strain from pushing myself too much. He ordered me to rest, which I did because I couldn't seem to keep myself coordinated enough to protest. Hell, Seth actually had to carry me to bed. We were staying the night here, after all. Both because all of us were too tired and wounded to continue, and to ensure the villagers would be safe.

I couldn't say I minded. Being confined to my bed, at least. I mean… I found it pathetic, certainly, but it gave me a good excuse to avoid the burnings. I was glad, since I didn't want to see the children I had killed disappear into ash. Because all of the monsters were being burned, just in case. We were going to burn all the dead, even those who hadn't turned, but at some point during the battle, that dramatic girl had appeared with her loud escort and her 'way too tired for this' one. I'd been told she'd cast some spell to prevent the dead from being corrupted and transfigured, though I didn't remember seeing it or anything. Honestly, I kind of thought it bullshit and I wasn't the only one who thought that; that was another reason we were staying. If the dead rose, we were here to combat it. But the girl did mention being from Rausten, apparently, so maybe there was something to it.

"Emma?" Ross was surprisingly quiet when he came to visit me at some point after the burnings. He carried a steaming mug and it wasn't until he handed it to me that I processed it was tea. "Well, you're not quite as pasty and gray as you were earlier," he noted bluntly. Despite the blunt words, though, he was gentle when helping me hold the mug. My hands still shook a little, though nowhere near as bad as earlier. "Moulder wants you to try and drink all of this."

"That so?" I murmured in return. It took me a second to sip the tea, and though it scalded my tongue, the taste was soothing. "Something to help me sleep?"

"I think so? I… uh… didn't really pay attention." He smiled sheepishly, and I managed to smile back. "But wow, that was… a battle, huh?" I supposed that was one way to describe it. "The dead coming back and-"

"That's not 'coming back'. That's someone playing with corpses like they were puppets or dolls." Too tired to bite my tongue, I couldn't help but scoff and roll my eyes. The dead coming back? That's such idiocy. You couldn't 'un-rot' someone. Even when wounds showed necrosis, you had to cut away the dead skin so that the rest could heal. That was just the way of things. "There is nothing more foolish than believing the dead can return." Once they've breathed their last, that was it. Believing otherwise was nothing but madness brought forth by grief. A denial of what had occurred, and a denial of reality. And the living had to carry the weight of the dead with them, until it snapped their spines. Then they either scarred and kept on walking, or died themselves.

"Er… right…" Ross squirmed and I felt guilty. I knew he'd just been trying to make conversation, but I… "In retrospect, it was probably stupid to bring up the battle. Especially considering what you did so that the rest of us didn't have to." I didn't know if any of the others had killed the child-monsters. I only knew that I had killed most of them. "I'll… just leave you to your tea before I say something else stupid. You really should rest."

He kindly made sure my blankets were tucked around me before he left, and I felt even guiltier for being so curt. Even if it was a truth I knew well… No matter how much you wished, how much you cried… death was a one-way trip. Though there were some stories of 'reincarnation' (mostly from Rausten), that wasn't the dead coming back. Not really. What we saw today… it certainly hadn't been that. It was the same as putting a body on display for intimidation purposes. A way to demoralize and make a mockery of those who had passed…

Shaking my head violently, I focused on my tea. Just drinking it and trying to discern the various tastes. Chamomile, a little bit of some sort of citrus… that was about all I could get. Something sweet was in it, but not 'sugar-sweet'. Some sort of berry, perhaps. I wasn't quite sure and I was so focused on trying to figure it out that it took me a moment to realize there was murmuring outside my door. Eirika, and a voice I didn't fully recognize. The door was helpfully pushed open enough for me to see it was that purple-haired girl from before, though. The one I… should know the name of, but I couldn't quite… though, I didn't have to wonder for long.

"Thanks for showing me the way, Lute," Eirika murmured, inclining her head slightly. She looked exhausted, so much so that she couldn't maintain her poise. In fact, she even was slumped. "And for helping me when I tripped. I can't believe how… strong those monsters were."

"Those are nothing," Lute bluntly replied. Her expression was thoughtful, though, like she hadn't meant to be so untactful. "The revenants and skeletons are the weakest of the Demon King's forces. That is why they served as the vanguard." Lute rattled the information off easily, with an apathy unbefitting of the whole 'demon army vanguard was here'. Sure, you heard of them lurking about in the Darkling Woods, but Rausten kept them from spilling over to the rest of the continent. "We saw mogalls, who aren't normally part of the tip of the vanguard, but there are others. Mauthe doogs, gargoyles, baels… not to mentioned strengthened versions of all the ones we saw." She sighed, shaking her head. "There is much worse to come. I fear even my fantastic might will not be enough." ...I had no idea how to take that statement.

Neither did Eirika, so she defaulted to her politest smile. "Well, hopefully, we shan't see more of them?" She nudged the door open a little wider, for the convenient escape. "I think Emma might throw a fit over how badly they messed up my hair, for one thing." Hey now… I was too tired to pretend to be offended… that wasn't fair.

"You are terrible at brushing it." Back to bluntness for Lute, then. "Hmm… you are also gray, stand with as much poise as a snapped branch… you had best rest with your friend. The two of you can be pasty together."

"...Right, thank you." Eirika waited for Lute to leave before actually stepping inside my borrowed room. She smiled faintly when she noticed me looking at her. "How much did you hear?"

"I certainly heard that last part," I replied, finishing off my tea. No point in trying to figure out the ingredients now. "She's quite the tactless one."

"She's a… strange girl, yes," Eirika noted tactfully, sitting on the bed next to me. I raised a brow and she shrugged. "I have to be diplomatic. She'll be traveling with us, along with Artur."

"...Why?" That made no sense. They had no reason to leave with us. They still had a home, and they didn't know any of the people we were attempting to find. Sure, there was the whole 'help for the sake of helping', but considering how their home had to evacuate and go gods knew where?

"I don't know, but Artur requested it." Did he think we'd encounter more monsters or something? Gods, I hoped not. "Since he helped us so much, I couldn't really say 'no'." She shrugged. "I gather that Lute is coming along because Artur is."

"I see." Two more people to cook for, then. Did they have any allergies? "What about the villagers, then?"

"L'arachel offered to escort them north to Frelia, since she plans on heading to Carcino." She smiled slightly and I tried to figure out who that was. "The very… exuberant girl."

"The one with a melodramatic streak that wouldn't be out of place in a theatre show?"

"Yes, her." Eirika muffled a laugh that was as tired as she looked. "I wanted to check in on you, and maybe joke around or share some stories, but you look as bad as I feel."

"Funny, I was going to say the same about you."

"Yikes, then it's really bad." She hesitated before shaking her head. "In that case, we should both just… get some rest tonight, huh?" She stood up and took my empty mug from me. I hoped Moulder made some of that tea for her as well. And the others in our army. "We'll need to leave in the morning, after all."

"Yeah, we already lost some time thanks to today." I smiled at her, to try and keep her from worrying. "Enjoy the bed while you can."

"Believe me, I will."

She left without another word, and I laid down to try and get some sleep. But I didn't get much. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the children-turned-monsters who I had killed. Each and every one of them. They clawed at me in my nightmares, demanding the same thing: 'why did we have to die twice?'

I wished I had an answer. But I knew I never would.

Vanessa

A pegasus knight who has served for two years, give or take, and is the younger sister of Syrene. She admires her sister greatly, though she's often frustrated that she's not able to catch up and stand as her equal.

Like most pegasus knights, she has trained for increased speed and skill at the expense of her strength. Her relatively light armor also means that if she takes a hit, she'll suffer a great amount of damage. Despite this, her aerial advantage and mobility make her a prized member of the army

Noted for her serious demeanor, her greatest asset has always been her ability to remain calm in every kind of situation. This doesn't mean she doesn't have a mischievous streak, however, or that she cannot show childlike glee at things. Like particularly good food.

Author's Notes: Ah, the classic magic tutorial complete with convenient monk and mage. And monsters, which form the bulk of the 'free battles' you have in FE8's map (and is another mechanic FE8 took from FE2, along with the 'moving on the world map' and the like). Why children zombies? Because I highly doubt the Demon King differentiated.