Writing this, I learned that the 70-80 quests are actually really long.

I used Fodlan Winds (FE3H) for the fight scene in this chapter.

There's a wildly gratuitous cameo in this chapter of a character who probably shouldn't even be in this world. (shrugs)

I'm madly in love with Trahearne's voice, help lol. How is it so deliciously yummy!? Cheers to Matthew Brenher for having such a magnificent voice. : )

17: Strength of the Firstborn

Timberline Falls was one of Caoilfhionn's favourite places in the Shiverpeaks, where the unutterably majestic mountains sloped down to lush green pine forests, spangled with glittering little ice-cold streams that chattered gaily as they swept into blue, blue lakes that were crystal clear once you dove in. Fort Concordia was a neat little timbered structure on a little island in the middle of one of the rivers, not the prettiest fort in the world despite the breathtaking location, but reasonably defensible against the local tribes of hostile grawl.

It was raining this day, a chill drizzle that promised harsher to come. Rhyoll was constantly trying to whip the wet from the tuft at the end of his tail. "It's miserable out today!"

"I disagree," Caoilfhionn said. "I love the sun, but it's delightful today, too!"

Rhyoll glared at him. "Easy for you to say, walking plant. Look at me! I'm soaked through!"

Caoilfhionn turned to him in alarm. "Right through? It's penetrated your skin?"

Phiadi rolled her eyes. "No, of course not, but it feels like it. You're not freezing and feeling sodden?"

"No?"

"No, this is nice," Annhilda said. "Damara, what's your opinion?"

Damara shook her head. "Not my favourite. If only because it messes with my arrows. There isn't much cover at Concordia, is there?"

They'd just arrived, and Caoilfhionn looked around. Wynnet, Doern, and Efut were already there, but… "Where's Trahearne? Isn't he here?"

"He just stepped out," Wynnet said to him, gesturing to the south gate. "You can call him back in if you like. Your guild's here now, so we can get started."

"Thanks, I will," Caoilfhionn said, and stuck his head out of the gate. Trahearne was standing quite still down by the water's edge, watching it flow by, letting the rain fall on his head without concern. "Trahearne?"

The Firstborn looked to see him, with a brief smile that faded quickly. "I'm glad to see you. I need to convince the Orders that the path I've chosen is the right one. Reassure me: Hope's Legacy will support me, yes?"

"All the way," Caoilfhionn said firmly.

Trahearne took a deep breath. "Taking charge of an army – or even a group of strong-minded individuals – is new to me. I hope I sound more confident than I feel."

"You were brilliant last time," Caoilfhionn said, smiling sweetly. "Just remember that they want to believe too."

"Do they?" Trahearne shook his head. "I sense they still have doubts. Perhaps you and your friends could talk to them and discover the concerns they cannot voice to me."

"I'll do that," Caoilfhionn assured him. "Wynnet likes me, and she likes Annhilda even more. I'm sure she'll open up with a bit of talk."

"Thank you," Trahearne said, and they went back in the gate.

The meeting was brief, and it was only a short while before Caoilfhionn had gathered what he needed to know, with the help of his friends, and went unobtrusively with Trahearne into a corner while everyone else was still talking.

"What have you learned?" Trahearne asked, and frowned at the muddy ground before Caoilfhionn could answer. "It is underhanded to use you in this way, and yet…"

"You need to know, don't you?" Caoilfhionn said. "If they won't tell you, we ask for you, and then you can adjust without letting anything on. Then no one is offended or discommoded. But yes, they do have doubts, as you guessed. Wynnet says you'll need charisma and a forceful personality to see this through."

"I wonder if I have that sufficiently," Trahearne said. "I was never one for charisma… Not compared to… Riannoc, or… or Faolain, at the beginning. Or Laranthir; have you met him?"

Caoilfhionn laughed. "I think you have it, you just don't realize you do. When your passion shines through, you are magnetic, Trahearne."

"Difficult for me to believe," Trahearne said dryly. "But in time, Zhaitan will give me the chance to prove myself. I simply hope they don't abandon me before then."

"You prove it each day, every day," Caoilfhionn said. "They'll see. I promise." Surely this wasn't his rose-tinted view getting in his way.

Trahearne smiled tolerantly. "It's kind of you to say so. What I really need is the opportunity to show them I do speak the language of war- who's that?"

A Human was rushing up to them, in mud-soaked Priory robes, waving his arms and yelling. As he made it up to the gate, he fell to the ground, gasping for air. "Somebody, help me! The team studying Rankor Ruins was overwhelmed by the undead!"

Trahearne and Caoilfhionn shared an alarmed look. "Rankor Ruins?" Trahearne exclaimed. "At the dig site?"

"Yes! Please… they're trapped! Help them!"

"Right away," Trahearne said. "Crusader Afanen! Agent Zrii! Hope's Legacy! You're with me. Efut, Wynnet, Doern, defend the fort until we return."

Everyone saluted, and Trahearne led them south, across the river ford, to the remains of dwarven ruins. Caoilfhionn sniffed the damp air and frowned. There was a faint scent of rot under the wet earth and moss; the undead were definitely around.

"Something is definitely wrong here," Trahearne said. "Everyone, our objective is to locate a missing Priory team. Zrii, I want you to conduct stealth reconnaissance while the rest of us take the main path through the ruins. We'll draw the attention of any Orrians and thin out their numbers as we proceed. Rendezvous at the far end of the site."

"Understood," said Zrii, and vanished from sight.

Annhilda drew her sword and loosened her wrists. "I'm ready to teach those walking corpses a lesson. Are you ready, Hope's Legacy?"

"More than ready!" Phiadi said, drawing her first minion out of the ground. "Huh, this one's kinda cute."

"Like I said before, I'm not liking this weather too much," Damara said. "It's going to be slippery, and much more of a challenge for me to land my arrows. I might go close-quarters on this one. But Orion will help put them down." She lifted her arm and a great raven flew to her and began preening.

"I approve," Annhilda told her with a grin. "Do what you have to."

"I'll try not to blow up anything historically significant," Rhyoll said. "Except as a last resort."

Caoilfhionn laughed. "Let's go rescue some researchers! Dispel this foul air!"

Crusader Afanen chuckled. "I'd heard the stories, but Hope's Legacy really is what they say, isn't it."

"They truly are," Trahearne said, taking Caladbolg in his hands. "We're fortunate they're on our side."

The research camp was deserted, except for deceased bodies both mobile and immobile, but they found three living Asura up the hill, barricaded inside an ancient hut. After driving back the undead, they pushed further to find the rest of the team, inside a cave in the mountain. Rhyoll shook himself all over as they entered the cave, spraying rainwater everywhere. Well, it wasn't like the rest of them could get more wet.

"I hope we're not too late," said the Asura krewe leader, who introduced himself as Dobbs. "I've never returned from a dig without at least 65 percent of the people I set out with. I'd hate to see those numbers go down."

"This is my last expedition with him," said one of the researchers to Caoilfhionn under her breath. "Sooner or later I'm going to be on the wrong side of his 'safely returned' ratio."

"I… don't think I blame you," Caoilfhionn said. Sure, archaeology was dangerous, but 65 percent…?

They were guided by the sound of fighting, and an Asura calling. "Hey! Over here! Help!"

"Kekt!" Caoilfhionn cried. "It has been a while!" The man who had been present when he first met Sieran was with a larger group of Priory researchers with their backs to the wall, holding off a swarm of grubs.

"Oh, I remember you," Kekt said. "Your timing is impeccable. There's a lot of you, aren't there? Good. We might actually survive this."

"I'm glad you're still alive. What's the quickest way out from here?" Trahearne asked.

Kekt and Dobbs looked at each other. "There's a way out to the south. I theorize it will have fewer Risen compared to the direction you just came from."

"Perfect," Annhilda said. "I'll take point. Keep together and stay on your guard."

But the way out was blocked by a wall of strong bones. They'd blasted through bones like them before, with heavy magic, but they did not have that here…

Everyone began to talk at once. "Where did this come from?" demanded Dobbs. "This was supposed to be our way out!"

Agent Zrii's voice echoed from the shadows. "The Orrians funneled us here. They've shown disturbingly advanced tactics ever since we arrived."

"I knew it," muttered the female Asura. "I'm going to die here and Dobbs is going to write it up as 'acceptable losses'." One of the other Asura began to wail to himself.

"Pipe down," Annhilda said sharply. "Let's plan our next move."

The Charr researcher on the team had been inspecting the bone wall, with his salamander drake pet beside him. "Even Amphebe's breath after a bushel of garlic couldn't melt through that."

"I've seen Orrians swarm, and I've seen them lurk, but I've never seen them set traps like this," Crusader Afanen said. "Are they capable of tactical thinking like that?"

"Oh yes," Trahearne said, his voice dark and deep. "I've seen them do exquisitely horrible things." Everyone looked at him. "What is it?"

Caoilfhionn laughed, despite the situation. "Trahearne, you're my very dear friend, but when you say things like that, surely you understand why some call you 'creepy'. Sometimes." Maybe he shouldn't have been quite so harsh on that one Lionguard… no! Trahearne might have a creepy side, but it was hardly the whole of who he was. And when his voice got low like that… He felt a shiver run down his spine, and it wasn't with horror.

Trahearne's luminescence pulsed in the darkness of the cave. "Er… well… be that as it may, if the Priory team found the artifact I suspect they found, it all makes sense."

"We were looking for a dwarven tome," said Kekt, patting his satchel. "Why would Zhaitan care so much about an ancient book of lore?"

"I believe it contains information about the last time the dragons rose. Its very existence proves they can be beaten back. Our enemy wants to keep that information from us." Trahearne looked around, at them all, at the bones. "And if they fall upon us here, they could wipe out most of the Pact's leadership."

"So what do we do?" Annhilda said. "They're coming quickly."

"We may be trapped, but I can summon the reinforcements we need to fight our way out," Trahearne said, his eyes glinting. "This will require no small effort. Buy me some time to prepare."

"You got it," Annhilda said. "Hope's Legacy! Let's go! Researchers and mages in the back!"

"They won't get to you," Caoilfhionn said to Trahearne. "Take your time and do what you need to."

Trahearne nodded and lifted his hand, letting his eyes half-close in concentration. Caoilfhionn turned away to face the oncoming horde.

Anhilda flung up a magical wall to block the spittle from the incoming grumbs, and Damara released arrows through it. Rhyoll's rifle went off, again and again, deafening in the enclosed space, turning grubs into exploded balloons of pus and guts, backed by his hearty guffaws. Caoilfhionn sprang forward at Annhilda's shoulder, wrapping a cluster of grubs in a ring of fire. A group of larger, more humanoid zombies stumbled through the flames, unflinching, but he whipped another fire spell at one, Phiadi ripped the life-energy from another, and Annhilda slashed a third in two and the bodies fell to the floor on top of several burning grubs.

Trahearne gave a shout, and bodies erupted from the floor of the cave – big, hulking minions, as big as a Norn, dwarfing him, great incorporeal spirits clustering about him. And yet he stood so straight and commanding, even with that mystical, concentrating look on his face, there was no question – they obeyed him and him alone. Caoilfhionn's breath was stolen to see the glint of his yellow eyes; a brief glow, residual from casting such a mighty spell, that spoke to the power hidden in him. Creepy? Yes. Completely captivating and alluring? Also yes.

"Follow me!" Trahearne cried, and his minions fells upon the remaining undead viciously, clearing the way for them.

"This Trahearne's got some real power, doesn't he?" said the Charr scholar. "Can't wait to see him go all-out."

Caoilfhionn beamed at him. "That makes all of us, I think."

"Aye," said the Asura woman. "I'm done with Dobbs, but Trahearne? Him, I'd follow."

"There!" Annhilda cried. "There's the entrance! Take heart!"

Caoilfhionn came into the murky, undead-tainted light of day, into the icy, misty rain, and gasped. A tall wraith awaited them, surrounded by ranks of undead that equaled Trahearne's minions in size – and outnumbered them. They did not attack, though a low growl went through them all, and a clattering of claws.

The wraith spread his hands and spoke in a bone-rattlingly deep voice. "Ha! Welcome Sylvari. Lured you here, trapped you here. Now you die here. The elements bow before me and I bow before Zhaitan. He wills your death. He shall have it."

Trahearne stared up at the wraith, unimpressed and unafraid. "I was born to undo your master's work." He lifted Caladbolg high. "If I must kill you to achieve that, then you shall die here."

The rain poured down; lightning cracked somewhere nearby with a blinding flash and a report that echoed endlessly between the mountains, and the two sides lunged at each other. Caoilfhionn flew on wings of instinct, going for the nearest abomination to Trahearne, his daggers ripping through flesh and leaving lightning in their wake, ducking smoothly under the swing of its huge arm. Air and water flowed around him, and he flowed through the melée, hardly pausing for an instant. The wind rushed through his leaves and the rain streamed down his face and trailed his fingertips.

The wraith lifted his hands, hurling spell after spell at Trahearne, who stood his ground magnificently, wielding Caladbolg with power and grace. He caught a flash of bared teeth as the greatsword whirled, cleaving the wraith's dark spells asunder. Caoilfhionn felt the surging of magic through the air, a tingling feeling that nearly knocked him back with the sheer force of the power involved. The wraith moved forward, increasing the intensity of his attacks. Trahearne took a single step back, and no further, holding fast as the creature loomed over him, Caladbolg blazing like the moon amid the rain and the magic.

The rest of them were holding back the abominations, just barely. Monsters fell about them, splashing into the mud with loud groans, but they kept coming. Trahearne's own minions and spirits were falling, his concentration focussing ever more on the wraith, leaving the rest of the battle up to them. He would call if he needed help, surely…?

The wraith knocked Caladbolg to one side, hissing as its essence burned away from the touch, but the other arm reached out and grabbed Trahearne by the throat. "Have you now, Sylvari-"

An arrow struck the wraith in the eye and it dropped Trahearne, taking a step back with a howl. Caoilfhionn breathed again, but who had shot the arrow? Damara was beside him, opposite the direction it had come from, and that wasn't one of her arrows…

In the shadows of the ruins and trees, almost unseen through the rain at this distance, was a tall slender figure. Tall even for a Norn, but he could not make the person's features. They raised a greatbow nearly twice his height and loosed another arrow; an abomination near him thudded to the ground, its head pierced through. Lightning flashed, and Caoilfhionn gained an impression of white skin, long brown hair, and dark blue leather.

Trahearne nodded at the figure, once, then hefted Caladbolg and charged, making a great slash across the wraith's body. Thunder crashed, and he couldn't tell if it were the lightning or the strike of the sword. The wraith shrieked and dissipated, its essence coming undone, and all the abominations fell as one. Trahearne stood alone, so tall and commanding with the greatsword shimmering in his hands.

"Yal-" Trahearne began, turning to the figure, but it was already gone, disappearing into the mountain mist as if it had never been. "Thank you!"

"Who was that?" Crusader Afanen asked, shading her eyes from the rain with her hand, peering in the direction it had been. The intensity of the weather was letting up, now that the wraith was gone.

"Yaleiya," Trahearne said, catching his breath. "She wanders these lands."

"Wait," Annhilda said. "The Yaleiya? I thought she was a myth."

Trahearne shook his head with a little smile. "She's no myth, though I'm not sure what she is. I met her long, long ago, here. Yet again she has saved my life."

"Would she fight with us in Orr?" Agent Zrii said. "We could use a one-woman ballista."

"I do not think so. She doesn't like people, and seldom leaves these lands… No matter. The wraith is dead, the research team is alive, and we have the artifact."

"Well done, Marshal Trahearne," said the Charr scholar. "That Orrian ugly looked nigh unstoppable, but you did it."

"The Pact did it," Trahearne said graciously. "Our combined efforts made this happen. Just as we'll defeat Zhaitan together. Hopefully, our chances of doing just that have been improved with the information contained inside this tome."

"I can help you there!" Kekt said. "I'm fluent in ancient Dwarf. Get us out of here and I'll translate the stuffing out of this tome."

"Yes, he was the one who led me to my first mission with the Priory with his translations!" Caoilfhionn said.

"Excellent," Trahearne said. "Let's return to Concordia. Zrii, please take point."

Caoilfhionn found himself walking back beside Trahearne. His heart was light as the rain washed over him. It would not stop until tomorrow at the earliest, maybe not even then. That was well enough; the rain was a necessary and beautiful part of the world. "I'm sorry I was late to aid you, but I'm glad the Yaleiya showed up."

"Don't trouble yourself," Trahearne said. "She is there when she is there. It was good to see her again, if only for a moment."

"What's she like?"

"A person of few words… very few. Inscrutable. Unpredictable. Very pragmatic."

"You know a lot of people, don't you?" For all he was unpopular with the masses, he seemed to know everyone.

Trahearne quirked an awkward smile. "A product of my sordid youth… No, no, I jest. I've… traveled. A lot. For a long time. I haven't spent my whole life in old libraries or exploring Orr. I meet people. Sometimes, they meet me."

"That's wonderful. I like meeting people too!"

"I never said I liked it," Trahearne muttered, but his widening smile gave him away.

Caoilfhionn laughed, then perked up. "Oh, hang on a moment." He reached out without thinking, wiping a mud spatter from Trahearne's cheek that hadn't been washed away by the flowing rain.

"Er." Magenta pulsed strongly through Trahearne's leaves and face. "Caoilfhionn?"

"Ahh!" The impropriety of what he'd just done sank in and he jumped back, snatching his hand away; his own luminescence flaring wildly. "S-sorry! W-well, anyway, now we've achieved victory again!"

"Victory indeed," Trahearne said, recovering himself smoothly. "The first of many, with allies like you beside me. But this is just the first step in a long, perilous journey. From here on, things will get more difficult."

"The difficulties from Zhaitan, probably," Caoilfhionn said. "But I hope this shows the others that you're the one to lead the Pact. So fewer difficulties there. Right?" He smiled hopefully.

"There's nothing like the man in charge risking his own life to instill trust, is there?" Trahearne said dryly. "No, it went well. I don't think it's my strong suit. But thank you for standing by me. With you there, I know I can accomplish what I need to."