1180 – Great Tree Moon
"I can't believe we're nearly there. This is so exciting!" a blonde girl squeed. The gold color of her armor matched her hair which neatly contrasted her bright green eyes.
"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves Sharena. We still don't know how far it really is" her brother gently reined her in. While he did have the same white and gold armor as his sister, his hair and eye color were a sharp contrast to hers being dark blue on both the hair and the eyes with a tint of gold at the edges of his hair. At the moment the siblings were chatting with each other on horseback while being flanked on both sides by two other people. Additionally, several well armored knights followed behind them as well, some on horseback while others on foot.
"Oh Alfonse, you're always so serious. Aren't you excited too? About all of this?" the blonde princess asked.
"Well, of course I'am. But as crown prince of Askr, I have to take this seriously" the prince answered his sister with a smile, though his mind was thinking of something else "sometimes, I really wished I had your care free nature".
"If you say so" she laughed, "so how much further do we have to go?".
"Well, according to the instructions we were given, we're supposed to get to a meeting point past a village called Remire to meet up with their 'Knights of Seiros' who will escort us for the remainder of the journey to the Monastery" Alfonse explained," so hopefully, it's not much farther now"
"That's great to hear. It's a shame Fjorm and Ylgr didn't come with us. Do you think we'll meet them at the rendezvous?" Sharena twirled a strand of her hair with her finger as she asked, to which Alfonse placed a hand on his chin to answer. "Since we're both going to be attending our studies at the same time, my intuition leads me to believe to that they probably will."
"Alright!" Sharena's face was beaming with joy as she turned to face her companion to her side, "and what about you Commander Anna. You look like you're in deep thought".
"Oh, nothing much. Just thinking about all the potential businesses ventures that I could set up here in Fódlan" the girl next to Sharena replied, hair bright red and armor with the same color scheme and design as the royal siblings.
"Is that all you think about?" Sharena rolled her eyes in disappointment. "Well of course not. But trade between Askr and Fódlan is really picking up at a rapid pace, so I have to take advantage of this while it's still a hot commodity" Anna addressed, "don't worry, it's all for the Order of Heroes".
"Right. Anna being Anna" Sharena sighed, sounding defeated.
"I could ask the same thing about you, Kiran. You've been awfully quiet for the last few days" Alfonse did the same and looked over to his retainer.
The retainer stretched outwards and groaned. Unlike the other three, he didn't wear any armor on him, rather, he wore an elaborate long robe with a hood that concealed most of his face aside from his nose, mouth and a small glimpse of his blue eyes. That being said, his robe's color scheme was much the same as the others with white and gold. "Sorry, just feeling a bit worn out after riding on this damn horse for days on end" he complained, "still, I don't really have a lot of room to whine about all of this when most of our guys are following us on foot".
Alfonse grumbled at the answer before nodding at Kiran. The irritation was not directed towards Kiran but rather his father, who had that he take a small army to escort them across the ocean and to the Monastery. His original idea was to go there under disguise and travel in plain sight without anyone noticing so as to not attract attention or cause a scene, but King Gustav had shot down the idea in the event that they were attacked by bandits or other hostile forces. As a result, he had no choice but to begrudgingly agree to his father's plan and take an army of volunteers from the main Askran army as well as the Order of Heroes.
"Hey Kiran, you said that in your world they had places where kids go to study when they're older. Do you think it'll be like that in Garreg Mach?" Sharena called out.
"Sorry Sharena, but I really can't say. Like I said, I don't remember that much from my world. But I was told that those were the places where only the richest and smartest kids go to study since they were supposed to be really expensive, so there might be some truth to it" Kiran answered.
"They say only the best and brightest get to attend Garreg Mach. Which is all the more reason why we should use every valuable time we have there to learn and grow to the best of our abilities" Alfonse added.
"But that sounds boring Alfonse. We should be spending our time there making as many friends as we can! Right Anna, Kiran?" the Askr princess argued looking sideways at her retainers.
"I don't really have a lot of room to argue here. But as an officer in training for the Order of Heroes it wouldn't hurt to learn a thing or two in order to Improve my skills" Anna said as she shrugged.
"I agree with you on learning part but where I come from, supposedly most kids our age just use these places to get away from their parents for some 'fun time'" Kiran put up an air quotation, all the while grinning as Sharena let out a small laugh.
"W-well, we are representing our Kingdom and it would do us a lot of good if we could curry favor from a noble or a future ruler here. So, you do have a point there Sharena" Alfonse agreed, "but let us try to behave ourselves as well. Understood?"
"Sure thing"
"Of course,"
"No problem"
"Good" Alfonse nodded, "and it looks like we're nearing Remire village as well". The group continued the remainder of their journey in silence as Sharena reined in her excitement, hoping they would get by without any sort of incident that might cause a political problem or an attack from bandits. Unfortunately for them, it would seem fate had other plans in store for the group.
"Halt!" Alfonse raised his right hand and clenched his fist, signaling everyone to stop immediately. "Is something wrong" an alarmed Anna asked. Alfonse was usually friendly if a bit uptight under normal circumstances, but when he got serious, it was a sign for everyone, even Sharena, to take things seriously.
A small white owl descended from the skies and flew straight into Alfonse's arm. "It looks like Feh is back from scouting. Something must have gotten her attention for her to be this nervous" the Askran prince answered.
"What's wrong Feh?" Sharena asked softly, looking at the owl as it flapped its' wings restlessly and hooted.
"Do you hear it?" Alfonse asked. Everyone else kept quiet and started listening intensely as well.
"It sounds like…. fighting" Sharena suggested.
"Correct" her brother affirmed with a nod. "Alfonse, do you think we shoud- "
"No. Not yet" the Askr prince cut off his sister with an answer ready, "not until we know what's going on".
"Kiran" Alfonse called out, disembarking from his horse.
"Yeah?"
"Let's you and I scout ahead first. We'll find some high ground and get a lay of the land, see what is going on" Alfonse ordered.
"Okay" Kiran complied, getting off of his horse as well. "Sharena, you and Anna stay here with the rest of the troops, we'll be back quickly" Alfonse ordered as he released the owl while the two stood firmly as they watched him and Kiran follow the owl towards higher ground.
Eventually they reached the top of a small hill from where they found a good vantage point, which allowed them to see nearly everything that was going on while Feh rested beside them. "Can you see it" Alfonse asked.
Kiran narrowed his eyes and shielded his brows with his right hand in order to concentrate and see what was happening. "Would've been better if we had binoculars but yeah, I can see what's going on. It looks like heavy fighting between two groups" the hooded boy commented.
"Is there any way for us to go around them? I really hope we can avoid getting involved in their affairs. Father told us not to spill blood on Fódlan soil unless they permit it to or if we don't have a choice" Alfonse continued staring at the battlefield as he sought advice from his retainer.
"For once, I agree with him. But from the looks of it, I don't think so. And even if we did, we've got a small army with us that they'd notice quickly" Kiran commented, as Alfonse grumbled under his breath. "Wait" something had caught Kiran's attention, "Alfonse look over there" he pointed a finger towards the northeast direction.
"Looks like the other group is bringing in reinforcements" Alfonse said, continuing to look at the direction of the backup group, "it seems we have no choice but to fight through. But whose side should we pick? That is, if we can even trust either of them".
"I don't think we can, but I don't think it's a good idea to fight our way through both of them at the same time either. Looks like we'll have to take a gamble and hope we picked the lesser of two evils. If I were you, I think I'd stake my life on the people who look like they're wearing clean uniforms. Guys with messy fur coats and animal skulls for helmets usually means- "
"Brigands" Alfonse growled as his face frowned.
"Bingo"
"Let's go Kiran, we'll have to get Sharena and Anna before we do this"
Alfonse and Kiran eventually made their way to Anna and Sharena as they were waiting patiently for the two of them to return. "Well, what did you see" Anna asked.
"Fighting between brigands and another group in uniforms. We're going to have to help the guys in uniforms fight off the bandits" Kiran informed them as he picked up his weapon, Breidablik. It was an odd relic that resembled a white and gold handgun than anything resembling a weapon appropriate for the time he was in.
"Really?" Anna looked bewildered. "We don't really have much of a choice on this Anna. And we can't go around them either, so we'll just have to help them fight the bandits and hope we made the right choice" Alfonse explained, picking up his sword Fólkvangr from it sheathe. "The four of us will handle this ourselves. The rest of you, stay put, keep watch over Remire village and wait for my order. Should anything happen to us, protect that village at all costs".
"Understood your Highness" a soldier bowed.
Anna and Sharena also dismounted from their horses and drew their own weapons respectively: the axe Nóatún for the former and the divine lance Fensalir for the latter. As his allies prepared themselves, Alfonse began to write something in a small sheet of paper before neatly rolling it into a thin line and tying it up in the owl's leg. "Feh, find Fjorm and get this letter to her quickly" he ordered, to which the owl complied and flew off in the direction of its destination.
"Ready?" Alfonse asked the other three as they approached him. "Ready as can ever be Alfonse" Sharena responded.
"Good. Now follow me" he ordered.
1180 – Great Tree Moon.
The sound of metal clashing sent a rippling noise through the air as the small skirmish between the bandits and the mercenaries alongside the students of Garreg Mach continued. For the moment, the five-man group consisting of Jeralt Eisner, his son Byleth, alongside Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude were more than holding their own against the attacking forces and winning. Unbeknownst to them, a larger group was descending in their general direction to serve as backup for the main force. "Heads up. It looks like they're bringing in more reinforcements!" Claude shouted high up from a lookout tower, an elevated position that gave him the distinct advantage of sniping enemies from afar. "What! More of them!?" Dimitri grunted, while still busy clashing with a bandit or two.
"Damnit!" Jeralt cursed, striking through a group of them.
"Uh oh, and it seems we have uninvited guests coming from the other side as well. But they don't look like bandits though" Claude warned, picking off a stray with a bow.
"Are you implying that we are being attacked from both sides?" Edelgard asked, while vehemently defending herself against an onslaught of sword strikes before she pushed back her attacker.
"Great. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse" the older mercenary complained. "Kid!" he shouted, to which a young man with a blank face and dark blue hair looked at his direction. "Stay put with the brats and defend this position. I'll go and handle our other guests" he ordered.
"Understood" the boy nodded as he turned around and braced himself for the onslaught of the next wave while his father reined in his horse and galloped in the other direction.
…
"There they are" Alfonse said, stopping in his tracks in order to wait for the others to catch up to him. As they did so, he turned around and looked at his tactician, ready to defer to him for instructions. "Kiran, do you have a pla-"
"Alfonse behind you!" Sharena pointed out, causing her brother to turn back and watch as a gruff man on horseback came running straight towards them. The group nervously held their weapons tightly as they readied themselves for the arrival of their mystery entity. The moment he arrived; he commanded his steed to stop right in front of them as he pointed his spear at them. However, as he looked closer, he realized that they looked nothing like mere bandits. "You…. you're all just kids?! No older than the ones over there …...and those clothes and weapons: you don't look like you're from around here. Just what the hell do you think you're doing here?" he lightly scolded, which at the very least seemed to have let the group lower their guard.
'Peace. We're not here to harm you, we wish to offer help" Alfonse reassured him. Jeralt, however, wasn't easily swayed by the notion; mainly due to the fact that while he was certain that they weren't bandits, he was still unsure of who they really were either. Their armor and weapons were elaborately designed, suggesting nobility or even royalty and yet, they looked nothing like any of the royals or nobles he had ever met. Worse still, he wasn't even sure if they even knew how to fight.
'Help? Do you know what you kids are getting yourselves into? All of you should turn back and get out of here" he asked sternly, to which Alfonse immediately stepped forward, looking at Jeralt right into his eyes. "My friends and I are no strangers to combat. Trust us. We saw a massive reinforcement of brigands coming this way and right now, you need all the help you can get" he argued back with a stern face of his own.
Jeralt looked into the young faces of these strangers and realized that they weren't going to budge, even the one whose face was concealed with a hood. The mercenary looked at them with wary eyes before sighing accordingly, "I can't believe I'm doing this. Fine, you can help us protect this village from those bandits".
"Thank you. We will do all we can" Alfonse nodded in approval.
"Alright then, I'll let the others know you're here to help. Follow me" Jeralt ran forward with his stallion, leaving the four of them to follow along. Once again, the Prince of Askr looked towards his tactician for deferment, "so what's the plan Kiran?"
The hooded boy rubbed his chin before answering, "looks like they're already in a good defensive position. If we can help them cover up their blind spots, then we should be able to advance quickly and drive them out of here, no problem. Alternatively, if we can take down whoever is in charge of them, the rest should run away quickly. Either way is gonna work".
"That's music to my ears, Kiran!" Sharena cheered.
"Agreed" Alfonse added.
"If there's no objections to Kiran's plan, then let's get going" Anna suggested, as the other three nodded and made their way towards to battlefield.
…..
Once the warriors of Askr had reached their destination, Kiran decided that it was time to step up as their resident tactician. "Alfonse, protect the girl with the axe" he began pointing towards Edelgard who was still busy fighting off hostiles. "Understood" Alfonse nodded and immediately went over to the Adrestian Princess. Even if he was of higher status than Kiran and his overall decisions were final, in the heat of battle, it was his tactician's orders he listened to. Afterall, he wasn't one to question Kiran after the excellent track record Askr had racked up in battles against Embla and Muspell as a result of his tactical and strategical skills.
"Anna, go over to the blonde guy with the lance" he instructed. "Of course," she replied, making her way to Dimitri.
"And Sharena, you head over to the guy with the sword and cover for him" Kiran ordered as he pointed towards Byleth. "What about you, Kiran?" Sharena asked with concern. It wasn't that she expected Kiran to pull his weight and contribute to the fighting, but rather she hoped that he did not put himself in danger and get into a fight on account of his lack of actual fighting skills. He may be a brilliant tactician but it didn't take much to mop the floor with him.
"Don't worry, I got Breidablik with me. And I'll be heading up to that watch tower" he reassured her. "Right away then" the Askran Princess said, "Just stay safe Kiran". Kiran nodded as he watched Sharena make her way towards the blue haired mercenary, leaving him all by himself. Wasting no time, he immediately ran for his life, crossing through the thick of the skirmish zone to reach for the safety of the tower.
The first two lords were taken aback by the sudden arrival of these strangers but were eventually glad to have the strangers lend them an extra hand. "Are you the reinforcements the mercenary mentioned? If so, then please lend us your aid" Dimitri asked as he pushed back an axe wielding bandit before looking at Anna, who charged towards the foe and sent him flying with an upward swing. "Not a problem, this will all be taken care of" she answered looking back at Dimitri, leaving the Faerghus Prince with a firm smile on his face.
Edelgard got ready to defend herself against the incoming onslaught of two ruffians ready to strike at her. Yet the attack never came to be, as Alfonse stepped in front of her and raised his shield to protect the both of them. Once the attacks were successfully blocked, he pushed them both back as he thrust his sword against the chest of one of them while Edelgard followed suit and brought down her axe against the other one, bringing him down as well. "Such good form, and the way you hold your sword; it is obvious that you and your allies are quite accustomed to battle" Edelgard complimented, looking directly at Alfonse. 'Thank you. I could say the same about you and the others" the Askran Prince replied back, "shall we move forward and finish this?". No words were needed to be said as they both diverted their gaze towards the next wave and prepared themselves.
Sharena wasted no time coming over to Byleth's aid as she got in front of him and swung her lance as wide as she could to give them breathing room. The Ashen Demon quickly synchronized with her movements as the two stood back to back while being surrounded by three bandits, one wielding a lance and the other two wielding axes respectively. The axe wielders targeted Sharena first and immediately charged towards her at the same time, only for Byleth to pull her back as he countered their blows with his sword. Sharena for her part, quickly recovered and deflected a lance that was about to hit Byleth from behind with her shield, causing the lance wielder to lose balance as she plunged Fensalir right into his shoulder, which caused him to scream in pain as he was pinned to the ground. Once she confirmed that the thief was neutralized, she turned around to assist the mercenary, only to find out that he had thoroughly trashed the other two without breaking a sweat. "Wow! You're really good!" she said cheerily, to which Byleth simply nodded with a blank stare.
While the other three Askrans were busy supporting their new allies, Kiran, on the other hand, was busy climbing up the seemingly endless steps of ladders as he tried to make his to the top with Breidablik attached to his hip. It would not only give him a good tactical layout of the place but also protect him from the dangers of facing bandits. But the closer he got to the top, the more his heart started pounding as his hands and feet started to feel like jelly while his eyes tried their hardest not to look at the ground below.
"Don't look down Kiran. Don't look down, you're almost there" he repeatedly those words to himself as he slowly, and painfully kept climbing up the ladder. Right now, he much preferred facing the mortal dangers of brigands than getting stuck in a precarious position high up. Thankfully, the whole ordeal was over as the tactician finally reached the top after what felt like an eternity, when in reality, it was only a few seconds. Unfortunately, Kiran was met with an arrow pointed to his face as Claude looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Whoa, easy there, friend. I'm here to help" the Askran tactician tried to defuse the situation, which seemed to have worked as Claude lowered his guard and reached out his hand to assist him.
"I thought for a second there that you were a bandit. Sorry about that" the future Duke smiled as Kiran grabbed onto his hand and raised himself up to the platform. "No problem. So, who's the guy in charge here?" the tactician asked, to which Claude made his way towards the edge of the tower and pointed in the direction of Byleth and Sharena. "The would be our mercenary friend over there fighting with your blonde lady friend" he answered, "and so far, his plans have been working pretty well for us".
"I'll say. If this whole setup was his idea, he's really good, I'll give him that" Kiran acknowledged. "Hey!" he shouted towards Byleth, getting his attention, "their numbers are thinning out. We should advance quickly".
"Then we'll circle around them as we move forward" Byleth responded, slightly raising his voice loud enough for the hooded boy to hear him. "Sounds like a plan, we'll cover you all from here!" the tactician shouted back.
"Hate to break it to you, but how are you gonna help me? Are you a mage or something?" Claude asked Kiran.
"Something like that" Kiran responded, "now step back". Claude did as he was asked as he watched the hooded boy take out a strange looking weapon from his hip and held it at one of its hilts while he pointed the other edge towards one of the corners of the tower with enough space. Suddenly, a huge burst of light emanated from one of its ends as a faceless, lightly armored archer stood in front of them. The archer wore a strange mask that concealed almost all of its face and didn't speak nor respond to Claude as he waved his hand across its face, making him look at it with bewilderment. "Don't bother. It's just a phantom I summoned" Kiran explained as Claude looked on with curiosity. "So, you can summon warriors to fight in your stead? Have to say, I've never seen this kind of magic before", Claude was genuinely curious at the abilities that this stranger displayed and the even stranger weapon he held, "think you can teach me some time?".
"Maybe when this is all over sure. But right now, let's focus on getting out of this alive" Kiran responded. "Agreed" Claude turned around to focus on the skirmish at hand as he started looking over to find strays and flankers. Kiran for his part, looked at his phantom archer and ordered it to support Claude. "Do what you can to help" he ordered, and the phantom obeyed him without question and moved next to Claude, ready to assist him. "I'll spot for you" the tactician offered, to which the Reigan heir nodded in approval, "much appreciated."
….
The small waves of enemies eventually started to slowly fall to the combined efforts of the two mercenaries, the three house lords and the warriors from Askr as they continued pushing forward. Alfonse and Edelgard took the lead as Byleth and Sharena followed closely. Dimitri and Anna pushed through the right flank while Jeralt did the same towards the left side, closely following his son. Meanwhile Claude and Kiran were busy providing support from the watch tower, sniping enemies at a distance.
By the time their leader had arrived to assist them, most of the bandits had already been taken down or driven back with ease. Byleth's plan, with a little bit of extra support, had worked to perfection as the ruffians eventually became less of a threat and more of an obstacle. A stout, gruff man with harsh facial features, the bandit leader scanned the area to see what had happened to his men. "Damn. Why are there so many mercenaries in the village?! Guess we'll just have to deal with them too!" he scowled in frustration.
Byleth looked at the others from their respective positions, as they waited for him to give them their orders. "We have them cornered into one spot. Let's converge on them and finish this. Follow my lead".
The moment their unofficial leader led the charge, the rest of group followed suit without question. Alfonse did not take his eyes off of Byleth, noting how easily he was able to take command of the situation and execute a plan without a hitch. Even if he wasn't aware that he was ordering the future king of Askr, Alfonse could not deny his prowess in combat and so far, his tactical skills have rivalled Kiran's own. He was more than impressed.
"Damn it all! What are you standing around here for, you idiots! Kill them!" the leader furiously shouted orders to his underlings with murderous intent, to which they fearfully complied. Unfortunately, just as they were about to meet their adversaries across from the other side, stray arrows began hitting them from out of nowhere as two of them went down without resistance.
Frustration grew on the leader's face as he followed the direction from which the arrows struck and discovered its' source originating from the lookout tower. 'Someone, get those archers now!" he barked his orders as a small squad led a large man headed in the direction of the archers while the rest readied themselves to clash with their attackers.
"You and I will get behind and take them out. The rest of you, distract them" the large bandit ordered as he took hold of another bandit and made off, using the nearby forest to the east as cover while the remaining group started hurling stones and other objects towards the tower.
"Look out!" Kiran warned as the two ducked for cover while the phantom archer kept counter firing, despite its inferior aim in comparison to Claude. The two heard a metallic thud as they looked up to see a giant axe lodge up near the wooden pillar on the side. "Looks like they found us" he remarked, while looking at the tactician who was still crouching, "listen, you should get down there and get help. I'll hold them off".
Kiran grumbled under his breath, not pleased at the prospect of having to go look down from such a height. But he knew it would be stupid to stay here as well, so he nodded and turned around to make his way to the ladder…
Only to find one of the bandits making his way to the top. "Found you" he growled as Kiran immediately backed away. Claude quickly turned around and pointed his bow, only to see his ally taken hostage with a knife held to his throat, being used a human shield by the scoundrel. "Shoot me and he dies" he threatened as the Reigan heir trained his eyes on him, not letting go of his weapon. "Sorry" the hooded tactician apologized.
"Let him go" Claude demanded as he watched him carefully. The summoned archer had to cover for him from the attacks below as the two were in a stale mate. It was a difficult position to be in, not helped by the fact that his arrows were ineffective in a small room. "Drop your weapon first" the bandit shot back, before looking at the other archer as well, "same goes for that thing over there".
"Don't do it! He's gonna kill you!" Kiran warned.
The standoff felt like it lasted for an eternity, though in reality the event was over rather quickly, as the summoned archer was more than willing to comply in order to save its summoner while Claude begrudgingly had to play along. That being said, he wasn't a fool that he would easily trust a snake and made a mental note to play out a scenario where he would quickly draw out his knife from his back pocket and throw it at the thief before he had a chance to harm his companion. His right hand tightened as it twitched in anticipation for what's to come.
"Good" the scoundrel approved, "as promised, I'll let him go". Saying that, he turned around and pushed Kiran over the edge of the tower, as an audible scream followed through. The phantom immediately dove past the bandit before he could even react and plummeted from the tower to save its summoner. "You dastard!" Claude roared as he took out his knife and charged straight at the bandit. Meanwhile, in the split second that was going on, the phantom barely managed to get hold of Kiran in the nick of time, enveloping him in a tight hug as it turned around and let its back take the brunt of the collision to the ground as a sickening thud made contact with the earth. The Askran tactician let out an audible groan as he tried to recover from the rippling shock of the collision as his body started aching all over.
"Think…...I hurt my …hip. AArrgh!" he groaned in pain as he rested on his phantom. "Good archer…... I …. I owe you one" he praised his creation as it simply laid their silently. The worst, however, was yet to come as a giant axe descended upon him, forcing him to muster enough strength through the pain and quickly roll to the other side. Sadly, the same could not be said for his phantom as the axe lodge itself onto its chest before it disintegrated entirely. The attacker looked on with surprise at what had just happened before lifting his axe again and slowly made his way towards his next target, who was painfully crawling away from him.
Kiran, however, couldn't make it far on account of his injury. Having no other choice but to turn around, he looked over his hip and took hold of Breidablik, pointing the artifact directly at the large man in front of him. "I'm going to enjoy chopping you to pieces, little man" the axe wielder grinned as he picked up speed, raising his weapon in order to rein it down on his victim. The Karan's eyes widened as he realized that there wasn't enough time to summon a new phantom as the weapon inched closer to him. Time felt like it slowed down significantly, as if fate was giving him one last chance to enjoy life before it would be taken away from him. "Oh shi-"he remarked in a deadpan tone, as if he had given up on surviving completely.
And yet, as seconds passed, no harm actually came to him as a ray of light blue energy blasted the man across the field. Looking at the direction of the blast, he saw who his rescuer was and it left him with a big smile on his face.
Askrs' resident tactician never thought that the current eldest princess of Nifl would come to his recuse at this time and place, yet he was relieved all the same. Much like Sharena, she had blond hair, though her eyes were blue instead of green. Her clothing had the same elaborate design as the ones from Askr yet had a different color scheme consisting of blue and white instead of white and gold. In her right hand, she held a large spear with a pointed hilt called Leiptr.
"Kiran!" she ran towards him as fast as she could, a look of great anguish on her face. "Are you hurt?" she asked, kneeling down to check on him. Kiran simply sighed as he gave out an 'okay' sign, letting her know that he was alright for the moment. That being said, Fjorm was always one to agonize over everything and she wasn't buying into his reassurance. She took his left hand, lifted him off the ground and put it around to her left shoulder, "just lean on me. You're safe now".
"Thanks" Kiran acknowledged her help, appreciating the support she was giving him.
"When I received the message from Alfonse, I ran here as fast as I could" she said, slowly helping her friend move to a safe spot.
"Good thing too. Otherwise I would've been chopped meat for sure" Kiran tried to laugh through the pain. Suddenly they heard a scream, as a man fell to the earth from the tower with a knife to his back. From the top, Claude looked over with concern to see if his companion was still alive, only of heave a sigh of relief at the sight of him standing. Grabbing his bow, he quickly made his way down to the two as he ran up to them. "Kiran….?" Fjorm asked nervously, holding on to her lance tightly. "Don't worry, he's alright" Kiran reassured her.
"Are you alright?" he asked with concern on his face.
"More or less" the tactician tried to scoff at the question, doing his best to hold the pain. "That's good to hear, and I take it this lovely lady is a friend of yours?" he smiled at the girl.
"Yes….my name is- "
"No time for formalities now" Kiran interjected, "we gotta help the others first. Then we can chit chat all we want".
The two looked at him with surprise before nodding. "Hate to say it but you've got a point. But let's get you someplace safe first" Claude stated. "He's right. You're in no condition to fight, so let's find a safe for you to rest. Once this is over, we'll pick you up" Fjorm added.
"I'm not gonna argue there. I think I'm gonna take a nap and hope my back feels better" Kiran accepted their proposal without argument. He was always one for tactical withdrawal when it was required, and it wasn't like he was going to be of any help hobbling around. The two found a shady spot underneath a large rock with lots of cover where they placed him in a rested position with his back lying against the rock as they made their way to where the rest of the skirmish was happening.
…..
Meanwhile, on the other side of the skirmish, Jeralt and Byleth had successfully routed out the remaining bandits with only a handful of them alongside their leader remaining. Letting his horse gallop across the field, Jeralt closed the distance between him and the bandit leader as he stood still with a terrified expression on his face. "J-Jeralt the Blade Breaker?! What are you doing here?!"
Jeralt's reaction was that of annoyance as he tightened his grip on his lance as he looked at the brigands. "You tell me. I'm the one who has to clean up the mess you people made". He looked around to see that his son along with the rest of the kids had made it as well. Wasting no time, he snapped his reigns, immediately causing his horse to lunge forward as he pointed his spear at one of the bandits, plunging it straight into his heart.
Not one to waste an opportunity, Edelgard charged ahead, fully intent on taking advantage of the initial shock to land a follow up attack. With her full might she swung her axe and sent an unfortunate thief flying as he was too caught up in the moment to retaliate properly. Unfortunately, that would be the only golden opportunity that they would have since the window for that closed rather quickly as the rest of the ruffians alongside their leader came back to their senses. With their initial fears discarded, the leader led the counterattack as he charged towards Edelgard, raising his axe as he tried to strike her down. The Adrestian Princess raised her own axe up as a means to block the attack, though it only served to snap hers in half as it bore the brunt of the attack. Thankfully, before anything else could happen, Alfonse struck the leader with a backhand from his shield as it sent him tumbling backwards and seemingly knocked out, all the while being oblivious to the surprise gaze that the princess was giving him. Snapping out of her stupor, Edelgard looked at her axe and realized that it was split in half meaning that it was of no use in battle anymore and decided to discard it. "You should fall back. It's too dangerous for you, now that you don't have a weapon anymore" Alfonse looked at her with concern,
"don't worry, we'll handle the rest".
Edelgard was ready to respond to his suggestion, only to refrain herself as she realized that he had a point and she had no room to argue. "Very well" she reluctantly agreed as she watched the blue haired boy run off in another direction to provide support to the mercenary on horseback.
On the eastern side of the field, Anna and Dimitri did their best to hold off their attackers as they outnumbered the duo five to two and attacked as frequently as they could to pressure them. Luckily, help came in the form of an arrow as it struck one of the bandits in the back. With widened eyes, the two looked over to see Claude from a distance with his bow trained in their direction as another girl charged forward. Switching targets, the ruffians ran towards the girl, only for her to flip over them as they looked over and under to see her stand side by side with the other two. "Glad you could join us" Anna smiled as she looked over Fjorm, who smiled back, "likewise, Commander Anna". Dimitri was left puzzled by what he had just seen but was nonetheless pleased to have additional support. The bandits looked on nervously as they realized that the tables had now turned and that they were the ones who were now surrounded on two sides.
The last leg of resistance from the brigands came to a screeching halt as Byleth and Sharena took down what remained of it. With a wide swing, the Askran Princess knocked her enemies back and stunned them, giving Byleth ample time to pick them off one by one rather quickly. Firmly under the belief that this was the last of them, the two let their guards down, oblivious to the dangers of a survivor sneaking up behind them with a sword in hand. Yet before he could even reach the two, an audible scream of pain came from him as a small blade latched onto his back, alerting his enemies to his presence. Byleth wasted no time and dashed forward, plunging his sword onto the ruffian's stomach as he fell to the ground, lifeless.
"Ylgr to the rescue" a small voice proclaimed as she emerged from the forest. "Uh oh" Sharena pondered with worry as Byleth looked at her, scratching his head.
"Do you know her?" he asked.
"I do" she answered with a tired smile as she ran over to the girl. "What are you doing here Ylgr?" she gently asked as she bent down to reach the little girl's level. "Fjorm said she had something really, really, really important to do and told me to wait with the soldiers. But it was sooooooo boooring, so I followed her"
"what will we ever do with you?" Sharena dropped her lance as she placed the palm of her free hand onto her forehead as she let out a deep sigh," anyways, do you know where your sister is, right now?"
"Hmmmm" Ylgr let her eyes wander around as she held her chin, "I think she went over to where Kiran was supposed to be".
"Of course, she would" Sharena said with worry, fearing that Fjorm might do something reckless in the name of repaying her debt to Kiran for his rescue long ago. Still, Sharena could attest to her skills in battle and was confident that she would come out of this unscathed. After all, they had fought over battles worse than this. "Say Ylgr" she said as the Nifl Princess reverted her gaze back to Sharena, "this fight is almost over, so why don't you stick with us until we find your sister?".
Ylgr seemed to be taking time to ponder on that offer before coming up with an answer, "ummm, okay".
'Great" the Askran Princess beamed with joy as she stood upright and picked up her Lance, "just stay close to me, alright?". Ylgr nodded in compliance.
….
As the dust settled, whatever was left of the bandits made a hasty retreat to lick their wounds with their tails between their legs. The skirmish, it seems, was finally over. Suddenly, the bandit leader that had been supposedly knocked out got up, taking both his men and Edelgard, by surprise as he shot a murderous glare at the Adrestian Princess, who was now unarmed save for a small dagger that she drew from her belt to defend herself as the man ran towards her with an axe in hand, screaming. As the man drew nearer, Edelgard readied to defend herself….
…. only for Byleth to step in between her and the ruffian, disarming him and sending back to the ground as his men carried his unconscious body for a hasty retreat.
"Hey over here" the two turned around to see Claude and Dimitri join them, relief on their faces as they saw that their allies were fine. Jeralt too, joined up with them as he rode his horse right next to them, looking at his son with astonishment and slight sense of pride at the skills he displayed.
"Hey…. did you just…."
"Kiran!"
The five looked over to see their new allies gathered up nearby as one of them helped the hooded one walk over with his left arm draped around her shoulders. Sensing that something must be wrong, they went to the strangers who aided them in the hopes of providing any sort of assistance, while nearby, another girl was busy scolding what seemed to be a little girl.
"That was a nasty fall you took there, friend. Are you sure you're okay?" Claude was the most concerned since he was the one who witnessed the whole ordeal.
"Meh, I just…. got the wind knocked out of me. I'll be fine" Kiran nonchalantly replied, yet with way he was talking, it almost sounded like he was exhausted and having difficulty breathing. "You don't have to lie about all of this Kiran" Alfonse argued back, "we know you're hurt. Right Anna?"
"Well…...I've checked on him and it doesn't seem like anything serious. He's just lucky that excruciating pain is the only thing getting from a fall like that. Hopefully, he'll be back on his feet" the redhead answered.
'Wait" Dimitri interrupted, as everyone looked at him, "please correct me if I'am wrong. I heard you call one another Anna and Kiran. Would I correct in assuming, that you are Kiran and Anna from Askr?".
It was a question that left everyone speechless and in stunned silence. But before Alfonse could come up with an answer, an extra pair of feet came running, as the group looked over in worry that there might be more bandits, only to find a group of men in well maintained armors.
"The Knights of Seiros are here! We'll cut you down for terrorizing our students!" one of them boisterously declared, "hey, the thieves are getting away! Go after them!".
The warriors of Askr watched as the knights obeyed the order and ran in the direction of where the bandits retreated. "Oh look, the cavalry's here to save us, just in time as always" Kiran sarcastically quipped as he rested on the ground.
"Pardon me, but did he just say that he was part of the knights of Seiros?" Alfonse asked the three lords as they looked at each other. "That would be correct. Why?" Dimitri was the first one to speak up.
Alfonse looked at the all the faces of his companions before staring back at Dimitri, "well…..." he hesitated momentarily, "you were right in your assumptions: we are from Askr". He looked over to see Fjorm with Ylgr as they watched closely, "at least the four of us here".
"My sister and I are from Nifl" Fjorm interjected.
The three lords were taken aback by the answer, before Edelgard spoke up, "do you mean to tell us that you're the royal emissaries from Askr and Nifl?"
"How did you know about all of this?" Alfonse questioned her with wary eyes.
But before she could give out her answers, the Knights had arrived as one of them got closer and inspected the group, looking over to Dimitri, Edelgard and Claude. "You all seemed to be unharmed. But just to be safe, is anyone of you injured?"
"There is. I have a friend here who needs help" Alfonse came up to him as the man was caught with a look of surprise. "Oh, and who might you be?" he asked.
"There's something I need to discuss with you sir" he turned around to look over his group before returning his gaze back to him, "in private".
"Umm…very well?" the man looked visibly confused but decided to accept his request anyways. "And who is this…is that…. Captain Jeralt?!" he looked over to the mercenary.
"Ugh…...why him?" Jeralt rolled his eyes as he let out a groan. The man seemed to barely register the response as he joyfully made his way towards him, "By the Goddess, it's been ages since I last saw you. Don't you recognize me? It's me, Alois! Your old right-hand man! Well, that's how I always thought of myself anyways".
"Everyone said that you were gone for good, but I always knew you were alive" Alois joyfully continued.
Jeralt looked like he was about to have the biggest headache of his life as he sighed, "ugh…. Alois. Just as loud as ever. And drop that 'captain' nonsense. I'm not a knight anymore, I'm a mercenary. One who has work to do. Goodbye old friend."
"Right…. goodbye, Captain", Jeralt felt relieved when he heard that. Though, it would seem he had spoken too soon, as Alois seemed to have suddenly changed his mind as he cried out, ""Wait! This isn't how it should end! I insist that you return with us to the monastery!"
"Garreg Mach Monastery" Jeralt muttered with a dour face as he sighed, resigning to his fate, "I suppose it was inevitable".
Alois looked over to the young man standing next him, scanning him before asking, "and you must be Captain Jeralt's son, Yes?"
"Yes "with a slight hesitation, Byleth nodded with an answer.
"Besides the difference in outward features, I can see that you are your father's son as if cut from the same cloth. In that case, I would also like for you join us to the monastery as well", Alois said. Byleth himself couldn't come up with an answer, except to look at his father who shook his head in defeat.
"Alright, alright. We'll go if you stop pulling our leg. Even I know better than to cross the Knights of Seiros. But can we discuss this somewhere…...private" Jeralt gave his answer.
"Excellent!" Alois was beaming with joy, "let us go discuss matters more discreetly. And you too, young man, you said you wanted to chat with me, yes?"
"Of course, I'll follow your lead" Alfonse said, following behind the other two. Leaving Byleth all by himself.
The knights of Seiros…They do seem rather skilled
The familiar voice alerted Byleth to her presence, as he frantically looked around to see where she was.
It matters not where I'am right now, for it seems your presence is required.
He certainly couldn't argue with that as he saw the nobles (at least the first three that he met were, he wasn't sure about the others yet though they didn't look like ordinary peasants either), were eagerly waiting for him.
…
As Byleth and the three lords chatted with one another, Kiran and the others looked on keenly, as if trying to hear the conversation. "Hey Kiran, what do you think they're talking about?" Sharena asked, sitting next to him. "Beats me," Kiran shrugged his shoulder, "but the way they're looking at him, tells me that they're really interested in him".
"I can't blame them. You should've seen him fight Kiran, he's really good" Sharena said with a smile.
"I could say the same thing about them too. It's clear that they're no ordinary people" Anna added, standing guard beside Kiran.
"From the way they dress, my guess is that they're nobility of some sorts" Fjorm approached them with Ylgr in tow, as they all looked at her.
"And combined with the way they fought; it does add weight to that theory" Anna admitted.
"Or… hear this out" Kiran spoke up, "we could just ask them since they're coming over here with Mr. Blank Stare who's really good at fighting".
True to his word, the four did come over to them again, possibly to pick up on where the left off in the previous conversation between each other before the Knights showed up.
"Pardon the intrusion, but I haven't had the chance to properly thank you all for your assistance. It was not my intention to leave you all out here like this. And for that, I feel terribly ashamed" Dimitri said apologetically.
"I concur. You all have proven yourselves to be capable warriors. I would be doing myself a disservice if I did not at least thank you all for risking your lives for us" Edelgard chimed in.
"Same here. I'm just glad to know that the people of Askr and Nifl are this selfless. I mean, you did say you all were from Askr and Nifl, right?" Claude addressed.
"Yup" Sharena answered cheerily, "oh and off the record? I'm not supposed to say this but some of us are really royalty!"
"You just broke the rule by telling them what you weren't supposed to tell them!" Anna grumbled as she looked at the Askran Princess with irritation.
"Oh…..." Sharena's eyes widened at the realization of what she had done, "oops. Sorry".
The three of them went silent as Byleth stood back and watched before Claude spoke up, "that does make a lot of sense. If the two of you are Anna and Kiran, then that would make you, Princess Sharena, right?"
"Correct!" Sharena cheerfully noted as Anna and Kiran sighed in defeat while Edelgard looked over to the two Niflese Princesses, "and you said that the two of you are from Nifl right? So that would make you Fjorm and Ylgr".
The two sisters stared at the Adrestian Princess, almost dumbfounded, "that is actually correct. I didn't think so many people would know about us so quickly".
"Well…there is something you all should know, and I believe it to be fair compensation for risking your lives for us" Edelgard pressed her lips as her audience waited for her reply, "the three of us are students of the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery. I'am Edelgard Von Hresvelg, - "
"Daughter of King Ionius IX and future Emperor of the Adrestian Empire" everyone looked over to see Alfonse walk over to them, with a small owl sitting on his shoulder while Jeralt and Alois followed behind.
"Feh!" young Ylgr shouted as she happily ran over to Alfonse to see the owl. The owl flew from the shoulders of the Askran prince and gently landed over the head of the Nifl princess, almost carefully so as to not let its' talons hurt her head as she rested on it.
"And that means you are Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. Son of King Lambert Egitte Blaiddyd and future ruler of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus" he said looking over the blonde prince before looking over to Claude, "which means you, are Claude Von Reigan".
"Heir apparent to House Reigan and future Duke of the Leicester Alliance. Guilty as charged" Claude finished the sentence as he rested his hands on the back of his head, "And that would mean, you're Alfonse. THE Prince Alfonse König, correct?".
"That is correct!" Alois stated as the Askran Prince nodded. "And the three young ladies over there are Princess Sharena, Princess Fjorm and Princess Ylgr"
"Actually, we are quite familiar with their names already, as well as the other two" Edelgard bluntly replied.
"Ah. I see, then it should save us the trouble of having to introduce ourselves over and over again" Alois took it in stride at what Edelgard had said.
"I've already introduced myself to Alfonse over here, but…. might as well do it again. My name is Jeralt Eisner and this is my son, Byleth" Jeralt stated while Byleth gave a swift bow before everyone else nodded before turning their attention to Alfonse again.
"It's alright. I've confirmed everything" Alfonse reassured as everyone kept looking at him, "Anna, notify the troops and bring them over here".
"Oh well, isn't this just a perfect coincidence that everyone of us just conveniently met each other here" Kiran quipped as he slowly got up with Sharena's help. "Well, I think it's a good coincidence since we get to meet so many new friends so quickly!" she replied to Kiran, a bright smile on her face.
"As you wish" the redhead said as she raced back in the direction of the village while Alfonse went over to Fjorm, "You should do the same Fjorm. I'll look keep an eye on Ylgr in the meantime"
"Thank you" the Niflese Princess said, walking towards her little sister who was still busy playing with the owl, "Ylgr, behave yourself, alright? I'll return shortly".
"Fine" Ylgr grumbled, "but don't take too long".
"You had troops and you didn't think to bring them here to help?" Claude furrowed his brows as he asked Alfonse.
"We couldn't risk shedding blood on Fodlan soil, at least not without express permission or a scenario where we can state that it was purely for self-defense. The six of us can at least speak for ourselves and make a strong case should judgement come to pass, but ordinary soldiers can't, that's why I asked them to stand near the village and intervene should the worst come to pass" the blue haired prince explained.
"I see. Such responsibilities certainly seem to put you in a precious position. Isn't that so?" Dimitri said, placing a hand on his chin.
Alfonse looked behind to see Anna arriving with the Askran soldiers while Fjorm did the same from the other side. "Yes. Though, perhaps we should chat more about it later."
"I couldn't agree more. We should trade stories on the way to the monastery" the Reigan heir suggested.
"This will certainly be an interesting journey" Edelgard informed.
"Indeed" Dimitri acknowledged.
"Alright. Enough chit chat, let's get going" Jeralt ordered, before walking towards Kiran, a slight look of concern on his face "heard it was a nasty fall you got yourself into. Can you walk?"
"I'll live. Just need to stay on my horse for now" the tactician answered.
"Suit yourself. Just don't fall asleep in case you have a concussion, then you might not wake up for a long time" the blade breaker warned.
"I know, I know. Thanks anyway" Kiran gratefully replied as Sharena started leading him to his steed. Alfonse and the three lords alongside Byleth and Jeralt did the same, leaving only Ylgr to be tended to by Alois.
"And what about you, your little Highness? Care for a ride with a Knight of Seiros? I can show you around Fódlan" Alois offered as he extended a hand.
The young princess eyes glistened as she looked at him, "are we going on a big, big, big adventure!?"
"A short one, yes. I wouldn't want to give your sister cause to worry about you" he answered.
"Okay. Let's go" she nonchalantly stated as Feh flapped her wings and flew towards Alfonse. The boisterous knight led the little princess to his steed, where he lifted her up and placed her in the saddle first before climbing up himself. "Now hold on tight, your little Ylgr" Alois said, to which Ylgr answered by holding onto the horn of the saddle. With everyone ready to depart, Alois gave the all clear for the other Knights to led the way in escorting their new guest as they made their way into Garreg Mach Monastery.
And then it happened,
"So, you're a Knight, right? Do you fight for a King and a Queen? My father and other mother used to rule my homeland. It's sooo cold out there. Is it cold too in Fódlan? I hope not. Do you have a warm place here like in Enbarr….?"
Ylgr was talking faster than the seconds Alois required to register them and come up with an answer. He tried his best but it was a difficult. He looked over to see some of the people from Askr giving him a snickering laugh while Princess Fjorm gave him a look of pity. He was visibly confused as to why they were doing that, for little did he know what he had just gotten himself into, and it was going to be a long ride.
Note:
For those of you who've noticed that I've altered Kiran's summoning ability, I want to give reasons for why I did it. Before that, I wanted to let you all know that I did put up a warning in the first chapter that I would be altering a lot of things and that it might not be your cup of tea. And for that, I again apologize, but this is the route I wanted to take. Anyways, here are the reasons why changed it:
1. It's way too powerful – the fact that he can not only summon characters from other fire emblem series but also have complete control over them, kinda makes Breidablik broken. It'd be especially worse if he brought in someone like Tiki, Naga or Grima of all people, since they'd end the plot right then and there.
2. As hilarious as it would be to have all powerful beings like Sutr or Kings like Zephiel attend Garreg Mach and serve as Kiran's bodyguard, it also feels out of place like they're uninvited guests who just tagged along. Now imagine bringing in an army of those, and they're just wouldn't be enough space left. Also, it's not the tone I'm trying to go for in my story.
3. Speaking of space, Three Houses already has a cast of 24 characters each with their own personalities, motivations and goals with several unique supports. And that's just from the three main houses. Bring in the Church of Serios, TWSITD, characters from the Empire, Kingdom and Alliance alongside with foreign nations and it's already a huge cast as it is while simultaneously trying to create unique interactions and supports for the 6 characters from Zenith and it's a huge workload for me. If I started bringing in summoned characters from other FE games, each with their own personalities, then it'd just be too much for me.
4. There's actually a class called the Summoner in Sacred Stones. It's a promotion of the Shaman class and divergent of the Druid class and Knoll and Ewan can make use of this class. Much like Kiran, the summoner class can summon beings to fight on its behalf though they are generally weak. They also supposedly have abysmal health and zero points in strength, meaning they're meant for support roles and for players who want to take their time and use more tactical maneuvers to win the rounds, which is perfect for a Tactician from Askr. Don't worry, I won't completely underpower him but I'm also going to try to make sure he doesn't become some sort of unstoppable god either.
Anyways, that's about it for my explanation, I hope you enjoy it regardless and do let me know what you think. On a lighter note, who do you think is going to join which house and why?