Chapter II: Tol Castell, Part II

Tol Castell was sighted on the fourth day. To call it an island was something of an exaggeration- it was little more than a worn grey stone rising from the sea, with just barely enough space to build on. The ship came upon Tol Castell late, when the sun was just beginning to descend toward the western horizon. At Uther's request, the captain dropped anchor a distance away from the island, to better assess the situation.

Julius stood at the bow of the ship, watching the island through a spyglass. Uther and the others stood by, waiting for the priest to say something. After a few moments, he lowered the spyglass and looked back. "It seems the reports from the navy were accurate. I counted five soldiers in all." Julius held out the spyglass. "Have a look for yourself, Captain."

Uther stepped forward, and for several moments, he too watched the island in silence. "No doubt about it," he said, lowering the spyglass. "Browns."

The island had no dock, so the group was forced to clamber into a small boat, and row the rest of the way. As he and Gwin rowed, Quinn asked. "So, what should we do? Do we have to fight them?"

"Let me talk to them first," Uther said. "Bannon and Burgundy rarely see eye-to-eye, but even so, it would be best to resolve this through diplomacy."

The boat landed on a small beach of black sand on the southern edge of the island. Directly ahead of them was the fortress; on its right, a tall stone spire rose from the center of the isle. On the left, small waves lapped against the fortress's walls. The fortress itself had no gate separating it from the outside- merely a large, empty arch set into the outer wall. The ground beneath their feet was barren, save for small patches of a strange yellow-green lichen.

Then, he saw them. Within the fortress, peering out from behind the stone walls, were men. They were mostly hidden, and there were only a few, but he could see that they wore light armor of leather atop tunics colored a deep wine red. Quinn glanced over. "Miss Ingrid," he whispered.

"I see them," she answered quietly.

Uther stepped forward, away from the group, stopping about fifteen peds from the arch. He stabbed his spear into the ground, and shouted, "Soldiers of Burgundy! I am Uther Maybury, Captain of the Guard of Bannon! Your presence in this garrison is an unlawful incursion upon Bannish territory, as agreed upon by the Treaty of Palomides! By the authority of His Majesty, Oswald IV, you are ordered to leave this fortress immediately!"

His voice echoed across the small isle. But no one moved- the soldiers peering out remained hidden. Warily, Quinn began to reach for the axe hanging from his belt, when one of the soldiers emerged from behind the arch- a thin man, with long black hair. He was gaunt, trembling, with sunken eyes- he looked as though he hadn't eaten or slept in days. With shaking legs, he approached Uther. "M-My lord," he stammered. "You… must understand, we didn't come here by choice. We're… shipwreck survivors! And this is the only land for milia around! Where in Aurea were we supposed to go!?"

Quinn could see Uther's hand tighten around the shaft of his lance. "Shipwreck survivors, you say?" the captain asked. "There have been no storms sighted over the Ronde Sea recently. Tell me- what was the name of your vessel? Where did she launch from? What was her destination?"

The soldier stammered. "U-Uh…"

Then…

The world froze.

All at once, the color seemed to drain out of everything. The soldier fell silent, as did the sound of waves on the nearby shore. All became still, and as silent as a tomb.

"Huh?" Quinn's voice echoed strangely in this silent world. He quickly looked to Ingrid, and tugged on her arm. "M-Miss Ingrid, what's going on!?"

She didn't answer. She didn't look at him. In fact, she didn't move at all. He pushed against her as hard as he could, but Ingrid refused to budge, as if she were a statue. The others were similarly unresponsive.

Quinn looked around. Above him, a bird hung in a grey sky, motionless, as if hanging on an invisible string. In the nearby sea, a wave was frozen mid-swell. Everything was still quiet, with only the echo of his breath. "What… what's happening?" he asked. He looked down at himself- why was he the only one unaffected? Then, on his hand, he saw a blue light. Three years had passed since he last saw it, but he identified it in an instant.

His Ring… it was glowing.

But at that moment, he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He looked up, to the top of the fort's wall, where there was something that hadn't been there before: a soldier, with a bow in his hand. He crouched as he walked, as if trying to avoid being seen. He hid behind a parapet, pulled an arrow from his quiver, and took aim for a moment… before releasing it.

The bowstring whipped the air, and there was a brief whoosh sound as the arrow flew… before it struck Uther right in the forehead. Quinn gasped as Uther fell back, blood streaming from his wound…

And then, the world moved forward again.

Color returned. Uther was on his feet again, unharmed. And the soldier in front of Uther was still stammering, "We were…"

Then, Quinn saw the archer stand up atop the wall. The archer hid behind a parapet, nocked an arrow, and drew back the string…

"Captain!" Quinn didn't wait- he rushed forward, and shoved Uther to the side with all his might.

Uther stumbled- only a few steps, but it was enough. Quinn heard the bowstring whip forward, the arrow flying through the air… and a small snap when the arrow struck the ground, and broke in half. Uther turned, a mix of surprise and anger on his face, but it vanished when he saw the arrow, and then the archer.

For a moment, everyone stood frozen. Then the soldier closest to Uther shouted "Dammit!" and began running back to the fort.

He didn't make it. Within seconds, Uther readied his spear, and threw it with all his might at the retreating soldier. It pierced through his back with ease, and the soldier fell. He whistled- his horse galloped to his side, and within moments, he mounted his steed. "You'll pay for your deceit with your blood!" he roared. "Chaaaaaarge!" And with a snap of his reins, Uther rushed into the fort, yanking his spear from the soldier's corpse as he passed.

"Let's go, Julius!" Gwin called, and he galloped after Uther, with Julius following in his wake. Quinn didn't wait, either. He grabbed the axe hanging from his belt, and ran into the fort.

He passed through the arch just in time to see Uther run a red-clad soldier through with his lance, at the far end of the fort. On the right, Gwin circled around a second soldier, looking for an opening, as the soldier kept him at bay with a few short thrusts of his spear. A third soldier emerged from the far left, and began to charge at Gwin from his blind spot.

For a moment, Quinn froze… but it was only for a moment. He wasn't the boy he had been that day in the woods three years ago. He'd trained for countless hours, suffered bruises and cuts beyond number to ensure that day would never happen again, to repay the debt he owed to Miss Ingrid.

He ran forward, axe in hand, and stopped in the soldier's path. "Hold it!" he shouted.

The soldier stumbled to a stop- it seemed he was so focused on Gwin he hadn't noticed Quinn arrive. But without hesitation, he drew back his spear, and thrust it at Quinn. Quinn darted to the side- he was… surprised by how easily he avoided the blow. But now he had the advantage. Before the soldier could pull back his spear, Quinn raised his axe, and chopped through the wooden shaft. The iron head fell to the ground, and the soldier withdrew, looking down at his broken weapon with surprise.

Quinn pointed his axe at the soldier. "Stand down!" he ordered.

But the soldier didn't stand down. Instead, he pulled back the shaft, preparing for an overhead swing.

He never finished it. A white blur rushed past Quinn, and without a moment of hesitation, Ingrid stabbed her sword into the soldier's left side. He let out a pained breath, and the shaft fell from his hands, before he too collapsed.

Ingrid looked back at him without a word, a cold expression on her face. But before either of them could say anything, the familiar sound of a bowstring whipping the air came to Quinn's ear. There was no time to react to it. All he could do was watch as an arrow came down from somewhere behind him, and struck Ingrid's shoulder. She cried out- her sword fell from her hand, and she dropped to her knee, her right arm swaying limply.

"Miss Ingrid!"

Quinn dropped his axe. The Ring on his finger flashed- black scales erupted from beneath his skin, covering his arm. And something that wasn't Quinn snapped its attention behind it, to the archer atop the wall. With blinding speed, it turned and clambered up the stone wall, leaving deep gouges in its wake. The archer was there- he staggered back, fumbling as he reached for another arrow. But the beast grabbed the man by the neck, before smashing him into a nearby parapet headfirst. He pulled back, and slammed the soldier into the stone again. And again. With each blow, the stone cracked, and the red smear left behind grew larger, and larger. Until with one final blow, the man's head exploded like an overripe fruit, splattering the wall and the beast with soft chunks of red and white.

The beast stared down at the corpse, growling. But then, he grabbed his wrist, and breathed deeply, trying to remember what Professor Isaac had told him. He tried to clear his mind, to concentrate on imagining himself as he was. The beast's breathing slowed, and gradually, the light from his Ring began to fade. The scales retracted, the light went out… and Quinn was himself once more.

Quinn stood, clutching his wrist, breathing heavily. It happened again. As hard as Professor Isaac and Ingrid had tried… Ingrid…

Ingrid…

"Ingrid!" Quinn jumped down and rushed back to Ingrid's side. "Ingrid are you alright?" he asked, mostly out of reflex. It was obvious she wasn't- the arrow was still embedded in her shoulder, and a large part of her sleeve was already stained a dark red. He reached out to her, but stopped. What could he do? He wasn't a healer- despite his and Professor Isaac's best efforts, his forays into magic had been met with middling success at best.

But before he could say or do anything else, Julius ran toward them. "It will be alright, Quinn. Please step back." Quinn did. Julius glanced at Ingrid's injury briefly, before he said, "I can mend this. I won't lie to you, though- this will be exceptionally painful."

Ingrid took a few short breaths, and gritted her teeth. "Do it."

Julius gave a small nod, before he gripped the shaft of the arrow, and pulled.

Ingrid screamed in pain. It was a sound Quinn had never heard her make. A sound he didn't think a human being could make. But, Julius pulled out the bloodsoaked arrow, and without delay, he held up a staff to Ingrid's shoulder. A white light began to shine from the crystal at the top, and Ingrid's wound… began to close. The skin, and the red flesh beneath began to weave together, as though an invisible needle was sewing them back together. After a moment, the wound was gone, a small dent in Ingrid's skin the only evidence it had ever existed at all.

Julius let out a breath, and removed his glasses, wiping his face with his sleeve. "There," he said. "That should hold for now."

Ingrid brought up her arm, flexing her fingers. But then, Uther shouted, "Everyone, to me!" Julius and Ingrid fell in- after retrieving his axe, Quinn followed.

Once everyone had gathered at the middle of the fort, Uther dismounted. "Alright, we've dealt with the first wave, but we need to sweep the fort to make sure we got all of them," the captain said. "We'll split into two groups." He looked at Quinn. "Quinn, come with me. Julius, Gwin, Ingrid, you take that side." He pointed to the west side of the fort.

"Got it, Boss," Gwin replied, and his group went to the far side.

Quinn followed Uther to the eastern side. There, a wooden door was set into the wall. "I'll take the lead," Uther said. "You watch our flanks."

Quinn nodded. "Right." He wasn't sure what flanks were, but he would be sure to keep watch for any more soldiers. Uther nodded, before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

Uther and Quinn moved through the dark interior of the fortress slowly, searching room by room. Quinn gripped his axe tightly, expecting that at any moment, another soldier lying in ambush would spring out at them from the darkness. But, they were alone. The rooms were all empty, save for mountains of dust, cobwebs, and the musk of decayed wood.

They reached the last room- a wide room with a long, decayed table in the middle. It, like the others, was devoid of life. "This room's empty, too," Quinn said. "I think we got all of them." Uther didn't answer. Quinn looked over. "Captain?"

To this, Uther did reply. But it was something Quinn didn't at all expect:

"Son… what the hell was that?"

Quinn choked. He didn't think anyone other than Ingrid had seen. For a moment, he didn't answer. Then, he replied, "It was… my Ring. I have a Ring of Power." He held up his hand, revealing the black-and-silver ring. Quinn sensed that Uther was like Ingrid- he was the sort of person who would see through any of his lies with ease.

For a long while, Uther said nothing. Eventually though, he said, "…I see. The Order's request to resolve this matter suddenly makes a great deal more sense." Uther turned around. "…We should head back. The others should have finished their search by now."

After a minute, Uther and Quinn left the darker fort's interior. The sky outside was now stained a deep orange, and the other half of the group was already waiting for them outside the door. "Anything?" Uther asked.

"No, Captain," Julius replied, adjusting his glasses. "I believe that was all of them."

"I did find something though, Boss" Gwin said, and held out a small roll of parchment. "You might wanna have a look."

Uther unrolled the note, and silently read it for several moments. "Mutineers," he finally said, tucking away the parchment. "We'll need to pass this on to the Burgundian consulate. Regardless of their crimes, Burgundy has no right to abandon their refuse on our soil."

"What should we do now, Boss?" Gwin asked.

Uther looked around the fort for a few moments. "Gwin… help me gather the bodies. Julius, gather up anything that we can burn."

Julius blinked, and looked to Uther. "Captain?"

Uther crossed his arms over his chest. "They may have been our enemy, and they most certainly wouldn't have extended us the same courtesy, but the least we can do is send them off with some dignity."

Julius was quiet for a moment, before saying, "Very well. I've never had to perform them, but as an ordained priest, I can perform their last rites as well."

Silence fell as the soldiers went their separate ways, to carry out their assigned tasks. Quinn watched them in silence, until Ingrid stepped forward. "We should give the others a hand," she said.

Quinn turned his gaze downward, to the body of one of the dead soldiers. "I wish things didn't have to come to this," he said sadly.

"Whether it is your allies or your enemies, death is inevitable truth one will encounter on the battlefield" Ingrid said. "It is a hard truth, but the harshest lessons are often the most necessary ones."

"But-"

Ingrid took hold of Quinn's shoulders, and turned him, so they were face-to-face. "Earlier, you hesitated. That hesitation could lead to the death of your comrades, perhaps even your own." Her grip tightened. "Quinn, you have to be prepared to kill your enemy. Showing your enemy mercy does not guarantee that they will show mercy to you." She tilted her head slightly. "You understand that, don't you?"

Quinn swallowed, and nodded. "I understand, Miss Ingrid."

She dropped her gaze slightly. "I know you don't have the experience that I do. But even so, when you agreed to join the Order, you understood that part of your responsibilities was handling situations like… this. It may not be pleasant, but you agreed to it all the same."

Quinn nodded again. "I know."

Ingrid was quiet for a long moment, before saying, "I know I shouldn't say this now. But, it does get easier." Her hands fell from his shoulders, and she left to help the others.

Quinn understood Ingrid's words. But even so, these soldiers were human beings. They weren't just obstacles to be surmounted, but people, with loved ones, things that they wanted to achieve, or to protect. He understood that both he and an enemy couldn't both get what they wanted. But even so, taking another's life… was not something that should be easy, Quinn thought. After all, if he no longer saw his enemies as human, as nothing more than objects stopping him from getting what he wanted… then, couldn't he see his allies the same way? As nothing more than tools, to be used to achieve his goals?

And if he didn't see the value in others' lives, beyond how they could benefit or harm him…

Then what separated him from a man like Foreman?

It does get easier. Ingrid's words echoed in Quinn's mind. He clenched his fist, and replied darkly, mostly to himself:

"…It shouldn't."

Night soon fell. The Guild ship remained anchored just offshore, the navigator unwilling to set sail in the darkness. So, Quinn and the others chose to camp in the fortress.

Quinn climbed up the steps leading to the top of the fortress's outer wall. The light from their fire, and the few torches they'd managed to gather, did little to drive back the darkness, and Quinn took his steps with care. The air was still thick with the scent of burned fat and skin. Above, the black sky was dotted with the faint light of innumerable stars.

Waiting atop the fortress wall was Ingrid, looking out over the dark sea. She'd removed her cap, and undone the tight bun hidden beneath- her hair was longer than he'd expected, reaching midway down her back. She'd removed her coat, too, revealing the black, long-sleeved shirt she wore beneath. It was so strange to see her out of uniform, if only partly- in all the time Quinn had known her, he couldn't think of any instances where he had before now.

Ingrid glanced over, but only for a moment. "Did you need something, Quinn?"

Quinn leaned on the wall, next to Ingrid. "Can I ask you something? It's… something I wanted to ask you for a while now."

"Certainly. As long as it isn't too personal a question."

Quinn paused for a moment. "Well, it's about your name."

Ingrid looked at Quinn, furrowing her brow. "My… name?"

"Well, yeah," Quinn replied, nodding. "It's much different from the names of most of the people I've met. It doesn't sound Bannish at all."

"That's because it isn't." She looked out over the wall, to the dark sea. "I'm originally from Hessen. I was trained in the Order's branch headquarters in Corburg, before Mother Agnes personally selected me to serve as her Inquisitor."

"Huh? There's a Corburg branch?" he asked. "But, Professor Isaac said the Order didn't have any branches outside of Bannon anymore."

"The Hessian branch is the last. At its peak, the Order had strongholds in every nation in Aurea. But after Kherson attacked the stronghold in Sythia, Fort Felhold, the Order dissolved most of the other branches and transferred their personnel and resources to the Abbey in Tristan."

Quinn touched his chin in thought. "Professor Isaac never said anything about that…"

Ingrid looked over. "I'm rather surprised to hear that. I was under the impression Master Isaac gave you a comprehensive education." She narrowed her eyes. "I do hope you weren't squandering the opportunity Mother Agnes gave you."

Quinn flinched beneath Ingrid's cold gaze. "I-I wasn't…"

"Oh really?" She turned to him, arms clasped behind her back, expression stern. "Then I'm sure you won't mind if I tested your knowledge."

Quinn stammered, "U-Uh, I- well, that's…" He shrank. "Please have mercy."

Author's Notes:

Uther- Uther is one of the many characters that was created after the original story concept was reworked into its current iteration. Uther was originally inspired by Uther Pendragon of Arthurian mythology, and his appearance was inspired by another Uther, from the Warcraft series. Although he's royalty, he doesn't fit the traditional role of Lord for the story- in fact, no characters fits into that archetype. Rather, he would be the obligatory crutch character, being first inspired by Frederick from Awakening (and by extension, his inspiration, Oifey). Would be voiced by Jamieson Price if he had a voice actor.

Gwin- A lot of the characters in the story, especially those created after the story's revision into an FE story, were made to fill roles analogous to those held by the cast of Fire Emblem Awakening, the first FE game I really played. And Gwin is one of those characters. Gwin takes inspiration from Stahl , mainly in his easygoing personality, and his cooking skills, though he takes his name and a few elements of his appearance from Gwin of Xenoblade Chronicles X (a lot of characters take inspiration in some form from characters from the Xenoblade games, so get used to seeing that name a lot). Like Stahl, he's the Abel analogue, though unlike many Cain-Abel pairs, the Cain-Abel pairing in this story are actual siblings- Gwin is the younger sibling, in this case. Would be voiced by Sam Riegel if he were voiced.
As a sidenote, the awkwardness of Quinn and Gwin having names that rhyme was unintentional. Gwin was made when Quinn still had the name "Reese."

Julius- Julius was one of the first characters to be created after the story was reworked into a Fire Emblem story. Julius was also the first character who was inspired by another Fire Emblem character- in his case, he takes his inspiration from Miriel from Awakening, being a very articulate magic-user who has difficulties connecting to his comrades. He also has a few superficial similarities to Jade Curtiss from Tales of the Abyss, mainly in his appearance. Julius was also the beginning of a trend in the story- whereas most healers throughout the FE games are typically female, all the named healers that appear in the story are male. In terms of archetypes, although he's the first healer, he doesn't really fit the archetypes left by Wrys or Lena. Ideally would be voiced by Kirk Thornton.
Incidentally, he has no connection with the character from Genealogy of the Holy War, who was also named Julius.

Bannon- The home nation for the first group of protagonist, and thus the story's "good" nation. Analogous to Great Britain, it's the only nation in Aurea not named after a historical kingdom or region of Europe. It has an animosity with the France analogue, Burgundy, and most of the major settlements in both Bannon and Burgundy are named after various figures in Aurthurian mythology- this was actually unintentional, but after noticing it, I decided to run with it. Has nothing to do with Steve Bannon. I just liked how the name sounded.

The Calendar- The world Aurea is set on has a much different calendar than Earth. There are only 354 days per year, spread over 10 months, and only six days per week. The months are as follows, with the number of days in each month: Narwain (32), Echuir (33), Viresse (36), Lithe (34), Enderi (40), Mede (37), Halimath (35), Ivanneth (36), Narbeleth (36), and Ringa (35). The days of the week are Minyare, Tatyare, Nelyare, Canteare, Lemenyare, and Enqueare.