Chapter IV: Initiation

Viresse 19, 706

Loud knocking jolted Quinn awake. His room was dark, and no light could be seen in the window by his bed. After taking a few breaths to calm his racing heart, he asked out loud, "…who is it?"

"It's me," Ingrid replied, pushing the door open. In the dark, he couldn't actually see her- just a vague shape in the darkened doorway. "Get dressed. We need to leave."

Quinn sat up in his bed slowly, his body stiff. "'Leave?' Where are we going? It's still dark outside."

"The castle," she replied bluntly. "Today's the day of the ceremony. Everyone else is already awake."

Quinn let out a long breath, and climbed out of bed. "Alright. I'm gonna need a minute."

Almost the moment Quinn was dressed, Ingrid led him from the Abbey's north wing toward the audience chamber. He was surprised that even at this hour, white-and-silver robed initiates were already roaming about. Though as they walked, he noticed the sword hanging on Ingrid's belt. "Uh, Miss Ingrid? If we're going to the castle, I don't think you can bring that in with you."

"It's alright," she replied. "The Order has been granted special permission to keep their arms in the king's presence."

When Ingrid pushed open the audience chamber doors and stepped inside, Quinn saw that indeed, everyone was already there, waiting: Mother Agnes, Evangelyne and her three retainers, Isaac, Gail and Malcolm, and the two Archons Isaac introduced him to- Orion and Yonah. The masked man from the library stood at Yonah's side, but Orion stood alone.

All eyes fell on Quinn as he and Ingrid entered. "Oh, you," Yonah said. "You're, uh… Kris, right?"

Gail groaned, and stumbled over to Quinn, wrapping her arms around his back. "Quinn, 'm cold," she mumbled. "Warm me up." Gail looked terrible- there were dark patches under her eyes, and her uniform was in disarray, with buttons unfastened and her shirt only half-tucked in.

Flustered, Quinn put his hands on her shoulders and tried to push her away gently. "Ah- Gail, get off! Everyone's looking!"

Gail didn't comply. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him tighter and pressed her face against his chest, letting out a muffled moan.

"You should be thankful, Gail," Isaac said. "The cold will help keep you awake."

"I don' wanna be awake," she moaned, her voice muffled by Quinn's clothes. "This hour's not meant to be seen by human eyes."

Quinn gave Gail's shoulder one last push, but she refused to let go. "Good to know at least one thing hasn't changed while I was away," he said. In the three years he'd studied alongside her, not once had Gail ever come to a morning lesson on time. Quinn could only imagine the efforts Professor Isaac and Malcolm had taken to rouse her on this morning.

"Excellent, everyone's finally here," Mother Agnes called. Everyone looked to the throne at the far end of the room, where the white-haired woman was seated. "But before we leave, I would like to say one thing: In the castle, we are all but guests of King Oswald, invited at his pleasure. As such, I would ask that all of you conduct yourselves in a manner befitting representatives of the Order." She then stood, and stepped down from the platform. "Now, let us be off."

Mother Agnes left the audience chamber, with the others following close behind. All except for Quinn and Gail. Quinn looked down at the girl who was still clinging to him. "Gail, let go. Everyone's leaving."

Gail's only reply was a faint snore.

He put his hand on her shoulder and shook her slightly. "Gail." No answer. "Gail. Wake up. I'm not carrying you." Still no answer. He sighed, before shifting so he could carry Gail on his back.

Gail laughed faintly as Quinn looped his arms under her legs. "Oh Vincent, you're so bold."

"You're lucky you're so light, Gail," Quinn replied, trying to ignore Gail's strange comment.

Quinn followed the rest of the group through the Abbey, and out into the street. As he did, he saw Evangelyne begin falling behind the others, until she began walking alongside him. "You know," she said, "I'm all for sweeping women off their feet, but I have the decency to do it while they're conscious."

"Good morning to you too, Evangelyne," Quinn replied without looking over. Although they had interacted only a few times now, Quinn had quickly discovered that the best way to avoid Evangelyne's teasing was to simply not react to it. Eventually, she would get bored and either move to bother someone else or state her business.

The blonde woman looked at Gail. "It's strange to see you being so intimate with a woman other than Ingrid. You didn't strike me as the type to play around, but I've been surprised before." Her ever-present smile faltered for a moment. "I might just have to keep my promise you know."

"We're not like that," Quinn replied firmly. He shuddered slightly though, as Gail mumbled something and tightened her grip on him. "Gail just has… a little trouble getting up in the morning."

Evangelyne simply stared at him in silence.

"Well okay, a lot of trouble," he added. "But since you're here, there's something I wanted to ask you. This ceremony today… you've been to one before, right?"

Evangelyne put her hands behind her head as she walked. "Oh yeah, I've been to plenty of them."

"What are they like?"

"Oh don't worry, you won't have to make a speech or anything. We go up to the castle, the king and Mother Agnes say a few words, and you get to wave to an adoring public."

Quinn looked over, surprised. "That's it?"

"That's it." Evangelyne began to speed up. "Really, it's not a big deal. Everything will go just fine."

Quinn wasn't sure what to expect from Castle Tristan. After all, he'd never been to a castle. Stories described them as impregnable, richly decorated, and filled with treasures beyond value. But after entering the castle's keep, the best word he could use to describe it was… austere. In truth, it wasn't much different from the Abbey, with the halls made mostly of bare stone and wood. The few decorations Quinn saw were restricted to tapestries or portraits, depicting scenes and people unknown to him, or simply Bannon's flag.

Upon arriving, the group was met by a white-haired man in a black suit- the steward from the day before, who Oswald had called "Rowan." He led them through a courtyard, where dozens of workers were scrambling to assemble a large stage, and into the keep- then, they were led through the corridors until finally being ushered into a large room with a long table- a dining room, from appearances. Here, they waited, as the final preparations were completed.

An hour passed. Then two. Gail woke up in earnest, but there was little for the group to do other than wait. They sat at the table, divided into small groups- Quinn himself sat next to Ingrid. He sighed, and mumbled mostly to himself, "Did we really have to leave so early?"

"It does seem like preparations are taking an unusually long time," Ingrid replied. "King Oswald led us to believe everything would be ready by the time Mother Agnes and I retrieved you." Quinn couldn't help but look over in surprise. He'd fully expected Ingrid to chide him for his impatience, not agree with him.

The door to the dining room swung open. Quinn expected the steward, but instead, Oswald stepped into the room, followed closely by Captain Uther. When he'd met Oswald, Quinn couldn't see any resemblance to Uther, but with the two side-by-side, he could certainly believe that the two men were brothers.

"Your Majesty," Mother Agnes said, standing. "I must admit, I wasn't expecting you to retrieve us personally."

"I do apologize for the wait, Mother," he replied. "We seem to be strangely short-handed at the moment." He then turned to Quinn. "You've drawn quite the crowd, Quinn. Let's not keep them waiting."

The group was led once more through the keeps passageways by Oswald, but their route was different, and they were flanked on both sides by guards. As they walked, Ingrid leaned in and began to speak: "Alright Quinn, normally there are certain rules that need to be followed when in the presence of royalty, but we don't have time to go over them. Just do anything that the king or Mother Agnes say, alright?"

He nodded. "Okay."

The group was led through a pair of large doors into the courtyard once more. And after climbing a short flight of steps, the stood on the stage, the guards spreading out to take positions at the stage's four corners. The entire courtyard was full, from the walls all the way to the very edge of the stage. All manner of people were gathered there, from nobles dressed extravagantly to vagrants wearing little more than rags. And all of them, if Oswald was to be believed, had come to see him. He was surprised by the sheer number, and more than a little embarrassed. After all, he hadn't done much, other than get very lucky.

The clamor of the crowd was quickly silenced by the sound of a horn. Uther stiffened, and shouted, "Presenting! His Majesty, Oswald the Fourth, of the House of Maybury, Fourteenth King of Bannon and the Lesser Isles!"

The crowd cheered as Oswald stepped forward. "Thank you, Captain." He then turned to the crowd:

"For over a century now, Bannon has proudly hosted the Archonite Order within its borders. Such is both an honor and a privilege beyond compare, as it is through the Order's efforts that Bannon- and all of Aurea- have enjoyed a peace not seen in centuries. As thanks for hosting them, the Order granted the kings of Bannon the honor of declaring to the world when a new Bearer of a Ring of Power has joined their fold. My grandfather had the great fortune of presenting an Archon to the people in his lifetime, and my own father presented not one, but two Archons during his reign. And today, I shall join them in a privilege enjoyed by only a select few. But before that, I present to you all, the leader of the Archonite Order, Mother Agnes."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Mother Agnes said. Her tone was calm and quiet, as always- but even so, it seemed to fill the courtyard. "When the Archonite Order was founded over one-hundred fifty years ago, it was done with…"

Quinn stood, waiting to be called forward. He looked around: ahead was Mother Agnes, with Oswald- Uther had stepped back. Ingrid stood at his side- to his right, in a line, stood Professor Isaac, Malcolm, Gail, and Orion. On the left were Evangelyne, her retainers, and Yonah and Espada. As he waited, Quinn couldn't help but be reminded of some of the loftier dreams of his fellow miners back in Grimhold, dreams of becoming part of "high society." But, if it was like this all the time-

Then, all at once… the world froze, again.

The color drained from everything, and all sound vanished. Quinn's gasp echoed in the silence. "Again?" he asked, glancing down at his Ring. Sure enough, the black gem blazed with a brilliant blue light. He quickly began looking around- he didn't know who was in danger, but if this vision was anything like the last, then there should already be movement.

It took only a few moments to find the enemy.

They were… the guards standing at each corner of the stage. He watched as the one in the corner behind the group, to the right, threw down his lance before charging forward, drawing a long dagger from his belt. But he was stopped, when the frozen Orion suddenly sprang to life, drawing an axe from his back and slashing the man across his chest with a blindingly fast swing.

Two of the other soldiers met similar ends- the soldier behind and to the left was run through after Espada suddenly moved as well, drawing his sword and stabbing the soldier through the chest. As for the soldier on the right… Mother Agnes turned to him, inhaled… and breathed out a long stream of fire that swallowed the man entirely.

But the last soldier, the one on Quinn's left, managed to slip through. He ran past Uther, and straight towards Oswald. But unlike the others, Oswald did not move as the others did. The assassin raced toward him…

But before the two could meet, there was a flash, and the world began to move once more.

Quinn's heart raced, and he could feel himself starting to sweat. He looked, and watched as the guards at the corners of the stage looked to one another, and nodded.

But he was ready. He was thankful he could bring his axe. Without it, he, and everyone else, would have been helpless.

In the corner of his eye, he watched the guard on his left cast his lance aside and charge toward Oswald. As soon as he saw the guard move, Quinn moved as well- he rushed forward, putting himself between the king and the guard. He pulled his axe from his belt, and swung with all his might.

The axe hit its mark, cleaving through a gap between the guard's helmet and breastplate at the base of his neck. The guard sank to his knees- the only sound he made was a small rattle, before collapsing onto his side.

Quinn looked back, and shouted only a single word:

"Assassins!"

The world seemed to slow. As in his vision, Orion and the masked man struck down the other two guards with ease. That left just one. Quinn watched as an orange glow appeared… inside Mother Agnes's body. It had to be inside- he could see the shadow of her ribs surrounding that light. She inhaled sharply, before… breathing a stream of fire at the final guard.

The guard staggered, but it was too late. He was engulfed by the flames for a few seconds, before Agnes stopped exhaling. Nothing was left behind. Not even ashes. Just a dark scorch mark on the wooden stage.

Screams of terror came to Quinn's ears. In an enormous wave, the crowd surged, moving toward the gate at the far end of the courtyard in a frenzy. But Quinn's focus was caught by Uther shouting "Everyone, around the king!" The others rushed to form a shield surrounding Oswald. As they did, Uther continued, "Move to the keep! Now! Oswald, we're getting you out of here!"

Quinn had fallen into position between Ingrid and the masked man, Oswald at his back, walking backwards so as not to break the circle and leave the king exposed. But as his eyes darted over the now empty courtyard, only one thought came to Quinn's head:

He did it.

He did it!

Just like at Tol Castell, he'd seen things play out, before they'd happened. And with what he saw, he-

A sound came to Quinn's ears. The sound of a bowstring whipping the air, and an arrow whistling in flight.

He looked up. There was another. Not a guard, but a man, dressed in black with a bow in hand, atop a tower across from the keep.

His arrow was already in flight, headed straight for-

"Gghhhk!"

Oswald fell to his knees. He was looking down at himself in shock, a near-black stain rapidly spreading over his red coat. The arrow had pierced through his back near his shoulder, and emerged on the left side of his chest. Right beneath his heart.

Oswald let out a pained breath, before asking in a strained voice, "Is… is my brother…" before falling forward.

Quinn could only stare at Oswald's body, the axe falling from his hands with a metallic clang. The sounds of the world faded into a deep silence. The sights of the world faded too, leaving only the body, before it too was swallowed by darkness.

Quinn closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

And in his place, something… else woke up.

A deafening screech tore through the keep. There was a sound of cracking wood, and the stage buckled as a beast, as black as night, leapt to the tower on the far side of the courtyard. The top of the tower exploded into a shower of dust and stone fragments from the impact. The body of the man in black was thrown from the roof, and hit the ground below. For a moment, the man moved, before the beast leapt down from the tower, and crushed his chest beneath his feet in a spray of blood and organs.

The beast stood still for a moment, before it reared back, and let out a deafening roar. And indeed, the word "beast" was all that could be used to describe the thing standing in the courtyard. It had two arms, and stood on two legs, but that was all that could be called "human." The beast's entire body, from head to foot, was covered in jagged black scales. Its skull and jaw had elongated, and from the sides of its head grew two short, curved horns. Its mouth was full of pointed teeth, and its eyes… it had three; the third was set slightly above and between the other two, and all three burned with the same blinding blue light.

Then, the beast suddenly darted to the side, avoiding an arrow. Glancing up, it seized the body of the man in black, before throwing it with all its might at another tower. The top of the tower exploded in another shower of broken stone. But the beast missed its mark, as three more people clad in black leapt down from the tower. They showed no fear, no hesitation, no emotion at all as they quickly surrounded the beast. Two lunged forward, daggers raised, one to the beast's front, the other at its back.

With blinding speed, the beast leapt to the side, avoiding the assassin's blades. With a snarl, it reached, and grabbed one of the assassins, its claw closing around his head. The assassin struggled for a moment, before the beast raised him up and slammed him into the ground with such force that the entire castle shook. The beast then crouched, launching himself at another assassin, and pinning her to the ground. Opening its mouth wide, the beast bit the assassin's neck viciously, tearing away great, bleeding chunks of flesh with each bite. The assassin stabbed at the beast with her blade, but her dagger only bounced off its scales, before she fell limp.

The beast rose with a growl, seizing the body of the assassin by the leg, and swung it at her surviving comrade with all its might. The impact knocked the last assassin off his feet, and sent him sliding across the courtyard, with the beast racing close behind. And before the assassin could rise, the beast was upon him. The beast lifted up its foot, and stomped it down on his chest. A crack rang through the courtyard as the assassin's ribs were crushed beneath the beast's heel. But the assassin did not cry out. And the beast did not stop. Again and again it stomped on the fallen assassin, snarling viciously.

Ingrid and the others had stood frozen as they watched the beast's rampage. But now, as they watched as it stompe on the assassin's body relentlessly, the group came to their senses. Gail covered her mouth with her hands, eyes wide in horror of what she was seeing. "Oh gods… that can't… that can't be Quinn, right?"

"Come on Quinn," Ingrid mumbled. "Snap out of it."

For a moment, the beast stopped. But, it then dropped to its knees and renewed its assault on the body, savagely clawing at it with its talons.

"This is getting out of hand," Mother Agnes said, and leapt down from the platform. The beast took no notice as she approached. "Quinn, that's enough," she called. "The assassins are-"

The beast snarled and swiped at her, leaving a deep gouge in Agnes's abdomen. "Aagh." She collapsed onto her knees, her arms wrapped over her stomach.

"Mother Agnes!" Evangelyne shouted. She and the other Archons leapt off the stage and rushed to protect their fallen leader. But all of them stopped when a woman bellowed a single word:

"QUINN!"

The beast turned. Ingrid walked across the courtyard with even steps, arms clasped behind her back. From her body language, she seemed calm… but her face was twisted into an livid scowl, the likes of which nobody in the Order had seen before. If Quinn were conscious, Ingrid's expression alone would have sent him crawling on his knees, begging for mercy.

But Quinn wasn't awake. The beast merely stood up, and looked at her in silence.

"Is this what you learned while you were away?" she asked. Her tone was even and measured, but had a hardness that could've broken steel. "Is this what Isaac spent the last three years teaching you? Hm? To raise your hand against your own allies?" She stepped forward. "Well? Is it?"

The beast growled and stepped toward her in response.

Ingrid didn't say anything else. She simply lowered herself, gripping the hilt of her sword tightly, prepared to strike.

The beast… blinked.

"…M… Miss Ingrid?" it asked. It's voice was distorted, but even so, it was still unmistakably Quinn's.

But all at once, Quinn's world was flooded with pain. It traveled up his neck, over his scalp, into his eyes, smothering him. He fell to his knees, clutching his head, letting out an earshattering mix of a roar and a pained scream.

Burning.

He was burning.

It felt as if liquid fire was being poured over his shoulders, over his head, directly into his brain.

But through the pain, he saw… things.

Images flashed before his eyes, sounds and voices echoed in his ears. Images of places he'd never seen, of people he didn't recognize.

Professor Isaac, Yonah, and another blonde woman he didn't know, their eyes glowing red, the whites of their eyes colored a solid black. A tall man, with short black hair and a short beard walking forward slowly across a hall of grey stone, clad in dark grey armor with a red cape, a long-handled axe in hand. Himself, arm covered in scales, charging forward, and blocking a sword swing from a wild-eyed man with blonde, spiked hair in a sand-filled arena. An old woman in a red cloak, with a long white braid hanging over her shoulder, and eyes the brightest blue he had ever seen. A young man in armor of pure white, steam rising from his body, raising a white sword. A black horse rearing back in a dark forest, ridden by a black figure with no head, wreathed in blue flames.

The voice of a man, tired and weary: "…to see the flag of my forefathers, flying freely over my homeland." A young girl's voice, strained: "Nnnno! Nno! No, no, no no no no!" Another man, younger, his voice full of anger: "You claim to seek justice! But what about my people? Where's their justice!?" The voice of an elderly woman: "I wondered about the kind of human that would find my Ring." Another man's voice, this one full of arrogance: "All of Navarro- no, all of Aurea will know your failure!"A deep male voice, one that rumbled like distant thunder: "If you knew, what I knew, that woman would be your enemy, too." The voice of a young woman, devoid of all emotion: "Ragnarok has commanded your death."

Too much.

It was too much for him to take.

Quinn fell to one knee, then the other, before finally falling forward. Before he'd hit the ground, he'd already fallen unconscious.

The first thing Quinn became aware of… was the cold. The entire right side of his body was cold. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear away the blurriness.

He was lying face-down, on a hard, freezing cold stone floor. He slowly picked up his head, and looked around. He was in a small room, square, no more than a few steps across. The walls were bare and featureless, with just a single, solid door set into the wall in front of him.

He then looked down at himself. He was… normal, though covered in bloodstains. He… couldn't remember where they had come from.

Then, he became aware of voices.

The first voice he heard belonged to a man, young from the sound of it, and smooth: "…that Archon kid did a real number on the castle. It's gonna take us months to fix everything. And he's just one kid- the Order has five. Makes me glad they're on our side."

"Me? I don't trust 'em," a second voice replied. This one too was male, but much rougher, as though it belonged to someone very old. "Man's not meant ta have that kinda power. All the problems we've been havin'- here, an' everywhere else, are 'cause of those damned Rings." The rough voice added, "'Sides, you should be more worried about where those assassins came from. You saw how many there were, right? We've never had a breach this size before…"

It took several moments for Quinn to rise to his feet. He hurt. His entire body ached, and he could almost hear his joints groan in protest as he pushed himself to his feet. But somehow, he managed, and slowly shuffled to the cell door. "Hello?" he called weakly.

A small slat on the door slid to the side. Through it, two pairs of eyes looked into the cell. "Yer awake," the rough-voiced man said. "How 'bout that?"

"What's going on?" Quinn asked. "Where am I?"

"The dungeon of Castle Tristan," the smooth-voiced man replied. "Parliament has ordered that you are to be detained until they can conduct an inquiry and determine your involvement in the assassination of King Oswald."

"Involvement?" Quinn asked, incredulous. "What 'involvement?' I tried to protect King Oswald! Ask anyone who was there! I-"

The slat on the door was slid shut. "Until Parliament has made their decision, you're staying right here," the smooth-voiced man said.

So, Quinn waited. He couldn't say for how long. The cell had no windows, and although there was a light beneath the door, it was the relatively steady light of a torch, rather than the sun.

But after some time had passed, as he sat against the wall opposite the door, he could hear voices speaking to each other. They were muffled at first, but as he drew closer, he could hear the smooth-voiced man: "I'm sorry, Mother Agnes. But the boy is staying here. Parliament's orders."

"This man risked his life to protect your king. Is that not proof enough of his innocence?" he heard Mother Agnes reply. "Release him. Now." He shivered. Even inside the cell, he could hear the hardness in her voice. He couldn't imagine what sort of expression she had, but judging by how quickly the cell door latch clicked open, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

The door swung open. Mother Agnes stood on the other side. As soon as she saw Quinn, she said, "Good, you're awake. Come, we need to leave."

Quinn almost sprang up as soon as he saw Mother Agnes. But in his head, he saw a flash. A flash of himself, clawing at her. He hesitated, and remained seated.

She stepped forward, into the cell. "Quinn. It's alright. If this is about what happened in the courtyard, then I'm not upset with you."

He hesitated again. And rather than standing, he said "…I saw it."

"Hm?"

"I saw the assassins who killed King Oswald."

She crossed her arms over her chest. Her expression seemed to change to one of… irritation. "You're far from the only one."

"No, I…" Quinn stammered, trying to find the words to explain what he'd seen. "I saw them, before it happened. The same thing happened on Tol Castell. I saw an archer kill Captain Uther. But then, everything was normal again, until I saw the archer again, and I pushed him out of the way."

Mother Agnes crossed the cell, her eyes opened fully; the whites of her eyes were black, and her red eyes were focused on Quinn. "Explain."

He shuddered, but gathered his thoughts as best he could. "It was like, everything was… frozen. Everything but me, and the enemy. I saw them kill Uther, attack you and the others. And then… and then everything goes back to normal, and I see the enemy doing the same thing again." Quinn hung his head. "It let me save Captain Uther, but… King Oswald… I-I couldn't…"

"Precognition," Mother Agnes said.

Quinn looked up at the woman in white- he saw that her eyes were once again closed. "What?"

"The power to see events that will take place in the future, before they happen. That is precognition." Agnes pointed to his hand. "That is the power of your Ring."

Quinn looked down at his hand, and the ring on his finger. The power to see the future… when Mother Agnes said it like that, suddenly everything made sense. It was simple. Too simple. Why hadn't he figured it out for himself before now? But… "But what about… the other thing?" he asked hesitantly.

"I'm afraid I don't know," she replied earnestly. "Your Ring… is unlike any I've ever seen before. But setting that aside for now…" She knelt, and looked at him, her eyes open once more. "Did you see anything else?"

Quinn was quiet, the flurry of visions he'd seen flashing through his mind. If what Agnes said was true, then they must have been visions of the future. But they were so… disorderly, with people and places he'd never seen. And he had no way of knowing how long it would be before these visions would come to pass. He could only shake his head in response.

Agnes frowned slightly, shutting her eyes. "I see. Tell me: have you given a name to your Ring?"

"Uhh…" Ingrid had pressed him about that as well. But, for all this thoughts on the matter, nothing came to mind.

"If not," Agnes continued, "then I have a proposal: Norn."

"Huh? Norn? What's 'Norn?'" Quinn asked.

"In the nations of the White Sea, long before the Confederation of Ulrich was formed, people worshipped the Norns- goddesses who controlled the fates of men and kingdoms alike," Agnes explained. "The power to see one's fate, to avert disaster, has been sought by many. And it seems that you have been blessed with this gift." She turned. "Now, let us be on our way. There are things we need to discuss."

Agnes left the cell. Quinn stood, and followed her into a narrow tunnel, devoid of windows and lit by torches. The two walked, passing another cell- the wall had been replaced with a series of thick metal bars, allowing Quinn to see inside. And within was a man, seated against the wall on the right. His hair was white, and curly, and he wore, a black suit that clung tightly to his body, and a dark purple cloak.

Quinn stopped as he looked at the man. "Who's that?"

A guard standing by the bars replied, "One of the assassins we managed to apprehend. Pay him no mind."

As Quinn peered into the cell, he searched through his memory, trying to recall the white-haired man. This most recent incident was different from those that had come before. Before, he felt as if he was watching someone else act through his body. But this time, it was as if he was asleep entirely, only occasionally awakening to see the carnage he wrought.

But Quinn had seen the assassins with his own eyes, even if only briefly. And this man… was different from them. And it wasn't simply because he couldn't recall seeing this man. The other assassins had blank, soulless faces, devoid of emotion even as life left them. But this man looked… sullen, morose. As though filled with regret.

Quinn leaned towards the bars. "Hey," he called. "What's your name?"

"What's it to you?" the man asked in return. He didn't look over.

"You're wasting your time," the guard said. "We've already interrogated him, but he refuses to answer any of our questions."

Quinn looked at the man for a few moments more. "My name's Quinn. The guard says you're one of the assassins, but…" He hesitated, but only for a moment. "But I don't believe that. You're not like the others."

Mother Agnes put a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "Come now, Quinn. We can't waste anymore time." She began to push him forward.

But then, the man in the cell said, "…Lindow."

Quinn looked back. "Huh?"

He stood, and approached the bars. "I said… You can call me 'Lindow.'"

But before anything else could be said. Mother Agnes pushed Quinn again, more firmly. "Quinn. We really must be leaving now." And without any objections, Quinn let himself be led away.

"Well, what about Burgundy?" Quinn asked. "They could be looking for revenge for Tol Castell."

"Unlikely," Ingrid replied. "A report of the Tol Castell incident was dispatched to Agravain, but it shouldn't have arrived yet. And even if the Burgundians found out on their own, it would have taken them time for King Martel to receive the information and respond."

"Besides," Isaac added, "the men at Tol Castell were mutineers. Criminals. Hardly the kind of people a nation would want avenged.

"This was not a hastily constructed strike at vengeance, Quinn," Mother Agnes said. "This was a well-planned, well-coordinated operation." She leaned forward in her seat, resting her elbows on the table and clasping her hands in front of her face. "It's likely that its proximity to your assignment at Tol Castell is nothing more than a coincidence."

Mother Agnes had brought Quinn out of the castle dungeon, and up to a room she had called "the war room." Here, the others, save for Orion, had gathered, to discuss possible culprits behind the assassination. All were seated at a round table, save Uther, who stood with his back against a wall. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his expression… difficult to read.

Agnes had shared with Quinn what little information they had gathered while he was unconscious. Apparently, the man they'd apprehended wasn't actually an assassin- rather, simply a thief, hired by the assassins to break them into the castle. Unfortunately, he knew nothing about the assassins- who hired them, or why. In fact, according to him, he hadn't even known the group had intended to kill Oswald until he'd been found and arrested.

The doors at the end of the room were thrown open. With long strides, Orion crossed the room and stopped in front of the table. His arm was raised, and curiously, a raven was perched on his hand. "Mother Agnes. News from Hessen." He lowered his hand to the table- in response, the raven hopped down, and across the table to where Agnes was seated.

Agnes looked at the raven. "You may speak."

The crow opened its beak. A muffled voice could be heard saying, "…I'm supposed to talk into it? I feel like a fool."

"Speak," Mother Agnes ordered.

"Oh! Uh, y-yes," the crow said. "My name is… Joachim, captain of the Hessian Sixth Regiment stationed at Ft. Branden. We've just received reports from our scouts confirming large-scale movements of Burgundian forces- they're heading north. In addition, reports indicate new fortifications have been placed at the Coteau Bridge south of the border."

"I see. You are dismissed," Mother Agnes said, before muttering, "So that's what this is about…"

Quinn stared at the bird, then to Agnes, and then Ingrid. "Uh… is this… is that normal?"

Professor Isaac looked to Mother Agnes, ignoring Quinn's comment. "I'll need to return to Hessen to help the army coordinate their defenses," he said. "With your permission, Mother Agnes."

"Granted," Agnes replied.

Isaac stood. "Thank you. Malcolm, with me."

Malcolm stood. Gail leapt up as well. "I'll go too!" she cried.

"No." Isaac's reply was firm. "I want you to stay here at the Abbey. You're not prepared for this."

"Oh come on!" she shouted in protest. "You always say that I'm not ready! But how do you know I'm not ready if-"

"Gail." The tone in Isaac's voice caused Gail to immediately fall silent. "This isn't open for discussion. You're staying here."

Gail opened her mouth for a moment, as if to protest again, but instead hung her head and replied, "Yes, sir."

Isaac raised his ring. But before he could do anything, Mother Agnes said, "Isaac. I want you to take Yonah and Orion with you."

"As you wish." With his left hand, Professor Isaac drew a circle in the air, before placing his hand in the center. At once, a shimmering circle of rainbow light opened in the air. Malcolm, Espada, Yonah, and Orion walked into it without hesitation.

As Isaac prepared to follow, Mother Agnes said, "Isaac. Tell Orion I want regular reports on the situation. Hourly, if he can manage it."

Isaac nodded. "As you wish." He prepared to step through the circle once again.

"Professor," Quinn called. The older man looked back. "…be safe."

"Don't worry," Isaac replied. "I have every intention of returning alive." He stepped through the circle, and in a flash of rainbow light, it disappeared.

Instantly, Gail turned her attention to Quinn. "You're going out there too, right? Take me with you, Quinn. I can help you!"

"Uh…" Quinn stammered. But any reply he had was delayed when Uther pushed himself away from the wall and began walking to the door. "Captain? Where are you going?"

"Parliament," he said as he crossed the room. "We need to muster troops. I will not stand by and let Burgundy have its way." He reached the door, and prepared to pull it open-

"Hold, Captain," Mother Agnes said.

Uther paused, but did not look back. "Apologies, Mother Agnes. But there's no time."

Agnes stood. "Captain. I understand your desire for vengeance. And I understand that as Bannon's heir apparent, there are now obligations you need to fulfill. But do not let your grief cloud your judgment. I have a proposal, one I believe may bring a swift end to this war before it can truly begin. I would ask only for a moment of your time to hear me out."

Uther stood before the door for a moment, before turning back. "…What did you have in mind?"

"Come," Agnes said, resting her hand on the table. Uther walked to the edge of the table as well. Set upon it was a large map of Aurea. "When you and Parliament have readied your forces, I expect you will send them directly to Corburg, yes?" Agnes tapped Corburg's position on the map for emphasis.

Uther nodded. "That is the most likely course of action Parliament will take."

"I would ask that you retain a retain a portion of your soldiers- at least a quarter of the troops you muster."

Uther looked up, eyeing Agnes with suspicion. "…Why?"

"Don't misunderstand- these soldiers will fight. But rather than sending them to the front along the border, I ask that you send them here." She pointed to another section of the map, in the south.

Uther read the words written there aloud. "Fort Guyenne…" He stroked his beard. "I see what you're trying to do. But, getting a force to this area isn't going to be easy. If Burgundy is preparing for war, they'll have anticipated this and created a naval blockade."

Agnes nodded. "True, but Fort Guyenne is near the border with Kherson, and Burgundy will want to avoid provoking them. This should leave us a gap large enough to slip through."

Uther looked up at Agnes. "So, this is your proposal? Divide our forces and fight on two fronts?"

"Not quite. We'll begin by dispatching a single ship with a small vanguard to seize the fort and gain a secondary foothold. From there, we can ferry the rest of the force into the area, and then begin advancing on Agravain." Agnes turned her attention to Quinn. "Quinn, I place you in charge of the vanguard."

Quinn jolted. "Wait, what?"

"Your success at Tol Castell, and your actions today lead me to believe that you would be best suited to this assignment," Agnes said.

"B-But… I…" he stammered.

"It is true that you were unable to save King Oswald. But even so, it's likely our losses would have been much greater without your intervention." Agnes leaned forward. "And, Burgundy is not yet aware a new Archon has been found. Your mere existence is an advantage that we can exploit." She then turned to Ingrid. "Ingrid, I'm placing you under Quinn's command once again. You are permitted to use any means to ensure his success."

Ingrid touched her cap. "As you wish, Mother Agnes."

Uther looked down at the map once more. "Your proposal is… not unreasonable, Mother Agnes," he said. "But I don't see how I fit into this."

Agnes touched the circle on the map labelled Corburg. "Professor Isaac will be aiding the Hessian commanders in directing their forces, and the Bannish force being dispatched to Corburg will fall under the local commanders' jurisdiction." Her hand moved to Fort Guyenne. "But we will need a commander for the secondary force. Captain, would you be willing to assume that role?"

It only took a moment for Uther to reply: "I will. On one condition."

"Name your price."

Uther's expression hardened into a stern glare. "I want to be part of the vanguard. Burgundy has landed the first blow. And I will be the one to retaliate. No one else."

"I'm afraid that decision would fall to the leader of the vanguard," Agnes replied, her eyes falling on Quinn.

Quinn jolted again, as all eyes in the room turned to him. "Oh! Um…" he stammered. "That… that's fine, Captain."

Uther nodded. "I thank you. Now, I have things I must see to." He turned from the table.

"As do we all." Agnes stood. "Everyone, let us make our own preparations. We have a war to win."

The castle was quiet. And the whole world, it seemed, was asleep. But not Quinn. Quietly, he wandered the grounds of Castle Tristan, contemplating the events of the day- his first day as an Archon. A king had been killed on his watch, and now he was preparing for war. He had to admit, he still wasn't sure what being an Archon meant, but today's events couldn't have been further from his expectations.

His thoughts were interrupted by a cracking sound from beneath his feet. He looked down, to see a few broken tiles underfoot- shingles from the roof of one of the towers he'd broken. The keep was some distance away, but signs of the the destruction he caused were scattered all over the grounds. He let out a small sigh.

"Hey."

Quinn jolted at the unfamiliar voice. He quickly turned, to find its source; the thief, who'd called himself "Lindow," leaning against a wall. "Trouble sleeping?" he asked.

"You!" Quinn said. "How did you-"

The thief crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, wouldn't be my first time breaking out of jail."

Quinn took a breath to compose himself. "…why are you here?" He doubted that simply introducing himself would have been enough to encourage the thief to turn over a new leaf.

"Would you believe me if I said it was because you're an interesting person?" Lindow said with a smile. When Quinn didn't answer, he looked away and sheepishly replied, "…didn't think so."

"Mother Agnes told me about you," Quinn said. "She said that you said you didn't know the people who hired you were going to kill Oswald." He then asked incredulous, "How could you not know? Didn't they tell you anything when they hired you?"

Lindow folded his arms over his chest, his expression hardening. "Listen kid, in my business, people who dig too deep tend not to live for very long. We're paid to get a job done, not ask questions."

Quinn looked at the thief with suspicion, but said "Alright. But that still doesn't explain why you're here."

Lindow sighed, and scratched his head. "I might not have known what those guys were up to, but I got them into the castle. So… I'm the reason the king's dead." He paused. "I… I don't know. I guess I feel… guilty, about it. I want to make up for it."

"Well, you could start by apologizing to Captain Uther" Quinn replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Oswald was his brother."

Lindow held out his arms defensively. "Whoa whoa, hold on. Let me rephrase that: I want to make up for it in ways that don't begin and end with me getting my head chopped off."

"It sounds like you have something in mind already," Quinn said.

"I do," Lindow replied with a nod. "I… had a listen to your meeting earlier. So… I'll fight with you."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Really? You'll fight with us? And how would a thief help us?"

"Look, I have contacts all over. Whatever information you need, I can get it. And… well there's a reason those guys hired me. I can get into places that no one else can." He shrugged. "Come on. You Archon people take on servants all the time, right?"

"Well, Evangelyne called them 'retainers,' but that is true." Quinn recalled something Evangelyne had said just a few days before: …the Order is always in need of talented individuals, after all.

"See?" Lindow asked. "It shouldn't be a problem. So, what do you say? We got a deal?"

For a long while, Quinn was quiet. Lindow looked at him, his jaw clenched tightly as he waited. Finally, Quinn said, "Just let me ask you one thing: Do you mean it?"

"Do I mean what?"

"When you say that you feel guilty for what happened… do you mean it?"

Lindow nodded. "I do." He looked down at his hands. "I mean, if I can help it, I'd prefer to make up for it without dying, but if it comes to that…" He balled up his hands into fists. "…well, I'd prefer to die fighting for something. You know?"

Again, Quinn fell silent for a few moments. Then… he smiled. "I knew there was something different about you," he said. "And I'm glad I was right." He held out his hand. "You've got a deal, Lindow."

Lindow let out a laugh, and shook Quinn's hand firmly. "Oh thank the gods. To be honest, I'm not sure what I would've done if you turned me down. But, I'm glad you decided to trust me. I won't let you down."

The thief finally let go of Quinn's hand, and turned, putting his hands behind his head. "Besides, I was hoping to get a chance to introduce myself to that blue-haired lady-friend of yours."

Quinn furrowed his brow. "Ingrid? Why?"

"I'd hope I wouldn't have to explain it. But then again, you might be a bit too young to understand even if I did."

"Hey," Quinn replied, indignant. But Lindow only replied with laughter.

Notes:

Lindow- The archetypal thief character. His introduction was inspired by Gaius from Awakening, as a simple thief mixed in with characters with a more nefarious purpose. Although he takes his name from the character from God Eater, he has much more in common with Guy from Tales of the Abyss (and to a lesser extent, Lon'qu from Awakening), namely, as a handsome flirt who has a deep phobia of women touching him due to events in his backstory. Would ideally be voiced by Matthew Mercer.

Oswald- Oswald is, and was created with the intention of being, a sacrificial character whose death spurs the conflicts that follow (in terms of FE character archetypes, he would be a Cornelius). The name Oswald was taken from the Odin Sphere character of the same name. If he had a voice actor, it would probably be Liam O'Brien.

Rings of Power- The Rings of Power are inspired by their namesake from J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium. Unlike the Rings in the Legendarium, however, whose powers are vaguely defined, each Ring in the story is named, has a distinct appearance that separates it from others, and is granted an entirely unique ability. In essence, I wanted the Rings that appear to almost be characters in their own right.

"Norn-" Quinn's Ring of Power. Ironically, despite being the first Ring introduced in the story, it was actually the last to gain a unique power. For a long while, it had no power beyond its ability to transform Quinn into a dragon-like form. It wasn't until late that it would acquire it's "unique" power- precognition, inspired by Shulk of Xenoblade Chronicles' ability to see the future. It retains the ability to transform its wearer, but as a result of its creation rather than any power unique to the Ring itself.

Bifrost- Isaac's Ring of Power. Named after the rainbow bridge connecting Asgard to Midgard in Norse Mythology, the Ring allows its wearer to create portals connecting any location, and cross great distances in a short length of time. The concept for Bifrost came about after I noticed many of the Rings of Power had offensively-oriented abilities, and wanted to break that trend.