Here is the penultimate chapter of "Fall of Our Fathers"! I have had the idea for this chapter for years, but now that I've actually written it... I got writers block on the bits where I normally expand. But I still wanted to put this out, so... here is what you get for now. I hope you think that what you got is still pretty decent and explanatory. This one is about Ferry/Erinyes and Lewyn.

The next major update shall be the last, and it will be a case of coming full circle. "Dew Drops", covering the fate of Dew. What was almost a standalone in the C.R. universe, and then was almost the first chapter of "Fall", before ultimately getting erased (I think by accident).

Those who had seen them together in their youth would have thought that they would have a wonderful future together. None would have suspected that the political situation in Jugdral would cause their loving relationship to experience such a horrible fate.

Lewyn and Ferry had always been friends. Even when they were little, many were predicting that they would one day become husband and wife. Oh, he did make a promise to Mahnya when they were younger, but in truth, she never took it seriously. For she could see what her sister and Lewyn had, and she sincerely wanted Ferry to be with him.

Even his uncles, who never particularly liked him, thought that she would make a good match for him some day. While they had some aspirations for the throne even then, at this time, before their brother died, before Lewyn ran away, they had begrudgingly relented to the fate of never being king, and having Lewyn be their ruler. Based on how she behaved, they figured that she'd be a decent queen.

Even the wind itself seemed to want to pair them together. Thanks to his holy blood, Lewyn could see the wind sprites, the servants of Forsetti, and they knew it. They would frequently tease him about her, and mess with her hair and clothes in his presence, making them constantly flow in the wind, in an attempt to get a reaction.

Ferry, ignorant of this fact, did notice how the wind seemed to blow against her more than it did anyone else. She saw it as an ill omen. She saw it as a sign that she would have to fight for everything she got, because for some reason Forsetti did not like her. Thus, she didn't dare to dream that she could ever become Lewyn's bride, because as she saw it, she had the wind's curse. Thus she supported her sister as a possible bride for the prince.

Yet, the "curse" didn't deter her from her dream of becoming one of Silesse's Angelic Knights. She fought for her title as hard as she could, and become the youngest member in Silessian history (she did this, even though in actuality she didn't really need to fight like this, she would have earned the position with time anyways).

Ferry was not, in actuality, despised by Forsetti. In fact, nothing could have been further from the truth. She actually had his blessing. The dragon "god" had maintained a watchful eye on the continent of Jugdral, and already he saw the early stirrings of what was coming. And he was willing to do whatever it took to protect humanity as a whole in Jugdral. That included manipulating his chosen people. This included practicing in manipulation and eugenics.

He knew that Lewyn would grow up to be a powerful heir, but if the schemes of Loptyr were to be stopped, he needed to sire an heir even more powerful than himself. Using his tome like a long-distance spy camera, he kept a watchful eye on the prince, and he watched the interactions between the two. With time, and after studying her and human genetics, he came to realize that if she were the one to mother the heir to the Silessian throne, then that super-powerful heir he sought to create to counter Loptyr would be born.

So he ordered the winds to give her his blessing, and to do what they could to bring the two of them together.

While Lewyn did like her, he grew up to be a free spirit and a flirt, so he never actually made a move on her. Growing worried, Forsetti decided to attempt to accelerate things. It was, in fact, a blunder that nearly cost him everything.

Forsetti thought that if Lewyn were forced into a position of responsibility, he would be forced to clean up his act and marry sooner. Thus, he arranged for the winds of the Silesse to carry to the king a rare, incurable disease, leading him to perish all too soon.

Lewyn... did not react as expected. He had shared a close bond with his father, and his father had seen the position as something of a burden, and had made that clear to his son. He had actually encouraged his son's free spirited, exploring nature, telling him to take advantage of it while he was young, and having done so... well, he would be glad for it when he was older.

Thus, when the king died unexpectedly, Lewyn knew that he was not ready to lead. He felt that he would be an incompetent leader when compared to his father. Thus, he ran, throwing a giant spanner in the works for Forsetti's plan.

The king's brothers deciding to vie for the throne and half of the Angelic Knights taking their side? Definitely not a part of Forsetti's plan. He tried to stop them by stripping from them the blessings of his blood pact. But this failed to halt their ambitions. They simply did not make this information public, and they made the (poor) excuse that their blood probably just stagnated with age for the scenario that it became public knowledge. They'd never admit to what had happened, they were proud decendents of the Crusader Ced, after all.

Forsetti thought about attempting to manipulate Ferry into going after the wayward prince... but it turned out he didn't need to do that.

In tears, the queen herself begged Ferry to go after him, so Forsetti decided that he'd help her as best as he could on her quest, demanding that wind sprites give her aid.

They ensured that even the slightest whispers on the wind about the prince's whereabouts reached her ears. This is what eventually led her to Agustria and the presence of the vile king Chagaal, who tried to give them a false lead... and ended up unintentionally bringing their long mission to an end.

Lewyn made a scene out of making fun of how easily she had been deceived, yet it actuality, this made him nervous. If someone such as her had been so easily deceived by someone as obviously scummy as King Chagaal, then... how could he count on a reliable reaction from people regarding his uncle's rule, or his own rule if he was inept? Enough people would probably wind up kissing up to him...

He had no intention of going home, but maybe he should have her tag along, and take her into his confidence. No, not for any romantic purpose, but so he could teach her the ways of the world... and to use her as a sort of gauge.

So, word was sent back to Silesse that the prince had been found, but he wasn't budging due to a prior commitment. Thus, Ferry would be staying with him in order to keep an eye on him.

And so, a scenario that did mesh with Forsetti's plans was enacted, Lewyn and Ferry were stuck together for an extended period of time, and Ferry had a romantic rival to spurn her into action.

It was Sylvia who became aware of their rivalry first. She recognized it immediately. Thanks to the industry in which she worked, she could immediately detect the chemistry between the two and the sparks that flew, even if they themselves could not.

Ferry may not have been aware of consciously, but on a deeper level, however... She understood why Lewyn spent time with this girl, but something about her... bothered her. Why should her flirtations disturb her? Lewyn was a flirt, so it was only natural that he'd get along with a fellow flirt. And yet...

She didn't become consciously aware of her rivalry with Sylvia for a long time, not until after they had finally returned to Silesse. There, Sylvia made her intent clear.

In that moment of revelation, Ferry's jealousy flared, and the "wind's curse" became forgotten. It took her an entire day to decipher her feelings. She eventually came to realize that it wasn't just the idea that this random dancer could become Queen that bothered her. It was the idea that she could take Lewyn away from her that did.

That jealousy... finally gave her the will to act on her feelings. It didn't matter if the wind itself was against her! She would fight the wind, and destiny, and win the prince!

Lewyn noticed her newfound confidence and resolve, and appreciated it. When Mahnya died, she went straight into his arms. Based on their reactions to one another in this distressing time, Sylvia came to realize that she had lost. The two of them had a long talk in the aftermath, and once the battle was over and done, Ferry became the prince's bride.

The queen was thrilled. For Ferry, it was a bittersweet occasion, for her sister would not be able to attend. She would not be able to act as her maid of honor. So instead, she gave that honor to Sylvia in an effort to mend the rift between them. Oh, Sylvia did weep over her loss, but she came to accept it. She accepted the honor, and did the best that she could for the wedding. Ferry noticed and intentionally aimed the bouquet directly at her.

Then came their wedding night. She should've been fine. Due to the timing, there should have been no consequences for being overly romantic. But once again, Forsetti reached out and messed with a human body, this time screwing up her cycle. Thus, on their very first night together, they conceived the child that Forsetti had been aiming for.

This created something of a hullaballoo of emotions. Joy from the queen, trepidation from Lewyn, confusion over how this could have happened from Ferry, and ceaseless teasing from their comrades about how it took them no time at all to have a kid.

When the boy was born, he was born with the mark of Forsetti in his left eye. This made him look like he had heterochromia at first glance. Lewyn could also see the wind spirits gathering about his cradle.

To his family, this foreshadowed for the little prince great things. Thus they decided it would not be too arrogant to name him in favor of his crusading ancestor Ced, for they had a feeling that he would turn out like him.

Unfortunately, the king and queen did not get to spend much quality time with their newborn before destiny called them to Belhalla. Belhalla... where Arvis and Manfroy slaughtered a number of their comrades. Belhalla, where Manfroy gave Lewyn a wound that would never heal. Pulsating and black, he would routinely need to tend to it, and it would cause him to vomit a black, inky fluid that almost looked alive at times.

While Lewyn attempted to heal, the couple remained close and actually spent more time together than they otherwise would have. Thus, little Fee was born. Named after the mythical queen of the wind fairies. Because they felt that there was something magical about this little girl, despite the awful circumstances she was born under. She was actually given a middle name. Annand. It was her Aunt's middle name, and it meant happiness. A name that had meaning, because they dearly wished happiness for this little girl despite the odds against her finding it.

If only her parents could enjoy some happiness themselves, for around the time that she was born, Silesse was conquered by Grannvale and the old queen perished.

The Grannvalians were willing to let Ferry reign as a figurehead, but Lewyn quickly realized that Manfroy sought to finish what he had started back at Belhalla. Thus, he attempted to go into hiding.

He managed to avoid Manfroy for a few months by going into the mountains and getting aid from Falken, an old friend of his. He was glad for the aid, yet his presence with him concerned him, because Falken had two children himself, Hawk and Femina. They needed their father too, after all. Yet... he couldn't deny that he needed the help.

Unfortunately for them, they failed to realize that the wound that Manfroy had given Lewyn acted as a sort of beacon. It wasn't exact, but it could give Manfroy a fifteen mile approximation of where he was, and he had all the time in the world. Not precise, but still very dangerous nonetheless.

Indeed, this eventually lead to their downfall. After four months on the run, they were finally caught. Poor Falken did the best that he could, but Manfroy easily sent a black tendril through his gut and suspended him in the air. He was willing to let him live for a little longer so that he could witness the prince's end.

Lewyn let loose the full power of the Forsetti tome on the archbishop, the environment even causing ice spikes to be added to the mix. While some of his acolytes were blown away by this attack, Manfroy himself stood firm. To Lewyn's horror. This was just like Belhalla all over again.

Manfroy chuckled "You little fool. Loptyr himself is on my side." upon declaring this, he opened his cloak, revealing an ominous, pulsating black tome bearing the image of a dragon within its linings. "What do you have supporting you, the wind?" Lewyn suddenly found himself being flung about the snow wildly, until he did a face-plant in front of Manfroy. Then Manfroy stuck his bare hand in the wound he had previously given, and drove his hand far, far into Lewyn's body.

"And so... the king of the wind... dies." he proclaimed, unleashing a spell inside Lewyn's body. Black fluid poured out of his orifices as he writhed uncontrollably. Then he tossed the body over the side of the mountain. It crashed through the ice shelf, making a large, blood mess in the snowdrift below.

"No..." said Falken.

"Yes..." said Manfroy. He rotated his finger, and the tendril suspending Falken wrapped around his neck and snapped it. They sent the bodies back to the palace as a message. "Do not resist us. Not even thee much hailed heir of Forsetti can stand against us."

Word was not made public by the Silessian royalty. While they let the lords of Grannvale squawk about their victory, they refused to confirm it for them, for to do so would utterly crush the hope of the people.

So they buried Lewyn in a hidden tomb, and laid the Forsetti tome to rest with him, awaiting the day that Ced became an adult.

One night, about a month after the body had been returned to the castle, Ferry was awakened by a green mist permeating the castle grounds. For some reason, she felt drawn to the tomb, as were a few servants in the know. It turns out the gut feeling had some merit, as the mist was concentrating inside the tomb. They walked inside and witnessed the mist condensing into a humanoid shape. A lanky, teal haired humanoid. It slipped its fingers beneath the seal for the coffin and tore the lid off, flinging it several feet behind the coffin, causing it to shatter upon impact.

It stared at the corpse for a moment, then reached out a hand and placed it on its skull. The hand began to dissipate, and flesh began to regrow around that same hand on the body. The apparition then turned around and lay down in the coffin, and slowly, the green mist merged with the remaining flesh and became whole again.

The Forsetti tome was flung open, and all the green mist swirled in a green vortex overhead, then entered the body. The tome slammed shut.

For a moment, there was silence, then the steam of breath appeared in the chill air above the coffin, and Lewyn sat straight up and began to examine himself.

Ferry, of course, reacted by charging straight up there and attempting to embrace her apparently resurrected husband. "Lewyn, you've come back to us!" she exclaimed.

"Not... quite." said Lewyn.

"What?!" asked Ferry, freezing in place. She now began to tremble.

"You see your husband, apparently miraculously resurrected, and you don't stop to ponder for a moment on who did it and why. I suppose that I should expect such behavior from you at this point." remarked "Lewyn".

"Who...who are you?" asked Ferry, shaking like a leaf.

"Can you not guess? This world that I put so much into is on the brink of collapse. I cannot allow that. So, I mean to intervene where I can. You ask who I am. Have you guessed yet? I... am Forsetti." he said cooly. Everyone took a step back upon hearing that proclamation. "Though I would prefer it if you told as few people as possible of my presence here. Knowledge of me would only... hinder... my work." he said, walking forward.

"Of course this is happening to me. You always cursed me, and because I dared to marry the prince, you bait me with a false resurrection and take his body from me." moaned Ferry.

Forsetti stopped short and gave her a look. He seemed... surprised. "Why would you think that I have cursed you? I have long watched the prince, and since you were so often with him, I have long watched you. I decided that you were the right match for him a long time ago. Why would you say that I am cursing you, when I have always giving you my blessing and my aid? Why else do you think you have been so successful?"

Ferry couldn't speak, she was absolutely bewildered by this revelation. "And I am not taking him away for good. I have... need of your husband. I am the dominant one in this body now, but he still exists in it. Once I have finished my task, I promise you, I shall return him to you... intact and drawing breath." he promised, stroking her hair.

He smiled at her and said "Silesse shall not go undefended in my absence. My tome shall remain with you, waiting for the day when the son you bore can wield it. You named him well, for he truly was born with the latent talent to rival his ancestor. One day, only the heirs to Loptyr and Naga themselves would be able to stand against him." he stated.

Oh how Ferry cried, but those words had renewed her hope for the future. However, she expected the "borrowing" of her husband to be a relatively short deal. AS time passed and he did not return, however, that hope she bore once more turned to despair. Had Forsetti lied to her in order to prevent resistance to his departure?

Maybe she should have told the children the truth. She had outright told them that their father was alive and on a journey through Jugdral, doing what he could to assist others. Due to the fact that the story of his death and resurrection was a closely guarded secret, the children were growing up thinking the worst of their father. There was little she could do to change their opinion of him.

Eventually, her stress had an effect on her immune system. She began to get sick more often as her trust in Forsetti decayed. In a fit of cosmic irony, she eventually caught the same disease that had killed the old king. And so it was that Lewyn was to lose two of the most important people in his life to the same decay.

She couldn't even say goodbye to her son in the end. He had grown up, taken possession of Forsetti, and gone after his father. She never had the heart to tell either of her children that in doing so, he was... technically acting in a manner just like their father and proving he was his father's son.

And Fee... oh, poor girl. She only ever wished joy upon this wonderful creature, but now all that she was giving her now was despair. She had told her daughter stories of her youth and of her friends, and she had heard whispers of possible uprisings throughout Jugdral. Like in Thracia and in Isaac.

She knew her daughter, and knew that she would take off as soon as a confirmation was made, so she made sure that she inherited all of her equipment from her glory days. She also asked Femina to help watch over her, as her father, Falken had looked over Lewyn. She promised that she would. She was motivated anyways, her brother, Hawk, had made the same promise regarding Ced and gone off with him.

"Oh Lewyn, if only we could have been together... properly. If only neither of us had been subjected to our different decays..." those were her final thoughts as she passed away.