How Men Fall
Two move through the desert,
One wearing a mask of steel,
The other, a mask of emotion.
Each aware of the other's pain,
One, victim of a dead world,
The other, time in motion.
Lucina slowed her pace somewhat, gritting her teeth as she did so. Robin took in a shaky breath as they walked, the moon bathing the desert sand in a slight blue light. It was clear, to the Exalt, that Robin was still in bad shape. They could only walk for around an hour or so before the exiled prince would need to be supported. The desert air was cold, but he was sweating from the effort. He was very obviously trying to muster whatever strength he could, but she knew that he needed rest. They'd been moving for about two and a half hours, she'd wager, and they moved slower and slower as time continued.
"Sir Robin," she said, "we should rest soon."
The prince quirked a brow at her use of his title from her time, but nodded to her nevertheless. She helped him sit down in the sand, hearing him heave. Lucina sat down with labored breaths of her own. In truth, neither of them were operating at their fullest capacity. They'd been moving for some forty-eight hours, with no food. They were able to drink and stock up on water at the various oases, thanks to Robin's near encyclopedic knowledge of the desert. The only food that they had eaten was some jerky Robin had on him, Lucina insisting he eat the majority of it.
"We are going to need food," she began. "Where would be the best place to get provisions quickly?"
Robin pondered the matter for a moment. "There is a small town called Campari's Rest nearby. It isn't much, but they do have a general store, as well as an inn," he said, his brows scrunching in consideration. "We will have to be careful, though. There will almost certainly be scouts watching the villages closely."
She nodded, content with what she had been told. She watched him with a curious look, a question coming to her mind.
"Tell me, how do you know the desert so well?" She asked. He answered with a shrug.
"I had to memorize the area when I was younger. Makes it easier to strategize a defence, if needed."
"Seems an odd thing for a child to be taught."
"You don't know the half of it," his words were spoken with a rueful grin that did not meet his eyes. None of them ever did.
A silence hung in the air for a moment, Lucina content to sit and rest her aching muscles. They'd been lucky so far, in avoiding patrols. Robin had said that, to most, journeying the desert with no supplies was tantamount to suicide, so the patrols most likely assumed they would take a safer trail to Regna Ferox, where they would presumably appeal to the Khans.
Lucina turned her eyes to Robin, his having bags underneath. He seemed rather pale, and his breaths were short, shallow. It was clear that his condition was worsening, and she feared what would happen if he did not find a proper healer soon.
"Campari's Rest," she began, hoping to keep him talking, "I have not heard the name before. Tell me of the town."
He looked at her for a moment, as though he was gauging his words.
"Castle Plegia, where we just made our desperate escape from, now stands as the capital of the Theocracy. In the Upheaval, as the Ylisseans call our nation's civil war, Castle Plegia was my father's base of operations. It was threatened by Gangrel's forces several times in the war, but never so significantly as it was in the Battle of Campari's Rest," he looked to make sure she followed, continuing at her nod.
"At the time, the town was called Idalita, and it was much larger than it is today. Still, it was just an oasis town in the midst of a desert, never important before. That changed with this battle."
"Gangrel's forces took a daring strategy that damned near worked; marching two of his largest armies through the entirety of the desert to pressure Castle Plegia directly. Due to just how barren the desert is, Gangrel's forces were able to get very close before any of Validar's forces realized, leaving them scrambling to raise a defensive force. The man who lead what defenses there were was the general Campari, regarded as one of the sternest, most immovable men in the ranks," Lucina watched, with rapt attention, as he let out a sigh.
"Campari and his forces used Idalita as the buffer area to protect the capital, choosing to hold their battle there before Gangrel could take the town, and have a place to set up a foothold so close to the Castle. A few days after Campari and his men arrived in the town, Gangrel met them in battle. The fighting was fierce, but Campari defended the town and its populace with his life, and unto his dying breath. He and his army fell, fighting the tyrant that would have destroyed the town of Idalita, the tyrant that would go on to ravage the town's population in vengeance. However, he inflicted losses so great that Gangrel was unable to press on to the castle. Due to his defense of the homeland, and of the town, it was renamed to Campari's Rest in his honor."
Lucina looked up at him, seeing his tired, bitter expression, and catching on to the subtext.
"What actually happened?" She asked
"Campari drafted the local population. He sent them onto the battlefield in the front, unarmed and unarmored, using them as meat shields to take arrows intended for the soldiers. He forced them, sent the civilians charging in droves at the enemy lines, as a shock tactic. It was intended to be demoralize the enemy before the heavily armed soldiers charged in behind them. It was brutally effective."
"And the town's people… they… they charged with no hesitation?"
"If someone were to put a blade at your child's throat, and tell you to die, would you do so? The answer to them was rather apparent, it seemed," his words carried a haggard tone, and she could only stare, at a loss.
"They… threatened the children?" She realized how immature she may have sounded, but never before had she heard a tale quite so… cruel. Inhuman.
"They killed most of them as well. In the end, around eighty-five percent of the town's population died. Campari's Rest, as it stands, is simply a ghost of what was. Its named changed and story retold to fit propaganda and a tale of lies," Robin's hair seemed to glow in the light of the moon, but it did little to change the look of disgust that crossed his features.
"That… Validar would truly honor, and reward such actions? Is he even fit to call himself human?!"
To this, Robin chuckled. It was not a sound she had heard from him before, and it was not a pleasant one. It was hollow, empty, mirthless.
"Validar is very human. He is the embodiment of humanity at its very worst, stripped of virtues, and of compassion. He is the unchecked ambition, untempered zealotry that drives man to actions just like those Campari took. He desires only power, and will not stop until his thirst for it is satisfied."
As Lucina watched him, she could not help but think that he seemed… very, very sad, to say the least of it. His eyes fell low, his shoulders sagged, and she saw a chance now to perhaps come to understand him better.
"He… does not sound as though he would be a pleasant father," she said gently. He tilted his head downward.
"Yes, well… life gives you what it will," he said, his voice soft.
"Yes, I… I suppose it does," Lucina replied. "And… And your mother? What of her? And did you have any friends, aside Lady Tharja?"
He didn't look up, didn't meet her eyes, but she realized that she had touched an open wound.
"...My mother died long ago." He spoke with a tone of finality, perhaps even warning. But to Lucina, it was as though he was begging to be spared the memories. "As for friends, I don't really have any. Tharja… Tharja has always been kind, but she mostly feels indebted to me. Lon'qu is more focused on me as his charge than anything else, and Henry… he doesn't make the best conversation, to be frank."
"Forgive me. I do not mean to dredge up pain for you. I… know how you may feel," she said, facing away from him. "My parents were taken from me at a young age… I lost a great deal, but nothing nearly as significant as them. I'm sorry, for that which you have suffered. But know that I may be able to understand."
"You understand nothing."
His words were soft, his tone melancholic. She turned to him, almost angry at such an assertion, but froze at the sight of his face. He looked at her now, his tired eyes unfocused, lost in a nightmare.
"You have lost a great deal, I can tell. Perhaps more than I could ever know," he began. "But you couldn't understand that which I have lost. I would never want you to understand. It's a pain no person should bear, so please, do not try to bear it with me."
Lucina watched him, silent for a moment, trying to think of something, anything to say.
"I… see. Then I will not try to understand…" Taking a moment to gather her courage, she removed her mask, facing him once more, as her hair began to cascade down her shoulders. "I realize I may not ever truly be capable of understanding your suffering, but… I wish to be a support, something you can rely on. For that to be the case, trust is important, yes?"
She took in a deep breath. No backing down now.
"My true name is Lucina, firstborn daughter of the late Exalt Chrom and Queen Sumia. I… would like to call you my friend, should you be so wiling, as I would like to be called yours."
Robin examined her, for a time, processing. Thinking. Watching.
"Pleasure to meet you, Lucina," he said, an expression in his eyes she had not yet seen before. "I could call you friend, if it is to your liking."
She smiled at him, a small, reserved one, but no less genuine. "Very well…"
"...Friends it is, then, Robin."
There are a great many things I would like to say. First, the reason this took so long.
Basically, cancer.
Yeahhh in October of last year, ya boy got diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma, which kinda sucks. I don't mean for being sick to be my excuse, but it did add. It isn't the most fun way to confront your own morality.
For those concerned, I'm sorry, I don't mean to worry anyone. But, things are going well! I've finished my last rounds of chemo, and now I'm just waiting on scans. Should be right back at it in no time.
Honestly, though, this beginning portion has just been… hard for me? I'll probably post chapters that are both longer and more frequent once we get past this introductory arc, and into that good stuff. I have no intention of abandoning either this, nor Fellblood. I've just reached a point of dragging my feet with both stories. And I would like to apologize for that. I hope to do better in the future.