A Summoner's Journey
Chapter 2: World of Conquest
Current Heroes: Alfonse, Sharena, Anna, Virion, Eliwood, Caeda, Niles, Maria, Odin, Robin, Lyn, Chrom, Nino and Olivia
"World of Conquest huh? Sounds familiar", Chrom said as Robin double checked that he had all his gear on.
"Hah, sounds like the place Walhart would like", Robin laughed, "A place of endless battle and fighting. Quite the rush".
"If what you say is true, then you might pop up in a middle of a bloody battlefield", Chrom advised, "So be careful Robin".
The tactician smiled, "Don't worry, I got this".
I met with Robin, Lyn, Nino and Niles down at the portal courtyard.
"Alright guys, today we're liberating the World of Conquest from Embla's rule", I said, pointing at the swirling purple portal beside me, "According to Anna, the World of Conquest is famous for their mounted knights, so be careful to not get trampled".
"Great. I was thankful to come into this world, but here I am, going back to that hellhole", Niles muttered.
"What's wrong with the World of Conquest?", Nino asked politely.
Niles scowled, "A dark and depressing place. Full of thieves and brigands and has the worst king you could ever imagine".
"What was the king like?", Lyn wondered aloud. "The dude spent his entire day watching dancers at the opera house", Niles explained, "Also, he had more than 20 children".
"Wait, WHAT?!", Robin took a step back, utterly shocked, "Is that really how the king's like?".
"I'm not the right source to ask if you want to pleasure yourself with that info", Niles looked like he said stuff like that everyday, "Anyways, shouldn't we be going? The sooner we go, the faster we can come back here".
I sighed, "Alright then. Everyone, follow me".
We tumbled through the portal and ended up in a dark plain separated by a black river. The pale white moon shone underneath us, but the entire place was as dark as night.
"So you have come to battle us?", a familiar voice spoke through the dark.
"Who's there? Show yourself!", I shouted back.
Lyn squinted, "It's man dressed in black armor and has blond hair. He's on a horse and is wielding a Steel Sword".
I looked back at Lyn, impressed, "How can you see that far?".
"On the plains of Sacae, my tribe was often attacked by bandits at night. We since learned how to see in the dark", the nomad smiled at the thought of her homeland.
"That's so cool! Can you see anybody else?", Nino asked.
Lyn gazed around us and reported that there was a small blond girl on a horse, a short blond haired man on a horse with a tome and a purple haired women on a dragon with an axe.
"We know who you are! Show yourselves and fight us!", I shouted. Torches lit all around us, showing exactly who Lyn saw.
"This is the second time you face my blade, but this time, you're in my home turf", Xander slowly galloped forward, his sword at his side, "All of us are bound by contract, but I am bound in another way- a certain loneliness in her eyes".
"Come on, and you can excuse that she's trying to take over the Askr kingdom without permission?", I countered.
"I have seen such things already", Xander's expression was steely cold, "She reminds me of one of my siblings, who was raised in a joyless and lonely fortress for many years".
"That's terrible…", Nino sniffed, "Nobody should live their childhood without family and friends…".
"Perhaps you can understand why I can't turn my sword on her", Xander continued, "Or perhaps you do not, but either way, I must stop you. Camilla, Elise and Leo! The time to fight is now!".
"You're not even on my level. Flux!", Leo's tome glowed purple and a cloud of dark gas expelled from the cover.
"Gronnblade!", Nino shouted and a shower of green energy blades rained from the sky. Leo's Flux clouded smashed through each blade and bashed her in the face, knocking her to the ground.
"Nino!", I cried.
"Blarraven!", Robin called and a huge flock of blue spirit birds flew out from Robin's tome and swarmed Leo, knocking him off his horse and making him evaporate in light.
"There was something in my world that may apply here", Robin said, "The Weapon Triangle".
"Oh yeah! Swords beat axes, lances beat swords and axes beat lances", I recalled.
"Yeah, I think the same theory applies here", Robin said as he cast Blarraven onto Elise, who was healing Camilla after Niles shot her, "It looks like dark and fire magic are red tomes and since Nino's a green mage, she has a disadvantage against Leo!".
"This is why I have you as my strategist", I smiled, "So dark and fire are red, wind is green and thunder is blue?".
"That seems to be the case, since Odin's a blue mage and Leo's a red mage", Robin said as he defeated Xander in a single hit, "I'll have to study it when we get back".
Meanwhile, Lyn slashed her Sol Katti onto Camilla's waist and brought her down.
"Mother Earth woman, get a better outfit", Lyn said as she cleaned her sword with a rag.
"You're one to talk, with you exposing so much of your legs", Niles commented with a smirk.
"Hey, these are traditional nomadic robes!", Lyn countered, "At least I'm not riding into battle looking like some kind of… uhh, what's the word?".
"Whore?", Niles snickered, which earned him a smack on the back by Robin, "Oww!".
"Nino's here!", Robin reminded the archer, "Don't speak such dirty or crass stuff".
"Alright, alright jeez…", Niles muttered, "Those children are going to learn those words anyways, so why try so hard to stop them?".
"Because I don't want them be you", Robin said, "I want them to be bright, happy and have strong bonds with many people".
"Oh? What kind of bonds?", Niles leaned in closer to Robin, "The friendship ones or the really good and passionate ones? The one that makes them scream at night".
"Niles, shove off", Robin pushed the outlaw on the shoulder, "I'm not implying that they are having… you know".
"Alright guys, let's stop talking about this", Lyn sheathed her sword, "Niles is going to poison me if he talks any longer".
The next couple fights were generally easy. We found Elise in a fortress along with a pink armor knight and an axe fighter that looks like a superhero. After, we found Leo in a dark forest with Odin and Niles alongside him.
"Heelllooo handsome…", the other Niles began, but my Niles shot him with his bow and went away.
"Robin! Robin, I need help!", Nino cried.
"Nino, what's wrong?!", Robin shouted back. Nino came running out from the dark trees "There's this scary man in a yellow and black outfit!"
Robin nodded as Nino continued, "And he said he had 10x the amount of power I had! I'm afraid to fight him…".
"Don't worry Nino. I'll come with you", Robin readied his tome when Odin sprang from the trees in front of them,
"I have sprung into action! Fear me, for my name is Odin Dark!".
"Eeeekkkk!", Nino screamed in fear and hid behind Robin.
"Take this, scum! Thunder!", Odin cast a bolt of lightning from his tome. The magic crashed onto Robin and the tactician didn't have a single scratch on him.
"Uhh, Nino?", Robin called, "This guy's a pushover. You can fight him no problem".
Nino came from behind Robin and cast Gronnblade twice onto Odin, bringing him down no problem.
"Oh, uhh…", Nino blushed, "I guess he wasn't as strong as he said".
"Trust me, Odin boasts a lot in the castle", Robin said, "I challenged him to a magic duel to test his abilities and well… his magic wasn't really strong".
"He does have a flair for drama though", Nino said, "Maybe he can become an actor later!".
"Odin would make a great actor, for how much boasting and acting he does", Robin replied, noting in his mind to tell Odin that when he gets back to Askr.
"Watch this!", Lyn swung down with her Sol Katti onto Leo, but the dark knight dodged and cast Flux onto Lyn.
"Nope!", Niles leaped out from the trees and shot Leo in the back before he could cast his magic.
"Now I got you!", Lyn's sword glowed bright blue and she leaped into the air, slashing Leo three times before spinning around and delivering one final slice with her sword, making the prince of Nohr dissolve into light. After an happy comment about their victory from Nino, the group continued on. They fought Camilla along with her retainers, Selena and Beruka in a giant lava field. There was also a random Embla lance flier with them. Robin took down Selena and Niles destroyed the fliers. Easy fight, continue on. We arrived in a large arena, with a dark blue floor and torches lit around us. Moonlight shone through the open ceiling.
"How intriguing. You managed to battle through all my siblings and retainers", Xander said on the other side of the arena, "Princess Veronica said that the Order of Heroes had the advantage of a legendary summoner. Clearly, this is true fact. Still though, we'll stop at nothing to defeat you. Laslow? Peri? Let's show them how Embla REALLY fights!".
"Right away, milord!", Laslow sheathed his sword and danced on the spot.
"What is he doing?", Robin asked, "W-why is he dancing in a fight?". When Laslow finished dancing, Xander rushed forward, inhumanly faster than he ever was before.
"Holy Mother Naga!", Robin cried as Xander thrust his Steel Sword down at the tactician. Robin staggered back, then launched a cloud of ravens from his tome. The pink and blue haired cavalier, Peri jumped in front of Xander and absorbed the blow well.
"Gronnblade!", a shower of wind swords rained from the sky. One of them impaled Peri through the chest and made her dissolve. Another hit Xander and Laslow, although both of them took the hit just fine. Two of them stabbed through an Emblian troubadour and took her down.
"Foolish!", Xander deflected an arrow from Niles and galloped towards Nino. The Nohrian prince bashed her in the side with his horse, sending her to the wall.
"Blarraven!", Robin conjured a swarm of ravens struck Xander from behind, knocked him out. Laslow dashed forward, Iron Sword in hand and dueled with Lyn. Lyn swung at Laslow's chest, leaving a large swath of fire. Laslow staggered back, his clothes ripped from the attack and swung at Lyn's leg, making her fall onto the ground. Laslow jumped and dove down with his sword at Lyn. The swordswoman raised her Sol Katti and blocked the strike.
"Robin! Help me!", Lyn shouted. Robin opened his tome, which blazed with fiery light, "Glowing Ember!". He then shot his magic and a swarm of blue spirit ravens burning with fire attacked Laslow, smacking him off Lyn. The ravens swarmed the swordsman for a second, then they flew away and evaporated into the air. Xander was finished. The battle was won.
"Phew, that was a tough one", Robin brushed the sweat off his brow as he put the Blarraven into a pocket in his coat.
"Embla's power is huge. We have to train hard and surpass them if we want to win", Lyn sheathed her Sol Katti, then looked around, "Where's Nino?!".
"Nino was unfortunately defeated by Xander", I said, "Don't worry though, she'll appear back in the Askr castle lobby".
Lyn glared at me, "That better happen because if she's dead, I'll- Mmmph!". Lyn didn't get to finish her sentence as Robin covered her mouth with his hand.
"I trust your word Lucian", Robin gave me an approving smile, "And Lyn should too".
"Mmmph!", Lyn growled under Robin's hand.
"I think she's saying "If you don't release me soon, I'll chop your hand off", Niles snickered. Robin let go of Lyn's mouth and she gasped for breath.
"I swear the Father Sky, your glove smells like horse poop!", Lyn wiped her mouth, "Know that I don't like being touched like that".
"Oh, so you were taken hostage a lot back in your world?", Niles asked. A wild shade of red covered Lyn's face, "Don't you dare do it to me".
"Oh, I promise milady. I promise not to take your hostage and have some fun with you…",
"SHUT… UP… NILES".
I laughed, "Oh my god, you guys are hilarious. Anyways, we cleared the World of Conquest, so we should head home now". Before we left the arena however, Xander reappeared.
"You fought well. I admit defeat", the prince said, "Those of the World of Conquest will not be compelled to fight you or invade the Askran kingdom, as the contract is broken. However…".
"However…", I gestured "go on" with my hand.
"However, I'm staying at Princess Veronica side", Xander said, "Next time we meet, I'll defeat you", and Xander left the arena.
Theme: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - With Pride in Your Heart watch?v=PhGf58tC290
"Mission successful!", I said as me and my three heroes strolled into the castle lobby. The bright sunlight shining through the window were a lifesaver compared to the gloomy darkness of the World of Conquest.
"Oh good. Nino appeared in the lobby and I was afraid that you were having trouble", Anna said. I told Anna, Alfonse and Sharena everything that happened in the the World of Conquest while Robin, Lyn and Niles went to the cafe next door for a drink.
"How could a hero like Xander stay loyal to Veronica and the Emblian Empire?", Sharena asked.
"There are heroes who help our kingdom by their own free will", Alfonse reminded his sister, "So maybe Xander sees something in Veronica which makes him stay loyal to her".
"I can't imagine anything redeemable about Veronica", Sharena said, "Maybe Xander is under some kind of spell or something…".
"Either way, heroes do it only for their own goals or loyalty. They are NOT friends", Alfonse said sternly.
I raised an eyebrow, "You say as if it's impossible to befriend heroes. I'm already close with Robin and Lyn".
"They are only our allies", Alfonse said with the same tone, "Don't get close to them".
Sharena giggled, "Oh don't be such a sour puss Alfy. You think that only because you were close with THAT one hero and he left to go home, leaving behind a bag of Hero Feathers".
"Which hero was it?", I asked. Sharena began to respond, but Alfonse cut her off.
"Enough of this talk. We have to remain vigilant of another attack from Embla", and Alfonse left the lobby.
"Is something wrong with Prince Alfonse? He seems sad", Eliwood said behind me.
"Alfonse was close friends with a hero back then and one day, that hero left him. I think Alfonse may have felt betrayed by it", I explained, "That's why he refused to get close to any of the heroes here and only opens up to me, Sharena and Anna".
"That's sad. I wish I could help", Eliwood said sorrowfully, "But I think I'm not the right person to confront him, considering that I'm a "hero". You should do it Lucian".
"Oh trust me, I'm terrible at giving emotional therapy", I shrugged, "I might not be the right person for the job".
"I have no idea what therapy means, but I think you are the right man for it", Eliwood encouraged, "You and Alfonse have grown close like brothers over the last few days. You and Sharena should talk to him about it".
"I'm go talk to him alone. Alfonse likely already talked this a lot with Sharena", I said, turning to the direction Alfonse went, "Thanks Eliwood. I'll go find him now".
"Good luck", Eliwood said as I dashed towards the western hallway.
I found Alfonse alone in the training yard outside the west corridor, hacking away at a training dummy with his sword.
"Hey Alfonse! Can I talk to you for a sec?", I called.
"If you want to check my "stats" like you did with Eliwood, I'm a little busy right now", Alfonse responded.
"No, I just need to talk to you about something", I said, "Come, join me on the bench". Alfonse stabbed the dummy through the stomach and sheathed his sword. The prince walked over to where I was and sat down.
"So I heard that you were friends with a hero back then", I began. Alfonse began to rise from the bench, but I pulled him down.
"Tell me who the hero was", I urged.
"I don't want to talk about it", Alfonse growled, "Leave me or talk about something other than that".
"Alfonse, I don't know much about emotional therapy, but I do know that telling the problem to someone else is the best way to get rid of it".
Alfonse sighed, "Is that your world's solution when someone had emotional problems?".
"Hah, I would think you'll do the same here", I smiled, "But come on, let the issue off your chest. At least tell me who the hero was".
"The hero was Marth", Alfonse said, which made me gasp, "We earned his favor while fighting in the World of Mystery and he joined us out of loyalty and respect".
"And what happened after?", I asked.
"I grew close to Marth. Both of us had the same ideals and dreams for the world, but one day…", Alfonse continued, "...one day he disappeared unexpectedly. When I went to check the barracks that morning for him, all I found was a pile of glowing Hero Feathers". I remained silent as Alfonse continued.
"I felt betrayed, as if Marth didn't care for me as much as I did", Alfonse's voice was strained with sorrow and pain, "Gaining respect from the legendary Hero King is such an honor and seeing him leave without any word to me or Anna allows me to see another side of him: a cold and ruthless man".
"Alfonse, I'm sure that-", I began, but Alfonse cut me off.
"I know that I don't have evidence for his disappearance and it might sound selfish…", Alfonse said, "But ever since that incident, I refused to befriend any hero, as they may pull the same stunt as Marth did and leave me when I least expect it". I remained silent, not knowing what to say to comfort my friend.
"Should of brought Robin, Eliwood or Caeda. They'll be much better at giving advice than I am", I thought.
"W-well, I'm sure he had his reasons", I said, "Maybe they were urgent and he had to leave before telling you".
"If he had to leave, then why didn't he leave a note?", Alfonse asked, "He left without warning. End of story".
"Did talking about it at least ease your pain?", I asked.
Alfonse gave me a weary smile, "A little. Now are we done talking? I got training to do".
"Ha ha, of course. You may continue with your training. I'll go and claim my orbs by Mr Fountain" I said, laughing. I left the training yard and visited the quest fountain in the lobby.
"Well done. You have successfully liberated the World of Conquest on the Normal difficulty", the fountain said and five luminous orbs glowed at the bottom of the fountain.
"Wait, hold on", I said, "There's difficulty settings here?".
"Oh yes. Shooting the Breidablik at the world portal with a Hard or Lunatic difficulty card increases the hero's power in the world", the fountain echoed, "Liberating the world on higher difficulty awards more orbs".
"Well, I like summoning, so let's do it!", I exclaimed, "Where do I get these difficulty cards?".
"Look at the bottom of the fountain", the fountain said and I looked down next to the orbs in the well. Two metal cards were sitting next to the orbs in the fountain. One of them was red and had a large yellow H in the middle on both sides. The other was purple and had a golden L on each side as well.
"Oh! Thanks Mr Fountain!", I picked up the orbs and cards and brought them up to my quarters. I deposited the three orbs in a chest near my bed and took the two difficulty cards.
"Let's try these out", I said and went back to the lobby.
I found Robin and Niles in the game room. Robin was playing chess with Virion and Niles was watching them while eating some spaghetti.
"Robin, Niles, we got a new mission", I said, holding up the Hard difficulty card.
"What's going on Lucian?", Robin asked as he picked up a black chess piece and went over Virion's white piece, earning a frustrated growl from the archer.
"I received two difficulty cards from the fountain in the lobby", I explained, "By inserting them into my summoning gun, I can make the heroes in that world stronger".
"That sounds more dangerous than whatever it's worth", Niles said as he put another forkful of spaghetti into his mouth, "Do you get anything from raising the difficulty?".
"Niles, speak when your mouth's clear", Robin chided, "I can see the spaghetti in your mouth".
"Mr Fountain said that he'll reward more orbs for liberating the world on a higher difficulty", I said, "And more orbs means more heroes, so let's go".
"Alright, me and Niles will meet you in the lobby. Lyn and Nino are outside, enjoying the breeze", Robin checkmated Virion and got up from his chair. Niles finished his food and followed Robin out from the game room. Outside, Lyn, Nino and Eliwood were lying on the grass, relaxing in the sunlight and cool wind.
"Lyn, Nino! There's a new mission!", I called.
"Ugh, what is it now Lucian?", Lyn asked and Nino got up and rubbed her eyes, "Me, Eliwood and Nino were about to take a nap in the grass". I explained the situation with the difficulty cards and the orbs we could get.
"Could we do it next time? We're really tired from the last fight", Lyn said.
"The more orbs I get, the faster I can get Hector, Ninian and Jaffar", I said, "So unless you DON'T want your husbando here…".
"Oh, you cheeky little dastard", Lyn got up and pulled the Sol Katti out from the ground, "Fine, I'll accompany you. Are you coming with me Nino?".
"S-sorry. I'm still a bit sore from the fight with Xander", Nino held her side in pain, "I can't you with you Lucian. I'm sorry".
"It's alright Nino", I smiled, "Eliwood, do you want to go along?".
"If you need me, then I'll do my hardest", Eliwood got up and onto his horse, "Are we leaving now?".
"Yes we are. Niles and Robin are already waiting in the lobby. Get ready in five minutes and meet me there", I said and went to the portal courtyard.
"Okay, so how do I work this thing?", I looked all around the Breidablik, trying to find the slot to fit the difficulty card.
"The slot's on the bottom of the barrel Lucian!", the fountain echoed from the lobby, scarring Olivia, who was performing a dance for Caeda and Maria. I checked the bottom of the Breidablik and found a slot exactly the size needed to fit the card. I slid the red card in and the entire summoning gun glowed with red light. I took aim at the portal to the World of Mystery and pressed the trigger. A pulse of red energy shot from the Breidablik and the entire portal was recoloured bright red instead of swirling blue.
"Alright guys, it's time to go!", I called into the lobby. Robin came first, then Lyn, then Niles and finally Eliwood.
"Okay, now it looks a bit scary", Eliwood said, "Is it okay if I back out?".
Lyn slapped Eliwood on the back, "Come on Eli. You faced Nergal, the Fire Dragon and endured the death of your father and Ninian. A little stronger enemies won't be too bad".
Eliwood sighed and drew his Silver Sword, "Fine. I'm ready when you guys are". We all jumped through the crimson gateway and landed in the same area where we met Jagen, Marth and Caeda. They looked to be real, but none of them said a single word.
"Uhh, hello?", I called. The silence was eerie. Jagen charged full sprint at us, Steel Lance in hand. Eliwood galloped in front of me and blocked the lance with his sword.
"Maybe the difficulty setting just simulates our fights before and makes them harder", Robin speculated, "Which explains why the enemy heroes aren't saying anything". Eliwood pushed Jagen back with his blade and slashed at his waist. Lyn charged from the side and finished Jagen off with a swift slice to the head. Robin summoned a flock of ravens with Blarraven and took down Marth. Niles shot an arrow at Caeda and brought her down, but the archer sustained a gaping cut wound in the process. The next fight after, Niles got defeated by an Emblian sword fighter while attempting to shoot at it. Robin clipped it with his magic and the four moved on. In the desert, Lyn was destroyed by a swift Elthunder from Linde. Robin nearly got defeated as well, but Eliwood sneak attacked her and brought the blue mage down. With only two heroes left to fight, we had to go back to Askr and retrieve them. Both Niles and Lyn were too sore from the fighting to continue on, so I have to go grab Maria and Anna to substitute for them. Back in the World of Mystery, we fought two cavaliers, an archer and a Emblian flier. Robin took care of the sword cavalier and archer, Eliwood took the axe flier and Anna attacked the lance cavalier with Maria healing them if necessary. Simple, fast and easy. In the same garden where we fought Marth, Robin's ranged magic damage really helped. Eliwood galloped over the river and shivved Merric though the chest. Robin destroyed Marth, Caeda and Gordin with his tome, which somehow allowed him to duel archers no problem. We came back to Askr, tired and battered.
"Good job. You have liberated the World of Mystery on the Hard difficulty", the fountain glowed and five more orbs appeared in the fountain.
"Fine work today, guys", I said, facing my heroes, "We have cleared the World of Conquest and liberated the World of Mystery on the Hard difficulty. The fountain rewarded me with 10 orbs total, so given more time, I'll be able to summon more heroes!". Everyone cheered.
"You are dismissed. Good night everyone!", I said and headed upstairs to my bedroom. I took off my robe and boots and put them in the laundry basket beside my quarters to get washed. I grabbed some nightclothes from my closet and went to go take a shower. Before heading to bed, I deposited my orbs into my orbs chest and went to update my Hero List.
"17 orbs now. Only three more for a full summon session", I thought as I sat down at my desk. My lamp burned with magic fire, fire that can never spread nor burn anything. This one was modified to only provide heat and light. I took my quill and updated the list.
Robin: High Deliverer - Gold Five Star. Blue Mage
Lyn: Lady of the Plains - Gold Five Star. Swordswoman
Chrom: Exalted Prince - Silver Four Star. Swordsman
Nino: Pious Mage - Silver Four Star. Green Mage
Olivia: Blushed Beauty - Silver Four Star. Sword Dancer
"Guess that ends the day", I said as I dried the quill pen with a rag and left it on the desk. I climbed into my bed and pulled the warm covers over me. Before I knew it, I feel into a deep sleep, exhausted from the long and hard battles.
To be continued...