A Summoner's Journey

Grand Hero Battle: Navarre

Heroes for this chapter: Minerva, Caeda, Robin and Klein

Two days after the Voting Gauntlet, a letter flew through the front entrance of the Askr lobby. Opening it up, I found an activation postcard for the new Grand Hero Battle against Navarre, also known as the Scarlet Sword. After a brief strategy meeting with my usual team of tacticians, I decided to grab Minerva, Caeda, Robin and Klein as my squad for the battle. Heading into the World of Mystery, postcard in hand, the crimson fencer of Archanea would be waiting for us.

Once we arrived, Navarre drew his Killing Edge+ and his troops stirred.

"So you've arrived. We've been waiting" Navarre got into stance, his katana arched over his head, both hands holding onto the long hilt.

"Navarre! Since when does a swordsman of your caliber fall in with thieves and cutthroats? Especially those of Embla!" Caeda exclaimed.

"What? You again? I hardly have time to fight for your army again" Navarre replied coldly.

"Please, Navarre. Why fight for nothing when you can fight for something?" Caeda pleaded "Leave this rabble. Lend your sword to our cause. Or, if you will not, then turn it on me now instead"

Navarre's sword wavered slightly "Normally I wouldn't turn my blade on a woman, but the contract of Embla… it has tight restrictions. Fight me and defeat me. Then we'll see about leading my sword to your army"

Caeda sighed "If that's what it takes, then we'll do it. Let's go everyone!"

"Alright everyone, stick to the strategy!" I commanded "Robin, head to the forest to the right of us and bait out the thieves and clerics. Take them out with your Blarraven tome"

"I have it covered!" Robin bounded off into the woods, drawing his magical tome.

"Caeda and Minerva, back up Robin" I said "The Axe Fighter over there might come after Robin with his Hammer, so I need you two to defend him if he comes by"

"Of course!" Caeda clasped her hands excitingly while Minerva simply nodded, her Hauteclere already ready in her hand. The two fliers flew off, hovering just slightly over Robin, who was in the trees.

"Klein, stay by me and shoot down anybody who comes down the main path" I instructed, pointing to a break in the trees where Navarre stood. A moment later and the sounds of battle begun. Robin cast a wall of ravens into the forest clearing where Navarre's troops were and pushed back a thief wielding a Rogue Dagger+. The thief retaliated with a swift dagger throw, but Robin hid behind a tree and the knife missed. Suddenly, Minerva came down from the skies and smashed her Hauteclere onto the thief, mauling him in one blow. The second thief turned and threw his Silver Dagger+ at the Macedon princess, but she threw her cape over the front of her body and a thin orange shield generated, currency of her skill, Sacred Cowl. The dagger bounced off effortlessly, but Navarre was heading towards Minerva, so she had to retreat.

"Wrong move!" Robin blasted Navarre with a flood of ravens, knocking him backwards, his body steaming. Navarre clutched his arm in obvious pain and gestured to the cleric next to him to heal him. The cleric rose her Recover staff and healed some of Navarre's injuries, but Caeda swooped down and stabbed the cleric in the back with her Armorslayer. Navarre completely ignored Caeda however and rushed into the woods, towards Robin. As he ran, his Killing Edge+ began glowing with hot green wind.

"Blazing Wind!" Navarre slashed at the tree Robin was hiding behind, unleashing a torrent of blazing hot heat all around him. Trees were sliced apart from the gale and Robin stumbled away from the attack, a couple cuts and burns peppered on his body. Navarre dashed up towards the tactician, intent on finishing him off, but Klein forced him back with a double shot of arrows. Robin recovered from the Blazing Wind attack and shot a deadly stream of ravens towards Navarre, dealing heavy damage.

"May peace with your gods!" Minerva suddenly crashed onto Navarre from above, cleaving him in half with her Hauteclere. The Axe Fighter dashed towards her and swung his Hammer over his head, but Minerva swerved out of the way and her dragon bashed his head onto the soldier, knocking him back.

"Please clear the way!" Caeda suddenly rocketed towards the Axe Fighter and stabbed him through the chest with her Armorslayer, making him dissolve into light. The Silver Dagger thief threw his knife and Caeda and it landed in her shoulder, forcing her to fly back. The thief pursued her, but two arrows suddenly sprouted from behind his chest, thanks to Klein.

"Such foolishness" Klein turned to the last cleric and nocked an arrow in his bow, the arrow being made of pure ice "Glacies!"

The cleric made a last ditch attempt to attack Klein by increasing the force of gravity on Klein, pinning the archer to the ground, but his arrow has already been shot. The Glacies arrow hit the cleric dead center onto her chest and she collapsed, fading into light.

"Call me Navarre" Navarre said without expression "I'm a mercenary, but I don't come cheap"

"So uhm… how much do I need to pay you?" I asked.

"We could work out the details when we go back" Caeda said "For now, you'll lend us your sword, right Navarre?"

"Hmph. I suppose so" Navarre pushed his long black hair away from his eyes "Here we are again, fighting in the same army"

"Yes, that's three times now" Caeda recalled "The War of Shadows, the War of Heroes and the war now in Askr"

"..." Navarre turned to me "Are we going now or what?"

I realized that I was staring at Caeda and Navarre while they talked and snapped out of my trance "Y-yeah, let's go home"

After Anna assigned Navarre a spot in the barracks, she came to me with a notice.

"This came while you were gone. I read it over and I think you should read it out loud to all your heroes" Anna advised.

"Why should everyone else know about it?" I asked, slowly peeling the letter open.

"The change affects them too and they should be mentally prepared for it" Anna said "Go up to the twin thrones of Askr. I'll gather everyone in the lobby"

A couple minutes later, all of my heroes gathered in the lobby. I stood overlooking them from the pavilion where the thrones of Askr were behind me. The afternoon sun shone through the giant window behind me, giving me a natural spotlight. I took a deep breath and opened the envelope, revealing the notice inside. In my youth, I had massive stage fright, scared to talk with large groups of people. I eventually overcame it in my late elementary school years though, so this was just another performance. In front of 50 heroes who all had more experience with death and despair more than I will ever have. I opened the notice and began to read in a calm, loud voice.

"A new and important feature has been discovered in the world of Askr, called "Skill Inheritance". Every hero summoned has a base set of skills such as Lyn having Galeforce, Defiant Attack and Spur Speed. By having the original user of the skill teach another hero how to use it, the hero is able to learn that skill. For example, if a Lon'qu teaches a Takumi how to rely on his instincts to be aware of ambushes, he can always strike first in a fight. This skill is called Vantage. However, there is a catch. After the hero has inherited the skill from the original user, the original hero will vanish from the castle the next day and go back to the world they came from. If you plan to inherit skills onto your heroes, be careful as what you sacrifice cannot be brought back"

I closed the letter and faced my heroes, eyeing all of them expectantly.

"So now that this feature is in place, we can make each other much more powerful" I said, pacing the floor "This can give us an edge in the war against Embla as heroes who don't see much use can contribute by teaching their skills to someone who fights on the frontlines much more often"

I pointed to Subaki in the far left "Subaki for example can teach Julia the skill Quick Riposte, as she's slow on her feet and can appreciate the ability to quickly cast Naga twice when someone attacks her"

I pointed to Abel in the center "Or you Abel can teach Chrom how to shatter swords with Swordbreaker. Then, he can easily defeat axe units AND sword units"

I retreated my hand back to my side and faced the crowd "My point is that everyone here can contribute to the strengthening of Askr's army through skill inheritance. Yes, I am aware of the sacrifice needed to do this and if you're having trouble with a certain hero leaving, please speak with me"

I paced towards the right side of the pavilion "Also, five star units like Robin and Seliph will not be able to teach anybody their skills. I strictly forbid it. Only our 4 and 3 star heroes can teach each other skills"

I moved to the center again "All in all, I am glad that this feature has been discovered because Embla's strength is going stronger by the day. They already have figured out this mechanic, as I fought a Minerva with Moonbow and an Eliwood with Iceberg. So if they can strengthen their army with skill inheritance, we can to. FOR ASKR!"

"FOR ASKR!" everyone cheered.

"I will decide what skills must be taught to who!" I declared "But for now, you may all rest. Army dismissed!"

And that's Navarre's Grand Hero Battle alongside the introduction of skill inheritance! Coming up next is the World of Shadows paralogue followed by the Wyvern Riders vs Pegasus Knights Voting Gauntlet. Perhaps Lucian will meet Saria again in the Voting Gauntlet world? As always, thank you for the kind reviews, favorites and follows. Until next time fellow summoners!