A Summoner's Journey
Paralogue 8: Ylissean Summer
Team for this chapter: Lyn, Robin, Legion and Clarisse
The month passed to June and with that, summer weather came by. I found myself quickly pulling down my hood and unbuttoning my robe after a few minutes of the summer heat and the others were doing the same. Robin took off his black coat and tied it around his waist while Robinne draped hers over her shoulders like a cloak. Xander, Frederick and most of our armored heroes were taking the summer heat the worst, so I decided to give them the day off to work around the temperature change.
"Ugh. I've never experienced heat like this in my life" Xander grumbled when I came down to the lobby this morning "Back in Nohr, winters were long and harsh while summers were short and cool. Here though, I'm practically sizzling in my armor"
Frederick nodded in agreement beside him "I had the same issues when summer rolls around in Ylisse. During those times however, Prince Chrom would order us to take a break and head to the beach for a swim"
"That sounds like a splendid idea. We do have the day off, so…" Xander tapped my shoulder as I passed by to check the mail "Lucian, do you happen to know if there's a beach here in Askr?"
I paused to think for a moment "I think there's one a little west of us. Here's a map for reference. I don't know the exact distance really"
I handed Xander a map of Zenith that was conveniently lying on the table beside Feh's roost. I was never good at geography. All I knew was that Askr Castle was located on flat lowlands of western Zenith, surrounded by forests, mountains and nature that made Askr Castle hard to locate and assault. I wasn't sure if the paved road even led to a beach.
"Hmm…" Xander traced his finger on the map briefly, drawing a line from Askr Castle to a detour on the road that led to the ocean "I think this should be good. Frederick, let's scout the beach before we call the others"
"Might I remind you two that I only gave day offs to the armored ilk of our army, for them to get used to the heat" I reminded the two cavaliers "You can't just go up and pull someone away from their duties for a beach day"
"Nothing dire is going on within the castle and everything's been stable so far, so I'd say to give our troops a little break" Anna interrupted, then turned to Xander and Frederick "Go on, scout the beach before grabbing the others. I want to join in too"
"Oh no. You aren't taking pictures of us in swimsuits to make money" Robin shook his head before handing me a report from one of our spies "Also, there's trouble brewing in the World of Awakening again"
"Another Tempest?"
"No. Something much easier to handle" Robin smiled "Emblians"
"Oh lovely. I've been looking for an easier battle lately" I opened up the report, scanning the minor details on the paper "So Emblians have invaded the World of Awakening while their summer festival was going on?"
"Yup. That means that the heroes we'll be fighting will be in their summer attire" Robin turned his eyes on Anna, whose own eyes were gleaming with excitement "And no, I'm not taking photos for you with your camera tome"
"If I didn't have work to do, I would come along. Ugh!" Anna pouted, then turned to Lyn, Florina and Eliwood walking out to the market for breakfast "Hey Lyn! Mind doing a favor for me?"
"Huh? What is it Commander Anna?"
"There's trouble brewing in the World of Awakening and Lucian wants to take you along as part of his team" Anna explained and I sighed in exasperation. Poor Lyn was being roped into this and I didn't even ask if she wanted to go "While you're there, take photos of the all the heroes in their summer wear with this tome and give the pictures back to me"
Behind Anna, Robin mouthed to Lyn "Don't do it! It's a bad idea!"
"Uhm… sure. I'll do it" Lyn accepted the grey tome from Anna and Robin slapped his forehead "But why can't you do it yourself?"
"I have urgent work to attend to. Managing the Order of Heroes is hard, you know!" Anna put her hands on her hips "So I'm leaving you with my… lesser known hobbies. I don't want to miss this chance!"
"Right and how can I take photos of heroes if I'm in the middle of fighting them?"
"Duh! You take it after you've liberated the world and receive thanks from them" The commander rolled her eyes "Obviously"
"Well, I can't hold it so here Robin. Catch" Lyn threw Anna's camera tome at Robin and the tactician pocketed into his coat tied at his waist "When will we be leaving and who else is coming?"
"I was thinking of bringing Legion and Clarisse since they haven't had much combat exposure yet…" I turned and saw both of them coming out of the mess hall "Oh, speak of the devil. Legion! Clarisse!"
"Ugh. No need to shout so loud" Clarisse grumbled as the two approached us "What do you need?"
"Embla has invaded the World of Awakening again and we want both of you to come along to help us liberate it" I explained "Seeing as you two haven't had much experience besides fighting in the training tower, consider this a test to prove yourself on the field"
"As longses theres fighting to be doneses, I will always be readyes!" Legion nodded vigorously "Come on, come on, come on! It's times for the killing!"
We left into the World of Awakening's portal and found ourselves on a beach nearby the ocean. Palm trees, umbrellas and beach chairs were set out in the searing hot sand. I really wished I had some sandals because my feet were getting roasted in my boots. The blazing sun also made me wish my hair wasn't black because it was absorbing heat like crazy. I was slightly jealous of Robin's white hair now.
"Well, we're here. I don't see anyone unfamiliar around though" Lyn scanned the beach for any sort of life, but it was nothing but sand and beach furniture.
"Sharpen your eyes because I see something on the horizon" Clarisse pulled a arrow out of her quiver and nocked it into her bow "That looks to be someone on a pegasus flying towards us"
"Hmm… and I hear the rustlingses of a thief around!" Legion walked over to a nearby palm tree and shook it, shaking a Emblian thief out from the leaves "Ah ha! There he ises!"
"What the- How did you see me there?!" The thief pulled his Poison Dagger+ out of his scabbard and threw it at Legion, but he deflected it with his axe "Arana! Get Robin and Tiki over here! We're being attacked!"
"On it!" The sword flier shouted "Are you going to be alright- Ah!"
The sword flier's words were caught in her throat as Legion swiftly cut down the thief with a single swing of his axe. Swallowing her grief and mourning for her fellow soldier, the flier flew off to the right, out of reach of Clarisse's arrows to find Robin and Tiki, who were getting ice cream at the plaza nearby.
"Robin! Tiki! We need help!" The flier shouted as she descended down to the ground, panting hard from shouting "Invaders from Askr have come here. They murdered Liron!"
"I wasn't expecting this to happen. We need a plan to repel the attackers" Summer Robin gritted her teeth and handed her ice cream to a nearby Emblian soldier patrolling the area "Hold onto this for me while I fight off the invaders. It better not be eaten before I come back"
"B-but it's really hot here. Can you spare me one at least?" The soldier pleaded and Summer Robin heaved a long sigh "I'm broke and can't afford one for myself. Please?"
"... Fine. Seeing as you don't have appropriate attire for this weather, I feel pity for you" Summer Robin turned to Tiki beside her, who was quickly gobbling up her ice cream "Tiki, let's go. Arana, you're coming with us"
"How many invaders were there?" Tiki asked as she finished the rest of her ice cream and picked up her weapon that was lying on the wall: a wooden stick with a watermelon attached to it "I'm not sure three of us is enough to fend them off"
"There's only four of them. It was enough to overpower Liron, but they can't stand up to the three of us" Arana tried to sound brave, but she was still shaken by Liron's death "Right?"
"Okay, I can tell you're a bit disheartened by Liron's death. We'll bring someone else to reinforce us in his stead" Robin gripped her weapon: a harpoon with a fish impaled through the point "Marcus! Come help us defend against the invaders from Askr!"
"Right away. I spotted them by the shore up ahead!" The lance fighter nodded, brandishing his Silver Lance+ "Let's move!"
"That lancer's leading a team of four back to us to attack" Clarisse's arrow was still nocked and ready "We should charge with Lyn and Legion in the front to meet them in battle"
"No. We'll stay on the defensive and let them come to us" I shook my head, gesturing Lyn, Legion and Robin to go forward "Lyn, Legion and Robin will take the brunt of the attacks while you'll fire from behind"
"A mage taking the front lines? Don't tell me your head was hit by a coconut"
"Surprisingly, Robin is quite the physically sturdy mage. Even more odd is that he struggles against magic" I replied and Robin nodded in agreement, drawing his Blarraven+ tome from his coat pocket as he moved beside Lyn "He's an unusual mage"
"Hmph. If he's that good at taking physical blows, he should pick up a weapon instead of magic" Clarisse narrowed her eyes "But enough talking. The enemy is here and I'll take first blood"
Before the enemy team could even raise their voices, Clarisse's arrow flew and nearly struck the lancer in the face. Acting quickly, he raised his shield to block, but Clarisse's arrow exploded into a plume of smoke on impact, blinding him and the enemy squad.
"Legion! Rush in while they're blinded" I commanded "You're more used to fighting in the smoke, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Legion leaped into the fray, hacking the lancer's neck off and bashing Summer Robin's leg hard before taking Tiki's melon hammer to the head, sending him staggering back. The sword flier flew out from the smoke and dived down to stab Legion in the back, but Clarisse downed her with a single arrow, sending both rider and pegasus tumbling into the sea. Her arrow sent off another smoke bomb, adding onto the veil that blinded Summer Robin and Tiki.
"Not going to stop here!" Summer Robin charged through the smoke despite her bleeding leg and stabbed Lyn through her waist with her Deft Harpoon. Lyn yelped and counterattacked, slashing Summer Robin twice before letting Clarisse land an arrow through her chest.
"Lyn, engage with Tiki from the front. Legion, flank her from behind and Clarisse and Robin, support from behind!" I called and my heroes moved into action, practically swarming the summer-clad manakete. I knew a friend I met in the Voting Gauntlet who would be stunned senseless by how beautiful Summer Tiki was. A shame we had to defeat her.
"By my sword!" Lyn's Sol Katti was wreathed in the twilight white energy of Luna as she leaped up, smashing the blade onto Tiki's head and melting her natural defense. As the manakete staggered back, Legion finished her off with a decisive swing to the back, ending the skirmish.
"No… Arana… Liron…" A lance flier spied on us in the far distance, staring at the blood gushing out from her sister's fallen body and pegasus. Her sister's boyfriend, Liron laid in the hot sand, covering in his own blood as well. The lance flier's blood boiled with anger, but she knew she couldn't take on the four invaders from Askr alone. She needed help.
"Nilana!" The lance flier heard someone shout her name and turned to see her friend, Salia fly up to her with a worried expression "What happened?"
"The invaders from Askr repelled Marcus's group and killed him, Liron and Arana" Nilana reported with an unsteady voice. Her pegasus tried to nuzzle her to calm her down "They're trying to liberate the heroes of this world from Embla's occupation"
"We don't have enough troops to hold them down. They vastly outclass us" Salia gritted her teeth, drawing a special weapon forged by the blacksmiths of Embla "But we have the advantage in weaponry. This Slaying Edge and your Reprisal Lance should surprise the Askrians"
"But two of us aren't enough to take them on. We need to find Frederick and Gaius. They can match up to Askr's heroes" Nilana replied, scanning the beach below her "Where are those two?"
"I think they're in town, looking for a drink" Salia arched her eyebrows "Are you sure they can help us defeat the Askrians? Both of them are bare chested and barely wearing armor. I think Frederick tried to throw seashells at us to attack when we invaded initially"
"Remember, heroes are special. Robin and Tiki will be back to assist soon" Nilana reminded her fellow flier "Us Emblians aren't so… fortunate"
"We'll get vengeance on the Askrians for Arana and Liron. I swear it" Salia promised "And Marcus too, of course"
"Right. Let's find Frederick and Gaius quick!"
We wandered around the beach town for a while, kicking around for Emblians or enemy heroes to fight. We only wound up finding regular civilians enjoying their time on the beach or in restaurants, strangely blissful despite two interdimensional kingdoms coming to invade them. I guess they haven't see us murder Emblians on the beach yet.
"We've wandered the entire square and haven't found a single Emblian or hero yet" Clarisse grumbled in discontent "And I'm getting hot as well. Can we go to the docks so I can cool off in the water?"
"Thatses… a good idea…" Legion looked like he was suffocating in the heat "Getting… hot in here…"
"Take off your mask then" Lyn suggested, wiping the sweat off her brow and Legion shook his head vigorously.
"Nope. Cannot take the maskses off. Nope, nope, nope" Legion refused "Never can and never will. Sorry!"
"If you can't take your mask off, then how do you eat?" Robin asked and Legion regarded him with a puzzled look.
"Eat…?"
"Forget it. This is unnecessary" Clarisse interrupted sharply "We're not getting any ground wandering around in this town. Let's look around the docks to find more enemy heroes or Emblians"
We moved towards the docks at the edge of town, where we found two bare chested men walking towards us on the boardwalk. One of them had a bag of seashells and was clutching one like a dagger while the other held a bow that looked like it was made of candy. His arrows were tipped in what looked like popsicles.
"It's… so… hot…" Summer Gaius complained, watching his popsicle arrow tip melt by the second "The moment I got my coconut drink, it turned into coconut syrup"
"No time to complain about the heat. It looks like those Askrian invaders have arrived" Summer Frederick faced us "I apologize for my attire, but know that I'll fulfill my contract and defend this beach!"
"Good luck with that kind of protection" Robin let loose a flood of ravens with Blarraven+ at the two men, but two Emblian pegasus knights suddenly swooped in, taking the attack with ease.
"Well, we found them and looks like they're taking on the Askrians already" The sword flier drew her sword, which looked like a Killing Edge with a red handle "Let's do this Nilana! For our Emblians!"
"Frederick! Gaius! Support us from behind!" The lance flier commanded and the two pegasus knights rushed at us with lightning speed, disrupting Clarisse before she could even nock an arrow. While Clarisse darted around the sword flier's attacks, trying to get an arrow ready, Legion dueled with the lance flier alongside Robin. Legion swung his axe at the flier, but she dodged and crimson light enveloped her purple, cone spear as she counterattacked, striking Legion hard. An arrow from Gaius followed up and sent Legion skittering on the boardwalk.
"Here's how it's done!" Robin blazed with fiery orange light, aiming his Ignis at the lance flier, but Frederick's seashell dagger came flying at the tactician's face and he was forced to divert the spell to protect himself. Robin threw the crow storm at Frederick and dissolved him into feathers in one blow. The lance flier took the opening to stab Robin in the shoulder with her spear, forcing Robin to back up.
"Clarisse! I need back up!" Robin shouted as he dodged another spear thrust "Legion's out of commision!"
"Mwa ha ha!" Suddenly, Legion laughed a maniacal laugh, running up to the lance flier like a madman and smashing his axe into her chest with Draconic Aura, breaking her armor into dozens of pieces. Legion did a follow up attack before she could recover, smacking both rider and pegasus into the water below.
"Nilana!" The sword flier jerked back to Legion, sword in hand "You'll pay for that!"
But as the sword flier flew at Legion, bent on revenge, Clarisse nocked her arrow and shot her down quickly.
"Big mistake letting the archer go free" Clarisse wiped the blood off her face from the slash the flier got on her while Robin finished off Gaius. Resting using the waters Nilana's pegaus didn't fall into, we got up and proceeded down the boardwalk, meeting out next challenge almost immediately.
"It's just an empty clearing here. We should turn back" I said and then turned around when suddenly, a wall pushed out of the trees and blocked out exit "Should of seen that trap coming"
"Ha! We caught you!" I heard Summer Robin's voice laugh from outside the box of walls "This was all part of the vaca- I mean plan. All part of the plan"
"Finding a good place on the beach to set up this trap wasn't easy, let me tell you" Gaius said. How did he come back so quickly?
"Robin, please be aware that I still have to collect all the shells. Your feet will not be in danger in the coming battle" Frederick said politely and Summer Robin sighed, scolding at Frederick to just be ready to fight.
"It all comes down to this. Win and we'll be free of our contract" Tiki said "Give it your all!"
"Well, I can tell you're trying to free yourself of this contract" Robin pulled out his tome "Because this trap isn't well concocted at all"
The tactician sent a bolt of lightning flying at a wall in our box, breaking it to pieces instantly. Summer Robin and Frederick rushed through the gap immediately.
"Take them on Legion! Robin, assist from behind!" I called and Legion rushed forward, having a short duel with the summer tactician before swiftly overpowering her and taking her down. Robin too had an easy time against Summer Frederick. Meanwhile, Clarisse was having an archer duel with Gaius with Lyn behind her in case Tiki decided to break down the wall. Eventually, I heard a groan of defeat before a gasp of pain and Clarisse nodded at Lyn to break down the wall. Lyn's Sol Katti cleaved through the stone wall like butter and Tiki came charging, bring down her watermelon axe over her head.
"I've handled axe wielders stronger than you" Lyn sidestepped Tiki's axe with her speed and stabbed the manakete through the waist, finding her bare skin surprisingly hard to pierce. Nevertheless, Lyn's Sol Katti slid through Tiki, who let out a gasp of pain before smacking Lyn in the face with her stick, forcing Sol Katti out of her. Clarisse let loose her arrows, but they didn't go far into Tiki's draconic skin and she brought down her Melon Crusher onto Clarisse, forcing her to roll to dodge. Legion rushed to face Tiki and sliced her Melon Crusher stick in half with his axe before burying the axe in her chest while Lyn stabbed Tiki through the back, dissolving the manakete into feathers. The air and gravity around us seemed to lighten, telling me our battle with Embla here was over.
"Well, now that you're all back to normal, let's fulfill Anna's request" Lyn bade Robin to give her Anna's camera tome "Get together everyone!"
"Hold on. The Anna of this world told me to give this letter to the representative of Askr" Frederick handed me a letter and I opened it up, reading it briefly.
"If the likeness of the heroes here are to be captures… a contract fee must be paid as detailed in the attached document" I read aloud, turning the page to widen my eyes at the contract price "How many zeroes is this?! Forget it. We're not doing Anna's stupid request if we have to empty Askr's coffers three times over for it"
"Let your Anna know this as a lesson" Tiki said sagely "Enjoy summer for what it is. Don't worry about money. After all, summer comes only once a year!"
"Tiki's right" Summer Robin agreed "Instead of making money, make some summer memories"
"We will. Maybe we can enjoy a day on the beach after we return to Askr" I told my heroes, who all nodded in agreement. Even Legion and Clarisse "Alright, let's head back home. Enjoy the summer day, everyone!"
I unhooked Breidablik from my belt and pointed it at the horizon beside me, clicking the trigger to open a portal back to Askr. We leaped inside and came back to Askr, rounding up all the willing heroes to share a day on the beach with us. Anna was pretty angry that we couldn't get any photos, but she'll just have to accept it. After all, it's like what Summer Robin said: Instead of making money, make some summer memories.
Chains of the Past: Robin and Katarina's B support
Robin was lounging on a beach chair, enjoying a nice nap under an umbrella when Katarina approached him, tapping him on the shoulder.
"Excuse me Robin. Do you mind if we talk a little?"
"Huh… w-what? Oh, it's you Katarina" Robin rose up, tousling his white hair "What do you want to talk about?"
"Well, nothing in particular. I just like talking with you" Katarina moved shyly under Robin's umbrella, bringing the shade onto her "Plus, I need shade from the sun. It's ridiculously hot today"
"I understand. Come sit beside me. I'll move" Robin moved his legs off his chair, letting Katarina sit beside him "You're not dressing for the weather?"
"Robin, you're a mage. You should know" Katarina rubbed her sleeve with her fingers "Mage robes are made to be thin and light to not restrict movement. That's the whole reason why mages can move better than anyone else in the desert"
"Ah, I see. I've never felt that myself" Robin gestured to his Blarraven+ tome lying on his chair "I've always had as much trouble through deserts as other infantry units are. It's weird"
"Do you wield magic alone back in your world?"
"No, I learned swordsmanship from Chrom as well. I felt that it was best to learn both sides of the spectrum to best exploit the enemy's defenses" The tactician replied "When I came to this world, it seems like I lost my ability to learn the sword. I can barely remember any of the techniques I had"
"Perhaps that's the reason you suffer the same as other infantry in sand. Having pure magical blood in you allows you to bend nature to your will slightly" Katarina reached over and casually ran her fingers through Robin's hair "Now that you're pure magic, I don't think you have those problems now"
"I hope so" Robin gazed out to the ocean, watching other heroes play in the water with each other "I imagine this is pretty surreal and jarring to you, given your upbringing"
"It is. I've never seen so many soldiers being so carefree, joyful and happy before. Not since when the battle against Medeus was over back in my world" Katarina held Robin's hand and the tactician squeezed it in response "It's so nice to see all of this. Even Clarisse and Legion are opening up and having fun"
"You don't want to go down and join them?"
"No thanks. It's not my type" Katarina moved a little closer to Robin "I just like being with you"
"Ha ha. The student and teacher grow close quick, don't they?" Robin teased and Katarina blushed "Pay it no mind. I'm just glad you're getting more loose and comfortable"
"I know. It feels like the chains of my past are finally breaking loose and I can finally walk freely" Katarina smiled "And it's all thanks to you and the heroes here"
"Well, I wasn't expecting to hear sentimentality from you today" Robin glanced behind Katarina and saw Clarisse and Legion approaching from behind with a bucket full of water. Clarisse put her hand to her lips for quiet "But I'm glad to hear it. You've grown as a person, mage and tactician. I'm proud of your progress so far"
"Thank you Robin. It's heartwarming for me to hear that" Katarina smiled warmly, then frowned at his forlorn expression "Something the matter?"
"You wouldn't happen to have your tome on hand, right?"
"I never do. I always just summon it when I need it" Katarina replied "Why?"
"Because you're in for a rude surprise" Robin smiled mischievously and Clarisse dumped a bucket full of water on top of Katarina's head, making both Robin and Legion burst into laughter.
"Oh come on! Why me, Clarisse?!" Katarina groaned as Clarisse giggled, setting down the bucket beside her.
"Because all you're doing on the beach is sitting here, talking to Robin. Leave the man alone and have some fun here" Clarisse encouraged, which was wholly unlike her. Katarina guessed she was opening up to Askr more than she was "He has an excuse to be napping like a lazy cat, but you aren't. Let's go!"
"Hey! Let go of me! Where are you taking me?"
"To the ocean, of course! If you want to cool off, you'll need to be in the water!" Clarisse dragged Katarina towards the ocean's edge.
"Can I at least change first?"
"Nopeses. Your robe will dry in the sun anywayses!" Legion took Katarina's other arm and on the count of three, Clarisse and him threw Katarina into the ocean, letting out a joyful laugh. Robin watched the three with a smile on his face. Finally, the three assassins were free from the chains of their dark, brutal past. No one deserved a life like that, be it as a child, teenager or adult. They deserved a life like this, free of darkness and able to enjoy the company of others.
It was the start of a good summer.
Have a cute conversation between Robin and Katarina, along with Clarisse and Legion. If it wasn't clear, I love New Mystery and the three assassins and I hope they get alts someday to make them keep up with the current metagame of Heroes (though that's very unlikely). The "friend I met in the Voting Gauntlet" is my close friend, Duplecian who's a big fan of Tiki. Nilana and Salia having a Reprisal Lance and Slaying Edge comes from my own headcanon that Embla's much more advanced in weapons and seall technology compared to Askr, evident by their creation of the Embla's Ward seal. I thought it would be a good way to spice up the story by making Embla a more challenging enemy to face. Coming up next is the Resonating Fangs Tempest Trial, so if you want to be notified of when a new chapter comes out, favorite and follow. If you want to leave constructive criticism or praise, leave a review. Until next time!