I hate boats, I decide that within ten minutes of departure when I lean over the edge to relieve my stomach of its contents. "Lady Yasei," Jakob approaches me, "Would you like some tea to settle your sickness?"

'I bet he already has some made' , "If it keeps the world from spinning around me, yes." Jakob quickly dashes out.

"That's because you haven't earned your Sea Legs yet, Lady Yasei!" I hear Gonin shout from the wheel. "Don't worry, the first trip is always the worst, take a few more and you will never notice you left land!"

"Gods, I hope so." I turn over to Keaton, "How you are handling this so well?"

He shrugs, "I don't know, I never been on boat and I feel just fine." He glances over at the rest, "You are the only one getting any… well, besides Arthur."

Jakob returns with the tea and I nod my thanks, slowly taking a few sips. "Much better…" I say.

"Ma'am! The one with the Knight's armor, please start walking carefully, you're liable to break the floorboard!" Poor Gonin is playing the part of the fussy father.

"Might help if I take out the training rocks…" I hear her mutter.

"I assure you, Lady Elise, Justice will protect me from even the foulest of si…" Arthur stops mid-sentence and I hear him heave.

"...Just drink the tea, Arthur." I can almost hear the disapproving frown on Elise's face.

I hear footsteps approach, I look to see it is Phoenix, with a rather wide smile on her face. "Good… afternoon? Lady Yasei." She stops to look at the sky, "Almost afternoon? Good morning, then."

"Good morning, Phoenix... and please, don't worry about the 'Lady' part." I take another sip of the tea, "I see you are handling the trip well."

"This is my… fourth trip? I believe." She takes in a deep breath, "Maybe three and a half, I'm not sure if I can count a trip where I had to abandon a ship and get on another as a full trip."

"That sounds… interesting, care to share?" Another gulp and the tea is gone, I hand the empty cup to Jakob, "Thanks, I feel almost completely fine now." He bows and leaves.

"My father's idea." She resumes, "He had the ability to make the possible out of the most daunting odds."

"Sounds like the type of person who would have a lot of interesting stories recorded about them."

She nods, "So… the area that I lived in was under attack by an army under the name of Walhart the Conqueror…"

"Docking in the minute, welcome to Notre Sagre!" Gonin announces.

Gods, it seems like almost no time passed at all, Phoenix surely has a way with stories. I made sure to have her promise me more tales of her father's exploits later and she happily accepts. "You keep saying the land you lived in, but never bothered with a name, would it really hurt so much to give it a name? It is your home after all, right?"

"I suppose not, since it isn't recorded here at all… Ylisse." We start walking off the boat and into the town, the others choosing to visit various stalls.

Elise joins in, "Hmm, I never heard of it. How'd you end up here, anyway?"

"Took a wrong turn, landed face first in a temple near the northern section of Nohr. Didn't like the scenery and headed East, ended up in Hoshido and ran into the Archass Takumi there." She shrugs, "He was looking for a woman named Corrin and I agreed to help, enhanced senses and all. Turns out he didn't care for my combat and tactical skills and just used me as a glorified tracking hound."

"Hold up… northern section?" Elise pulls out a map, "Liiiike, right here?" She points at a spot near the border, it has this cute little pin of a tome on it. There were three more pins, an axe near the center of the border, a sword at Cheve, and a tiny dragon on Notre Sagre.

"Yea, the geography matches what I saw. Why?"

"My big brother was sent there to investigate distortions. Maybe you popped out from one of them?"

"Rips in space time? An interdimensional rift?" She ponders, "I suppose, it is a much more plausible theory than you would think."

"You lost me after space time." I admit.

She smiles, "It is highly theoretical, experimental, and dangerous stuff to perform… unless a Divine Dragon is setting the course. Which also leads to potential paradoxes, incorrect destinations, wrong times, and/or alternate realities."

My face is blank and I am pretty sure I can hear the steam coming out of Elise's ears. "...I think you and Leo would get along wonderfully." I finally say.

Phoenix giggles, "Well, I'll be sure to share my theories when I meet him."

"Lady Yasei! Good news, an elderly man has confirmed that the Rainbow Sage lives on top of the nearby mountain here inside a fortress." Jakob bows, "It would be advisable to bring in some extra rations and water for the hike, he claims it is very brutal."

I nod, "All right, we'll eat, bring some extra and start traveling. Make sure everyone's weapons are good to go, as well. We have no idea if those Hoshidans are still up there or not."

"At once, Lady Yasei."

"Wait, Jakob!" He stops immediately and turns towards me, " If the Hoshidans are still there, and if a royal happens to be present, I want all of the troops to not engage to kill. I will handle them. Also, make sure they know to try to bring the retainers alive if possible. Everyone else is fair game to be killed."

"I will deliver the orders, anything else?"

"That's all." He nods and leaves.

"Taking hostages? A pretty risky move, Yasei." Phoenix comments, "On one hand, you can draw the other royals out and end the war fairly quickly… on the other, they might just send the bulk of the army our way and end us just as quick."

"Yea, I know… but…" I look away, 'I don't want them dead, they are still family… okay, maybe except Takumi' "I have my reasons."

"I understand, remember Yasei, you are the commander. At the end of the day, it is your call with what we do, I'm just here to provide statistics and strategy. Just because they might always work doesn't mean you have to say yes."

I smirk, "Just provide those, huh? So you don't want to be on the frontlines after all?"

Her eyes narrow, "I'm still human, I can make mistakes." Then I laugh and she follows.

"Well then, let's get some food and get this mission over with."

My small army stands at the foot of the trail, Jakob is not kidding when the elder man told him that the path would be brutal. "Thank the gods I ate before this."

"This would be the perfect time to add more training stones." Effie frowns, "But I don't have any more." She looks at Elise, "My liege, may we return here another time?"

My little sister giggles, "Of course, and I'll be sure to bring all the training stones you want."

"…How strong is Effie, exactly?" Phoenix raises her eyebrow.

"She bench presses tree trunks." I reply as I start the march.

"She punches boulders apart!" Elise exclaims.

"She uses me as a weight lift…" Arthur says.

"Yup, all of that in full armor." Effie nods.

The Tactician looks at the Knight in question, "I'm going to perform some tests on you later."

Effie smirks, "Bring it on… as long as there is enough food to compensate…" She turns to Keaton, "You still owe me an arm wrestle."

"After this." The Wolfskin replies, then moves next to me. Phoenix is on my left side. "You think one of the royals will be there?"

Phoenix speaks up, "It sounds like this 'Rainbow Sage' is a pretty big deal, and if he is, then I know I wouldn't want to send any less than my elite to guard him. So yes, I think there is a high probability we'll encounter a royal."

"He is said to great amazing strength to those who visit him." I add. "Father wants me to go through this to both route the Hoshidans and get this power for myself."

"Hold on…" She starts, "if he just 'gives' this power away, then wouldn't this battle be heavily one-sided in their favor?"

I shrug, "Maybe it's an 'if you are worthy' scenario. Maybe it's all a lie and he just hands people a medallion. We'll see when we get there."

It has to been at least an hour… an hour of looking at the same rocks, the same pathway. It is like there is some magic spell that keeps teleporting us back down, "Owie…" Elise complains, "My feet hurt…"

"You are the one who wanted to walk, maybe jump back on your horse?" I suggest.

She gasps, "No way! I can do this!" Her eyes are full of determination, "I made it this far, I can go the rest!"

"I have traveled some rugged mountain pathways before, but this…" Keaton says, "Is by far the dullest." Not that he is actually breathing heavily or looks tired. "If anything, I would give in to boredom than exhaustion."

'Or hunger . ' Then salvation comes on from high after the next turn, "Gods, finally. The fortress." I sigh.

"Hmm…" I can almost hear the gears in Phoenix's mind turning, "I was expecting something more… grand? No, complex, rather." A pause, "I can work with this, however."

"We can't even see the entrance yet, how are you already thinking of something?" Jakob asks.

She points towards her long ear tips, "Half-manakete, my senses are incredibly sharp. I can see every pebble from one end of the path to the other. I can smell the scent of freshly washed banners on the fortress… I can somewhat make out orders being called out, unfortunately the fortress's thick stone walls are preventing me from getting all of it." She looks forlorn for a very brief moment, but it fades as soon as it enters.

"Incredible…"

She nods, "I can also pick out individual spices and herbs in food and drinks… including poisonous ones. So I'll be sure to let you know if someone is trying to get rid of you with a 'peace' meal."

"A truly useful talent, may I ask if this ability is engraved as a natural talent, or learned?" Oh, it seems Jakob found someone he actually enjoys spending time with… by choice, that is, not duty.

The sorrow is evident in her eyes, "Learned, sadly. My father and his best friend are both very well known people, and as such, there were people who wanted them taken out. That's where my mother, a few others, and I came in. My father's idea, of course, which turned out to be very effective." She takes a moment, "I can't count the number of times some noble sent a 'gift' that contained something harmful… but they learned, a few months of continuous failed attempts and all of that nonsense grinded to a halt."

"Peaceful times sounds as deadly as war, even Wolfskin challenging an Alpha wouldn't degrade to such a tactic," Keatons says.

The fortress' doors are about to greet us, "And here we are," I listen for a moment, "Hoshidans, they are still here."

"I smell Pegasi…" Phoenix starts, "There's also a bold presence, confident and commanding." We give her a few minutes to observe some more, "There are still a lot of walls between this leader and me. What I can tell you, however, is that the path in there splits before joining again." She turns to me, "Would you be comfortable in just leading yourself, Keaton, and Jakob for a room or two?"

"Absolutely." I grin. 'Rend, kill.' I internally shake my head, 'No! I need to focus, I can't give in to my dragon this time… Hinoka must come out of this alive.'

"Groups are set, then. Yasei, Keaton, and Jakob will take right. The rest of us will take left, keep close and don't chase down targets unless told otherwise."

"Spare the retainers if possible, do not aim to kill Royals." I remind them. "Let's move."