AN: Apparently, Nintendo has finally decided on Scáthach over Ulster as the official localized name of Ayra's son. Chapter 3 has been updated to match this.


Chapter 4: Last Fair Deal Gone Down


How could this go

So very wrong

That I must depend on darkness?

Would anyone follow me further down?


Although his state of mind wasn't as bad as it could've been, Kiran had definitely seen better days. He wasn't such a wreck that he just wanted to stay wrapped up in his covers for hours on end, but there was no denying the depressed slump in his shoulders as he walked to the shrine with Sharena, Anna and Maria (who had finally gotten her chance to see a summoning in person).

His insomnia hadn't been kind enough to suddenly cure itself, which did little to alleviate the heft of the thoughts weighing on his kind. Thanks to Ayra, he at least wasn't constantly second guessing whether or not he was going to get someone killed with a stupid idea, but he still had plenty else to worry about. In particular, a morning run-in with a certain blonde from Grado helped to make him feel even more like an out-of-touch screw up…

"Amelia…" He addressed her, unsure of how to proceed. He was on his way to breakfast, but she had cut him off in the hall outside his tower with a conflicted grimace on her face. "Um, are you, you know…doing alright?" He knew all too well that she'd handled their patrol the worst of them all, but he wasn't sure what her reaction would be now that she'd had time to clear her head.

"…No," she answered, her voice significantly lacking in its usual pep, "I'm not alright. I can accept that Norman had to die. I don't like it, but I understand that it was our mission to kill him. But the way you did it…" She forced herself to meet his eyes and contorted her features into a scowl. "That was unforgivable. Nobody should ever have to die scared and alone, begging for their life like that."

At least now they were on the same page; Kiran was no less pleased by setting Jane loose than Amelia was, even if they agreed Norman's life was justly forfeit. "What do you want me to say?" He asked with a weak shrug of his shoulders. "He needed to die and Jane needed to be kept in line. I only did –"

"–what you had to do." She cut him off. "I knew you were going to say that. It must be easy to clear your conscience when you tell yourself you had no choice, huh?"

That little remark shifted his temperament from shameful to angry – it was one thing for her to pile onto his own guilty thoughts, but he wasn't going to stand there and be told he didn't feel awful about what he'd done. "Oh yeah, I'm on top of the world right now." He drawled, returning Amelia's glare with one of his own. "Why don't you take a good long look and tell me how clear my conscience is?" She did so and must not have liked what she saw, because her scowl soon gave way to a contrite frown. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I've got news for you, Amelia: you're not the only one feeling conflicted about yesterday. If you want to be sent home because of it, just come out and say as much so we can get this over with."

"…I'm sorry." She apologized, her voice void of its earlier venom. "I know you, Tanith and Virion didn't like giving him up to Jane either. But," she regained some of her conviction and steeled her gaze once more, "you still let her do it. And I don't think I'll ever be able to get over that."

Kiran was too drained to stifle the exhausted sigh that leaked from his lips. "Amelia, just tell me already if you want to leave or not."

The ensuing silence stretched on for an imperceptible amount of time. Amelia, once so exuberant and jovial, merely stared at the ground in subdued contemplation. He got the impression that she'd had a decision in mind before confronting him, but that their brief exchange had shaken her resolve. At last, her answer came out, quiet and solemn but no less lacking in conviction for all the deliberation that must've produced it.

"…No. I don't want to leave. I want to serve my country the right way, and stopping Embla is the best way to do it. There's a war going on right now back home, but I don't know why it started or what His Majesty thinks we'll get out of it. I may not like you, but I at least understand the cause Askr and the Order are fighting for. At least…" her words took on a solemn, lamenting edge, "at least here men like Norman don't die defending their homes in a war they didn't even start."

She met his eyes once more, her gaze now mournful and resigned. "I'll do my part in the Order to protect Grado. I'll do it for Sir Camus, Princess Tana, Prince Alfonse and the others. But I won't do any of it for you."

She'd turned and walked away without another word, leaving him alone to further mull over his decisions. If she had decided to leave because of his orders, he'd have really been depressed – he indulged Jane largely because of their low numbers inflating her value, and she'd be the first to go if he absolutely had to get rid of someone. Tragic as her state was, she was still by far the largest liability in the Order. The idea that he almost lost a hero anyway trying to keep their local psycho happy was by no means a pleasant one.

Even though Amelia would be sticking around, knowing that one of the heroes now personally hated him did little to help his already demoralized attitude. Camus may not have approved of his command skills, but he didn't seem to have any particular enmity with Kiran as a man. He would probably have to get the Sable Knight to make sure that being the recipient of Amelia's rancor wouldn't stop her from listening to his orders in the heat of battle.

His destitute mood was quickly picked up on by the other heroes. Breakfast had been a silent affair, though his presence at least assuaged enough concerns that nobody made what would undoubtedly be an awkward attempt to broach the subject of his well-being. Once they were on their way, Maria reached out to hold his hand with a comforting smile. Kiran accepted it with an appreciative grin of his own, his spirits at least somewhat lifted by the amicable gesture. Sharena and Anna watched the interaction with amusement and approval, glad that Kiran's soft spot for the little red head was as strong as ever.

When they reached the summoning shrine, Sharena called out, "Two summons, right?" in what Kiran thought was mostly an excuse the finally fill the silence.

"Yep, two summons." He confirmed. "Maria, this will be bright and loud, so be ready to hear your ears ringing." She nodded in understanding, her eyes wide with eager curiosity. As he shakily raised the Breidablik, Kiran tried his best to focus his thoughts and prevent another Jane from popping out. We need your help to stop an Empire from subjugating every realm in existence, he repeated to himself. Still, he was unable to totally stifle the dark misgivings in his heart when the sound of a tearful cry for mercy flashed unprompted through his head. During what he hoped was a particularly strong moment of concentration, he pulled the trigger.

He heard Maria give a little squeak of surprise at the ensuing burst of light, despite his warnings. When his vision cleared, he saw a buxom, indigo haired woman in a dark purple dress and black thigh high stockings with a tome clutched in her gloved right hand. "I am the feared Blue Crow. You may call me Ursula." She introduced herself in a tone equal parts sensual, amused, and suspicious. Kiran felt himself uncomfortably lean back as her eyes scanned across his body, her taunting grin widening with a low hum in turn. "I sense…perfection in you." She declared with no small amount of satisfaction as her grip on her tome visibly relaxed. "You have my loyalty."

"Perfection?" He repeated, not certain that his sleep deprivation hadn't started causing auditory hallucinations.

"Oh, yes. I've quite an eye for these sorts of things, I'll have you know. My instincts haven't failed me yet, and I've no reason to suspect they'll start now. I imagine we'll accomplish great things together, you and I." Her assurances were delivered with a smile whose predatory ruthlessness was matched only by Jane in one of her blood frenzies. She seemed stable enough, but something in Kiran was screaming at him that Ursula was incredibly dangerous. "Now, what's this you whispered to me about crushing an upstart empire?"

I didn't think 'crushing' was exactly the sentiment I was trying to convey… Kiran opened his mouth to elaborate, but Sharena beat him to the punch. "That's why we've asked for your help! We're at war with the Emblian Empire, and if they win, they'll use a magic ritual to forcibly enslave everyone in every world there is – including yours!"

"Kiran here summons heroes from distant lands to fight at our side against Embla." Anna continued. "Collectively, we refer to ourselves as the Order of Heroes. That's Sharena, princess of the Askran kingdom that leads the battle against Embla, and I'm Anna, a commander in the Askran military. The redhead girl is Maria, a healer in our ranks."

"Is that so?" Ursula responded, disbelief clear to hear. "Truth be told, I find 'hero' to be a rather ill-fitting moniker for one of my talents." Her eyes, still boring straight into him, narrowed ever so slightly along with a nearly imperceptible tightening of her smile. "In any case, you're making it sound like you do little but demand others fight your battles for you." Her words, while not exactly filled with warmth before, now carried an unmistakably threatening undertone. With it, Kiran understood why she put him so on edge: she expected a perfect rebuttal, and anything less would be seen as proof that he was worthy of neither her loyalty nor her mercy. While she had no idea he was impervious to that tome in her hand, her confidence to make threats in the face of Anna and Sharena's weapons spoke of her skill. Even if he got out of a skirmish unscathed, the others had no such guarantees.

With that in mind, he chose his next words very carefully. "Perfect or not, there's only so much one person can do by themselves. If we're lacking in manpower, it's only natural to go recruiting. Or are you going to tell me you could run around toppling any kingdom you wanted singlehandedly?"

Internally, he breathed a sigh of relief when her expression loosened once more. "I suppose that's fair. Even I have made use of like-minded allies in the past. Very well then, Kiran, I'll play the part you've asked of me – though I expect further details when we're done here." The way she practically purred his name did nothing to ease the apprehension he felt around her. Nor did the way she sauntered to his side, her heels distinctly clicking against the aged stone.

"Wait, what exactly is it that you do?" Anna demanded, sounding no less trusting of Ursula than he was. "You obviously have the look of a mage about you, but you don't strike me as some run of the mill court magician."

"And what did you mean about not being a hero because of your 'talents'?" Maria piped up, her demeanor far more innocuous and unsuspecting than the rest of them. "Almost everyone Kiran summons is good at killing people, but they're still heroes at heart."

Ursula gave a low, dark chuckle at their inquiries, "Oh, I wonder about that. Regardless, I doubt an assassin who revels in her work the way I do would be considered heroic by any but the most naïve of fools." The undisguised pride and implicit insult in her words caused Maria to blanch and step back a bit. It wasn't like they didn't have adept killers in the Order, but Nino and Kaze clearly regarded their work with detached professionalism at worst. Ursula, by contrast, was oozing with satisfaction at naught but a minor description of at her chosen specialty.

"Then who exactly calls you the 'feared Blue Crow'?" Kiran asked with a raised eyebrow. "I should think you'd need to leave witnesses to spread stories before you get titles like that, but that doesn't strike me as the perfect way to assassinate somebody."

The only outward sign his barb perturbed her was a brief clenching of her free hand. "I will admit that I have, on rare occasion, been…impeded by my lessers. That said, my title has nothing to do with those incredibly limited missteps. On the contrary, my position as one of the Four Fangs is the proof of my countless successes."

Four Fangs? I know I've heard that somewhere before… When he recalled the term as coming from Nino's musings the day he summoned her, his eyes widened and he couldn't help but blurt out, "Wait, are you part of the Black Fang?!"

Ursula looked pleased to hear some form of recognition from him. "Does my reputation precede me? It's understandable; one as accomplished as I must inspire terror in even this distant land."

Kiran didn't particularly care whether Ursula really was well known or not. Now that he perceived a possible link between her and his student, his protectiveness of the latter began to outweigh his trepidation about the former. "Do you know a girl named Nino?" He interrogated with the sternest scowl he could muster. "Green hair, purple cape, can't read?"

The moment he mentioned her name, Ursula's vaguely mocking grin distorted into a disdainful jeer. "You mean Sonia's pet? Yes, I've a passing familiarity with the little garbage reject. Why?"

"She's not garbage!" Maria furiously refuted before the rest of them could. "And she's not anybody's pet! Nino's my friend, so don't talk about her like that!"

When she perceived the glowers they all sent her way, Ursula's lips twisted back into a derisive sneer. "How petulant, snapping at me for speaking the truth. How else should I describe a shiftless orphan unwanted even by her adoptive mother? It's a such a tragedy – no matter what she does to win Sonia's favor, Nino has only ever received neglect and cruelty in kind." Despite her ostensibly sympathetic words, the wicked smirk she wore made it clear Ursula took great pleasure in recalling the injustices Nino suffered.

What a bitch. At least now I guess we know who Sonia is. He mentally remarked, aware that she was at least partially hamming it up to get a rise out of them. For his part, he was too drained to get all that mad and didn't want to give her the satisfaction anyway. On the other hand, Sharena, who'd begun baring her teeth and lifting her lance, was particularly affected. "What is wrong with you?! If you think we're just going to sit here and let you besmirch Nino, you've got another thing coming!"

"Sharena, calm down!" Kiran chastised her with a grip of the shoulder. "She's just baiting us for her own amusement, and doing a really good job of it by the look of things."

"So?" Anna challenged on her princess' behalf. "I'm not about to let anyone run their mouth and demean one of my comrades for a sick kick."

Ursula opened her mouth, presumably to deliver another jibe, while Maria looked ready to try and whack her in the shin with her staff. In an attempt to defuse the situation, he stepped between the newcomer and veterans and stretched his arms out to separate them. "Okay, look, I'm not going to demand everybody in the Order be best friends with each other. I get that not everyone is going to get along."

"However," he glared at Ursula, "I am going to demand that we all be cordial to one another. You can be as sadistic as you want when you're killing people, but don't run around pushing everyone's buttons for funsies. And especially keep your mouth shut around Nino – at this point, I think it's obvious that she's already here. If you really have so little self-control that you can't help yourself, then just stay away from her." Taking a dig at Ursula was a gamble, but he had a hunch that appealing to her perfect standards by insinuating she was failing to meet them was the best way to keep her in line.

He turned to his other three companions, his glare softening into an exasperated frown. "And try not to bite the bait, you guys. I know her type; the madder you get, the more fun she has. Just ignore her and she'll realize you're not worth the effort."

He expected to get another covert threat from Ursula, and so wasn't sure what to think when she responded to his spiel with a content hum. "It's always a pleasure to work for someone with a cool head on their shoulders, who doesn't fly off the handle at some harmless banter. I look forward to seeing you continue to prove that my faith has not been misplaced." He grasped with quite a bit of disconcertment that her show had, on some level or another, been a secret test of character. She'd intentionally targeted a sore spot to gauge how he reacted to being riled up, and he'd fortunately responded appropriately. Only after that subtle evaluation did he truly understand the danger Ursula presented: every action and decision, no matter how minor or inconsequential, would be judged with fine point precision.

And the second she found him lacking in any way, he could very well have a dagger pointed at his back without even knowing it.

"Harmless banter…" He was pulled from his disturbing revelation by the sound of Sharena contemptibly hissing under her breath. He could tell she'd be more than happy to keep arguing, but took his advice and fell silent with a disgusted shake of her head.

"There now, was that so hard?" Ursula taunted one last time. "I swear, I'll never understand why that girl inspires such a reaction in people. Lloyd and Linus are just as disgustingly overprotective, but I suppose they at least have the pretext of being made to see her as a sorry excuse for family." She waited for anyone to rise to her final jab, but was forced to concede to defeat when all she received was a handful of angry glares. Now that the shrine had descended once more into tense silence, she gave him an expectant look.

With a tiny sigh, he stepped forward to finish out the session. Now that he was trying to get his thoughts back on summoning, he was torn between his apprehension of Ursula and his guilt of Norman. Both vied to worm their way into the forefront of his mind and corrupt his intended message to would be Heroes. In hindsight, he saw that attempting to summon in a conflicted state of mind would only be detrimental, but there was little to be done about it now – he couldn't exactly use Sharena as an impromptu therapist with Ursula hunting for the slightest hint of weakness. Bereft of any options, he had little choice but to focus as best he could and hope for the best.

So he did just that, and found the bright flash of light clarify to reveal a tall, pale man with ink black hair covering his right eye. He was clad in some manner of military uniform, a filled scabbard dangling from his belt. "I am Hubert von Vestra, future minister to the Adrestian Emperor. Pleased to make your acquaintance." His introduction was polite enough on paper, but it was delivered with such snide derision that any notion of geniality was completely lost.

Still, at least he proved to be the first one who finally had the decency to give their last name (ignoring Odin, whom Kiran and everyone else could blatantly tell only called himself 'Dark' for the extra edge points), so he couldn't be all bad. "Good to meet you, Hubert." He reciprocated. "I'm Kiran Eclat, the one who summoned you here to ask for your help."

Before Hubert could speak further, he was interrupted by several confused exclamations of "Eclat?" from behind Kiran. Only Anna managed to fashion her confusion into a proper question. "Hold a moment, since when do you have a second name? I thought you said you weren't a nobleman!"

Kiran suppressed the urge to sigh and briefly glanced back. "I'll explain after introductions are over, alright?" When he turned forward again, he saw Hubert was now leering at him with a smug smirk.

"It would seem you've not been entirely forthcoming with your subordinates." He observed with an air of dry wit. "I understand – the cretins at one's beck and call can be ill-trusted with sensitive information." Kiran didn't need to look to know the ladies, Ursula included, were all glaring daggers at Hubert. "But enough idle mockery. Why, exactly, have you called me here?"

"To make a long story short, we're at war with an empire that, if it wins, will use an ancient ritual to magically enslave everyone in every world there is – including yours."

"Oh my, that does sound dreadful." Hubert, once again, killed what little sincerity his words might have had with his sneering delivery. "So dreadful in fact that any fool you brought forth would gladly submit themselves to your guidance to avoid it."

So that's how he's going to be, huh? In all honesty, Kiran was surprised it had taken this long for a genuine skeptic to be summoned. Their story did sound pretty farfetched, but he really wasn't sure how to go about proving that he wasn't making it up.

Fortunately, he didn't have to, as Ursula of all people stepped up to the plate. "By all means, Hubert, roll the dice on whether or not Kiran speaks the truth. But do keep in mind that you'll lose any right to complain when this 'Adrestian Emperor' of yours is kneeling at the feet of their new master like a dog." She returned every ounce of his scorn in kind, causing Hubert's smarmy grin to slacken to a disconcerted frown. If Ursula's weakness was her sense of perfection, it seemed Hubert's was his liege.

"I will concede that it would be…unwise to allow any threats to Lady Edelgard's vision to go unchecked." He internally deliberated for a few more moments before voicing his decision. "Fine. I will accompany you for now, to prove the validity of your claims if nothing else. And I expect to get the entire story, not just your abridged notes."

He may have still been skeptic, but Kiran was just glad he was willing to dial it back a bit. A little suspicion wasn't all that bad so long as he kept an open mind. "We're done here, so I can get started on that right away as we walk back." Hubert nodded his assent and began ambling over towards them with his hands held behind his back

"Not so fast, mister." Anna cut in, sounding like a mother who'd caught her child trying to escape punishment. "What's this about you having 'Eclat' for a second name? Because you've neglected to mention anything of the sort in all the time I've known you."

This time, Kiran freely released the sigh building in his throat and turned around to shoot Anna an unimpressed look with his arms crossed. "Well, considering nobody else has been feeling in the mood to tell me their full name, I've seen no reason to give mine. Now that Hubert's been the first to be so courteous and give me an excuse to reciprocate, maybe you'd like to follow in our footsteps?"

Kiran expected the kind of bashful backpedaling she'd shown when learning of his literacy and as such was caught off guard when his unruffled attitude was mirrored back at him. "In case you forgot, I'm from a merchant family – I don't have a second name." Her aloof sarcasm gave way to a fair bit of hurt annoyance. "And I don't take kindly to being lied to. I don't care how minor it is, being a member of House Eclat makes you a part of the nobility. I'm not sure what you think you've gained by pretending otherwise, but I can attest that you've lost some goodwill with your deceit."

"What in the hell are you on about?" Kiran demanded with a dumbfounded cock of his head. "Since when does being a merchant mean you don't get a last name? What, is my family supposed to disown me if I decide to start a business? Speaking of, my parents didn't even own a house – they paid monthly rent to the people who did. Hell, I was living in an apartment with three roommates where we split the rent four-ways. So, you know, nobody in my family met the most basic pre-requisite to being a noble: owning land."

"Then why, pray tell, are you calling yourself Eclat?" Ursula inquired with so much bewilderment that he got the impression she was too confused to be probing for weakness. "I've made my living slitting the throats of spoiled twits who named themselves after their territory, but I've never seen nor been paid to kill anyone who took a second name about something else. What is Eclat, if not the land you hold?"

Kiran could only confoundedly shrug his shoulders at the question; since when was something as basic as a name so complicated? "The hell if I know, it's just what my ancestors started calling themselves who knows how many centuries ago. I think it's supposed to be French or something, but I never bothered to look into it. Anna is literally the only person I've met in my entire life who doesn't have a last name, and none of the people who do use it as some measurement of ownership or whatever. It's just something everyone has and you're not supposed to think about it too hard, you know?"

His rhetorical question received only nonplused stares from all those assembled. "Um, Kiran," Sharena hesitantly began, "I'm pretty sure you're the only person in all of Zenith who thinks that way. The other heroes aren't telling you their full names because they either don't have them or because they go without saying. I mean, my full name would be Sharena Líf Askr, because I'm Sharena of the Líf bloodline and Askran royal family, but you already know both of those things. Even when we met, it was more polite to introduce myself as Princess Sharena and elaborate on my realm later – it would've been snobbish and pretentious to use my full name for a simple introduction." Kiran didn't miss the way Hubert's lip twitched at Sharena's etiquette judgement. "Likewise, Ayra's full name is probably something like Ayra Od Isaach, but she never uses it because you already know she's Isaach's princess and descended from Od, whoever that is."

"Oh, are we throwing middle names into the mix too?" Kiran asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because then my full name is Kiran Baldr Eclat. If I have an ancestor named Baldr, I've never heard of them; I know almost for certain that my parents picked that because they thought it sounded neat, not because it means anything. I think it comes from Scandinavia and they just wanted something with a little lingual connection to our ancestry."

"I am so confused…" Maria uttered while scratching her head. "I thought you said you were from some country called America, not Scandinavia or whatever 'French' means. Are those all different names for the same place and I missed something, or…?"

"I am from the United States." He clarified with barely concealed frustration. "And the States were colonies once, remember? The land wasn't always settled and my bloodline has its roots in a part of Europe called Scandinavia. I'm pretty sure some ancestor of mine from France moved to one of the Scandinavian countries and married a woman there, which is why my name sounds French. Sometime after the revolution against Britain, my ancestors immigrated to the United States and made a life for themselves. Now, here I am a couple centuries later."

"A revolution, hm?" Hubert slipped in with an oily smile. "How tumultuous…and intriguing. I'd love to hear more later, but I'm afraid you're already late in delivering a tale as is. As utterly fascinating as it is to be told your parents thought it prudent to name you after nothing, I would rather be productive sometime this year."

"I heartily second that motion." Ursula chimed in, her own lips warped into an unctuous smile. "Sluggishness is such an utterly intolerable trait to one who values her time such as I. I know you're only on this tangent because of your half-witted ally's insipid questions, but I would appreciate it if you'd wrap things up, Kiran."

How is it possible, Kiran mused to himself, that these two are totally different, yet equally insufferable kinds of assholes? Their newest assassin was a complete bitch who riled everyone up for shits and giggles, while Hubert was an oleaginous snake that probably couldn't have sounded sincere even if he had a sword to his throat. Either way, Kiran felt a very strong urge to sock them in their mouths and wipe those grins off their faces.

He wasn't the only one to feel that way, judging by the audible shaking of Anna's axe in her hand. He really couldn't blame her, since Ursula had the gall to take a shot at her despite also asking a question about his name, but Jane's episode at lunch meant keeping everyone from killing each other was now part of his job. "Anna," he called out, already weary at having to play damage control for the Blue Crow, "just let it go. She wants you to give her an excuse and I'd rather neither of you kill each other since we need both of you alive to do your things."

"We need her like we need swamp rot…" he heard Maria curse Ursula under her breath. If the slight widening of the Fang's lips was any indication, she caught the insult and took it as a compliment.

"…Fine." Anna hissed out through clenched teeth. "But I am not putting up with this every time she could be of use to a mission. If you want her around so bad, you can deal with her."

"How kind of you to willingly spare me any more of your inane prattling." Ursula drawled. "Not like it makes any difference – in case you forgot, Kiran's the one I've elected to serve, so I've no reason to heed anything you say in the first place."

Anna finally hit the end of her rope and threw her hands up before storming down the shrine steps. "Just get them filled in, Kiran!" She ordered, her words carrying more than their fair share of righteous anger. "I'm going to do something I regret if I have to spend one more second talking to her!"

"Commander!" Sharena called with an outstretched hand. She spared Kiran a glance of both sympathy and frustration and hurried down after Anna, leaving Kiran and Maria with the two newcomers.

"My, what foul tempered fellows you associate with." Hubert observed, likely taking great enjoyment in the spectacle.

"One's soul practically weeps at the thought of having to stomach serving alongside such flawed imbeciles." Ursula concurred with the same sneering grin as always, just daring one of them to bite her bait.

Maria, unsurprisingly, couldn't help herself and actually managed to try and take a swing at Ursula with her staff, forcing Kiran to reach out and grab it halfway. "Maria!" He chastised, leaving the attempted assault unspoken.

"She deserves it!" The little Macedonian rebuked. "Michalis always said I can't let anyone get away with insulting my honor or my allies' or else they'll think I'm weak and walk all over me!"

"Oh, I didn't say she was going to get away with it." He assured her before turning to glare at the object of their ire once again. "If I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure I told you to keep your damn mouth shut, Ursula! Believe it or not, that wasn't just for our sake – what exactly do you think is going to happen to you in a real fight if you've spent all of your time making everyone hate you? Because where I'm from, soldiers who do that tend to die under suspicious circumstances nobody cares enough about to investigate." He didn't actually have a clue how often hated troops got fragged, but Ursula didn't need to know that.

At once, her mocking leer took on a dangerous, alert edge. "Is that a threat?" Her tone was low and ominous; now, Kiran was really walking on the razor's edge.

It took all of his willpower to steel his gaze and not back down from her challenge. "More like a prophecy – turns out the future is really easy to read when the writing is on the wall. Whether or not you end up doing what it says is entirely up to you."

Kiran had no idea how long they stood there, staring each other down, before Ursula leaned back and quietly sighed. "Oh, alright then. I suppose I've had my fun. I can keep my tongue behind my teeth to spare your comrades' delicate sensibilities if I must. Just remember this: though I can be affable when necessary, I have no friendship to offer any of you, nor will I accept any."

"That assessment applies to me as well." Hubert followed up. "I'm perfectly capable of being civil, but I'm agreeing to join your little band only for the sake of safeguarding Lady Edelgard's ambitions – I've no interest in forming bonds while here."

Though they both seemed to have finally taken it down a notch, Maria still tried to get in the last word, "Trust me, people wanting to be friends with you two is the last thing you should be worried about."

"Maria…" Kiran sighed and released her staff. "If they're going to play nice, you've got to be the bigger person and resist the urge to get even for what they said earlier. I mean, you're right, but you shouldn't say as much to their faces."

"We are still standing right here, you know." Hubert deadpanned.

"That you are." Kiran replied with a wry smirk. "And if I understand you correctly, you're sick of standing there. So let's get a move on while I fill you in. Hopefully, we'll catch up with Sharena and Anna on the way."

And so they departed the shrine, Kiran retelling Alfonse's tale as they went. He'd heard the prince tell the story three times by then, so he was fairly sure he got most of the details right. Halfway back, Sharena rejoined them with news that Anna was waiting for them at the castle proper. She relayed that information with no small amount of exasperation now that she had to be back with their two newest 'heroes', but took it in stride when they refrained from any further denigration. It was around that point that Kiran finished explaining how the Breidablik functioned, which proved to be an insight in which Ursula and Hubert took particular interest.

"My, that's a rather insidious means of performing a summoning ritual." The Blue Crow noted with an usually high degree of approval. "And here I was worried my gut was wrong and you might've been too soft. It's good to know you're not afraid to resort to such depraved means to meet your ends."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiran asked, troubled by whatever it was she was insinuating.

Hubert scoffed at the question. "Come now, there's no need to play the fool. No matter how you try to look at it, trapping and consuming the souls of men is a most foul and dark magic. Not that I disapprove, mind you, but one can't help but think of those poor fools whose very existences have been laid waste by your summoning prowess."

They have? He asked himself. Now that he considered it in the context of Libra's definition, the Breidablik's functionality did seem to fit squarely in the 'perverts the laws of nature' school of dark magic. He brought the relic up and examined it with an increasingly appalled sense of horror. What…what exactly did I do to Norman and his friend's souls? D-Did I really…destroy them by bringing Ursula and Hubert here? In prior battles, it seemed so easy to consider the fallen Emblians as just numbers in a spreadsheet that kept track of how much he could summon. Sure, it was sickening to watch them die, but that mostly stemmed from an aversion to violence and conflict in general. Now that he'd actually had one beg for his life before suffering a most cruel execution, Kiran saw for the first time what it was he was doing to his slain enemies. The thought that he'd not only taken their lives, but destroyed the very essence of their beings, made him sick to his stomach.

Sharena, by contrast, had an uncharacteristically callous view of the problem. "They're Emblians," she spat the name like a curse with all the malice she could muster, "who cares what happens to them? If they didn't want their souls to get sucked up in Kiran's divine relic, maybe they shouldn't have slaughtered my subjects and laid waste to my kingdom!" He was reminded of how mad she was when describing the natures of Nifl and Múspell – though she maintained a cheery attitude most of the time, her more vitriolic side showed itself when what she saw as the sources of her woes received anything less than the disdainful scorn she felt they were due.

Maria, since she lacked the personal enmity of her Askran counterpart, was not quite so caustic in her assessment. "Y-yeah, they're just getting what's coming to them. And besides," she rapidly switched gears, "only evil people use dark magic! Kiran's not evil, s-so there's nothing dark or wicked about what the Breidablik does." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself of that more than anyone else. Her conclusion was built on a patently false premise anyway – Odin had made no secret of his prowess for dark magic, and he seriously doubted Maria saw the silly Nohrian as genuinely villainous in any way.

"So I'm evil now, am I?" Hubert deduced. "Frankly, I'm just surprised it took you this long to say so. My pallid features alone have made me no stranger to hushed, denouncing whispers."

"Wait," Kiran cut in the second he realized the implication Hubert's words, "are you saying you're proficient with dark magic?"

"But of course." He confirmed, as if Kiran was an idiot for even contemplating the alternative. "I've made sure to dedicate myself to long study of even the most unsavory arts on the off chance they may prove to be of use to Lady Edelgard."

"Does that include a knowledge of curses?" He pressed further, trying his best to keep the hopeful desperation out of his voice.

Hubert's grin widened ever so slightly. "Did you not just hear what I said? Should the need arise, I'm aware of how to both inflict them on my lady's enemies and remove them from her allies."

Jackpot! With that, Hubert shot up from 'creepy asshole' to 'useful creepy asshole'. In a best-case scenario, Jane would be cured by the end of the day, just in time for Alfonse to get back. Even if she wasn't, at least now they could make concrete progress on fixing her. Isn't it ironic, he giddily reflected, that the grisly deaths Jane's sword drove her to commit have given us the key to removing its influence?

"What makes you care about curses?" Sharena asked, slightly apprehensive about the subject matter.

Oh, right, he was supposed to be covert about Jane's condition. He'd gotten so hooked on the potential thread of solving her problem that he forgot the others weren't supposed to be in the know. "Well, it's just that they're the only piece of magic we don't understand yet." He quickly improvised an explanation. "Remember when Odin and Libra gave me a crash course a while back? They taught me about everything, including most dark magic, except for curses because neither of them knew much about them." He turned back to Hubert. "I'm sure they'll be just as eager as I am to fill in that last missing gap, so we should do that first thing when we're at the castle."

Hubert raised an eyebrow at the unusually banal first assignment, but nodded all the same. "I suppose a simple lesson as my first task is reasonable enough."

Kiran struggled to keep the triumphant glee he felt from showing on his face. His mood took a small blow when, out of the corner of his vision, he noticed Maria suspiciously peering at him with narrowed eyes, just as she had before the mock battle. If she thought something was up before, his insistence on learning about curses as soon as possible probably didn't help things.

"And what shall I do?" Ursula spoke up. "I need not remind you that I don't appreciate having my time wasted."

That was a great question, all things considered. What was an assassin supposed to do when there were no targets to bump off? Well, there is that general Norman mentioned, but Anna said to wait until we debriefed Alfonse before deciding what to do about him. He knew Kaze tended to train with the others, but Ursula wasn't much for socializing and would probably end up driving someone up the wall anyway. Wait, what if she and Kaze…

"We've got this ninja named Kaze in the Order." He informed her. "If you don't know what that is, he's basically a spy, infiltrator and assassin all rolled into one. He's the closest thing to a peer you have, so you ought to get to know him for future endeavors. Maybe you two can teach each other a thing or two about your craft."

"…I guess it never hurts to learn new things." She mused. "I'll see what I make of him, if nothing else. It would be such a shame if my only associate failed to make a favorable impression…" The sight of the castle, and the red blot of Anna's hair at the gates in particular, drew her attention away. "Oh look, she's done us the courtesy of rolling out the red carpet."

Her words were delivered with a familiar jeer, causing Kiran to sigh in response. "Ursula…"

"I know, I know." She assured him with a wave of her hand.

It seemed she did know, as she resisted the urge to make any comment when Anna greeted them and shot the assassin a mistrustful glare. "…I should hope we all have an understanding now." The redhead cautiously offered in the absence on any more mockery. "I can start giving you two a tour of the castle, unless you've already decided on something else on the way back."

"That we have." Kiran informed her. "If you could take Hubert to Libra while Sharena takes Ursula to Kaze, that'd be great. I'll head down to the Healing Hall myself, just as soon as I–"

"Kiran, you're back!" All of the sudden, he was interrupted by a sprightly voice from within the courtyard. A glance inwards revealed a jaunty Nino jogging towards them with an unfamiliar tome clutched in her hands. Goddammit, Nino, not now! He cursed her poor timing – he'd rather have broken the news of Ursula's arrival gently, but now she was barreling straight towards the familiar, by no means pleasant face. He settled for the best mitigation he could manage: a harsh glare at the assassin in question, silently assuring her there'd be hell to pay if she didn't behave.

Said bluenette rolled her eyes, but he saw her clench her jaw all the same. Just in time, he diverted his attention back to Nino, who was crossing the threshold of the gate. "I've got a new spell to show you! I know you've been feeling down since yesterday so I wanted to do something to…to…" She finally took notice of her old acquaintance, her exuberance quickly dimming into stunned shock. "…U-Ursula? I-is…is that you?"

Judging by the way she looked like she was almost biting the inside of her cheek, he could practically hear the sigh she was fighting back. "…Hello, Nino. It's a surprise to see you here, of all places." She didn't exactly sound friendly, but Ursula was at least keeping her tone and word-choice neutral.

Once she heard Ursula speak, Nino became even more stupefied, as if she'd considered the initial sight nothing more than a strange mirage. "B-but, how can you…? You couldn't actually…I mean, Jaffar and I, w-we…"

At Nino's bizarre display, Ursula couldn't help but switch from reluctant civility to annoyed bafflement. "Yes? I was winding down from a mission in one of the Fang's hideouts when Kiran asked for my aid, and now I'm here. What is Jaffar supposed to do with any of this? Speak clearly, girl." Kiran, much to his surprise, found himself sharing Ursula's reaction. He expected Nino to be, at worst, afraid of the Blue Crow – yet, while there was an undeniable fear to her disposition, it wasn't a fear of Ursula as a person. It was more like…a fear of the mere fact she existed. As if her very presence was somehow fundamentally wrong.

Whatever was troubling Nino, it faded away with a widening of her eyes; Kiran could practically see the lightbulb go off over her head as she realized something. "That's right…we're all from different times. So it does make sense for you to be here…"

By now, everyone was looking at Nino as if she'd grown a second head. "Um, Nino, are you alright?" Sharena inquired on everyone's behalf.

The girl in question shook her head to chase away the last of her hang-ups before putting a smile back on and responding, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I just…didn't expect to ever see Ursula, that's all."

Ursula herself was still frustrated by Nino's confusing reaction and let her irritation further seep into her speech. "Well I'm here, so cease your inelegant gaping. I can't fathom what Sonia has ever seen in you if you're so insecure that you freeze up the second you so much as see an unexpected face."

The mention of her adoptive mother earned a flinch from Nino, which was as good a proof as any that she and Ursula were better off staying far away from each other. "So, Nino," Kiran cut in to change the subject, "what was that you were saying about a new spell?"

His attempt at changing the conversation was a blatantly forced one, but everyone was eager enough for a shift that they all went along with it. "Oh yeah, I finally got the hang of Odin's thunder tome! And I'm not just copying his moves like I used to do to learn magic – I can actually read the book and understand what it's doing!"

He wanted to shower her in praise, but Hubert let slip a remark before he could. "…How is one supposed to cast spells without comprehending the tome in the first place?" Were he not so confused, that comment would likely have come out as much more derogatory.

As it was, Nino took the mostly rhetorical question as genuine. "It's not that hard – you just mold your magic that special way, say the right words, and then you've got a spell ready to go. Knowing what the tome says just makes the first step easier." Considering what he'd learned of anima magic, the fact that Nino was able to make magic fireballs on apparently nothing but instinct meant she must've been incredibly talented. Hubert, judging by his disgusted look, probably saw her as more of a dangerous maverick than a gifted prodigy. "Never mind all that though! C'mon, Kiran, thunder magic so cool that I just know it'll cheer you up!"

He had no doubt it would; unfortunately, Hubert's lesson was too important to put off and he thus had no choice but to temporarily shoot her down. "I'm sorry, Nino, but I've got something to take care of right now. How about we meet up later in the afternoon? Say, three or four o'clock?"

It hurt to see her face fall, but he made a mental note to make it up to her by being particularly heavy-handed with accolades when she did the demonstration. "Oh, well, okay. I know you're really busy, so I get that this can wait a little. You can just look forward to it while you do whatever it is you need to do!" She began to withdraw back into the castle, but stopped herself and spared a glance for her erstwhile associate. "Um, goodbye, Ursula. It was, uh…nice to see you again." With that halfhearted farewell, she scampered off to wherever she spent the bulk of her time.

In her absence, Ursula finally allowed herself to sigh and shake her head. "Foolish child…" She muttered under her breath, quiet and distracted enough that he didn't think they were actually meant to hear it.

Her comment earned her a few dirty looks, but those who cared were more focused on Kiran's scheduling judgement. "Kiran, is learning about curses really more important than taking a little break with Nino?" Sharena asked of him. "I mean, it isn't exactly a pressing issue."

"Yeah, actually, it is." He assured her, being deliberately vague about why. The confused scrunch of her face got him to follow up with a slightly less ambiguous guarantee. "Knowledge is power, you know. Trust me, Sharena, I know what I'm doing."

His nebulous declaration drew a lukewarm shrug from Anna. "If you say so. It's your time after all. I still want that formal report about yesterday's patrol by the end of the day, so just make sure you don't get too caught up in your lesson. Now, what were you going to do while I take Hubert to Libra?"

"I was going to go track down Odin and bring him to Libra myself." And swing by the training ground to nab Ayra too, but you don't need to know that.

"Oh, I can do that for you!" Maria spoke up with an eager smile. He prepared to gently talk her down, but a closer look at her face revealed conniving glint in her eyes. She's not offering to be helpful, he realized, she's trying to get a ticket into the group! With the pretense he'd fed the others, there was no good excuse to cast Maria out after she'd found Odin. If anything, it would make sense to include her so as to complete her education. He needed to come up with some reason to stop her in her tracks now.

"Nah, I've got this. I have experience finding that loon, so it'll go faster if I do it." It was a pretty flimsy pretext, but it was the best he could manage since a direct order for her to back off would look too suspicious to the others.

Maria, without missing a beat, confidently countered, "Well then I can just go with you. Then we'll both be good at finding Odin if anyone ever needs him!" You crafty little…Much as he hated to admit it, that was more or less checkmate. At least now they could clear the air away from prying eyes, which he supposed was preferable to letting her run wild.

"Alright, that sounds good." Anna decided for him. "Sharena, I believe Kaze should be at the archery range with Virion to practice his aim, so take Ursula there first. Hubert, I'll show you the way to the Healing Hall. I imagine we'll all meet up again at around lunch time." With that, the group bid their farewells and splintered into different directions.

Kiran and Maria headed for the residential hall first in case Odin was cooking something up in his room. They'd barely got on their way before Maria got the ball rolling. "You know, Kiran, I'm young, not stupid. I can tell there's more to what you, Libra and Odin were doing than just learning about magic."

A sigh slipped from his lips; if she was going to come right out and address it, he might as well just rip off the bandage and get the talk over with. "I already told you once, Maria: it doesn't concern you. It's a very sensitive matter that we're handling on a need-to-know basis."

That did nothing to pacify her, as she wasted no time shooting back an indignant rebuttal. "But it does concern Hubert? He's a creepy jerk and you barely even know him!" Her anger quickly gave way to hurt disappointment. "You'll trust him, but not me? Are…are you still mad at me for following you to the fort?"

"No!" He instantly refuted, aghast she would think he was still nursing a grudge over that. "No, not at all. It's just…" he shook his head, "you'll understand soon enough, Maria. Once we've finished our project, you'll see why we had to be quiet about it." He rested his hand on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Our secrecy has nothing to do with you. Aside from the mages and me, Ayra's the only other one who knows what's going on, and I had a good reason for telling her. You know I trust Sharena and the others, but they're all being left out of the loop too. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

"…Yeah." Her tone was frustrated and upset, but accepting all the same. "It's just…I don't like being kept in the dark. Michalis and Minerva never told me anything either…and then everything fell apart without me ever knowing why."

God, why did she of all people have to get dealt such a shitty hand in life? "I swear, this will never spiral out of control like that. Just give us a little time to work things out, and I promise you'll know everything."

His assurances did do some good in raising her mood, as it brought forth a small smile to her lips. "Okay, but you better follow through on that!"

"You have my word." He patted her shoulder and then lifted his hand to playfully ruffle her hair.

"Stop!" She protested with a giggle, smoothing out her crimson locks once he'd withdrawn his arm. "By the way, we don't have to go looking together anymore. You're going to get Ayra too, right? I can bring Odin back to the Healing Hall while you grab her. It really shouldn't be hard to find him – he'll either be in his room, the library, or the magic range, right?"

"Yeah, but are you sure you'll be alright searching on your own?"

"Sure! The only thing to worry about is Jane, and I know to stay far away from her room. And don't worry – I won't push Odin for any details about what you're doing. I'll prove that you can trust me to not let anyone realize I know you're all up to something."

Truthfully, he hadn't even considered that she might fish Odin for information, but her assurances to the contrary did carry weight that he wouldn't soon forget. He sincerely wished he could fill her in, but they were already straining the limits of practicality by taking in Ayra and Hubert. "I do trust you, Maria. I just need you trust in me the same way."

"I do. But…could you do one little thing for me?" He raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry and was confused when she took his right hand into her own. "Remember to trust in yourself, Kiran. You're doing a great job. Don't ever think or let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Maria…" His voice quivered slightly in the face of her sincerity and he could feel a small lump in his throat.

She flashed him a beaming smile and did a little curtsy before she began to skip down the hall towards Odin's quarters. "Good luck with whatever it is you're doing!" She waved him farewell.

He reciprocated her wave, touched by the reminder that Maria was more than just a stubborn princess with a tragic backstory. For her sake, if nobody else's, he had an obligation to do all that he could to make sure that faith was not misplaced. With that in mind, he wiped the nascent teardrops from his eyes and made his way to the other woman who'd placed her confidence in him.


Hubert was a pragmatic above all else. He believed his time should be used efficiently in whatever way furthered Lady Edelgard's goals. Ordinarily, getting caught up in some foreign conflict to lend his services to strangers would not remotely qualify as a worthwhile use of his time, but he had a feeling this 'Order of Heroes' would bear fruit in some form or another. He didn't entirely buy into that tale of being magically enslaved by this Embla, but even without the potential threat to the Empire, he saw productive ventures in this unknown land that made it worthwhile to stay at least a little bit.

For one, he recognized Kiran's summoning power for the almighty scale-tipper it was – if he could figure out how to replicate the process in Fódlan, deposing that false goddess would be downright trivial. In addition, there was no telling what he might be able to gleam from heroes who hailed from distant worlds. Perhaps creatures similar to the children of the goddess plagued other realms and their inhabitants had already gone to the trouble of devising foolproof means of slaying them? He would hardly be doing his job if he dismissed possible intelligence like that without a second thought.

At least, that was what he kept telling himself as he sat in this dusty storeroom with two absolutely insufferable cretins.

He knew Libra's type well: a good little mindless sheep who incessantly parroted whatever half-baked faith he thought gave his life meaning. Naturally, he had nothing but contempt for the man, but at least he was familiar. Odin was utterly bizarre and as annoying as he was confounding. The closest analogue Hubert could draw was that of a male, far less bloodthirsty version of Kronya – their reprehensible choices in clothing were certainly similar enough. As was their propensity to prattle about inane nonsense, thought at least Odin's ramblings weren't quite as pointlessly gruesome.

"Truly, the wicked powers of darkness shall threaten to consume us all if we do not respect their devilish might!"

Honestly, he was just desperate to find some kind of silver lining to this whole situation. Was Kiran forcing him to put up with these two as some outlandish display of authority?

At long last, Odin was interrupted by the door opening, revealing Kiran and some raven-haired swordswoman who very vaguely reminded him of Thunder Knight Catherine. "Hey, sorry I took so long, Ayra was harder to find than I thought she'd be."

"…I do not mean offense, but why is Princess Ayra joining us today?" Libra asked as he got up to pull what looked like a Silence staff from the wall. "Did you not stress secrecy to us?"

Unexpected guests? Extensive measures to prevent eavesdropping? Clearly, this was no mere academic discourse he'd been brought into.

"I'm here because I've come to realize that Jane is related to me. I have a vested interest in seeing that curse purged from the face of the earth." Finally, it looked like he'd found someone he could tolerate. This 'Ayra' seemed to be plain-spoken and to the point, which was infinitely preferable to the alternatives he'd been putting up with.

Still, it was obvious he was lacking in some details, and he set about getting them by clearing his throat. "It's become rather apparent that a simple lesson in curses is not why you've brought me here. So, if you wouldn't mind, do hurry up explaining what exactly is going on." Oh, those annoyed scowls never got old; Kiran's was more fed-up than anything, but the others were unaccustomed enough that they took his derisive tone far too seriously.

"To make a long story short," the summoner began, "there's a girl in the Order who wields a cursed sword that's driven her into a permanent blood frenzy. Can you tell us how to get rid of it or not?"

Well, things had already taken a turn for the interesting. He, of course, knew the theory of cursing inanimate objects, though most texts placed greater emphasis and stock on curses cast directly from a mage. Unfortunately, study at the monastery granted little opportunity to put any of that theory into practice (and Those Who Slither in the Dark weren't about to let him empower himself beyond what they needed of him), and as such he had little confidence in his actual skill with the field.

But now he was being gifted a golden opportunity to study a genuine curse up close and personal. The fact that they wanted it destroyed was something of a shame, but some goodwill in a job well done would go far for ensuring similar experiences in the future. If he put his mind to it, he could already envision a way to put this imminent knowledge to use: Prince Dimitri, despite his efforts at hiding it, had become quite unstable after the Tragedy of Duscur. If he suddenly went into a mindless, bloodthirsty hysteria, he doubted even his fellow Blue Lions would see it as anything but the poor man snapping from all his buried trauma…

But those were matters to be dwelled on at a later time. For now, he had an inquiry to answer. "Naturally. You're most fortunate the source of the curse is a mere sword – were she under the sway of a curse directly cast from some mage, it would be impossible to remove without killing her."

That innocuous little detail immediately earned him a cacophony of shocked disbelief. "What?!" was exclaimed by all four of them, though only Ayra followed up with an actual question. "Why in the world would that happen?!"

"Before we address that minor issue, allow me to explain how curses function." Now, in spite of their earlier displeasure with him, he had their rapt attention. He didn't typically care for recognition beyond Lady Edelgard's, but a little ego stroking never hurt. "A curse, at the most basic level, imposes onto its victim a mindset and personality desired by its creator. Their goals, outlook, and disposition become that of the curse's…but I imagine you gathered as much from observing the 'blood frenzy' this Jane girl is apparently in. That is what a curse does, but how it functions is much more insidious."

"A curse is not like anima or even other dark magic. When those spells are cast, their duration and strength depend on the strength of the magic well of whomever cast them. And even the most powerful sorcerer cannot set an Arcfire to burn forever. A curse, by contrast, is entirely self-sustaining once it takes hold." He darkly chuckled as he prepared his next step; the looks on their faces would be priceless when they realized it. "And yet, how can that be? Especially since it will have been cut off from its source well. Should it not only last a few brief moments? After all, every spell needs a concentrated source of magic to be able to keep influencing its victim's well…"

As expected, their faces all scrunched up in varying states of confusion. A few moments passed before Kiran proved himself the brightest of the lot. "Does it use the victim's well as a source, like some kind of parasitic, recursive loop? Is that what you're getting at?"

He hit the nail right on the head, but Libra arrogantly attempted to 'correct' him. "No, that's impossible. A spell latches onto someone's well to affect them, but it will be recognized for the foreign magic it is and the well will attempt to shake it off. Except for clerical magic, whose altruistic nature keeps it from being rejected, you can't make a well accept outside magic as if it is natural." It was, in all fairness, a sound argument; the priest clearly knew his theory. From that perspective, Kiran's conclusion looked more like it was born of ignorance in magical matters.

Unfortunately for Libra, curses were a rather counterintuitive school of magic. "Yes, you'd think that, wouldn't you? Ordinarily, you'd even be right. But curses don't just latch onto a magical well. They affect the mind…so doesn't it follow that they should take root there as well? You see, a curse takes hold of its victim by finding some relatively minor traits of their personality and using those as a staging ground to imbed itself within their psyche. Once there, it becomes so ingrained into the victim's identity that their well ceases to recognize it as the intruder it is. After that, it's a simple matter to use said well as a power source to keep itself anchored in the victim indefinitely."

Libra was too stunned by the revelation to form words; the sight of him gaping like a fish was well worth committing to memory. Odin and Kiran were likewise dismayed into speechlessness, though they managed to not look quite as foolish. Ayra, surprisingly, looked more infuriated than anything else. "For your sake," she all but growled at him, "I hope you're not implying a shred of that sword's influence is Jane's own fault. Because I have no intention of letting you insult my family by insinuating an iota of that crazed bloodlust came from her."

He scoffed and leered at her with a belittling sneer. "You're not very bright, are you? I can tell you're not much for the arcane arts, but since your ears clearly work, I'd have thought you'd at least have the wits to listen when I speak. A curse subsumes the victim's original personality, remember? It merely uses some original traits as a starting point to implant and sustain itself."

That really set her temper to a boil, seeing as she grit her teeth and clenched her fists, but she at least had more self-control than that Maria brat that hung off Kiran's leg at the shrine. "Kiran was right." She ground out. "You are insufferable."

"I also said to not let any of his bullshit get to you." Kiran cut in, dragging his hand down his face as he did so. "I'm confused about something: Jane managed to somewhat shake off the curse for a couple minutes once, but it reasserted itself the second she touched the sword again. Shouldn't the curse have left the sword once it first latched onto her? How was it able to retake control after being overpowered?"

In all honesty, he wanted to prod Ayra a little further if only to see how frustrated she would get, but knew it was better to not be so infuriating that they'd throw him away the second he served his purpose – Kiran's warning about becoming too hated didn't just apply to Ursula, after all. "The base curse itself is implanted within the sword, waiting for a magic well it can feed off of. When deprived of the one it's been using, it will more or less hibernate until given another chance. Given enough time, it would eventually dissipate on its own, but that would take at least several years. In the meantime, its former victim will be constantly fighting every last trace of the curse in their system as it tried to reestablish itself. In all likelihood, she would have eventually fallen back under its sway even if she hadn't touched the sword again."

"Of course she would have…" He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, Hubert, now that we know how a curse works, I don't suppose you could tell us how to get rid of it? Or why the fact that the curse is imbedded in a sword somehow makes it safe to remove?"

"In order to break the 'loop' as you put it, you need to ascertain what exactly the curse has latched onto in the victim's psyche and separate the connection its formed. What that is will wildly vary from person to person – perhaps this Jane sought glory and the curse convinced her its power would bring her acclaim? I've never met the girl and haven't the faintest idea what she's like." His lips drew into a cruel smirk. "Nor do I have any intention of finding out. If you want her cleansed, you'll just have to sit down and have a nice, long chat to learn what makes her tick."

As expected, they all blanched at that. Every text he ever read stressed just how unpleasant it was to purge a curse from scratch, as it required interrogating its dangerously unstable victim. "I guess she's mentioned hating weakness and cowardice before…" Kiran offered, though his tone made it clear he didn't dare believe that was good enough.

"But that's an effect, not a cause." Odin shot him down. "We need to know why she thinks that way, right?"

"Yeah…" Kiran sighed and rested his head in his left hand. "Well, I've already talked to her alone once – I just have to do it again and ask the right questions this time."

"Yes, and the last time you spoke to her alone, she nearly killed you." Libra chastised the summoner, earning a pained wince and nervous rub of the throat for his trouble. "I imagine prodding for the root of the curse will only make it more volatile. But on the other hand, I can't believe she'd sit there and spill all of her secrets if the five of us cornered her; something would obviously be amiss and that would put her on guard."

"No offense, but the three of you would be dead weight anyway." Ayra cut in with folded arms. "If she did feel cornered and decide to attack, Hubert and Odin would be cut down before they could get a spell off. Libra might block a blow or two if he's lucky, but a war cleric with a heavy axe is no match for a swordswoman suddenly taking a swing. I alone have the skills and reflexes to pacify her if anything happens."

"I should think the sight of you standing there with your hand gripping your sword will put her on edge." Hubert deadpanned. "I know the idea is new to you, but magical matters such as these require a delicate touch."

In response, Ayra cracked her knuckles and glared at him. "Keep running your mouth and I'll show you how much good your 'delicate touch' will do you." She'd fit in well with the Church of Seiros if she was that willing to resort to violence over some empty barbs. Really, it was his own fault for expecting anything more – Edelgard was his one true liege, and even she needed some help controlling her worst impulses from time to time.

"Both of you, back off and let it go." Kiran berated them with a tired droop of his eyes. "Ayra's got a point – if I need a security guard to talk to Jane, she's the best available choice. Jane doesn't even need to know she's there; she can just wait outside the room to jump in if things get hairy."

"Why do you need to be the one to do this anyway?" Odin asked. "I mean, why not just cut out the middleman and have Ayra talk to Jane herself?"

"Because I'm the only one who's seen a glimpse of the real Jane under that curse, and I've talked to her the most either way. And I'm probably on the best terms with her – I wouldn't say she trusts me, but she's at least not hostile since I just took her out on patrol yesterday. I'll have the best chance if I make the most of what little good mood she has by talking to her in the next few days. I'd do it today, but there's no telling when Alfonse will get back and I want some time to think of what I'll ask her about."

Libra shook his head and leaned back into his chair. "This is an awfully dangerous undertaking…are you truly sure it's the only way to go about this, Hubert?"

"I'm afraid so." He answered with all the feigned remorse he could muster. "As I've said, she's lucky the curse is rooted in a sword – removing it will require severing the connections both within her and at the source. If you tried to break its grip without snapping the links at both ends of the chain, the resulting backlash would shred her brain into a mushy paste. I do have to admit that I don't know how exactly to go about doing this. The actual procedure utilizes clerical magic, which I obviously have no aptitude for, and breaking the source of a curse is much simpler when it originates in a caster – you just kill whoever is responsible for it."

Kiran turned his attention directly onto their war cleric. "Libra, I want you to devote as much time as possible to this from now on. I get why you wanted to be on and off when none of us had any clue where to start, but now you've got a solid lead on what needs to get done. Work with Hubert with whatever free time you can manage to figure out the procedure to purge that curse. In the meantime, Ayra and I will get you the information you need to make it work."

The effeminate priest nodded his head, giving Odin opportunity to open his mouth again. "Wait, what am I supposed to do?"

Kiran shrugged and shot him an uncertain look. "Help Libra and Hubert, I guess? More minds on the project can't hurt, and you have a…unique way of seeing things that could come in handy if they hit a wall."

For the love of whatever deities may or may not exist, Hubert did not want that idiot hanging off his shoulder while he worked. Libra he could tolerate so long as he didn't try to preach, but Odin would only hinder their efforts with that inane prattle of his. "I assure you, that really isn't necessary. Libra and I should prove sufficient for devising a solution."

"On the contrary," Ayra spoke up, a devilish glint in her eyes, "it'd be a waste to not make use of every resource available to us. I'd hate to see progress stall because you overestimated your abilities."

"She makes a good point, Hubert." Kiran drawled, his head resting in his hand. "Better to just stick the three of you together now than risk having to go to the trouble anyway if you can't hack it on your own."

Given that it would take a couple of hours at most to send Odin their way if they needed him, Hubert could see very plainly what was happening: they were taking advantage of his obvious distaste for that nutcase to punish him for his earlier impudence. If the idea was to make him more cooperative in the future, threatening him with Odin's antics actually wasn't that terrible an approach. "…Very well." He conceded, practically biting the inside of his cheek as he did so. "If you're that worried, then I'll just have to prove myself above such concerns for future endeavors."

"Fear not, my bleak bewitcher!" Odin proclaimed, stinging Hubert's ears as he leapt from his chair. "You will soon find yourself wondering how you ever accomplished anything without the incomparable aid of father and I!" The instant the boast left his lips, Odin's eyes went wide as saucers and his lips slammed shut.

This is going to be a long project… Hubert decided, already more than sick of this idiot. Apparently, this was bizarre even by his normal standards, since the others were also looking at him in bafflement. "I know you feel like you have an obligation to live up to your theatrics as a wicked sorcerer," Libra began, "but there's no need to be so aghast at calling me by my proper title as a member of the clergy."

Odin broke from his stupor and began nervously laughing. "Y-yes, of course! I was merely perturbed by allowing a holy descriptor to slip from my tainted tongue! I assure you, such mishaps will not happen anymore!"

Hubert caught Kiran's gaze from across the table and swore he could see guilty condolence in his brown orbs. "…You do that, Odin." The summoner rose to his feet as well. "I'd say that about wraps up our business here. We'll meet back here once Ayra and I have figured out what's making Jane tick. Hubert, I can show you to the library unless there's something else you want to see."

"The library will do nicely." He agreed, relieved Kiran was merciful enough to not force him to work with Odin that very second. It appeared that, at least in that moment, he was more exasperated by Odin's nonsense than Hubert's snark and as such was willing to grant him a reprieve. Ayra still looked like she wouldn't mind socking him in the jaw, but, despite his taunts, he knew she had enough self-control to keep her fist at her side.

As they left, Hubert had to admit that, for all his mockery, the Order didn't seem that unbearable. At the very least, it wasn't really any worse than the Officer's Academy. He hadn't met everyone yet, but it was hard to imagine anyone as craven as Bernadetta would bother sticking around. And surely no one as slothful as Linhardt would ever volunteer their services to a cause such as this, right?

Regardless of whatever downsides or headaches would come with lending his expertise to these people, he was confident that he, and by extension Edelgard, would ultimately gain from the experience.


Despite the restrictions his father had placed on them, Alfonse was glad to be back with the Order. Even when he wasn't physically present, he could feel the king's influence looming over him his whole time at the capital. It was only after he departed after a warm farewell from his mother that he began to relax. It wasn't like he hated the man – Alfonse loved his father dearly – it was just difficult to bear the weight of his lofty expectations.

Though, joyed as he was to be back among Heroes, he hadn't expected two unfamiliar faces to be among them. Anna had explained that Kiran had set out on a patrol after they deduced he'd already met with Gustav, both for the sake of summoning new allies and to pacify a violently unstable Jane Doe with bloodshed. From what the Commander had said, they'd accomplished the latter aim a little too well, which explained the tension he could see in Kiran and Amelia.

He decided it was better to just read the official report Kiran had written up rather than ask him about it personally (despite how awful the summoner's handwriting was), especially since the patrol was not as interesting as its results. Hubert and Ursula were enigmas that both Sharena and Anna had advised him were not worth being friendly with. Their chilling grins when they saw him at dinner made it difficult to deny the validity of those assessments – something about those two made his skin crawl, but he couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. He resolved to at least speak with them at some point to get a better of inkling of what kind of people they were, though he could admit it probably wouldn't happen in the immediate future.

The most important matter to attend to came about the day following his evening return to the Order. He had to inform the rough leadership of his father's decrees and Anna claimed Kiran had obtained information during his patrol that needed discussing. To that end, he was once again in the planning room that had been used to decide on a raid as their first course of action. The room saw different occupants than it had that time – though he and his fellow Askrans, Kiran, Ayra, Kaze, Virion and Haar had returned, they were now joined by Libra, Camus, and Tanith. Clive had elected to send Camus in his stead on account of his giving up command of the Deliverance before his arrival while Libra and Tanith were clearly more experienced than Maria and Tana. Regrettably, they didn't have anyone to represent combative magic – Nino was too inexperienced, Odin was too insane and Hubert and Ursula were too new and suspicious.

"I know I said this several times already, but it's great to have you back, Alfonse!" Sharena said with a happy smile as they all sat around the table.

"And as I've said several times, it's good to be back." He returned with a small grin. "And now, I can finally share what I discussed with my father regarding our Order."

"Oh boy, here comes the Cease and Desist…" Kiran half-joked, half-foreboded with a shake of the head.

Alfonse shot him an unimpressed look. "If my restrained demeanor isn't enough of an indication, our continued existence is being allowed by the crown." That earned a few relieved sighs – everyone appeared relieved to know they weren't on the chopping block anymore. "That said, there are several arrangements that His Majesty has demanded of us."

"Arrangements?" Haar repeated in a lazy drone that belied the sharp interest in his eye.

"Yes, but before that, there was something of interest in the Grand Askran Archives: another copy of the Great Hero's legend with an additional passage in the part about returning Heroes to their homes."

That revelation received a share of mild curiosity from everyone save Kiran, who practically shot out of his seat. "What?!"

Alfonse couldn't help but wince at being the deliverer of bad news. "Peace, Kiran. I'm afraid there was nothing about returning the Great Hero home, only the Heroes he summons." He bowed his head in sympathy. "I'm sorry."

The fire that filled Kiran disappeared as soon as it appeared, leaving him to do nothing but impotently fall back into his chair and glare at the floor. "Of course there wasn't…" He grumbled, warranting a few sympathetic glances for his trouble.

"So what was in that new passage?" Ayra asked, arms crossed.

"In summary: Heroes are returned to the points in time they were summoned from and can only be sent back if the Breidablik has the means to summon. Kiran needs only aim the relic at whomever he wishes to send home and use it normally. And if two Heroes from different worlds are in physical contact, they'll both be sent to the world of whichever Hero was being aimed at."

The moment he finished his explanation, relief bloomed across everyone's faces (except Ayra's, for some reason). "Oh, thank the Goddess," Tanith sighed, "I can finally stop worrying about the Apostle's safety while I'm here."

Haar slyly chuckled. "Won't even lose business from all this. Sounds good to me."

"It is a momentous reprieve to know the Sable Knights have not been bereft of my leadership all this time." Camus said while rubbing his forehead with two fingers.

Kiran, though still sour, had recovered enough to note, "That explains why I couldn't send Jane Doe home when she got summoned – the Breidablik was all out of juice."

"Well, we can finally be rid of her now." Virion pointed out. "The moment you can next summon, it would behoove us to send her back to wherever she came from."

Bizarrely, Alfonse saw Kiran and Libra share a brief glance after Virion said that. Even stranger was the fact that Ayra of all people shot his suggestion down. "After all the effort we've put into keeping her happy? I don't think so."

"You weren't on our patrol, Princess Ayra." Tanith rebuked her. "I assure you, that girl is far more trouble than she's worth."

"Nah, Ayra's got a point." Kiran spoke up. "We could've just as easily had Kaze kill her in her sleep by this point, but we held off because our low numbers make everyone too valuable to lose. It'd be a waste to kick her to the curb after all the trouble we've gone to getting her on good terms with us."

Tanith scowled but didn't see that matter worth getting that worked up over. As such she settled for a giving a warning. "I'd like to make it clear how strongly I advocate for her expulsion from the Order, just in case something ever goes wrong."

"We'll simply have to hope nothing like that happens." Libra said before turning his attention to Alfonse. "I am as relieved as everyone else to know I have not abandoned Ylisse with my presence here, but I don't believe that's the key topic for which we've been gathered."

"Indeed it isn't." Alfonse confirmed and soon had everyone's attention once more. "I must inform you of my father's decree regarding the Order, though I doubt anyone will be happy to hear it." That got them all to pre-emptively tense – he swore he could see the groan forming in Kiran's throat before he'd even said anything. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and revealed, "King Gustav's central order is that we make no major decision without first consulting his approval via a messenger pigeon."

As expected, a chorus of moans and sighs echoed throughout the room, chief among them Kiran's groan. "Are you serious?" The summoner demanded. "He's swamping us in bureaucratic red tape?"

"Come on…" Haar moaned and dragged his hand across his face. "I thought I'd finally found another army I liked working for. I can't stand all the political obstruction from the higher ups."

"While it is an inconvenience, I suppose this isn't anything none of us are used to." Kaze proposed. "We've all made our names serving some liege or another, have we not? Not answering to a central ruler was a nice change of pace while it lasted, but it's not like we haven't endured such constraints in our homes."

"I'm not used to it!" Kiran protested even as the others reluctantly nodded their heads.

"Well, you'd best start." Camus bluntly told him. "If this is His Majesty's will, then we've no choice but to see it done. You can complain all you want, but it'll bring you nothing but wasted breath."

Kiran could indeed do little but quietly simmer with frustration and clench his fists. Alfonse didn't dare reveal why Gustav wanted them to answer to his authority – if everyone save the summoner was willing to go along with it without question, he wasn't about to rock the boat. He similarly wouldn't say a word about the order to emotionally keep his distance from the Heroes, at least not to anyone who wasn't Anna or Sharena. They'd come to notice his new disposition in time, but he was confident nobody would make a massive fuss about it.

"Well if that's our lot now," Kiran griped, "we might as well not even tell you what we learned out on patrol since any request to do something about it will just get swamped in endless bureaucracy."

Tanith scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Cease your dramatics. His Majesty just wants to be aware of our strategic intentions so he can account for their wider impact. I've no doubt a request to deal with Wilmarc will be approved in no time at all."

"I'm sorry, 'Wilmarc'?" Alfonse asked with a raised eyebrow.

"One of the Emblians we slew yesterday revealed that the troops in this area have recently been placed under the command of a General Wilmarc." Virion explained. "His appointment was a direct response to the Emblian defeat in the east – apparently, Princess Veronica wishes for no more fiascos like that burned supply fort to happen again. We know his name, where he's stationed and what he looks like: he's a tall blonde with a scar over his left cheek located in a Castle Beruvik. Given that we've Kaze in our ranks and recently acquired Ursula, it only seems natural to…relieve him of his command."

Beruvik is right on the old border, isn't it? Alfonse mused before wincing. It pains me to think of how deep that is in enemy territory – we've lost so much land to them… "What do you think, Alfonse?" Kiran's demand pulled him from his reverie. "Will your dad say it's okay for us to make the objectively beneficial decision to bump the guy off?"

"Y-yes, of course he will!" He assured them. "Embla's high command officers are few and far between – the loss of even a single one would surely be a huge blow." Yes, father would surely approve such an undertaking. We'll prove the worth of the Order to him!

"There, you see?" Anna said to Kiran. "You keep making mountains out of molehills. Maybe now Mr. Eclat will stop losing his head over every little inconvenience?"

"I-I…what?" Virion stammered. "Who in the blazes is 'Mr. Eclat'?"

"Oh Christ, here we go…" Kiran groaned and buried his head in his arms on the table.

"Did we really forget to tell everyone?!" Sharena exclaimed. "I guess all the nonsense with Ursula and Hubert made it slip our minds. Well, when he summoned those two, Kiran decided to reveal his full name: Kiran Baldr Eclat."

"Kiran Baldr Eclat…?" Kaze repeated, his confusion at the name clearly audible. "Wait, I thought you said you weren't–"

"I'm not!" The man in question snapped with a glare. "Where I'm from, everyone has three names, okay?! A first name to mark you as an individual, a last name to mark the family you're a part of, and a middle name with extra cultural flavor because why not. So stop acting like it's some world-shattering revelation!"

They must've had one hell of a talk about this at the shrine, because Kiran was clearly beyond fed up with this topic. He wanted to mollify him, but before any of them could, Ayra spoke up with an odd gravitas for so blasé a subject. "Hold a moment. Your name is Baldr?"

"My middle name is Baldr," he frustratedly clarified, "but yes. Why?"

Ayra frowned at his impatient attitude and disclosed, "Baldr was one of the Twelve Crusaders who liberated Jugdral from the Loptrian Empire over a century ago. Od, my ancestor, was another of the crusaders."

That's right! Alfonse realized with wide eyes. How could I have forgotten such a vital piece of Jugdral's history? Legends of that land spoke at length about the terrible despotism of the Loptrian Empire, its ultimate destruction, and the attempt to revive it that was foiled by the Scion of Light. He had always felt a certain discomfort knowing that Princess Ayra would disappear from history at Belhalla, but he knew it wasn't his place to tell of her of the future that awaited her when she returned home.

While Alfonse saw the importance of Ayra's connection, Kiran looked like he couldn't have cared less. "Okay. And?" He shrugged and let his hands lay flat in the air in a gesture of indifference. "Am I supposed to be shocked to my core by that?"

"It doesn't strike you as the least bit unusual that you share a name with a legendary figure in the history of Princess Ayra's homeland?" Tanith asked, clearly echoing the sentiment of everyone else assembled.

"Uh, no, not really." Kiran rejected her weighty question with barely a thought. When everyone retained a keen interest in the matter anyway, he sighed and scanned across them all with a dry look. "Guys, Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and justice, but I don't drop my jaw every time Maria talks about her big sister. It's a name – everyone has one, and there have been so many people in history that you're bound to get duplicates every now and then. So stop worrying about it."

If there was evidence of names being unconnected across world, Macedon's princess sharing a name with a goddess was as good as it got (never mind that Kiran had never told them anything about the 'Roman' people). Anna seemed to reach the same conclusion. "Well, I guess it wouldn't make sense for people from different worlds sharing a name to mean something. I suppose it's just a weird coincidence."

"Yeah, it is." Kiran tried to shut down the topic once and for all. "Are we done here? I've got to get ready for when Nino comes up in like half an hour."

"Yes, it would seem we've exhausted everything we assembled to discuss." Alfonse rose to his feet, the others soon following in his footsteps. "I'll have a messenger pigeon carry the request to assassinate General Wilmarc to my father at once. It should only take a few days for him to receiver it, write a response and send that here. In the meantime, we ought to just go back to supplementing patrols as we once were. Though," he gave Kiran a stern look, "I'd personally rather you not put yourself in jeopardy."

He was surprised to see not another heated argument but instead a blanch and nervous grip of the sleeve. "You know, I think I'm good on any action for the next few days."

Ah, of course. Nobody would be in a rush to return to combat after witnessing what was described in that report. Though, that did make it especially unusual that Kiran defended keeping Jane in the Order. Well, whatever his reasons, it wasn't his place to pry so long as things didn't start coming unraveled. With nothing more to say, they all filed out of the room one by one and split up to return to their various routines.


Nino had more or less always gotten by with nothing but her instincts. Sonia had never taught her anything and her uncles in the Black Fang didn't really have the kind of skills that a little girl could easily pick up on. She'd spent nearly her whole life learning through observation and imitation, and while knew full well how limiting that approach was, she'd never been able to see any kind of alternative. Even Lord Eliwood and all the troops in his company, though they sympathized with her plight, had been far too busy with their campaign to rectify her poor education.

But now she was in the Order of Heroes, not the Black Fang. For the first time ever, she had teachers willing to share their secrets. And she never stopped being amazed at how incredible it was to actually understand what she was doing rather than go through the motions of what she only knew worked from experience.

She couldn't believe her ears when Kiran casually offered to teach her how to read within a couple hours of meeting her. His literacy lessons alone had opened a whole new world for her, and then he'd even started teaching her stuff like math and a little natural philosophy! That was all really cool, and she'd always be grateful to him for taking the time when he was so busy, but he wasn't the only teacher she had – Odin had been telling her all kinds of magic theory she'd never dreamed of knowing. And as neat as learning how the aether formed into spells was, she had to admit the best part were all the awesome poses he showed her. Who would've imagined that striking a dramatic pose when you cast a spell made it more powerful? Okay, she didn't see a difference, but that was probably because she wasn't doing it right.

Those two alone were more than she'd ever hoped of having, but she wasn't satisfied with just them – not when there were other opportunities to learn. She wanted to know everything about magic, so didn't it make sense to ask for help from everyone who knew anything?

"Stupid child…I'll see that you don't suffer, at least."

Well, maybe not everyone… She corrected with a wince. She'd never dare to ask Ursula for help with magic – even if the Blue Crow somehow accepted the request, Nino knew she'd never be able to pay attention to a single thing the older woman said. She couldn't so much as glance at Ursula without seeing Jaffar's dagger stuck in her bosom and hearing her final blood gurgled curses. Nino deduced the only good thing about Ursula being in the Order was that she was at least leaving Ninian alone – the Black Fang had relentlessly hunted the poor ice dragon in Nino's time, but Ursula appeared to be from an era before that…witch had manipulated everyone into doing Nergal's bidding.

Nino shook her head and recovered her focus. Dwelling on Ursula wouldn't do her any good. She wasn't looking for her old associate, but rather for the shrewd man who'd been summoned alongside her. Hubert looked like (and, from what Maria told her, was) a creepy, evil weirdo, but she'd heard that he was a talented mage. Who knew what kinds of things she might be able to learn from him? And sure, he looked like he sucked out little kids' souls, but Odin looked like a cross between a jester and a male version of those women that worked in the places where some of Jaffar's targets would spend their evenings, and she knew the Nohrian was as helpful and kind as he was powerful.

Besides, if Hubert told her off, she'd just be back where she started, so what would it hurt to ask for his help? She had everything to gain and nothing to lose, which Jaffar and Kiran both said was the best kind of position to be in. That was why she marched out to the magic range with her head held high and a Thunder tome clutched against her chest. A quick scan revealed the object of her search standing across from a target with a Flux tome open in his hands.

Whelp, it's now or never… She psyched herself up and approached the pale Hero. "Hi, Lord Hubert!" She chirped, remembering that Kiran had mentioned the man was a future imperial minister or something.

Hubert took a moment to pause and swivel his head towards her, his expression a mixture of impatience, confusion, and disdain. "…Yes?" He demanded when she didn't immediately follow up her greeting.

"Could you help me learn magic?" She asked with a wide smile and equally wide eyes. "You're really smart and talented, right? I bet you know all kinds of cool spells!"

His answer was as blunt as it was disappointing. "No." He turned back to his target as if she wasn't even there.

Remember what Kiran said: don't give up just because you don't get it right the first time! "Come on, please? What's the harm in it?"

"I have better things to do than waste my time babysitting an illiterate brat." He said without even sparing her a glance.

Nino decided that Maria had been right: this guy was a jerk. Now, she wanted to get him to teach her for the satisfaction of winning just as much as she wanted the value of his education. "Hey, I'm not bad at reading anymore! And I'm not some 'brat'!" She flipped open her Thunder tome and matched his stance. "Here, I'll show you!"

Remembering what Odin told her, she tried to call upon the strength of her inner darkness and use it to empower the ball of lighting floating in front of her. She tensed her legs, twisted her torso to the side, and flashed her palm over her face in imitation of the secret technique Odin had showed off. If she was being honest, she thought all those extra steps just made it harder to concentrate, but Odin knew a lot more about magic than her, so she trusted his teachings.

She chanted the appropriate words of power by actually reading them off the page and then added a secret final phrase to bolster the spell's strength. "By the stars' eldritch power!" She cried and shot the thunder blast forward. It hit true, sending a lethal surge of lightning through the metal armor of the figure across from them. With a smug grin and proudly tiled chin, she turned back to Hubert. "What do you think? Pretty good, right?"

She'd shut her eyes from the satisfaction and had to crack one open when he gave no response. He was looking at her like she was some kind of two-headed pegasus with webbed feet for hooves. "What," he began, his voice flat from sheer disbelief, "in the name of all that is right and well in the world, was that abhorrent display?"

"What do you mean?" She asked in genuine confusion. "I cast a Thunder spell! Look, I hit the target dead on!"

"Yes, I saw the spell, you irksome twit!" He snapped. "I'm asking what possessed you to perform those insane dramatics before you cast the spell!"

"Oh, those are just the secret rites to make your magic stronger that Odin told me about." She clarified, oblivious to how Hubert's face fell when she mentioned her magic teacher. "You should try them too – I'll bet you've got plenty of inner darkness to call upon!"

He flatly stared at her, unsure what to say. "You want a lesson?" Hubert asked after a moment's pause, earning an eager head nod from her. "If you learn nothing else in your life, learn this: that man is a deranged lunatic and you are better off treating every word from his mouth as the nonsense it is." She blinked in surprise and prepared to defend Odin when Hubert kept going. "Though it is very reluctantly, I can admit that he has some talent for the arcane arts. That gives him a modicum of value despite his insufferable lunacy. You, on the other hand," he glared at her with narrowed eyes, "are a deluded child at best and an unstable malcontent at worst. I don't care that you managed to cast a Thunder spell just now – the fact that you were ever stupid enough to use magic without even being able to read the spells makes you too dangerous to be worth the trouble. Be grateful I've taught you anything and begone from my sight."

Why, he…! So what if she once had to make do by copying what she'd seen? It wasn't her fault Sonia had treated her like trash and refused to teach her anything! She could read and understand magic now, and that was all that should've mattered! She opened her mouth and got ready to give Hubert a piece of her mind when she was cut off again…but this time by an unexpected third party.

"Come now, Lord Hubert!" Clive suddenly called out and trotted up to them on his steed.

As he approached, she saw Hubert roll his eyes and grumble, "Oh joy…"

"Such antagonism is wholly unnecessary." Clive declared once he came to rest beside them. "My apologies for interrupting, but I was taking my horse through a cooldown lap around the castle perimeter and couldn't help but overhear."

"Your apologies are unaccepted." Hubert snorted. "Now mind your own affairs and be on your way."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Clive refuted and dismounted. "How could you be so heartless as to turn young Nino away? You are a nobleman who has been granted a rare opportunity to use the privilege of your station to help a common girl better herself. Is it not your place as a member of the ruling class to do all you can to better the lives of those under you?"

"Yeah, Hubert!" Nino chimed in. "You got to learn all this stuff years ago because you're in the nobility, but I'm not. Shouldn't you be trying to help me out?"

To both of their consternations, Hubert merely scoffed, shut his tome, and crossed his arms behind his back. "The accident of my birth has granted me my education, yes, but I've no obligation to use my good fortune to teach you. I've no responsibility for the luck that enabled so many opportunities for me and consequently have no responsibility to carry out any noble duty you seem to think I have."

"We didn't choose our stations, that much is true." Clive conceded. "All the same, we have found ourselves in positions of power. We hold great influence over the land and its people, so it only remains to be seen if that influence will bring about prosperity or misery. Why choose the latter when you could have the former?"

"Why indeed?" Hubert drawled with a sneer that sent a chill down Nino's spine. At this point, she was starting to get out of her depth with the political stuff they were talking about, so she just stood there and listened. "You'll find that a great many in the nobility are ill-suited for their roles and generate misery through nothing but well-intentioned incompetence. It makes one wonder why we should suffer a system that allows such fools to hold such great sway over the land. In fact," his lips curled into a self-satisfied smirk, "perhaps we may be better off wiping the slate clean entirely and restructuring society from the ground up."

That…didn't sound like the best idea to her. Wasn't the nobility, like, all there was? Clive seemed to share in her apprehension, because he scowled in disapproval. "I believe you'll be hard pressed to find similar sentiments among anyone here, least of all from me. If I may be so blunt, a kingdom needs a king, a nobility beneath him, and a common people beneath them in order to survive. If you 'wipe the slate', I fear you'll only invite ruin to your home."

"Certainly, there will always be rulers and ruled." Hubert admitted. "However, there are better ways to determine who ends up in what caste than mere chance of birth. My lady seeks to create a world where merit and worth are what dictate station, not the whims of fate."

If Hubert would still have a few people in charge, then…what would really change? "I too have always endeavored to reward the men below me through their merit rather than their station." Clive concurred. "But the fact remains that those born into rulership will always be granted greater opportunity to nurture their quality than those of low-birth. You can preach about making a world of greater integrity all you want, but I fear that reality will stand in your way. Perhaps it is unfair, but I believe the nobility will always be a factor despite your best attempts to the contrary."

Hubert glowered in response and made ready a rebuttal, only for Nino to interrupt the both of them. "Um," she stammered, drawing both of their attention, "I don't think I'm really seeing the point of your argument. I mean, no matter what you do, there's always a small group of people telling everyone else what to do, right?" The two of them muttered their acceptance of that view. "So…doesn't it always just come down to what kind of people are in that group?"

"Well, yes." Clive confirmed. "Hubert and I disagree on how those people should be selected to ensure competence."

"No, I get that." Nino refuted. "But I'm saying that, like, it doesn't matter how smart or skilled they are – the only thing that's important is whether or not they're a good person. If the king and nobles are good, they'll try to make everyone happy, but if they're bad, they'll try to make everyone miserable. Just because someone's really good at their job doesn't mean they'll try to do good things with their power. You can try to make a system where everyone does the right thing, but there's always a chance someone evil will try to take it over to do bad things."

She'd seen that phenomenon firsthand in the Black Fang. She knew what the organization had been built to do, but Sonia had twisted it to her own wicked ends. What was supposed to be a group of people killing corrupt nobles to free their oppressed subjects had turned into a bunch of cutthroats helping a madman destroy the world, and nobody had even noticed the change except for her and Jaffar.

Hubert and Clive had both been sent into contemplative silence by her rebuttal of their positions. The former was the first to gather his bearings and did so with a tired sigh. "I can't believe that, of all possible sources, a valid criticism of our plans has come from you. You make a good point: we'll need to have safeguards in place to ensure our new system does not find itself hijacked by unsavory elements."

Clive admitted the truth of her argument in his own way. "I would like to believe I and most of my peers are good people seeking to do good things. But I cannot deny that corruption can bring calamity to a kingdom; Baron Desaix's treachery is proof enough of that fact." He ruefully chuckled. "I never imagined I'd find a gripping political discourse when I trotted over here. You are wise beyond your years, Nino." She beamed with pride at his praise. "You know, Hubert, Nino has done you a great service in pointing out a flaw in your machinations you overlooked. Is she not entitled to a reward for her aid?"

She turned back to Hubert with another pleading smile on her face. She could see him biting the inside of his cheek, but he gave a resigned sigh all the same. "…Yes, I suppose she is." She gasped in delight but was stopped from launching into a tide of thanks by a stern glare. "Let me be clear: I am doing this in large part to repair the damage that clown has caused. You will accept whatever I say, no matter how it conflicts with his teachings, or you will find yourself bereft of my instruction. Do I make myself understood?"

"Yes sir!" In the back of her mind, she had already sort of suspected that Odin had the wrong idea about all his posing – after all, she'd spent years watching Sonia and never saw her do anything like that. She didn't like the idea of losing one teacher for another, but if she learned more from Hubert than she did from Odin, it would probably be worthwhile.

"That puts my heart at ease." Clive said with a warm smile. "I'll not intrude on your magical matters any further. I wish you both the best of luck with your endeavors and thank you for the stimulating discussion."

With that, he remounted his steed and trotted off with a friendly wave. Now alone with her new tutor, she gave him her full, eager attention. Hubert was definitely a weird, creepy jerk, but she was so excited to learn that she didn't even care about that. He stifled a third sigh and brought his tome back from around his back. "Alright, Nino," he began and flipped open the book, "tell me what you know of magical theory…"


Ayra had never been much for sneaking around. She preferred to face threats head on and let her combat skills speak for themselves. She saw those who relied on subterfuge and manipulation as cowards at best and backstabbing snakes at worst. Considering how her time with Sigurd ended, she thought her belief had been vindicated beyond doubt.

So, naturally, she was more than a little upset to be dealing with Jane Doe in the manner they were. In an ideal world, Ayra would just smack that curse out of her and see her family restored through strength of arms alone. Unfortunately, that approach apparently wasn't feasible compared to standing outside Jane's room gripping her sword handle in the event that Kiran's interrogation went south.

A significant part of her didn't trust Hubert's proposed solution and was mollified solely by the knowledge that the oily little rat would be ripped apart if anything happened to her or Kiran. But that vision wasn't all that comforting while her nerves became increasingly frayed by the fear that something would go wrong. Words were supposed to be exchanged swiftly and bluntly, not carefully chosen so as to avoid upsetting a young woman consumed by a foul bloodlust. Even the den of vipers some nobles called court at least had all participants be of sound mind.

In short, she was tenser listening into this conversation than she was preparing for battle. "It's you…" The mere sound of Jane's lifeless voice was enough to send a chill up Ayra's spine. "Have you found more prey already?"

"Not exactly…" Kiran, to his credit, managed to sound more controlled than most probably would in his shoes. "I've been thinking about our patrol and decided that I should've seen what you did coming. Which means I should've made a plan that accounted for you taking things into your own hands."

"What's your point?" Jane asked with audibly growing impatience. "That's your problem, not mine. If you're not here to give me prey, stop wasting my time!"

Well, that didn't take long. Ayra began to lift her sword in case things kept going the way they were. "I'm here to make sure we can work together in future. To do that, I want to ask you more about yourself. If I have a better understanding of how you think, I'll be better at getting you your prey without either of us stepping on each other's toes." An uneasy silence stretched on in the aftermath of Kiran's proposal. Ayra detested that she had to rely solely on her ears to judge the situation – Jane could be preparing to pounce and she'd have no idea until it was too late.

Thankfully, the next noise she heard was just more words, not the sounds of attack. "…Fine. The less you have to make me work with spineless worms like that girl, the better. Ask your questions, but make it fast."

Ayra resisted the urge to sigh in relief. If nothing else, it looked that Kiran at least had his foot in the proverbial door. But this wouldn't be over until it was over, and so she didn't slacken her grip on her sword for an instant. "Well, for one, what makes you hate Amelia so much?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Her response was as irritated as it was quick. "She's weak!"

"Okay, but what does that mean? I've seen her hold her own in a fight, so what is it about her that's so detestable? Is it that she doesn't want her enemies to suffer or how hard she tried to get us to spare Norman?"

"Both!" If Ayra could see her, she imagined Jane was probably frothing at the mouth with how angry she sounded. "Compassion, sympathy, mercy…they all accomplish nothing! The only people who preach otherwise are too feeble to protect themselves and are just trying to spare their own worthless lives! Killing is the only real proof of the value of your life. It's the only way to prove that your life matters more than someone else's. And the more you can make your victims suffer, the more you validate your otherwise meaningless existence!"

Ayra's free hand clenched in barely controlled rage as she listened to Jane rant. The thought that she had roamed all across Jugdral without slaughtering the sick freaks capable of twisting her family into that mockery made her nearly as furious as she'd been upon realizing the extent of Arvis' treachery at Belhalla. The only thing that kept her from slamming her fist into the wall was the importance of discretion at the moment.

She was so incensed she almost didn't notice when Kiran responded. "If you could narrow it down to one thing, what, more than anything else, make someone weak?"

Another uneasy quiet dragged on as Jane considered her answer. "…Relying on others." In contrast to her earlier fury, Jane's words were now delivered with a chilling loathing. "There's nothing weaker than depending on someone else's strength over your own."

Ayra saw what conclusion that might lead to just as Kiran did the same. "Just for the record, Embla's more pathetic than us because they're relying on a horde of weaklings to make their conquest work." Judging by the frantic tone of his voice, Jane probably gave some nonverbal indication of contempt that forced him to quickly damage control.

"True." She conceded. "But that won't save any of you at the end."

She heard Kiran awkwardly cough before trying to get them back on track. "So, uh, why is relying on others the worst possible thing? Are you speaking from experience, or…?" Yet again, Ayra was forced to stand there and bear the tension as a stillness descended over their surroundings. She began to grow seriously worried that Kiran had crossed a line before Jane finally spoke up again.

"…She left me…" This time, Jane's voice was cracked with grief and pain. "I was supposed to be able to trust her…she was supposed to take care of me…and she abandoned me!" Ayra could hear a series of frantic breaths. "Why?! Where was she?! I believed she'd come to save the day…and because of that, I was too weak to protect us! If I didn't think I could rely on her, I'd have been strong enough to win! It's all her fault!"

Now, Jane had devolved into a mess of sobbing and screaming. This is the real her… Ayra realized with wide eyes. This is the girl that wretched curse took advantage of. In the face of her newfound understanding, Ayra was almost too scared to ask the question that would give her the final piece of the puzzle:

Who abandoned her?

Kiran saw that was the missing link as well and set about figuring it out. "Jane," he began, his voice much softer the earlier, "who were you relying on? Who let you down when you needed them?" As Jane continued to cry and whimper, Ayra found it impossible to breathe – she was too afraid of Jane's response to do anything but stand still as a statue. Then the answer, in all its horror, was revealed.

"…My mother…"

The princess' world fell out from under her. Years of muscle memory were all that kept her from sinking to her knees or dropping her sword. But they did nothing to stop the quivering in her lips or the shaking in her legs. Unbidden, a once pleasant memory forced itself to the forefront of her mind.

"I can't believe it…" Lex breathed, his cloth-wrapped newborn son in his hands. "The gods have blessed us with not one, but two children."

"Trust me, they didn't feel like a blessing a while ago." She shot back with a breathless wheeze, her infant daughter crying in her arms as she laid in bed with midwives tending to her. "I'd heard stories, but I still can't believe childbirth could be worse than someone trying to kill me in battle."

"Well, just like battle, you handled this with greater strength and courage than any woman I've ever seen." She was too tired to fight the warm smile that tugged at her lips from his flattery. "You said you wanted to wait until they were born to decide on any names. Now that they're here, what shall we call them?"

"You don't have any names in mind?" She asked as she tried to calm her daughter by rubbing her squishy head.

"I could think of a few, but…" he flashed her a sympathetic smile, "they are children of Isaach first and foremost. With how much your people have endured, I think it's only fitting that Od's blood should name his heirs."

As if guided by fate's hand, both infants ceased their wailing and looked to their mother. She glanced up to catch her son's eye and knew at once what he should be known as. "Scáthach. Our son will be Scáthach. It's a name that refers to a brilliant master of the sword who passes on their skills to new heroes, like Od did in founding Isaach."

Lex nodded along as he gently rocked the newly christened Scáthach in his arms. "And the girl?"

Ayra looked down and stared into her baby's silver eyes. Even as a newborn, she could tell that Isaach's newest princess would be her spitting image. The child blinked and reached out a tiny hand; Ayra reciprocated by providing an index finger for her to grab. In that tender moment, only one name came to mind. "She'll be Larcei. The name predates even Od and means someone who's as artistic as they are deadly. Someone who can forge a blade just as well as they can wield one." She slowly curled the rest of her fingers around Larcei's own. "Someone whose strength is matched only by their beauty."

"They're both wonderful names." Lex assured her and sat on the edge of the bed to wrap an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his touch and settled Larcei against her chest. "I pray our troubles are resolved soon. It's bad enough that Shannan, and to some extent Seliph, have had to grow up in such terrible times – I wish for our children to have the happy, safe youth they deserve."

"They will." She swore and protectively tightened her hold on her daughter. "Everything will come to a head soon, I can feel it. I'll repay my debt to Sigurd in full, and then we can focus on raising Scáthach and Larcei."

"I can only hope we don't suffer yet more misfortune while danger persists. I never imagined things would proceed as they have…"

"We've made it this far." She reminded him. "We need only see this through to the end. One way or another, the war will be over. Once it is, we'll watch over these two and make sure they never have to go through what we have." She reached up to clasp his hand. "And we'll do it together."

She was torn from her reminiscence by the sound of Kiran's voice drifting into the hall again. "And what about your father? Where was he?"

There was no pause from Jane this time. "He left me too! He wasn't there either! But mother, she…" a distraught, agonized wail tore through Ayra's ears, "she was the greatest swordswoman to ever live! I was supposed to trust her to look after me! And she didn't!"

Well, that settles that, doesn't it? She cynically mused, her vision blurring with rare tears. It didn't matter that the girl in that room wasn't strictly speaking her daughter. That woman hated and resented her mother for abandoning her, and Ayra was guilty of all the same sins as her alternate self. Even if her own daughter had never been enthralled by a cursed sword like this one, she had no doubt they shared same bitterness that it took advantage of.

Which meant it was Ayra's fault her child was in the state she was.

Lex, Larcei…I'm sorry…

"Jane, who did you lose to?" Kiran continued the interrogation. "Who could you have beat if you didn't think you could depend on your mom?"

"T-they came…attacked the village…" So Shannan and Oifey had taken refuge in one of Isaach's villages? That made sense – whatever military governor Graanvale had in place wouldn't let Isaach's prince or Sigurd's son run loose in the capital. "I was too weak…they took me away…never saw what happened to the others…"

"And what happened after they took you?"

Jane's (she refused to call her Larcei when she was remotely under the sword's influence) breathing slowed and her crying petered out. If Ayra had to guess, the curse was probably reasserting itself as her thoughts drifted from her friends and family. "They gave me this…and now I'm not weak anymore. Now, I can see that killing is all that matters! I'll never lose to anyone ever again!" Her voice had risen back to a frenzied roar that, combined with what she was saying, made Ayra sick to her stomach. "I'll kill the ones who took me away and prove how much stronger I am! I'll kill my whore of a mother! I'll kill every worthless wretch in Jugdral! I'll kill the Emblians who think they can rob me of my prey! I'll kill all the pathetic 'Heroes' you've summoned! And then," her voice dipped to a sinister growl, "after I've killed everyone in every world…I'll kill you."

It was obvious what had happened: Graanvale had realized just who was hiding out in Isaach and sent in their troops to deal with the last remnants of Sigurd's cause. That sword had probably been made with the intent of enthralling either Shannan or Seliph to its will so Arvis could use them as enforcers, but they had avoided capture one way or another. So, the Graanvale dogs had gone with the next best thing and taken Larcei instead. What that meant for her son, nephew, and all the other children of her companions, she couldn't say. They may have fallen in battle, taken their lives to evade captivity or managed to escape entirely. Even Jane said she never saw what became of them, so answers were unlikely to come even after that curse was purged.

Those details mattered little at the moment, however. What was important was that her daughter had been driven insane with bloodlust and presented a clear danger to herself and those around her. She was so mad that she either thought Ayra was still alive in Jugdral to be slain or couldn't recognize her even when the two were right in front of each other. They needed to bring what they'd learned to Hubert and Libra right away – and if that rat so much as thought about delaying in his work, she'd break one of his twig arms to teach him a lesson.

"I'll just have to hope that day is a long way off." She heard Kiran begin shuffling back towards the hall. "In the meantime, I think this talk will help us work together in the future."

"It better." She grunted. "Now get out."

He didn't need to be told twice and slinked out of the room entirely. She took a moment to realize that he had closed the door and was looking at her with a mixture of sympathy and concern. She took another moment to notice that there were wet streaks from her eyes running down her cheeks. Wordlessly, she turned away from Kiran and began striding down the hall.

Right away, she could hear him scramble to catch up and soon felt him at her side. "Ayra–"

"Shut up." She snapped and twisted her head so he couldn't see her face. "What do you know? You have no idea what I've lived through. So keep your empty condolences to yourself."

She grit her teeth when he kept talking anyway. "…If you won't listen to me, then listen to yourself. Remember what you told Tana: the sooner you accept what you can't control, the sooner it'll stop grieving you."

She let out a bark of sharp, pained laughter in spite of herself. "See? You understand nothing. Whether or not I stayed with Larcei and Scáthach was one of the few things I could control. And I chose to abandon them so I could die an empty death." She covered her eyes with a gloved palm and fought to control the second wave of tears that threatened to spill forth. "But it's just as well, isn't it? If I had gone with them, I'd be cursing myself for letting Lex die and foolishly thinking I could've saved him had I been by his side. I get to be a guilt-ridden failure either way…"

They walked on in silence as she tried to keep from collapsing from the weight of her mistakes. Eventually, Kiran made another misguided attempt to lift her spirits. "…You told me that what mattered was how you lived your life. And from everything I've heard, you lived it to the fullest. Hindsight is twenty-twenty – you can't let yourself get caught up in what might've been."

She clenched her fist and resisted the urge to strike him. "That's easy to say when the consequences of your decisions aren't ranting about how much they hate you. You're right, believe it or not – I did live my life to the fullest. In fact, given the chance, I'd still stand by Sigurd and Lex until the bitter end. I owed a debt and needed to see it repaid, after all." She swiveled her head around to make him wither from an angry glare. "And because of that, my children would still grow up cursing me as a cur that left them to rot. Which is something you'll never understand. So keep your mouth shut and stop acting like you know anything about me or why I did what I did."

She thought that was the final word on the matter. Only a fool with a death wish would keep pushing their luck when she was in such a foul mood. As such, she couldn't believe it when he dared to speak up for a third time. "I know you did the best you could. I know you wouldn't have settled for anything less."

If he'd said anything else, she'd have sent him reeling with a backhanded blow to the jaw. But he'd unwittingly picked the exact words that drained all the ire out of her. In a different life, those words had once sent her heart aflutter like it never had before.

"Why is it that I'm the one you've elected to spend so much time on?" She asked Lex just as their party arrived to take refuge in Silesse. They were currently in the stables of Sailane Castle where Lex was depositing his steed after allowing her to ride the rest of the trip with him. "First you give me that brave sword and now you invite me to join you on your horse's saddle. Shouldn't you be enjoying this brief respite with your friend Azelle? If it's a woman's company you're after, you seem familiar enough with that Tailtiu girl already."

He laughed and adjusted the axe sheathed at his hip. "Azelle will always be my closest friend, and Tailtiu and I go way back, but their company isn't exactly what I'm looking for when times are as tough as this. Don't get me wrong, Azelle's a great guy and he's got a big heart, but he can be kind of withdrawn sometimes, you know? I think it comes from growing up in Lord Arvis' shadow and choosing to spend a lot of time wrapped up in his tomes. And Tailtiu is, well…" he nervously scratched the back his neck, "no offense to her, but she's kind of an airhead. She's great to hang around on a night of celebration, but in a life-or-death war…not so much."

"So what?" She prodded with crossed arms. "I'm the only one dour enough to match the dreadful mood?"

"Oh come on, you know it's not like that." He rested his hands on his hips. "I'm saying you're the only one I know for certain I can count on when the going gets tough. I knew if anyone could use that brave sword to always come out on top, it was you."

"Ah, I see." She deadpanned and narrowed her eyes. "I make for a useful weapon for you to hide behind."

He sighed and gripped his chin. "How can I put this in a way you can't possibly make sound bad…?" The fingers tapping his jaw soon came together in a snap. "I've got it: I always throw my lot in with you because I know you'll always do the best you can. Maybe the others could unknowingly let themselves slip a little bit here and there, but you?" He flashed her a confident smile. "You'll never settle for anything less than the best."

He'd been right – she couldn't find a way to twist that compliment against him. That time, it had been cold enough outside that she was still able to pretend his words hadn't put a flash of heat into her cheeks. But she couldn't mount any such denial when his praise was delivered from the comfort of the indoors. Before she knew it, they were eating together, then training together – eventually, they were walking closer than any man and woman who were just good friends should, and then…

Her recollection sapped her enmity, leaving nothing but the memories of a life long gone. A life whose value she hadn't truly understood or appreciated until it was too late. She shut her eyes and slowly shook her head from side to side, a scant few teardrops leaking out in the process. Through her shoulder pad, she could feel Kiran give her a couple comforting pats. He dared not let his hand linger any more than that and made no more physical contact.

She knew it was wrong to loosen her anger on Kiran, who was just trying to do whatever he could to make her feel better. She knew she was just furious at herself and the calamities that marked the end of her existence in Jugdral and destroyed her daughter's life, and had been lashing out at an easy target. Like Lex before him, he hadn't said those words with anything but the best of intentions, and she had been too caught up in her cynical anger to see what was right in front of her.

Life was ephemeral – she had no way of knowing when everything could come to an end. And that meant she had to cherish each precious moment while it lasted. She couldn't let herself waste what time she had on regrets and despair. She needed to make the most of every day as if it were her last.

And she would start by doing her part to save her daughter.

Wordlessly, she reciprocated Kiran's shoulder pats as a gesture of reconciliation, her eyes dry once more. She could feel his muscles loosen, as sure a sign as any that there were no hard feelings between them. In silence, they strode down the hall, their steps driven by a definite purpose.


Kiran was really starting to develop a grudge against Askr's king. The moratorium of activity for the Order had been bad enough, but then the jackass decided it would be a great idea to cover them in red tape. In a sane world, Kaze or Ursula would've already killed Wilmarc by now, but instead they were both still at the castle while the Order's leadership was shuffling back into the meeting room to finally get the formal go-ahead to send one of them out.

As much as he resented the pointless formality meetings, he could at least admit it was a nice change of pace from staring down Jane Doe in her room. Even when her sword's influence briefly waned, the girl was such a tragic mess that it was immensely disturbing to talk to her. To say nothing of how close to home her tragedy was hitting – he was more appreciative of Ayra's emotional support after having to reciprocate it. He'd been worried she would try to hit him as he tried to console her, but he thankfully managed to somehow say the right thing and finally calm her down.

If nothing else, that shared experience of Jane's breakdown had brought the two of them closer together. He guessed being a secret keeper for something as heavy as both her death and her daughter tended to endear him to her, weird as it was for the noncombatant summoner to be somewhat close friends with the stern warrior princess. Even after they presented what they'd learned to Libra and Hubert (who thankfully reported solid progress in constructing the matrix that would purge the curse from Jane), they'd stuck together through the halls until they couldn't put off separating any longer.

Even now, they sat next to one another around the meeting table. Honestly, Kiran wasn't even sure why they were having a conference with everyone – once they had approval, shouldn't it just be him, the Askrans and both Kaze and Ursula to decide which to send? What was the point of bringing in the likes of Camus or Libra? For another matter, what was keeping the Askrans? The servant who gave him his summons said he was bidden to attend by the crown prince, so where was he?

Just as he started contemplating asking out loud if anyone knew what was keeping them, they straggled through the door. Right away, their bowed heads sent alarm bells ringing in his head. Everything about their body language screamed shame and remorse, which set off all kinds of red flags. I swear to fucking God, they better not say what I think they will…

"I get the distinct impression I'm not going to like what I'm about to hear." Haar remarked, more or less echoing the silent sentiments of the room. He could even see Ayra's lips tensed in frustration.

"No, you aren't." Alfonse quietly confirmed and sighed. "His Majesty has formally denied our request to be permitted to assassinate General Wilmarc. His reasoning is that the Emblian army is a barely controlled horde and he doesn't want to risk them swarming through Askr or committing reprisals on their conquered Askran populace due to the loss of a central commanding officer."

"You've got to be fucking kidding." Kiran seethed, completely apathetic to the frowns his crass language produced. He was so mad that his anger surpassed explosive fury and wrapped back around to a livid calm. "Reprisals?! We're fighting a war, they probably already took their frustration out on civilians when they lost eight thousand troops in the eastern marshes!"

"W-well, father's reasoning is that they wouldn't do that so long as there was a general to keep them in line." Sharena stammered, sounding supremely unconvinced in her own words.

"That's completely absurd!" Ayra snapped with crossed arms. "Wilmarc is a general – he's only one man. He can't play nanny for every random conscript scattered across the land. His living or dying has no bearing on what kind of chaos the troops get up to when nobody's watching."

"That fear of uncontrolled hordes is equally dubious." Virion noted. "Embla's threat has always been its superlative size. If a massed infantry rush was all it took to bring Askr to ruin, they would've simply done it by now. If anything, an uncoordinated force should be easier to deal with than a well commanded once." The archer frowned and rubbed his chin. "I could perhaps see the logic of those concerns were they coupled with several others, but the two of them alone are far too little to warrant denying the assassination of such a high-profile target. There must be something else going on here."

Alfonse and Anna shared a nervous glance before the former awkwardly coughed to clear his throat. "Yes, we believe there is another motive to his decision as well. Y-you see, when I visited my father in the capital, he raised concerns about the Order, well…" he paused to rub the back of his neck and avert his eyes from their demanding gazes, "…superseding Askran authority. That is to say, he brought up fears about the Order undermining the power of the crown."

He didn't elaborate further, but Kiran could read between the lines and see what he was implying. "…Are you trying to say that he's stonewalling us for politics?! That he's trying to make a show of dominance by denying our first official request?!" He startled Sharena by slamming his fist into the table. "That has to be the craziest, stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard!" He swiveled his head to glare at Kaze. "Is this the kind of asinine bullshit you're 'used to', Kaze?" His ire shifted to Tanith. "Am I still being 'dramatic' about Gustav getting in our way, Tanith?"

"Calm down, Kiran!" The Begnion pegasus knight barked. "I'll have you know that yes, politics do often play a role in the kinds of operations an army is allowed to carry out. In Begnion, the majority of the military draws its strengths from the fiefs and territories of the various senators. That means if the senators are opposed to an action for any reason, we are obligated to stay our hand lest we lose their support."

Before he could point out how completely insane that was, she beat him to the punch. "Yes, that's pure lunacy. No, it isn't the slightest bit fair for the people we'd have been able to help otherwise. No, I don't remotely enjoy having to put up with it. But," she glared at him like he was one of her fresh recruits, "that's the price we pay serving a nation as professional troops rather than ourselves as mercenaries. Do you want the support and might of a government backing your cause? Then you'll have to endure the politics that govern it."

Ayra let out a bark of scornful laughter, which sounded just as weird as when she'd laughed at him. "Politics? I didn't know you were a jester, Lady Tanith. You should call it what it is: a web of deceit and treachery woven by backstabbing snakes."

"Ayra's not wrong about how politics are," Haar interrupted, looking even more tired than normal, "but then, even if I hate admitting it, neither is Tanith. For reference, that Senate nonsense is one of the big reasons I abandoned Begnion. Ultimately, Daein ended up being the same thing in a different cloth. And I've heard rumblings about attempts by some Crimean nobles to undermine Queen Elincia's rule. Every country's got rubbish like that, which is why I resigned my commission to just be a deliveryman with no loyalty to any one nation." He sighed and cradled his head in his hand. "Now that I'm working for Askr, I've got no choice but to ride out this politics crap again."

"There's nothing to discuss." Camus spoke up. "His Majesty has bid us to stay put. I personally disagree with that decision, but he is this realm's regent. It is not our place to defy his will."

"I would be a bold-faced liar to say that any of this sits well with me." Virion commented. "Lord Chrom was a very blunt and plainspoken man, so to serve under him was to avoid these kinds of troubles. I am familiar with political intrigue, however, and I understand it may prove more trouble than it's worth to directly challenge King Gustav in this matter. I might lose sleep over this affair, but I can see we've little choice."

"I never dealt with business like this myself," Kaze said, "but my family has, so I'm somewhat familiar with the subject. The feudal lords of Hoshido needed to be placated to ensure their continued service. Ordinarily, if the crops were plentiful, there was little work do be done keeping them in line. But in the rare event that did not happen, the royal family and the lords would come into conflict. As far as I know, the kind of cutthroat solutions Princess Ayra described were occasionally carried out. I would rather not come to blows with the Askran monarchy, so I will advocate submitting to the system that is larger than ourselves. Though, I would like to note that I am deeply upset we are wasting a chance like this for so trite a reason."

"I am out of my depth in this matter." Libra judged. "As I've spent most of my adulthood working as a man of the cloth, I've always avoided such conflicts. If those more experienced than me judge cooperation with the king to be the correct course of action, then I will concur with them."

By the look of it, that was everyone. Ayra hadn't made another comment beyond how much she loathed politics, but the fact that she wasn't vocally complaining meant she must've seen it all a moot point. Actually, while she looked angry, it looked more like a personal anger – like her hatred of politics wasn't rooted in principle as much as it was in experience. I never did ask how she ended up in that fight that went south. Maybe she tried to play the political game and lost in the worst possible way.

If Ayra wasn't going to bother with continued arguing, that left Kiran to do it by himself. He probably wouldn't change any minds, but he'd be damned if he didn't go down swinging. "You know," he began, his voice deceptively calm, "we really ought to get everyone checked into therapy; I wish I'd realized sooner how completely suicidal you all are!"

Anna sighed and turned to him. "Kiran–"

"No, really, let's just skip straight to the logical end of all this. If we're going to fuck ourselves over because Alfonse's dad has an inferiority complex and needs to feel like a big, strong king, why bother with the whole 'war' thing? Let's just pull out our pointy sticks and stab each other in a big circle!"

"That's enough, Kiran!" Alfonse snapped and slammed his own hands on the table, scaring poor Sharena again. "Stop spewing curses like a prepubescent schoolboy and stop speaking of the king like that! Have you no shame? In case you can't tell, none of us is any more pleased by this turn of events than you are! So quit acting like you're some misunderstood martyr with the only sense of reason in the room!"

Kiran shot to his feet, practically shaking with anger. "I might as well be when no one else seems to have a sense of self-preservation!" Before Alfonse or someone else could tell him to shut up again, he pointed a finger at the prince. "You may not want to admit it, but you know I'm right! We could've just not told Gustav about this, but you're so browbeaten into doing what he says that you've screwed the Order over! I don't care if you don't want to hear this, but if we don't hang together then we'll all hang separately! Because that's where this is all headed if this is how we're going to do things: all of us standing up on the gallows with ropes around our necks!"

He shot over to the door and threw it open, making one last grim prediction as he did so. "If there's a single silver lining to this, it's that I'll be able to say, 'I told you so' before they tighten our nooses!" He spared one last glare for them all before he stormed out of the room.


Ursula was restless. That wasn't an unfamiliar feeling for someone in her line of work – the best assassinations required careful planning and often saw her idle for weeks while preparations were underway – but she usually had a concrete goal in mind to look forward to. Kiran had assured her they were seeking royal approval on a potential target when she'd mentioned being on edge, but that did nothing to soothe her concerns. The last thing she wanted was for her business to be controlled by some fool king.

All she'd managed to do in her time in Askr was swap stories with Kaze. The ninja was a bit too soft for her tastes (doubtless the result of serving a royal family that arbitrarily restricted his methods), but she had to admit the other Fangs would probably take a liking to him. And whatever dissatisfaction she had with his personality, she could admit to a professional respect for his skills. Like her, he understood that the best work was done from the shadows, out of sight. Neither of them would be all that unstoppable in straight fights, but that wasn't the point of their talents, was it?

She was pleased to have learned a few new tricks from him, even if they were more mundane than her preferred methods. Crushing an egg full of pepper, sand, and powdered glass to throw into a discoverer's eyes was about as banal as it got, but she couldn't deny it was an effective and delightfully cruel way of dealing with anyone unlucky enough to catch sight of her. In turn, she liked to think he appreciated what she had to share. She didn't tell him any of her truly great techniques – a lady had to keep her secrets, after all – but he seemed to have gained a finer appreciation for arcane means of disposing of targets.

But, for as interesting as he initially proved to be, he was ultimately still just a novelty. One that wore off far too quickly and saw her itching to spill some blood. She was coping with the inaction as best she could by secluding herself in some dimly lit room in the corner of the castle library and mentally running through different scenarios that might happen on a mission. Even the best laid plans sometimes went awry and it wouldn't do to let herself be caught unprepared in the heat of the moment.

Such mental musings occupied her time until she suddenly heard someone storming towards her room. And storming really was the only way to describe it – she could make out both the intensity of their steps and their high frequency, indicating a rapid approach. It couldn't be Kaze, he'd never be so graceless. And the other 'Heroes' were more than happy to give her a wide berth, if only to spare their own thin skins. So the only person who would possibly want to seek her had to be…

"Kiran," she greeted as she reclined back into her cushioned chair with one leg crossed over the other, "to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"I've got a job for you." He replied, his words curt and mirthless. With just a glance, she could see how incensed he was: the man's face was set in a deeply frustrated scowl and he was wound so tight she bet she'd be able to feel the torsion of each individual muscle if she tried.

"Is that so?" She drawled, her head resting in the palm of her hand. "It's taken you long enough, but better late than never I suppose. I'd be delighted to hear the details," her lips curled up into a smirk, "just as soon as that rat on your heels shows itself."

Kiran did a double take at that, but she had no doubt about the validity of her observation. Said rat had done an excellent job of concealing itself, but she wasn't one of the Four Fangs for nothing. Though, in all fairness, even she might not have seen it if it hadn't shown her how to notice it a few days earlier. "Come now, Kaze," she taunted, "you should know better than to try and hide using a method I've already learned how to spot. I may not be dressed to do it myself, but I can still see when you try to conceal yourself in the rafters."

Shocked, Kiran's gaze shot towards the roof and began scanning for their eavesdropper. The poor idiot had no clue where to look, however, which left it her responsibility to lock her indigo irises with Kaze's emerald eyes. She beckoned him down with a mocking curl of her index finger and saw his mouth tighten with frustration. All the same, he silently descended to stand before them.

Kiran quickly got over his initial surprise and scowled at the shinobi. "Take a hike, Kaze." He ordered with unusual harshness. "This doesn't concern you."

"I rather think it does." The Hoshidian shot back with crossed arms. "In fact, your misguided impulsiveness concerns us all, but I've done you the courtesy of seeing to this myself rather than bringing everyone with me."

Kiran scoffed and sneered at him. "Yeah, I guess doing my job to win the war does concern everyone. But if you people are too scared to do what needs to be done, I don't mind going behind your backs so you can sleep soundly knowing that you're good little mindless drones that can't think for themselves."

This is more fun than it has any right to be. Ursula decided as she sat back and enjoyed the show. "Enough." Kaze retorted, at the barest limits of his patience. "I understand your frustration. If you'll remember, I and several others share in it. But we are part of a system much bigger than ourselves. His Majesty has his reasons, and while we may disagree with them, his word as the kingdom's monarch is still law." When Kiran's hand clenched into a fist, she really thought he was going to take an ill-advised swing at Kaze.

The only thing that seemed to keep his temper in check was the ninja sighing and hanging his head. "Kiran, please try to understand. I am no more pleased by this turn of events than you are. I truly believe we are wasting a golden opportunity and detest that we are doing so in the name of politics of all things. But as Lady Tanith pointed out, that is sometimes the nature of serving a state as soldiers rather than our own pockets as sellswords. There is no sense in making this the hill you die on."

She was starting to get a vague idea of what this conflict was about. Whatever the exact root of it was, Kiran had yet to be won over by Kaze's speech. "Nobody knows you're here, Kaze. Just walk out that door, pretend you didn't see anything, and let me do what I have to do."

Kaze shut his eyes in resignation. "I see. I did not want to have to resort to this, but…" That was a threat if she'd ever heard one. She might currently be doubting her decision to do so, but she had elected to serve Kiran and that meant ensuring his safety. So she surreptitiously flipped open the tome that had been lying against her leg and prepared to show Kaze why his prosaic methods could never match up to her own.

But he didn't do anything to warrant a blast of her Elfire tome. Instead, he opted to speak. "Personally, I have faith in you. In spite of your sometimes abrasive disposition, I believe that everything you do is ultimately done with the best of intentions. However," he opened his eyes to mere slits and returned Kiran's glare, "I cannot and will not ignore my professional misgivings. I don't know how or why, but you've been deceiving us, Kiran. And I refuse to let you do as you will when I cannot say for certain what your true motives are."

Deception? Ursula repeated to herself with a pleased grin. After that name business turned out to be a heap of nothing, I didn't think Kiran had it in him. It's good to know he really does see the importance of keeping his subordinates on a need-to-know basis.

Equally as reassuring was the fact that Kiran understood not to give up the ghost at a single accusation. "What the hell are you on about?" He challenged, though a professional like Ursula could never miss the slight twinge of nervousness in his voice. "I think everyone can attest that I've never been shy about speaking my mind even when it pisses people off."

"Your tactlessness at times is not what I'm referring to." Kaze countered. "In fact, I might say that lack of subtlety has been played up specifically to distract us from your genuine falsehoods."

Kiran still refused to yield and actually had the stones to lean towards Kaze. "Alright, green man, why don't you put your money where your mouth is and tell me just what it is I've been lying about?" Kaze paused for barely an instant to deepen his scowl before meeting Kiran's challenge.

"What actually happened after your forefathers won their revolution? Because I know very well that you didn't believe a word of the history you told us."

Kiran went stiff as a board at that, and though she couldn't see his face, Ursula imagined it must've been quite a sight. She had no idea what Kaze was talking about (though she did recall that Kiran once mentioned something about a revolution shortly after her arrival), but it was obvious that his accusation had rung true.

"…That's none of your business." He weakly rebuked.

"You know as well as I do that isn't good enough, Kiran. I have kept these misgivings to myself thus far, but I've no qualms about sharing them with the others if I must."

She could see Kiran's fist begin to shake. After what was doubtless much internal deliberation, his hand unclenched and he sank his head. "Ursula," he addressed her, his voice barely above a whisper, "get out."

She made no motion to rise from her chair – she merely chucked and lounged further into it. "Oh, I don't think so. If you think I'm going to miss out on whatever dark secret you're about to reveal, you're sadly mistaken."

He sighed and swung his head back to scowl at her. "Ursula–"

"I'll be courteous for once and spare you any illusion of security." She interrupted him. "Even if I left, rest assured that I know plenty of ways to eavesdrop. And unlike Kaze, I won't be stupid enough to try something I've already shown him how to detect. So would you rather be able to do damage control with me sitting right here or would you prefer leaving me free to draw my own conclusions about whatever it is you're going to say?"

Her grin widened with satisfaction when he made no show of inner debate and just hung his head in acceptance. "Are we alone?" He asked, quiet and resigned. "There's nobody anywhere nearby, right?"

"I wouldn't be here if I thought someone would stumble onto me by accident." She assured him.

"I promise, I didn't encounter a single soul on my way here." Kaze did his own part to soothe Kiran's concerns. "We are farther removed from another person than anyone else in the Order."

He nodded along, apparently having already given up on any chance of getting out of this. "Kaze, get the door, just be safe." The ninja did so and, upon his return, positioned himself so that Kiran could speak to both of them at once. "Both of you, listen to me very carefully." The sheer weight of his words was enough to get Ursula to stop making a show of nonchalance and sit upright – she'd never seen him as grave as he was right now. "What I'm about to tell you must never, under any circumstances, leave this room. I'm not remotely joking when I say that this could tear the Order apart if everyone knew about it. I want you both to swear to me that nobody will ever hear this from either of you."

Kaze wasted no time meeting Kiran's demand. "On my honor as a shinobi of Hoshido, I will not repeat what you say to anyone else."

When Ursula stayed her tongue, he looked at her with a sternness similar to the kind Sonia had whenever she punished one of their members for failure. "Ursula, you're going to swear to keep your mouth shut and you're going to like it. This is neither the time nor the place for any of your bullshit." His look turned into a glare that promised a great deal of suffering if she refused and she found herself with a wonderful reminder of why she'd decided to serve him in the first place. "Swear it."

Now that's more like it. "I swear on my pride as the Blue Crow to ensure your words never leave this room."

He titled his head at her and returned his attention to the both of them. He took a deep breath and, with a grim voice, revealed, "My country isn't ruled by any king." That alone raised an eyebrow from her (how else was a nation to be run?), but then he kept speaking. "More than that, our revolution wasn't just fought because we thought King George III was a tyrant – it was fought on the grounds that all kings are tyrants by their nature. We're taught from childhood that people will always be oppressed living under a crown. And if there is a monarch in power, well…" he met Kaze's shocked gaze with callous eyes, "as one founding father put it: the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Well, that explains all the secrecy… She thought, unsure of how to take that revelation. There was no love lost between her and the nobility, and even she thought that was an extreme view to take. It went without saying that the nobles and royals among their number would be less than pleased to hear such a belief being espoused by their 'Great Hero'.

Once he got his bearings, Kaze's first instinct was to defend his liege. "Queen Mikoto is no despot. She has ruled Hoshido with nothing but care and grace her entire reign."

"So she's a benevolent dictator then." Kiran shot back, unimpressed. "Does she wield unchecked power? Is she held accountable to anyone? Like Gustav, is 'her word as the kingdom's monarch still law'?" He crossed his arms and dared Kaze to challenge him. "If you can think of a better word to describe a head of state with the authority to do whatever they want, whenever they want, I'd love to hear it."

The shinobi grit his teeth and glanced to the ground, struggling to think of a retort. In the meantime, she let her own thoughts be known. "So what about your so-called 'Heroes' then? Do you wish misfortune and despair would befall all those princesses and blue bloods? If I recall correctly, that brat who tried to strike me when I was summoned is a princess – do you see her as a tyrant in the making?" She locked eyes with him and asked the heaviest question of all, "Do you intend to spread your revolution to Askr and beyond?"

Kaze went alert and began regarding Kiran much more warily than he had a second earlier. For his part, the summoner scoffed and rolled his eyes, as if the mere thought was patent nonsense not worth wasting time on. "No, I am not out to start a revolution here or anywhere else. A society has to come up with these kinds of ideas on its own – the slaves leaving Plato's cave only means something if they decided to leave, not if they were led out." What the hell is that supposed to mean? "And I hate the system, not the individuals in it. Tana's a great girl and she'd do the best she could, but I should hope we can all agree she's not the kind of person who should be allowed to have unlimited power. Ayra's unmatched with a sword, but it takes a lot more than that to run a country. Or are you seriously going to try and tell me that every royal ever born is perfectly suited to rule?"

That was one point she could agree with him on. So many of the corrupt nobles she'd gutted over the years ended up that way because they were irresponsible twits who only had authority from having been born with a silver spoon in their mouths. If she remembered correctly, Tana was that nauseatingly upbeat pegasus knight with the big ponytail – Ursula concurred that no, that idiot should absolutely not be given free rein to do whatever she wanted.

"Perhaps not." Kaze conceded. "But we do have systems in place for ensuring the quality of our rulers. In Hoshido, the divine weapons Raijinto and Fujin Yumi will only allow themselves to be wielded by worthy descendants of the Dawn Dragon."

In response, Kiran gave a mirthless chuckle and sarcastically nodded his head. "Right, of course, how could I forget about the 'divine right of kings'?" He put that expression in air quotes and dropped his arms to shoot Kaze a dry look. "For one, magic swords are no basis for a system of government. Two, even if they were, I'm afraid they would be a little out of date for us. Remember those firearms I told you about? Turns out all the divine blood in the world isn't worth very much when any farmer can effortlessly kill you from across a field. And three, if you get a crop of royal kids who all suck too much to wield the weapons, doesn't that leave you with a succession crisis because nobody's fit to rule? On that note, which of those two weapons does Mikoto use to justify her reign?"

Whatever comeback Kaze was preparing died on his lips at Kiran's final question. All the ninja did was frustratedly exhale with terse lips and twist his head to the side to avoid Kiran's gaze, which was all the answer they needed. Kiran's expression practically screamed 'that's what I thought', so in the absence of further resistance Ursula proposed another question. "So, have you ever 'watered the tree of liberty'?"

"Ironically enough, no." He admitted, somewhat bemused by his own statement. "The United States – which is to say, my country – just wanted to get away from George III. Once he let us go, we didn't really care what happened to him after that. In fact, Britain actually still has a queen, even if she basically has no power anymore. The other countries that used to have monarchies, on the other hand…" They caught each other's eyes again and Ursula got the impression he was enjoying his spiel. "The French dragged Louis XVI to the town square and beheaded him and the Russians executed Nicholas II and his whole family in a basement somewhere. Should I keep going?"

"That won't be necessary, thank you." Kaze ground out, looking quite disturbed by the pictures Kiran painted. "Perhaps you'd like to share what exactly is so much better than a monarchy? You sound rather proud of whatever it is that replaced it."

"We hold elections!" He declared, indeed with no small measure of pride. "We vote for mayors to manage cities, governors to run the states, officials to represent us in the federal government, who then vote amongst themselves on passing laws, and a president to act as head of state and government. If someone sucks at their job, we only have to put up with them for at most however many years their term lasts, which is typically no more than four or five." He nonchalantly shrugged. "The government is still basically terrible no matter who's running it, but at least we try to mitigate the damage its capable of. What are you supposed to do if a king is particularly horrible? Just ride it out for however many decades he's alive to ruin everything? Commit treason and hire an Ursula to bump him off?"

Kaze stared at the ground in thought with crossed arms, his fingers idly tapping his wrist. "…I suppose most of Nohr and Hoshido would rather King Garon have been ousted from power decades ago. But then, I imagine most of the Nohrian nobility are the only ones with the education and wealth to sustain an effort to win support for a nationwide election, and the vast majority are little better than Garon."

In response to that, Kiran shrugged again. "It's not a perfect system. In fact, one of the reasons I'd never try to start a revolution here is because most of the people here can't even read. How are they supposed to make informed decisions about candidates when nobody's educated? It'd just be the nobility under a different name. I mean," he nervously rubbed the back of his name, "most political candidates in America come from the elite of society too. But at least in theory there are opportunities for normal people to play a major role in the government, which is more than can be said about here."

Kaze sighed and looked back at Kiran. "I'm…going to need some time to fully come to terms with all of this. If nothing else, it's abundantly clear why you were not forthcoming with this information – I can only imagine what Sir Camus would do if he heard you say this. I'm almost too afraid to hear the truth behind your other deception."

"There's more?" Ursula asked with a raised eyebrow. Given what he'd already revealed, she actually found herself somewhat sharing in Kaze's trepidation.

Kiran sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Ugh, this is about natural philosophy, isn't it?"

"Indeed. In particular, how you 'corrected' Tana when she mentioned the four elements of the world. Your pause and twitch of the eye were so obvious I'm surprised that no one else picked up on them."

Upon hearing Kaze's specification, Kiran groaned and dragged a hand across his face. "Oh Christ, I can't believe I actually said that fucking nonsense. 'Four elements', please…" With tired, sunken eyes, Kiran looked at the two of them again. "Dude, water is two atoms of hydrogen bonded to an atom of oxygen. Everyday air is a mixture of a bunch of different gases, primarily nitrogen and oxygen. Fire's just a basic chemical reaction. And earth, like air, is a mixture of all kinds of different metals like iron, nickel, and zinc. There is absolutely nothing fundamental about any of them. Even protons and neutrons aren't the end-all, be-all – those are made of quarks, and those come in different generations, not to mention leptons…"

"If I may?" Ursula spoke up while Kaze was busy looking like he no longer knew up from down. "I know I don't look the part, but my aptitude for anima magic has required that I obtain some measure of competence in natural philosophy. And my success with the arcane has made me confident I at least understand the basics of how the world functions. Chiefly, how everything stems from the four fundamental elements. So forgive me if I'm unwilling to swallow the nonsense you're trying to peddle."

"Yeah, well, you're wrong." He bluntly told her, completely indifferent to how she bristled at his arrogant tone. "In fact, last I checked, there are actually one hundred and eighteen elements. It kind of makes me wonder how much better magic would work if you people actually understood anything."

While Ursula fought the urge to show him just how well she understood fire, Kaze had finally gathered his bearings. "Like Ayra before me, I have to ask: how do you know this? And I'd like something more substantial than a vague list of experiments you can't replicate here."

Kiran crossed his arms again and met Kaze's skeptic gaze. "You're the human lie detector, so you tell me if I'm making shit up. But then, I could be buying into my own brand of nonsense, so how about I describe a relevant invention and you decide if I'm full of crap or not?" He looked between the two of them and, once again with grave solemnity, described, "With an understanding of how atoms work, among other things, you can build a weapon powerful enough to turn an entire city into a pile of rubble and ash in less than a second."

Ursula rolled her eyes at such a blatantly over-the-top lie. She'd learned a long time ago that the best falsehoods were the ones that your victims would readily accept over any uncomfortable truth. If you tried to deceive people with something completely out of the realm of possibility, they'd never believe it no matter how impressive you made it sound.

"You're serious…" Kaze breathed as his arms fell to dangle limply at his side, which earned a disbelieving head swivel from her. "But that's…how could you possibly…"

"70,000 dead in Hiroshima." Kiran interrupted, all traces of sarcasm or self-importance wiped from his face. "97% of the city's infrastructure destroyed or severely damaged. Around the point where the weapon went off, there weren't even bodies – just scorch marks on the ground."

He…he is serious... She realized with a dazed widening of her eyes. Even the largest cities in Elibe barely breached 100,000 inhabitants – the thought of any one of them being annihilated in an instant was incomprehensible. Though she had nothing to go off of besides vague legends, she doubted even the eight Divine Weapons were capable of such destruction so quickly. "What would even be the point of war…?" She mused aloud to herself. "Why bother with armies against a power like that…?"

"Well, they are difficult to build, both because the exact mechanisms are hard to understand and the right materials aren't easy to get ahold of." He answered. "I talk a big game, but I sure wouldn't know how to put one together even if I did have everything I needed. So the vast majority of countries don't have any. But all the big nations keep stockpiles and closely guard the secrets of how they built them, which is why there hasn't been a big war since the one that first saw them used. Everybody would wipe each other out and nobody would win."

"That's…that's madness!" Kaze gasped. "If King Garon had such weapons at his disposal, nobody in Hoshido would ever be able to sleep soundly again! For that matter, if we had our own weapons, neither would anybody in Nohr! The entire world would live their lives forever gripped by paranoia and fear!"

Kiran impotently shrugged and looked to the ground. "You get used to it. It's not like you can take back that knowledge once it's been put out there, you know? And besides, things aren't nearly as bad as they were a few decades ago – back then, there were a few incidents that could've escalated to a world destroying war."

Kaze just shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "The more I learn about your world, the less I wish I knew. In all honesty, there are still a couple matters I know you lied about…but now, I think I'd rather stay ignorant. You've kept your secrets for a reason, that much is certain. I've had my curiosity more than sated, unless Ursula would rather keep going?"

"That won't be necessary." She distractedly waved him off, still trying to come to terms with what Kiran described. "I believe I can live without further disturbances to my worldview."

"In that case, it's about time we get back to the root of all this." Kiran said. "Maybe now, Kaze better understands my 'motives' and will agree to walk out that door?" Being reminded of the initial argument was enough to snap the ninja out of his daze and get him to recover his composure. His eyes flittered from side to side as he weighed the pros and cons of agreeing to Kiran's demand.

Finally, after several moments of silence, he spoke once again. "Are you absolutely committed to this course, Kiran? Is there truly nothing I can say to dissuade you?

Kiran stood firm in his defiance. "I don't care who he is or what kind of status he was born into – I'm not blowing this chance just because Gustav is worried about his image." Kaze sighed and hung his head in resignation. Ursula expected him to begin walking away and could never have predicted that he would say what he did.

"…Just this once, I…" he paused from what appeared to be sheer discomfort at what he was saying, "I will aid you in this endeavor."

"Huh?!" Kiran exclaimed with wide eyes. Ursula too looked at the Hoshidian in shock – he had always struck her as far too devoted to the established order to do go behind his comrades' backs.

"Perhaps I have been so offput by your revelations that I'm not thinking clearly," Kaze began, "but having learned what I have about you, I feel I better understand what has driven you to this decision. And while I may personally disagree vehemently with said underlying principles, the fact remains that I agree this assassination would be of great advantage to our cause. So, since we are in concordance and you will act with or without me, I will freely offer my help in this one instance."

Kiran opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by further words from Kaze. "However, you must accept that this cannot happen more than once. I understand that serving a crown is anathema to what you were raised to believe. I understand how much it grieves you to accept the will of a man you think has no right to rule. But I know you recognize that you are the exception in your beliefs – you would not have spun lies otherwise. You cannot repeatedly undermine the authority of what everyone else sees as the proper ruler. I assure you, they will grow weary of it and retaliate in some form or another. I doubt your people would be any more tolerant if I constantly subverted the will of your government because nobody in it was descended from a dragon."

"…I understand." Kiran grumbled out. "I've been able to put up with it so far, it's just…" he shook his head, "I don't know, maybe everything's finally hit the boiling point or something. As far as I'm concerned, Gustav's never caused anything but trouble for the Order – I can't really help not liking the guy."

Whatever Kaze was going to say in response, Ursula stopped him in his tracks. "Are you both finished?" She irritably snapped. "I appreciate the offer, Kaze, but I'm quite capable of killing whomever Kiran has in mind without your assistance."

"I don't doubt that you are." He assured her. "But my help is not offered entirely for the visceral side of the mission – it's also to help soothe things over here in the Order."

"How so?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"At the bare minimum, Alfonse and Anna will be incredibly unhappy about this. I imagine Sir Camus and likely Lady Tanith won't be far behind them. When they realize what Kiran has done, they will naturally seek out a target for their displeasure. But while he is of too great importance to punish too severely…"

"…I'm a fresh and widely disliked face." She finished, now much less surly now that she saw his point. "So, you intend to keep me from being made into a scapegoat? My, such a gentleman for one with such an unscrupulous history."

He did not rise to the mocking in her voice and continued with his explanation. "They will still furious, but, as the third Hero summoned, I am one of the Order's oldest members. And, if you'll permit me to stroke my ego, I like to believe I'm also well respected. If we make this endeavor into a partnership between myself and Ursula, there is only so much that could be done to discipline us both. We are, after all, the Order's most experienced agents of subterfuge – they could not afford to do away with us entirely."

Ursula couldn't help but let out an amused snort at the picture he put into her head. "Imagine if they did – they'd be left with Nino as the closest thing to an assassin. Gods, it's hard to envision anything more pathetic than that." As expected, she got the usual angry narrowed eyes for disparaging Sonia's pointless project, but they both knew her well enough to just let it slide.

"Well, Kaze," Kiran turned back to the Hoshidian, "if you're that into the idea, I'll not look a gift horse in the mouth. When I'm getting an earful from Alfonse, I'll be sure to mentally thank you for throwing your lot in with us. I hope you two are as good at quietly killing people as I think you are."

"On that note," she once again jumped in before Kaze could, "perhaps you'd like to finally tell me just who it is I'm supposed to be gutting? I've been itching for details from the moment you said you had a job for me."

Kiran flashed her an apologetic smile. "Oh, uh, sorry about that. Didn't mean for things to get dragged out like that. Your target is a tall blonde man with a scar on his left cheek named Wilmarc…"


Anna was used to going on extended manhunts. As commander of the Askran prince and princess, she often had to track down one or the other for strategy meetings or some such, and the latter tended to get sidetracked by one thing or another and necessitate a combing of the whole castle to find her. The establishment of the Order had added quite the handful of colorful personalities to keep track of, but Anna had never truly struggled to find anyone if she really needed them.

So then why was it so impossible for her to find Kaze?

She wanted to ask the shinobi for his thoughts on an adjusted patrol route to better spot potential intruders that she'd drafted up. She'd hoped to catch him at breakfast, but he hadn't been present. That was an uncommon but not entirely unusual occurrence – he'd once told her had to be prepared to go without food for extended periods of time, and so would occasionally miss a meal as a form of training. She just figured she'd catch him later in the day, but that was proving to be far more difficult than she imagined.

No matter whom she asked, nobody had the slightest inkling where the ninja was. Ayra, who practically lived at the training fields, hadn't seen Kaze there all day. Tanith and Tana never caught a glimpse of his dark green hair as they glided over the castle grounds. Nor had Clive or Camus ever run into him when taking their steeds on laps around the grounds – though they had noticed that a horse seemed to have escaped during the night, which she made a mental note of. Even the library ended up being a dead end, since Hubert, Odin and Libra (since when did those three get along? she wondered) reported nobody ever entering the quiet bookshelf filled rooms.

At present, she'd been reduced to frustratedly pacing down the hall with no clue where else to look. A part of her was worried something had happened to him, but felt confident that Kaze could take care of himself. But if he was fine like she wanted to believe, then where was he? Her aimless trotting was broken by the sound of her name ringing out at the other end of the hall.

"Commander Anna!" Prince Alfonse called and began walking towards her.

"Ah, Alfonse," she greeted him with a smile, "what can I do for you?"

The bluenette flashed a grin of his own, though she thought it was a touch nervous. "This may sound odd, but have you seen that new Hero, Ursula, anywhere? I wanted to get a better idea for what kind of people she and Hubert are, but while I was able to have a short conversation with him after breakfast, I have yet to find her. She wasn't even at breakfast, so I've yet to see her all day."

"Oh, just check the darkest corners of the library. She's always trying to be off by herself." Her answer was automatic enough, butt she hadn't realized Ursula had also missed their morning meal before he pointed it out. What were the odds she and Kaze both skipped breakfast on the same day?

"I did try there, but the library is empty save for Odin, Hubert and Libra. I've even asked around, and nobody claims to have seen so much as a lock of purple hair all day."

"Uh…" She didn't know what to think when Alfonse shot her suggestion down. "In that case, I honestly have no idea. Truth be told, I've been Hero hunting myself; Kaze's eluded everyone too. It's strange enough that he seems to be missing, but I can't imagine how or why he and Ursula would both–"

Her words caught in her throat when she realized the sole trait that tied the Hoshidian and Blue Crow together. They shared nothing about their appearances, personalities or morals…but they did share a skillset. That revelation gripped her heart like an icy claw and sent a chilling rush throughout her veins. No…he wouldn't…he didn't…

"Commander?" Alfonse's voice cut through her disturbed haze. "What's wrong?"

What am I saying? She thought as her shocked expression morphed into a furious scowl while her hand clenched. Of course he would. That stubborn idiot will do anything once he sets his mind to it! "I think I know where both of our missing Heroes are." She growled at Alfonse, who looked like he wasn't sure if he should be confused or concerned.

"I-is that so? Well, er, where are they?"

She grasped Alfonse's wrist to drag him along with her and ground out, "Why don't we go ask Kiran?"

"Kiran?" The prince perplexedly repeated. "Why would Kiran–" She felt him go stiff, which she took as an indication that he'd reached the same conclusion she had. "Of all the short-sighted, impulsive madness…!" He seethed and wrenched his hand free so he could catch up to her side. "Does that fool never think before he acts?!"

"I imagine we'll soon find out." She said, in every bit as much of a fuming anger as Alfonse. Neither of them said anything else as they stormed towards Kiran's tower, choosing instead to let their simmering furies rise to a boil so as to ensure their indignation had the full impact on their wayward summoner. Luckily, they didn't encounter so much as an idle servant in their trip – the sight of the crown prince and commander in a rage wouldn't have made for pleasant gossip. The only person who saw them in that state was Kiran's guard, who was dismissed with a curt order from Alfonse.

They barged into Kiran's office and found him hunched over some book on his desk. The initial shock on his face quickly gave way to defiant obstinance under the guise of boredom. That little– he's been expecting us! "Yo," he greeted, his nonchalance failing to fully mask his disdain, "what's up, guys?"

Anna made the first move by stalking towards him like a predator that caught the scent of blood. "You know very well what's 'up' and how much trouble you're in." She bristled further when he insulted them by feigning ignorance.

"I've just been reading this neat book on using mages as infantry support, so I guess you don't want me to make myself smarter anymore." He informed them with an infuriating casualness.

She responded by slamming her hands down on his desk, which earned a satisfying flinch. "Don't play games with us! Do you have even the faintest idea what you've done?!"

Her show of force was apparently enough to convince him to stop playing dumb, because he now wore a glower of his own. "What I've always done: my job."

"Still your tongue!" Alfonse demanded before she gave into her urge to smack him. "Insurrection is not the task we've asked of you, and you have another thing coming if you think you can hide behind the excuse of your occupation!"

"Yeah, that's right, Alfonse." Kiran taunted with an insufferable sneer. "Keep using big words to try and wash the taste of your dad's boot out of your mouth."

What in Askr's name is his problem?! "Are you a child or merely insane?!" She demanded while Alfonse looked ready to try and strike Kiran himself. "The sovereign of the kingdom gave us a direct order to leave Wilmarc be – that isn't the kind of thing you can just ignore because you have some inexplainable contempt for authority!"

Kiran had clearly been learning from Ursula, because he did a perfect imitation of one of her mocking lip curls. "Alright, I defied the explicit word of the king. And? What exactly are you or big bad Gustav going to do about it? Execute me? Lock me up in a dungeon?" He leaned in close while they shook with anger. "Face it: you need me. I guess you could drag me bound and gagged into battle…but God only knows what kinds of things I'd ask of Heroes when I summon them if you did that."

Alfonse was the first to recover from the sheer alarm they both felt at the implication of his words. "If you think threatening us is going to get you your way–"

"My point is that we're all stuck with each other!" He interrupted. "And no matter how much you hate it, I don't have to sit down and accept edicts nobody was happy with!"

"We may have been disappointed by it," she began in a deceptively calm voice, "but everyone agreed to accept His Majesty's decree because we're not stupid enough to think the world was built around us! Where do you think our food comes from? Or our weapons and armor? What kind of message do you think it sends to the rest of Askr when some upstart foreigner starts defying the king at will? It doesn't matter if you're the legendary Great Hero or not – you're still part of something bigger than just you!"

Instead of the shame or regret she hoped to see, he was brazen enough to laugh at them. "Are you serious? Gustav would withhold food because I didn't want to play politics for him?" The laughter died in an instant, a livid glare taking its place. "If he's willing to let Askr's only chance at victory starve just to prove a point, that idiot deserves to get sacrificed on an altar."

Even as he said that, Kiran seemed to realize he'd gone too far. It was doubtful that any attempt at backtracking or apology would've kept Alfonse from lunging forward to grip the collar of his coat and lift him off the ground. "I can put up with your juvenile insults." He growled at the now much more frightened summoner. "I can live with your insufferable smarm and will even endure insubordination." The prince pulled Kiran close enough that their noses were nearly touching. "But I will not stand here and let you speak of my father like that."

At last, Kiran's wide eyes sank to the ground with remorse. "…I'm sorry." The genuine guilt in his voice was enough to get Alfonse to lower him back to the floor, though the prince had clearly not forgiven him entirely. Once he was back on his own two feet, Kiran lost the better part of his scorn and backed up from them. "For the record, this was only mostly my idea. I was just trying to get Ursula to take out Wilmarc, but Kaze volunteered to go along. So that agreement to stay put wasn't as unanimous as you seem to think it was."

Anna sighed, her own ire diminished – Alfonse's physical reaction was in such contrast to his usual patience that it had shocked the anger out of her as well. Before she could address Kiran's newest detail, he kept going. "But his help was contingent on a deal: that I would never do anything like this again. I still think I did the right thing – but he made a big point about how snubbing the king would ultimately do more harm than good." That conversation was probably a lot smoother than this one. Kaze's got a way of calming people down and he doesn't have the bad blood with Kiran that we do.

"That's a sound assessment." Alfonse tersely judged before narrowing his eyes. "Whether or not you actually listen to it remains to be seen. We were foolish enough to trust you to stay your hand with regards to Wilmarc, after all."

"Kaze was right," she cut in, "but he still defied the will of the Order too, as did Ursula. We'll work out what to do with the three of you once they get back." Much as the thought annoyed her, she had to admit Kiran was correct: he was too important to receive too harsh a punishment. Perhaps they could've done something to Ursula in his stead had she alone set out – Anna doubted anyone would be terribly broken up about that sadist receiving retribution – but they couldn't single her out when Kaze was her partner in crime.

"I can't wait." Kiran drawled and leaned on his desk. He seemed to think they had nothing more to discuss, which she conceded was probably true. She needed time to think of some form of punishment and talking further would inevitably result in more frayed nerves that failed to accomplish anything. Alfonse concluded much the same and swiveled away from Kiran with a disgusted shake of his head. She spared a glare for him before following in the prince's lead.

When they nearly crossed the threshold out of the office, she prepared to give their summoner a final scolding but was beaten to the punch by her liege. "Make no mistake, Kiran – there will be consequences for this. They may not come in a form any of us can foresee or control, but I can assure you of one thing." He glanced back to pierce Kiran with the gaze of a single narrowed eye.

"You will reap what you've sown."


Kaze was no stranger to working with partners at odds with his own disposition. Saizo, his own brother, always made for an odd pairing – next to his passionate, no-nonsense attitude, Kaze seemed as relaxed as Haar by comparison. Even he and Kagero weren't all that alike, if only because of the difference in training and expectation between a shinobi and kunoichi. Before arriving in Askr, he had been told that he may have had to prepare for an infiltration mission to Nohr that would've seen him working alongside a woman from the Flame Tribe of all places. The point was that Kaze understood what it was like to rise above clashing personalities and focus on professional duty for the sake of the mission.

Ursula was making it very difficult to find that focus.

He knew it could've been worse – he could've been riding on a horse with Jane or Hubert, who were just as if not more unpleasant company and didn't even share a profession with him. But that thought was little comfort when Ursula never seemed to run out of barbs and loaded questions to shoot his way, despite having begun her harassment from the moment they absconded from the castle with a 'borrowed' horse in the pre-dawn hours.

"A whole four royal children? It makes one wonder which you'd save and which you'd let die if push came to shove."

"Kiran's world sounds fraught with strife. Pray tell, would you rather see this Mikoto beheaded in the town square or executed in some basement with her children?"

"You mentioned a brother at some point, didn't you? If you're as good at your job as you've made yourself sound, I should hope you'd leave him to die if the mission demanded it."

And so on. For twelve hours.

The sole respite had been when they had to cross the frontlines to enter Emblian territory. As surprised as he was to see Ursula was a competent rider (never mind how she rode in high-heeled boots), he was even more stunned when she opted to cease her provocations and defer to his expertise. "You've crossed these lines once before, have you not?" She'd asked. "Then you know how to slip by better than I do. So stop wasting time and clear a path."

That had been the moment he realized there was no true malice behind any of her cruel words. She didn't hate him or Hoshido specifically – trying to make him imagine the pain of losing loved ones and lieges was just her sick, sadistic way of passing the time. He'd already figured as much from when he'd spoken to her after she first arrived, but it was…reassuring to have it confirmed again after her particularly vicious round of bedevilments.

He'd dismounted their steed, silently crept through the undergrowth to slit the throats of the lazy sentries Embla had in place (apparently, they hadn't quite learned their lesson from the burned supply stores, or they didn't imagine anyone would try to get through in the middle of the day) and returned to Ursula to be greeted by what he imagined was rare praise from her. "Excellently done. Those idiots didn't even have time to realize they'd perished. Now let's be off."

He returned to his place behind her on the saddle and dared to have hope that impressing her with a display of his skill would be enough to stay her tongue. As such, he had to bite back an aggravated sigh when she asked, "Out of curiosity, if the youngest Hoshidian princess turned coat, would you have the stones to slit her throat like you did with those fools just now?" He imagined she just wanted the satisfaction of seeing his cool exterior shatter into rage, so he responded by silently staring straight ahead with a blank expression. She got an amused snort out of that but wasn't remotely discouraged.

He might've thought being in enemy territory would dull her wit, but they both had the awareness to recognize when anyone was actually close enough to warrant silence. That didn't happen near often enough to give any kind of reprieve to her perturbations, however, likely due to the fact that they were trotting through a dense forest (Fýri, he believed it was called on the map). He endured her jabs all the way to sundown, when he expected they'd prepare to make camp. What he didn't expect was for them to stumble onto a decently sized farm sitting smack dab in the middle of a clearing just as the last beams of light began to sink under the horizon. Judging by the shape, said clearing had been artificially formed by chopping down the trees.

And judging by the freshly harvested corn and wheat stalks, the farm was still being used.

"How auspicious." Ursula purred. "And here I thought I'd have to denigrate myself to sleeping on the ground. Instead, we'll have warm beds and fresh food for the evening."

"No, we won't." He rebuked with the first words he'd bothered to speak to her all day. "This is a farmstead, not a military base. The people living here are noncombatants and I refuse to spill innocent blood."

She scoffed and he just knew she was rolling her eyes. "How disgustingly noble of you, Kaze. But even if you're too much of a bleeding heart to make use of the gifts you've been given, I have no such reservations. If it upsets you that much, then just stay put while I have my fun."

"You will do no such thing." He warned with a tight grip of her shoulder. "These people are not legitimate targets for the war effort. I have no qualms assassinating military personnel, but I will not be an accessory to the murder of blameless bystanders."

She openly laughed in response – a cruel, high-pitched laugh, filled with scorn and ridicule. "'Blameless bystanders'? Oh, you poor, deluded fool. Why don't you stop and actually think for a second? This Castle Beruvik we're headed to is on the old border, which means this farm is in what used to be Askran territory. Which leaves us two possibilities: either these farmers are Askran, in which case they're traitors supplying food to their enemy, or they're Emblians, in which case they're thieves using Askr's stolen land to supply food to our enemies." She glanced back to shoot him a mocking sneer. "The way I see it, killing them helps Askr and the Order either way. Or is denying food to an overstretched army only okay when you burn it inside a captured fort?"

"…They are unarmed and helpless." He protested still, though his voice had lost the better part of its earlier bite.

Her rebuttal was as swift as it was merciless. "So are clerics, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who refuses to run them through with a sword in the heat of battle." When he could muster no argument but still kept his grip on her shoulder, she gave an annoyed huff. "Honestly, Kaze, I'm not demanding you hold them down and force them to watch as I rip out their throats – just sit here like a good boy while I go to work. If this is all it takes to get your stomach churning, I find it hard to believe you've done even half the wetworks you claim."

His instincts, born from a greater sense of empathy than his brother's, told him to keep arguing. He knew this was a deeply dishonorable way to conduct himself. In fact, he could see the disgusted glare and tearful plea for mercy that Lord Ryoma and Princess Sakura would make were they present to hear Ursula's proposal. But he also knew what Saizo would say if he could see Kaze's doubt. "We're shinobi." He'd chastise. "We do what we must for our lieges. Leave honor to the samurai."

Logically, he knew Saizo and Ursula were right – Askr had to strike whatever blows it could, distasteful methods be damned. If this brought about even the slightest of shortage to Embla and thus the slimmest of reprieve for Askr, he knew they had to do it. But that didn't mean he had to like it. "…Make it quick, Ursula." He demanded as he retracted his hand. "We're here on business, not to indulge in sadism."

"Oh, please, they're hapless farmers. They aren't worth the effort it would take to drag things out." She pulled a dagger from a sheath on the saddle, dismounted and began walking around the edge of the clearing to approach from the wheat fields on the right side of the farmstead. Despite her striking violet dress, the wheat stalks effectively erased her presence, though it probably wasn't even all that necessary when there wasn't even a window on that side of the house to see her from. She emerged from the fields and crossed the open ground between there and the side of the house with starling swiftness considering what she was wearing.

She spared him a glancing smirk before rounding the back side of the house to enter it from the rear. Kaze sat there in silence for several minutes, trying not to imagine what Ursula was currently doing. A less astute observer might have worried that the lack of any noise indicated something had gone wrong, that perhaps Ursula had difficulty entering. But Kaze knew better. He recognized the unnatural stillness for the lethal sign it was. He could feel the air grow more stagnant as the nearby life was snuffed out.

It wasn't long before the front door swung open to reveal Ursula reclining against its frame. She was utterly immaculate, with the only sign of her handiwork being the fresh blood that dripped from her scarlet soaked dagger. "Oh, Kaze," she called out with a nauseatingly false smile, knowing full well both of them could tell there wasn't anyone around for leagues who could hear her, "would you be a dear and help me take out some trash?"

Her cruel smirk widened when he was unable to fight the weary sigh that tugged at his lips. Grudgingly, he guided their steed towards her. "There's no need to look so down, you know." She said when he pulled up to the doorstep. "I know you must've disposed of plenty of bodies in your day. I'll even prove I have a heart by dealing with the children myself."

His free hand tightened into a fist and he had to remind himself that Ursula was, for better or worse, his ally. While he did almost feel like he'd have rather stayed back at the castle to let Ursula be vilified as a scapegoat when she returned, he knew her talents were too precious to go to waste. He just wished he could work with someone less heartless. "We'll deposit the bodies in the cornfield." He curtly ground out. He'd rather have dug some graves, but they had neither the time nor the energy to waste on proper rites – Saizo had always stressed that when out in the field, one had to conserve every ounce of strength they could.

"Splendid. There's three adults and plenty of burlap to wrap them in if you want to keep yourself free of any stains." He dismounted, tied the reins to a post by the door, and followed as she made her way back inside. Right away, he stepped in a puddle of blood and followed the pool's spread to see a middle-aged woman hunched over a table half set for dinner. Her cloth dress was soaked red from the gash in her throat that was still dripping fresh blood. Though he hated to admit it, Ursula was right: he had gone through many a scene like this in his day. He was almost disturbed by how automatically he reached for the large burlap sack in the corner and began containing the corpse with well ingrained muscle memory.

He was so efficient that it barely took ten minutes to have the body enveloped and slung over his shoulder. He strode out to the designated dumping spot and caught sight of Ursula leaving the fields. "Only one more on my end." She informed him. "Try not to take too long, Kaze – it's rude to keep a lady waiting."

After depositing his carcass, he returned to deal with the other two: a middle-aged man lying in a crimson pool by a chopping block and a young man (their son, he thought before he could stop himself) who looked to have been in the middle of repairing tools in the attic when Ursula found him. In the midst of body disposal, he caught sight of blood seeping from within the bedroom. Since none of his cadavers had been from there, it could have only come from one source. He promptly tried to block out such thoughts from his mind.

After dropping the last burlap wrapped corpse into the stalks of corn, he returned to find Ursula reclining into a large wooden chair by the wood-filled fireplace, a bright red apple resting in the palm of her hand. "All finished, are we?" She asked before taking a bite. "Come now, stop looking so miserable. We've a roof over our heads and far more comforts than we expected to find." With a flick of the wrist, she lit the logs in the fireplace using her Elfire tome. "Go ahead, take your pick of the food that's been prepared. After all," her lips widened into a wicked grin. "it's not like they're ever going to get a chance to eat any of it."

"Why are you like this?" He demanded at last, though with enough self-control that he hadn't given her the satisfaction of snapping outright. "You were not this insufferably vicious when we first met to discuss anecdotes and techniques. What possible purpose does it serve you to revel in every minor cruelty and try to rattle me with those disgusting questions?"

She chuckled to herself and rolled the apple between her fingers. "Finally run out of patience, have we? You earn points for lasting this long, though it's disappointing you can't answer your own question." She took another bite and let him stew in his impatient distaste for several moments before continuing. "Tell me, Kaze: what's the most important thing in the world?"

"…What? How does that–"

"You heard me. It's a simple question with a simple answer. So quit gawking and answer it already."

Much as it rubbed him the wrong way, he'd gotten to know Ursula well enough to recognize that he'd never get a straight answer if she didn't want to give it. So it was either play her game or remain ignorant of what made her tick. But what should he say? Saizo would probably answer with something like 'discretion' or 'loyalty'. Lord Ryoma may have said 'family', or perhaps 'honor'. But what did Kaze think…?

"…Duty." He eventually answered. "Duty to one's family, to their nation…and above all else, to their liege. When one has absolute faith in a lord and his cause, all that remains is the sense of duty to see their will carried out. A great many failings in history have been brought about by someone's inability to properly do their duty." One such failing would remain unspoken yet forever burned into his heart: his failure to report the Nohrian forces he saw in Cheve the day that King Sumeragi was murdered and young Prince Kamui was stolen from them. That he was a child at the time was irrelevant: had he simply done the duty his family had carried out for generations before him, that terrible tragedy could've easily been averted.

"Not a bad answer, especially given your past," Ursula judged with a growing smirk, "but I'm afraid it's still wrong."

He bit back a sigh. "Then what's the right answer?" He asked with steadily thinning patience.

She took a final bite of her apple, leaving nothing but the core, before locking her eyes with his. "Perfection." She revealed at last. "Perfection is without a doubt the singular most important thing in this and every world."

"Perfection, hm?" He repeated, unimpressed. "And what does perfection have to do with asking me whether or not I'd leave my brother to die?"

"You're an assassin, Kaze." He opened his mouth to protest her designation but was cut off. "You may call yourself something different, but, at least for this mission, that's what you are. And what are the vital traits that any assassin worth their salt needs to have?"

He was getting sick of having his questions returned with further questions, but proposed an answer all the same. "Control, discipline, restraint, and so on. Skills like concealment and lethal strikes will come from a mastery of those."

"Very good." She extolled with a surprising degree of sincerity. "Now, if you'd flown off the handle into a frothing rage at some meaningless hypotheticals I asked when we were both bored, what would that have told me?"

That was her angle the whole time? "Do you mean to say that you've been testing me?"

"Indeed, and while you've by and large passed, I'm still disappointed you needed this explained to you. Kiran figured out my intent within a few minutes of meeting me. Then again, I sense none of the perfection in you that I do in him, so I suppose it's unfair to hold you to the same standards."

"Hold a moment. You think Kiran is perfect?" Kaze did ultimately like the man, despite all of his flaws, but he wasn't about to insinuate the summoner was perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

She scoffed and crossed one leg over the other. "Do you think I'd be out here on his orders if I didn't? I'll admit it might be more accurate to say I can see the potential for perfection in him, but I'd still rather listen to him than any of those Askran fools. If nothing else, going behind their backs to kill whoever needs killing has endeared me to him. If I'm not mistaken, he's also the tactician, so I look forward to seeing how he performs when the chips are down."

Thank the gods she wasn't here for that mock battle… Kaze thought, now much more cognizant of how brittle Ursula's loyalty really was. "It's starting to sound like your standards for perfection lie rather heavily in someone having the sense of restraint to not rise to your barbs."

"Having a cool head is important, yes," she conceded, "but it's hardly the only thing I consider – it's just the easiest to test. Believe it or not, I did ask all those questions with the intent of judging your character based on how you responded. You could've answered and kept calm at the same time, you know. So, with that said," her cold-blooded grin returned in full, "if all four Hoshidian royal children were in mortal danger and you could only save one, which would it be?" Her smile became accompanied by piercing narrowed eyes. "What would your duty be in that situation?"

Kaze's gaze sank to the ground as he put genuine thought into the question he had once written off as nothing but a perverse attempt at getting under his skin. Ursula might've been getting a callous pleasure out of watching him squirm, but he had to admit that it was a genuine inquiry. Hostilities with Nohr could openly break out again someday despite Mikoto's best efforts, and it wasn't impossible that he could find himself in the situation she described.

As much as the thought made his heart throb with anguish, he had to write off Sakura and Hinoka – one of the key pieces of his counterargument to Kiran's thoughts on monarchies had been that divine weapons provide the King or Queen with the right to rule, after all. True, Mikoto didn't have one, but to let Raijinto or Fujin Yumi's chosen wielders die if he could save one was unthinkable. And if it came down to Takumi or Ryoma, one was the rightful heir groomed for the throne and the other suffered from deep insecurities about not being said heir.

"…Lord Ryoma." He finally responded, trying to hide how distraught he was at the mere image of leaving the others to their morbid fate. "He's the rightful heir to the throne and the wielder of the divine blade, Raijinto. If Hoshido were to survive such a calamity as the loss of most of the royal family, it would need Lord Ryoma to guide them forward."

"A sound argument." Ursula hailed, her smile now much less predatory. "We can't say for sure that's what you would actually do, but at least you know what the proper decision would be. Of course," her smirk became mocking once more, "the best answer might be to not bother with a royal family at all."

Kaze rolled his eyes – it was obvious what she was referring to. "Don't tell me you actually agree with Kiran's radical political beliefs."

"Oh?" Ursula raised an eyebrow in response. "That's an awfully dismissive tone for someone who wasn't able to make a single solid counterpoint to said beliefs when pressed."

He pointedly ignored the flare of embarrassed heat that burst into his cheeks. "I will admit to being inept at defending my position at the time. However, I attribute that to my judgement being impaired by the sheer shock of realizing how extreme his views were. In the time since then, I've been reevaluating why I still hold faith in the Hoshidian dynasty. Once we've returned and have a free moment, I intend to present my case to Kiran." Perhaps it was a touch childish, but the thought of letting Kiran have the last laugh in their discussion had rubbed him the wrong way.

"Is that so?" She drawled, now looking half bored, half curious. "And where does that faith come from? It sounded to me like you had to admit to serving a tyrant with no right to rule."

His own eyes now narrowed as hers just had. "In terms of legal authority, I will admit that Kiran has a point about the dangers of unchecked power. But," he continued before Ursula could take a dig at him, "a monarch is more than just a source of legislation – they are a symbol. A symbol of the kingdom, the very embodiment of its heart and soul. In a monarch such as Queen Mikoto, the people see an ideal to strive towards. They see the values and virtues of the nation given physical form and are inspired by her example to be ever trying to improve themselves. And you can't bring about such inspiration with a transient regime beholden only to what will win them favor in an election."

"My, you have been thinking about this." Ursula noted with an interested gaze. "I might even admit you have a point. However, Kiran's original point still stands: should the monarch be an incompetent idiot, their importance as the 'symbol' of the kingdom will only do it harm."

Kaze let loose a quiet sigh. "Yes, I suppose they will. King Garon's influence on Nohr is proof enough of that. Yet, I still believe that the benefits of a wise, compassionate queen like Mikoto are worth the risks of potentially seeing a warmongering tyrant like Garon on the throne. Perhaps I'm narrow-minded and lacking in experience, but I like to think the Order supports my views. Princesses Tana and Ayra may not make the greatest administrators, but I believe there is a vital, if intangible, value to their influence on the spirits of their kingdoms."

"The higher highs outweigh the lower lows, is that the idea?" She asked before stretching her arms above her head. "Well, it makes no difference to me one way or another what you believe in. You and Kiran can argue politics all day long once we're back for all I care."

"And why don't you care?" He asked, determined to have the initiative at least once in this conversation. "What do you believe in, Ursula? If it's perfection you want, I can't imagine either of our positions are all that appealing – Kiran even explicitly said his people didn't have a perfect system."

She finished her stretching and rested her cheek against the palm of her hand. "I'd like to live in a perfect world, naturally, but I don't claim to know what that would be. I choose instead to focus on treating the symptoms by removing all the imperfections I can."

Kaze could read between the lines and disapprovingly crossed his arms. "You mean to say that you kill anyone you view as imperfect."

"Not anyone, Kaze," she corrected, "just the ones who're in a position to do actual damage with their flaws. Hasn't Nino ever told you whom the Black Fang targeted?" His blank stare earned a chuckle from her that soon morphed into genuinely scornful scowl. "We primarily concerned ourselves with slaying corrupt nobles. You know the type, I'm sure: the kind of degenerate wretches who do nothing but abuse the power they were lucky enough to be born with. The other Fangs tend to be motivated by a desire to save the oppressed, but I'm not so altruistic – as far as I'm concerned, if gutting those fools puts the world another step forward on the path to perfection, then it's worth every second of effort."

Despite her claims to the contrary, Kaze could tell there was something else at play – Ursula looked far too passionate to be motivated merely by a desire for perfection. She had been sorely lacking in a similar fervor during any of her prior dialogues about flawlessness. Not to mention he still didn't know where her obsession with perfection came from; it was likely that and her hatred of corrupt nobles came from the same place. But he wasn't about to probe for anything she didn't want to share, not when she wasn't much more than a coworker.

While he made his internal observations, she kept going with her tirade. "That's why I'll admit to enjoying the imagery Kiran put forth. I don't know what those kings he talked about were like, but I'll bet they must've been astonishingly awful rulers to get those kinds of grisly ends from their own peoples."

"Which in your eyes is just what they deserved." He concluded and was rewarded with a confirming nod. "If that's why you do what you do, so be it – it's not my place to get involved in your affairs. So long as you don't ever try to pass judgement on the Hoshidian dynasty, we'll get along." She gave a non-committal hum, which he had to admit was probably the best he was going to get out of her. "One last question: why did you enjoy killing this family? They are not corrupt nobles worthy of your unique brand of justice."

Ursula's disdain faded back into her usual derisive attitude. "There's nothing wrong with taking pride in your work, is there?" When he opened his mouth to point out how sick it was to be proud of murdering defenseless farmers, she made an addendum. "If you want something more substantial, consider that I seek to attain perfection myself. As such, whenever I kill someone I consider beneath me, it serves as something of a confirmation of my own worth. I strive to be the best, and killing somebody, no matter how worthless, is proof that I'm better than they were."

How disgusting. He thought, reminded of the horror stories he'd heard of certain Nohrian criminals and court officials. "With that mindset, you won't achieve your goal until you've killed everyone else in the world." His observation was delivered with undisguised loathing that got an exasperated eye roll from her in return.

"Quit being so dramatic. The only ego-stroking of any note that I get comes from killing those who happen to have more power or influence than I do. I don't need the boost to my pride that comes from killing hapless peasants, but there's no harm in enjoying it whenever it comes around."

"Fine." He snorted, eager to get off the subject since he was fully aware that he'd never change her mind. "Like I said, your affairs aren't my business so long as we avoid antagonizing each other."

"The feeling's mutual, I assure you." She threw a fresh log into the dimming fire beside them. "Now are you going to keep standing there yapping or are you going to relax for the evening? If the thought of eating these people's food is truly revolting, then just go grab the rations on the horse we packed."

Without another word, Kaze did as she recommended. He could admit to the strategic value of killing these people, but he would at least have the conscience to not rob them after their deaths if he could help it. Somewhat reluctantly, he returned to the fireplace with his meal. He had endured Ursula thus far, so he wasn't so petty that he'd refuse her fire out of the sheer unpleasantness of her company, but he did nothing to reignite the conversation. Thankfully, she seemed to have been telling the truth when she said his performance satisfied her, because she no longer tried to kill the time by asking those repulsive questions.

In a silence that was neither comfortable nor awkward, the two whittled away the evening, both of their thoughts doubtless fixated on the objective that would soon be upon them.


Never in a million years did Kiran imagine he'd one day find himself trying to blow off stress by engaging in, of all possible things, a tea party. Did anyone on Earth even still have tea parties in modern times? If they did, he wondered how similar they were to this one – if nothing else, the guest count felt abnormally high.

He was seated at a large round table in a gazebo situated in the castle gardens. Also seated were, from his right side onward, Virion, Clive, Haar, Maria, Tana, Sharena, Nino and, ending at his immediate left, Ninian. Around them were trays filled with a variety of snacks and tea sets, each filled with a different blend. When Virion first sent him this invitation, he'd assured him that they'd forego servants so as to be able to speak freely. Kiran was especially grateful about that – the less the common Askrans knew about the mounting tension between him and the royal family, the better.

On that note… "So, Sharena, you sure you want me here?" He asked as he leaned on the armrest of his chair. "Your brother's gotten pretty fed up with me, after all."

"I suppose we should get this out of the way first thing…" The princess glanced to the side and wrung her hands together. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't bothered by what you did – but then, you're only here in the first place because we defied father ourselves." She looked back at him with a conspiratorial smile. "So I'd be a hypocrite to get mad at you for something I did too. But, you know," her smile dropped into a frown, "don't make a habit of it."

His first instinct was to answer 'no promises' with a shit-eating grin, but then he remembered Kaze's warning about pushing everyone too far with his rebellious attitude. So instead, he settled for a lukewarm, "Yeah, yeah, I've got the message."

"While we're on the subject," Clive spoke up, "you probably ought to know what everyone else thinks of your dissent. Obviously, everyone here isn't terribly incensed since we've all agreed to enjoy the afternoon with you." He swept his gaze across the table and was met with agreeing nods. "Those being discussed in absentia, on the other hand…" he paused to wearily sigh, "I cannot speak for anyone else, but I do know that Sir Camus is nearly at his breaking point. He was never terribly fond of you to begin with, and this act of defiance hasn't exactly endeared you to him. He's still holding fast, but only barely – should you do anything else to upset him further…"

"Lady Tanith isn't quite that agitated." Tana filled in the silence of Clive's dangling implication. "She is irate that you and Kaze went behind her back, but I imagine it will fade with time. Just so long as you two apologize once he gets back, I don't think she'll continue to nurse any harsh feelings in the future."

"I think Libra's just mad you didn't let him in on it." Maria said, a macaroon already in her hand. "He understands why you did what you did, but he didn't like being kept out of the loop. I bet he'd be here right now if we didn't have patients to heal."

"For the record, that's how I feel." Haar cut in. "And I'm pretty sure Ayra's in the same boat. Come on, Kiran, you should've known we'd stand by you if you were really determined to do your own thing. After all," he smirked, "wouldn't be the first time I've snubbed the powers that be."

"If she's not that mad, Princess Ayra should've come too!" Nino declared. "I mean, you're here, aren't you? Virion said he was giving invitations to everyone, so why didn't she come?"

"Because she's Ayra." Kiran explained matter-of-factly. "The day she decides to spend a couple hours on a tea party is the day Odin goes to work dressed in a dapper suit."

"Speaking of," Nino followed up, "I don't think Odin cares too much one way or another about what you did. Actually, neither does Hubert now that I think about it. If anything, both of them kind of felt like they were used to the idea of killing someone behind someone else's back. I can get why Hubert would be like that, but Odin doesn't really seem like the type…" She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "I just hope Kaze and Ursula get along with each other. She's…not that easy to work with."

Nobody wanted to dwell on the topic of just how Nino knew what it was like to work with Ursula, so Ninian of all people informed them about the final Hero's opinion of Kiran's insubordination. "I believe…that Amelia simply disagrees with you on principle. I was dancing to help her and Sir Camus keep training and…she only seemed to get especially mad when Camus specified that you masterminded the affair. When she thought it was Kaze and Ursula acting alone, she…didn't seem terribly upset."

"I believe that's everyone, ignoring Jane, who I'm not sure is even aware of what's happened anyway." Virion commented. "Well then! Now that the unpleasantness of business has been dealt with, what say you all to a switch to a lighter topic? While some Heroes may have declined my invitation on the grounds of work or dissatisfaction with…some of the present company," that line was delivered with a glance to Kiran, "I should think the nine of us are more than capable of having a delightful afternoon together."

"I imagine you have something specific in mind?" Clive asked with a raised eyebrow.

"But of course!" Virion confirmed and rose to his feet. "We'll start where any tea party should: the tea! We've all manners of blend here – what would everyone like? I'd be delighted to do the serving."

"I'll have raspberry, please!" Maria wasted no time giving her order.

"If you have it on hand, I'd love a cup of blueberry." Tana continued once Virion poured Maria's cup.

"I'll go with what I always have: lemon!" Sharena announced and grabbed the appropriate pot to serve herself.

"I would enjoy mint, if you please…" Ninian shyly requested.

"I believe a spot of ginger tea would be delightful." Clive decided.

"I'm really more of an ale kind of man…" Haar remarked with a stroke of the chin. "So you can just give me whatever you want."

"I don't really know anything about tea, but I'm happy to drink anything you think is good!" Nino likewise went with the wildcard option.

"I'm with Haar and Nino – I never drink tea, so it makes no difference to me what I'm served." Kiran also decided to roll the dice on Virion's judgement.

Once the others had been served, Virion regarded the three indecisive attendees with a thoughtful look. "My instincts, finely honed over years of sampling tea, tell me…that Haar would do well with cinnamon, Nino would enjoy peach, and Kiran would be agreeable to vanilla."

They all took the cups he filled with a word of thanks and sampled the brew. Upon taking a sip, Kiran remembered why he never drank tea: it wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly good either. Judging by Haar's satisfied nod and Nino's content hum, he probably just didn't have the palette for it. Still, it'd be rude to be the sole voice of dissatisfaction, so he forced a grin to his lips as he drank some more.

"Well, now that we've wet our lips," Tana began, "what shall we chat about?"

"Whatever comes to mind!" Virion answered. "There's no dearth of subjects to be discussed when among friends. What do you all usually talk of when enjoying tea and crumpets?"

"Mathilda and I would often find ourselves too enchanted by each other's company to form words." Clive reminisced with a warm smile. "Though, I suppose it isn't fair to compare this gathering to a private moment between lovers."

"Mathilda is your wife, right?" Sharena asked.

He gave a disappointed shake of the head. "Not yet, but we intend to wed as soon as the war in Valentia reaches its conclusion. Mathilda is my beloved star, the light that has always guided me forward. I can scarcely believe that I've found the strength to rouse myself from my bed most mornings without her. In truth," he nervously twisted his fingers together, "she was recently taken captive by Baron Desaix's forces. The knowledge that I will be restored to my original time and able to immediately set about freeing her has relieved a great deal of stress from my shoulders. Though we are apart, I take heart in how I will assure her that she was ceaselessly in my thoughts for every second we've been separated."

In light of the high note his words ended on, Sharena dreamily sighed and clasped her hands together. "Oh, that's so romantic! I've always believed there's nothing more beautiful than two people in love showing how much they care about each other and can't wait for the day I have someone like that. It's practically a crime that you're the only Hero with a lover! Unless…" she slyly dragged her gaze across the table, "one of you has been holding out on us?"

To Kiran's immense surprise, Nino of all people blushed and ducked her head. "W-well, Jaffar and I have always looked out for each other. I-I mean, we're not lovers or anything, but," she started pushing her index fingers together with a bashful smile, "he's really strong, and dependable, and we've stayed with each other ever since we left the Black Fang, so, I guess that…" She shut her mouth and swallowed her cup of tea when Sharena and Tana practically started squealing at her rambling.

"That sounds wonderful, Nino!" Tana beamed. "In the past, I've always nursed something of a crush on Prince Ephraim of Renais. Though," her smile dimmed, "now that I'm thinking about him, I think my ardor has…diminished in my time here, even though I don't doubt he's just as dashing as I remember. He first caught my eye at my birthday celebration some years ago. It always felt like yesterday when I was in Frelia, but…" her gaze grew focused on some point far in the distance, "it seems like so long ago now. Really, everything in Magvel feels like an entirely separate chapter in my life compared to here…"

Maria leaned over to give her a comforting rub on the leg. "Aw, don't worry about it, Tana. Once some more people from Magvel are summoned, like that prince, it'll be like you never left. I'm always thinking of how great it'll be once my big siblings to get summoned, so just try to think of all the friends you'll get to meet again!"

Tana spared her a grateful smile and let her hand rest over the Macedonian's. "Thank you, Maria. It will indeed be grand to someday see Eirika join the Order – she's my best friend. Even if…one of us may not quite be the woman we remember each other as." She gave a bemused shake of the head. "Oh please, listen to me bring down the mood. I don't suppose there are any strapping young men in Macedon that have caught your eye, Maria?"

Kiran thought that was kind of creepy to ask a girl that was barely over eleven years old, but nobody else seemed to have a problem with it. On thinking about it, he was pretty sure people used to get married a lot earlier back in medieval times. And it probably wasn't rare for princesses like Maria to find themselves in arranged marriages from childhood.

If nothing else, Maria herself didn't appear to find the question unusual. Though she was uncomfortable for a different reason, "Oh no, there's nobody like that!" She assured with a wave of the hand and nervously glanced to the side. "I mean, y-you know, I…haven't had many chances to meet people before coming here." Again, what should've been a light topic made everyone uncomfortable. "So, Sir Haar," she addressed in a blatant attempt to get off the subject of her former captivity, "you're really strong and cool – I bet you've had girls giving you flowers for years!"

Haar accepted the shift with an amused snort, probably at how Maria's only framework for love was giving flowers. "I know you'll find this hard to believe, but the wyvern tends to scare most of them off."

"No way!" Maria protested, their teacups rattling as she slammed both hands onto the table. "Wyverns are the best! You can go flying together and the wyvern would help protect her! What kind of girl wouldn't want a suitor with one?"

At last, something was said that brought chuckles and giggles from all around the table. "Hey, I just said the wyvern scares most of them off." Haar clarified. "I've…gotten to know a few girls in my time, here and there. None of it ever led to anything serious though, and about the only woman I consistently met with before Askr was my business partner back in Tellius."

Kiran was pretty sure he knew how exactly Haar had 'gotten to know' those girls, and judging by their shaming looks, so did Virion and Clive. The ladies, on the other hand, didn't seem to catch the innuendo. Which kind of made sense – they were either too young or too sheltered (or both) to have the kind of filthy mind he did.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with exploring options in one's prime years." Virion assured him. "After all, not everyone is matched with their true love from an early age. In fact, I'd argue it builds character to have loved and lost; if nothing else, it helps teaches one not to give up after an initial rejection in future endeavors and keep making an effort to win a maiden's heart."

"Is that your excuse for still trying to get Ayra's attention every now and then?" Tana asked with a mischievous grin. Virion had indeed continued to occasionally try and flirt with Ayra, usually by complimenting her swordplay when she trained. It felt half like a running gag that he only did as a joke to lighten the mood and half like a genuine attempt to win her over. Whatever his motivations, she always coldly shot him down, usually with nothing more than a frigid glare. Before, Kiran had always assumed that was just her having no patience for coquetry in general. But now that Sharena brought it up after he'd learned what he had about her past, he realized Virion had been crossing a line he didn't even know existed.

"Alas, even I have proven insufficient to crack through the icy shell around her heart." Virion answered Sharena with dramatic pomp. "Though I must confess that I have at times been offput by her glacial disposition, such as when she insisted on troubling poor Kiran a few nights ago, the archest of archers will not give up simply because his arrow must follow a treacherous trajectory!"

Ayra might get mad at me for this, but it should be fine if I leave out most of the details… "Believe me, Virion, you're never going to get anywhere barking up that tree."

Virion put on a show of mock insult. "Have you that little faith in me, Kiran? Do you truly believe my efforts are in vain because I am an unworthy suitor?"

"No." He shot back before letting his lips curve up into a witty smile. "It's because she's already taken."

He probably could've heard a pin drop during the resulting silence. Without exception, everyone was staring at him in disbelieving shock. "No way." Sharena uttered, her teacup-filled hand frozen in midair on its way to her mouth.

"Yes way." He countered and began nodding his head as further assurance. "Some lucky guy named Lex." He dared not reveal any more than that – going further would be a serious breach of Ayra's privacy and confidence in him. Especially since she wasn't exactly looking at her old relationship with rose-tinted glasses now that it was clear how poorly the whole thing had ended.

"That's impossible." Haar tried to counter. "There's no way that Ayra of all people has somebody when the rest of us don't."

"In hindsight, I suppose that explains the harshness of her rejections." Clive mused. "Personally, I wouldn't have been any happier to have a lady, however attractive, shamelessly throw herself at me while I'm apart from my beloved Mathilda."

"That you wouldn't." Virion concurred, a hint of remorse in his voice. "I believe it now behooves to me to make amends to Princess Ayra. I only wish I had realized sooner what offense I must've been causing with my behavior."

"Eh, I don't think that's really necessary." Kiran tried to assure him. "I think she'll be happy if you just give it up. If you wouldn't mind, could you guys not let on that you know about her and Lex? She, uh, didn't really tell me that so I could make sure everyone else knew."

"Breaching Ayra's privacy? For shame, Kiran." Sharena chided him with a shake of the head, though her tone made it clear she didn't actually think it was that big of a deal. "You spilled Ayra's love secrets against her wishes…so the only way for you to make it up is to tell us all about your own romance!"

That smug grin she wore made it clear she was rather proud of that ploy, which almost made him feel bad to shoot her down. "What romance?" He gruffly asked as he rested his head in one hand while the other rolled a scone between its fingers.

"Oh, come on, Kiran." Tana teased with a canny grin. "Are you sure there aren't any stolen maiden's hearts you want to tell us about?" The others shared in her wily attitude – he thought Virion might've even been waggling his eyebrows at him.

Still, Kiran didn't falter in his wry, unimpressed expression. "Believe me, if I had a girlfriend back home that this whole Askr business stole me away from, I would never have let anyone hear the end of it. That would absolutely have been the first thing I complained about when it became clear you didn't know how to send me back."

"Ah, I guess that's true." Nino admitted. "But what about in the past? Has there ever been anyone, even if it didn't work out?"

"Nope." He flatly denied. "Never had a girlfriend before. Hell, I don't think I've ever even asked anyone out. I'm afraid we can't all be Clive or Virion." That must've been a disappointingly anticlimactic end to what they all hoped would be a juicy subject, because they visibly deflated.

The silence was filled by Sharena making one last effort. "Well, Ninian, you're our last hope. You're so gorgeous and enchanting even before you start dancing that you surely must've had suitors try to win your heart."

The dancer had largely been content to silently listen in as an observer most of the time and as such jumped a little in her seat when Sharena addressed her. Kiran thought she would blush and stammer out some kind of bashful denial – she was definitely beautiful enough to get plenty of confessions, even if she struck him as too shy to accept any.

But he wasn't sure what to think when, instead of getting embarrassed, she looked almost melancholy and cast her eyes down with a sad smile. "Oh no, that…that doesn't happen."

They all frowned at her unusual response. "I find that difficult to believe," Clive remarked, "but if it is truly so, I doubt it will remain that way for long. You are a beautiful and talented woman, Ninian – I have full confidence that you will find somebody in the near future."

They nodded along to his assurances, but Clive's words just seemed to make Ninian even sadder. "Thank you, truly, but I'm…" she shrank into her shoulders and glanced out to the gardens, "I'm not meant to have anyone like that…"

What was that supposed to mean? He wondered, similar thoughts doubtless running through the minds of everyone else. Is she suffering from depression or something? Deep-seated self-esteem issues, maybe? About the only way he could explain her self-deprecation without resorting to some kind of mental illness was that she needed to avoid getting tied down so she could keep dancing to support her little brother. But even that was a temporary problem that would only last until he got to a certain age, so what was her deal?

He, and likely all the others, prepared to voice some hybrid of question and concern, but she beat them to the punch. "Please…may we move on to something else?"

Sharena at least clearly didn't want to leave the matter be, but her empathetic desire to not make Ninian uncomfortable ultimately won out. Still, that left the matter of what exactly they should talk about. The topic of love had been exhausted (and had been more-or-less a dud for most of them) and had ended on such a sour note that it made them unsure how to follow it up. Whatever got proposed would probably sound awkward no matter what, so if being suave wasn't of any importance…

"Hey, Haar," Kiran called out, "how old are you?"

The wyvern knight looked at him with one curiously raised eyebrow. "Where'd that come from?"

The summoner shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just curious since you're the oldest one in the Order. If you don't want to go first, I'll go ahead and say that I'm twenty-one."

Haar returned the shoulder gesture and leaned back with a sip of tea. "Well, let's see…I had just been knighted when I defected, which was twenty years ago now, and I was eighteen when I got knighted, so I guess I'm about thirty-eight years old."

The moment Haar was done, Virion shot Kiran a sidelong glance. "I take it this is the part where we all start listing off our ages one by one?"

"Not all of us, Virion." He corrected before downing his cup. "After all, we already know that Maria's eleven and Nino's fourteen. Honestly, I just kind of want to know where I stack up compared to everyone else. I mean, I'm not that old relative to you all, am I?"

"If, that's your angle, I fear that you're due for disappointment." Virion said. "Personally, you and I are of the same age, but I get the feeling we're on the further end of the range."

"Well, you just barely lose out to me." Clive revealed. "As of two months before coming here, I'm twenty-seven years old."

"Ugh, I can't believe we've got so many grandpas in the Order." Sharena playfully remarked with a dramatic roll of the eyes. "It'd be so much better if you were in the prime of your youths at sixteen years old, like I am!"

What?! Kiran swiveled his head to gape at Sharena with wide eyes. "Wait, you're only sixteen?!"

"As am I!" Tana threw in her own two cents. "I know it must be a shock to realize you're practically going gray next to us, but there's no need to be upset, Kiran. It's not the end of the world."

Her teasing was delivered with a mischievous smile that her fellow underage girls all took up and directed at each of the 'grandpas'. Said grandpas took the joking in stride and looked ready to shoot back a jab or two of their own when Kiran responded with total seriousness, "No, it's illegal is what it is!"

"Huh?" Maria asked while everyone looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "What's so illegal about being sixteen?"

More than you think, kiddo. He thought, though he knew very well that was a talk for another time and place. "Being a soldier at that age, for one. I get that it's different here, but back where I'm from, you have to be at least seventeen to serve in the military. And really, I always got the feeling they'd rather you be eighteen before signing up." He shook his head. "Damn it, I thought you two were at least eighteen! It was bad enough knowing Maria and Nino are underage…"

"Ohhh, that's why you called me a child soldier." Nino realized before scrunching up her face in confusion. "That's a really dumb law. I get not letting little kids fight, but like Princess Ayra said, I'm old enough to have kids of my own!" Technically speaking, no you aren't. "I just don't see what the big deal is. Even if it is illegal, it's not like you'd get in much trouble because of us, right? I mean, we chose to fight with you!"

Well, I'd be labelled a war criminal and could face life imprisonment at best for using child soldiers, so… He then recalled the other war crime he'd committed in Askr and felt his heart sink into his stomach further. I've used child soldiers and executed a surrendering soldier…Christ, I'd probably be lined up in front of a firing squad if anyone knew what I've been up to. However pessimistic his thoughts, he didn't dare vocalize them – the last thing anyone needed was a guilty conscience that they'd inadvertently made him into that severe of a criminal. Still, he'd made it clear the matter was serious, so he couldn't just blow it off entirely.

He settled on saying, "Let's just say the courts wouldn't be very happy to know I had an eleven-year-old girl follow me into combat…" Maria started looking terribly upset at that, so he quickly amended, "Well, what they don't know won't hurt them, right? No harm, no foul and all that." Honestly, he was trying to reassure himself more than anyone else – keeping quiet if he ever got back home was about the only thing that would keep his head on his shoulders. He seemed to have soothed her worries, so, if only to get his mind off of such a disturbing subject, he turned to the last member of their party on his left. "Ninian, please tell me you're not underage too. Us grandpas need at least one grandma to round out our numbers, don't you think?"

She giggled in response, her earlier troubles apparently forgotten. "That you do. Unlike them, I'm twenty…two? N-no, twenty-three!"

"Guess it must be hard to keep track of dates when you're constantly on the move." Haar commented.

"Y-yes, that's all it is! Nils and I can never quite tell when our birthdays are and usually don't notice they've passed until several weeks after the fact. In fact…I don't think we've properly celebrated them in quite some years. We tend to just try and use whatever festivals we stumble onto as a substitute."

"OH!" Sharena suddenly shouted and rose to her feet. "The festival! I can't believe I'd forgotten it was coming up!"

"What festival?" Maria asked. "In Macedon, the only thing coming up to celebrate that I can think of is the end of the year, but that's still a few months away, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, the new year is still a way's off, but that's not what I'm talking about! Haven't you noticed how it's starting to get colder? That's because in about a week, it'll be the start of Winterfylleth, and that means the Harvest Festival at the end of the month!"

It'll be the start of what now? "Ah, I take it that's a celebration of the final crop of the year before winter begins?" Clive sought clarification, though he clearly had more of a rough idea of what she was talking about than Kiran did.

"Yep!" Sharena confirmed. "We have a big feast and people dress up as different kinds of creatures to appease evil spirits and keep them from causing mischief in the winter months. Holms Village is well known all across Askr for its spectacular Harvest Festivals! Though," her exuberance began to dim, "it probably won't be quite so grand this year, on account of the war and all the refugees…"

"I'm sure it will still make for a delightful evening!" Tana assured her. "The people will doubtless be eager for anything to take their minds off the dreadful state of affairs. A night of merriment will be just what they need! I know I'll certainly be elated to attend."

"We could even make attendance into something of a mission for the Order." Virion proposed. "Seeing the prince and princess surrounded by their Heroes should doubtless raise the citizens' morale. And, well," his smile took on a witty edge, "making the matter official would force the participation of even our dourer members, no?"

"You have no idea how much money I'd pay to see Tanith stuffed into some goofy monster costume." Haar chimed in with a low chuckle.

"Excuse me," Kiran interrupted the merriment with a raised finger, "but 'Winterfylleth'? You said that was supposed to be a month or something?"

"Come now, Kiran, you can't tell us you don't know what Winterfylleth is!" Clive demanded. "I've understood your confusion over cultural differences, but the seasons are the same everywhere, are they not?"

"The seasons are the same, sure, but there's no reason for the names we call the months they're in to be the same. I think got summoned near the end of July, which is named for the famous Roman general Julius Caesar, who none of you have ever heard of before. Just tell me what number month Winterfylleth is so I can put it into my own terms."

"It's the tenth month." Ninian informed him.

"Oh, you mean October." Kiran concluded before frowning in consternation when he realized what Sharena had just described. "Wait, you've got a holiday at the end of October about dressing up in spooky costumes?"

"Winterfylleth," Sharena corrected him, "but yes. Why? Is that weird?"

Kiran blinked in surprise at her. "Yeah, but not for the reason you think. We've got that too, but we call it Halloween. For all I know, it might've been some kind of harvest festival a long time ago, but nobody celebrates it for the sake of crops these days."

"Wow, really?!" Askr's princess exclaimed. "That is pretty weird. Man, what're the odds? But hey," her demeanor switched from surprised to ecstatic, "we've finally found something in common between our kingdoms! If you attend the festival, it'll be like you're back home again!"

Considering the fact there'd be a dearth of xenomorphs and other such pop culture monsters, it really wouldn't, but he appreciated the thought. His appreciation dimmed when he recognized a potential wrench in the plan. "That would be cool, but I think we might've just stumbled onto something Alfonse and Anna could actually withhold to punish me for my, uh, insubordination."

Sharena waved him off with a roll of the eyes. "Oh, please, they'll be over it by then. They'd better be over it or I'll give Alfonse a piece of my mind for holding grudges at a time like this."

"Setting aside all that," Haar spoke up, "I imagine there must be a tavern or two in Holms village. I'd be happy to go to the festival to get a stiff drink if nothing else, but I don't exactly have a way to pay for it."

"Oh yeah, we have been working for free, haven't we?" Nino concurred.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can work something out, at least for that night." Sharena assured them. "I am the princess of Askr, you know. I bet I'll be able to scrounge up a little something for everyone, even if it might make Commander Anna cry."

"Truly, your generosity is without peer, Princess Sharena." Virion praised her with a raise of his teacup. "It has been quite some time, but I recall visiting a harvest festival with the Shepherds once…"

Virion went on to describe a town that had been overrun by what sounded like magic zombies the day that he and his comrades were set to stop by and enjoy a festival. That in turn brought about similar, albeit less grim anecdotes from the others about their own festival escapades. Kiran himself settled for an abridged version of a story about a Halloween party he'd gone to in high school – he'd have told the whole thing, but didn't feel like going to the trouble of explaining the scary movies and video games that had been on display.

From there, the party continued for what felt like another hour at least. They sipped their tea, admitted the stupid things they'd gotten up to in their respective youths, complained about some annoyance or other that had long passed yet still endured in their memory, and so on. Despite the somewhat rocky start, Kiran soon found himself reclining back into his chair with a content smile. Virion had been right: he'd desperately needed to destress, and contrary to what he'd believed, this tea party had been just what the doctor ordered.


Some people complained of nerves before or during a mission. Some elected to spend their time constantly fretting that something would go wrong and put their lives in jeopardy. As a result, such people went through life forever fearful and never managed to be anything but miserable during what could've been a vitally important task.

Ursula had nothing but contempt for such weak-minded fools. She loved her work.

Contrary to what others might think, she adored every step of an assassination. The killing was the best part, yes, but a perfectly executed infiltration was a delight all on its own. And while this Castle Beruvik wasn't the most heavily fortified location she'd ever broken into, it was well-defended enough that she still felt a rush of satisfaction once she and Kaze were safely inside with the inhabitants none the wiser. And though he tried to hide it, she could tell that he too was pleased by their performance.

After salting the fields of that farm and leaving in the morning, they'd arrived at the outskirts of the castle in mid-afternoon and elected to spend the hours until sundown analyzing its defenses and the guards' patrol routes. On the whole, it was much better guarded than she'd have thought a castle deep in occupied territory would be, but she supposed that was to be owed to the importance of some of its occupants. All the same, it was no more perfectly protected than any other castle she'd broken into, and both she and Kaze quickly caught on to the blind spot on the northeastern spire caused by a nearby decorative buttress.

Kaze would have no trouble taking advantage of that, but since she wasn't exactly dressed to scale a wall, she had to settle for a different approach. Namely, the exit to the servant's quarters in the south wall of the keep. The entrance would've been innocuous enough on its own, were it not for the poor-quality serving clothes that were hung out to dry on racks nearby giving away what it must've been used for. Since the servants would necessarily have access to the entire castle and were nowhere near as attentive as guards, that made the door to their quarters ideal for her purposes.

It was agreed that it'd be easier for her to make her way to Kaze on the wall than the other way around, if only so they didn't have to both navigate through the servants' wing once he reached her. Once night fell, the two of them made their moves. She concluded that the staff being busy with dinner to give her easier access and was rewarded with mostly empty halls once she'd picked open the lock. She gripped an Elwind tome in her hand as she stalked through the corridors, ready to cut the throats of anyone unlucky enough to spot her before they could sound an alert.

She never needed to resort to such measures, however, as she soon breached into the courtyard and disappeared into one of its dark corners as she analyzed her next move. She'd kept track of all her movements as she went through the castle, so she still had her bearings as far as direction went. By her measurements, Kaze should've been on the wall to her immediate right. Auspiciously, there was a stairway leading up that way, though it was currently occupied by two chatting soldiers. She was annoyed at being made to wait, but she knew very well the importance of patience at times like this – there was nothing to be gained by blowing her cover because of a bit of restlessness.

Sure enough, the two fools finished their conversation after a few minutes and ambled down the steps towards what she presumed to be the soldiers' quarters. After a quick scan to make sure nobody was about to take their place, she darted out and ascended the stairs. She ducked down at the penultimate step to allow a sentry to pass and soon followed in his footsteps. Once he passed under the shadow of the buttress, whose darkness was too thick for his torch to fully illuminate, she darted into the blackest part of said shadow.

"Miss me?" She breathed, her voice not even at the level of a whisper. In response, she felt the signal Kaze was adamant on using: two fingers tapped against her upper arm. "Courtyard." She instructed with no more volume than before and turned around to guide him down. They were lucky enough to avoid any more delays by clueless sentries and found themselves back in her original corner in no time at all.

"You know the layout better." Kaze was willing to speak now that they had a bit more breathing room, albeit in a barely audible hush. "Where do we start?"

"Servants in south wing. Soldiers in east wing. Frontline is to the north." Ursula might've had fun with long-winded spiels in the day-to-day, but it was a different story when she was on the job. In these circumstances, she understood the value of brevity better than most. "Officers probably in north wing."

"Agreed. Best wing to coordinate from." Kaze, too, seemed to know the worth in being concise. "I'll check. Signal from door with best internal concealment if successful. Keep eyes peeled." With that, he became one with the inky darkness around them. Though she could make him out if she really put her mind to it, Ursula had to admit a respect for how thoroughly Kaze had erased his presence.

While he was busy, she opted to focus on making sure nobody was unfortunate enough to stumble onto her. As fun as making corpses was, they also had a risk of being found and blowing her cover. So, while keeping her attention on the entrances to the northern wing, she made sure to slither away whenever a servant or errant guard started to wander too close.

She was kept occupied with such distractions for nearly a dozen minutes before she eyed a glimmer of light from within the third hall from the left of the northern wing. The focused glint shone over her eyes a second time, all but confirming it as coming from a reflection off Kaze's shuriken. She realized he was sending the light in a horizontal sweeping pattern over the wall and had to admit it was a rather clever means of sending a signal. The only way to catch it was to be intently staring his way in preparation for it – if anyone else picked up on it, they would dismiss it as nothing but a trick of the light.

With practiced grace, she crossed the courtyard and left the fools milling about none the wiser. She had to pause outside the corridor to let a maid carrying a tray of tea pass by, but slipped through a second later. Once she was inside, Kaze drew her attention by quickly rapping his knuckles against the wall. She turned to the noise to see him hidden in a linen closet by a stairwell that resided in a side passage off the primary passage. Without delay, she joined him in the storage room, though not without a frown at how cramped it was. It was nothing she couldn't put up with, however, and if Kaze was remotely perturbed by the feeling of her breasts pressing into his chest, he didn't show it.

"Strategy meeting in main hall." He informed her. "Target among them. Likely once ballroom – many balconies above for musicians."

She smirked – their luck really was unbelievable. "Perfect opportunity. Listen in, then kill. Like effortless interrogation."

In spite of his cool disposition, Kaze actually cracked a small smile in return. "Indeed. Rare chance. Must make most of it. Above balcony is unoccupied."

"Lead the way." With a shiver of anticipation, she followed Kaze as he slid out of the closet after a quick glance around. It was honestly ridiculous fortune was smiling on them so much, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If they were getting a chance to glean Embla's strategy straight from the lips of her generals, it wasn't her place to complain.

They encountered no resistance in their assent – if this passage had once been used by musicians as Kaze suspected, it only made sense that it would now be abandoned. When they neared the top of the steps, a faint voice began drifting through the open entryway ahead of them. "…cannot allow ourselves to be held up solely by a single section of the front!"

They reached the balcony too late to tell who said that, but could clearly make out half a dozen figures seated around a table on the floor below. They weren't so foolish that they'd lean over the railing – Ursula and Kaze darted behind the curtains draping either side of the entrance and peeked out to get a read on their potential future victims.

There was a burly man with a thick head of brown curly hair and an equally thick beard, all complimented by a suitably massive set of plate mail. To his side stood a woman with her pink hair done up in a high ponytail and clad in falcon-knight armor with a lance slung over her back. Across from them was another male/female pair: the man had silver hair and sheathed swords on both sides of his waist and the woman's raven hair was braided into a bun that Ursula didn't think would do her any good in wielding that tome in her hand. Finally, at opposite ends of the round table, stood both their target and his spitting image. The tall blonde with the scar on his left cheek had to be Wilmarc if Kiran's description was any indication, but she wasn't sure who the shorter, younger blonde across from him was.

"Will you listen to yourself, Alator?" The black-haired woman said. "It isn't being 'held up' when this is quickly proving to be the most important theater of the war!"

The green-haired woman shook her head. "You are far too hasty in your judgement, Saitada. A few mishaps do not mean the whole paradigm must shift. Alator is right – it would be pure foolishness to give Askr breathing room when we're so close to breaking Gustav's order of knights."

The silver swordsman scoffed. "That 'mishap' cost us some eight thousand troops in the Mästermyr bog, Morrigan. Perhaps you don't mind burying your head in the sand and pretending our initial success will repeat themselves indefinitely, but I would rather not lose the war."

The burly man, who Ursula figured had to be Alator, bellowed out a mocking laugh. "Look at you, Latobius! The greatest swordsman in Embla, quaking in his boots because of a single saboteur!" His laughter instantly dissipated into a critical glare. "That dark-skinned fellow in the mask is only one man. He'll be dealt with in time. Meanwhile, there is a war to be fought that demands our full attention!"

"These recent troubles are not his work." Wilmarc finally spoke up, glancing into his hands resting on the table with locked fingers. "The masked man never kills anyone – his trickery delays and annoys, but nothing more. That burned storehouse was surrounded by corpses, many of which were slain by someone's hand. One of our scouting parties failed to return, only to be found brutally gutted a few days later." He looked up with an intensity that Ursula could feel even as far away as she was. "There is something at work in this part of Askr, and whatever it is had made them far bolder than ever before, to our severe dismay. And I believe we all know exactly what it is, whether we want to admit it or not."

Morrigan rolled her eyes and leaned forward. "Rumors are not a basis for grand strategy, Wilmarc. And that is all this talk of a 'Great Hero' is – a rumor. Nothing but the fanciful delusion of a collapsing kingdom in its final death throes. These delusions have put a spark of fight into them, but it will die out when continue to push them back. That is, it will die so long as we actually bother to keep pushing instead of letting them recuperate so we can chase shadows!"

"You think these rumblings are nothing but shadows?" Saitada asked. "Great Hero or no, have you forgotten who is in this area? Prince Alfonse and Princess Sharena are most certainly afoot, and any success that can be attributed to them will be attributed to them. Which will only harden the spirits of their people further."

Alator's booming laughter rang in Ursula's ears once again. "Oh boy, that's rich! Imagine, a sorceress of your talents frightened by a couple of children!"

To both Ursula and Kaze's relief, that insufferable laughter was cut off Latobius. "That's enough, Alator! If you prefer suicidal overconfidence to our measured caution, so be it, but at least have the decency to spend your breath on actual propositions!"

"It's become clear that we are at an impasse." Wilmarc declared, a finger rubbing his temple. "Alator and Morrigan would rather continue as usual, Saitada and Latobius would rather focus the army's efforts here, and I would rather determine the nature of this 'Great Hero' before doing anything else. In time, one of our ways of thinking will be validated – it's only a matter of which one. But in the meanwhile," he swept his gaze across his fellow generals, "it does Her Majesty no good to have us all clustered in one place. Until something happens to prove one of us right, we can serve her best by carrying on as we have."

Nobody seemed entirely pleased to have most of the room unconvinced in their respective beliefs, but also realized Wilmarc's point and could see the futility of further circular arguments. Saitada was the first to pull back from the table with a sigh. "Please understand – I dearly hope Alator and Morrigan are correct and we're worrying over nothing. I just want to be prepared for the worst." Without another word, she strode out through one of the room's many exits.

Morrigan made to depart through a different doorway. As she left, she called over her shoulder. "Her Majesty has dictated this conquest be done in haste. I'm only trying to serve her as best I can."

That just left the men, of whom Latobius was the first to start leaving. "I examined the corpses of our lost troops at that burned fort and saw the bodies of those two scouts when they were brought in." He said as he walked away before pausing just on the threshold of a passage. "Those wounds weren't caused by any ordinary swordsman." He considered that proof enough of his point and left entirely.

In the now much emptier room, Alator dramatically sighed and shook his head. "Damn, just look at us – we used to be thick as thieves and now some punk Askrans have us shouting and getting mad at each other." He leaned over to pat Wilmarc's back. "Don't worry about a thing, Wil; I'm sure this'll all pass in no time. I'll send up a maid with a hot brew before I set out, okay? Cinnamon, just like you used to chug back at the academy."

Wilmarc shot his apparent old friend a weary grin. "I'd appreciate that, Al. Gods know I'll need it to get through the mountain of paperwork waiting in my office."

Aww, isn't that touching? Ursula thought, already disappointed she wouldn't get to see the grief on Alator's face when his friend was found sitting in a puddle of his own blood. I'm sure you have a deep history and fascinating life, general. Unfortunately, it's all about to come to an inglorious end.

With one last slap on the shoulder, Alator departed as well, leaving only Wilmarc and his strange lookalike. "Well, Arland?" Wilmarc addressed the last unknown. "Have you learned something like I hoped you would?"

'Arland' rose to his feet with a conflicted look on his face. "It was certainly a rewarding experience to listen to you all deliberate, father." Father…? Ursula pondered, a smile equal parts exhilarated and sadistic spreading on her face. "But…but I still assert there is another option open to us!"

This seemed to be a tired routine, because Wilmarc wasted no time sighing and draping his hand across his face. "I've already told you, Arland: the answer is no."

"But Sigtuna Village is the perfect target! It's far out of the way, it's vital to their food supplies – the best way to bring Askr to its knees is to beat them at their own game! I have nearly a thousand troops ready to destroy it if you'd only say the word!"

The father glared at his wayward son. "I can see you've learned nothing. Her Majesty may have made you a captain due to your family ties, but it's obvious you are unbefitting of the rank."

Arland flinched though quickly composed himself. "But father–"

"Those traits that you claim make Sigtuna an ideal target are also what make it too dangerous to attack. It's far out of the way, which means you'd be beyond Emblian supply lines or reinforcements if anything went wrong. It's vital to their food supply, which due to the scarcity of such villages means it's liable to be well defended. You're more likely to command a suicide mission than you are a triumphant victory if you seek out Sigtuna. You've listened to countless meetings of the high command, and yet you're still this simple minded about picking your battles."

That really ought to have been the end of it, but Arland was stupid enough to keep trying. "Father, all I need is–"

"Enough." The cold authority in Wilmarc's voice shut his idiot son right up. "Catch up with Alator and serve as his squire until further notice. Perhaps that will teach you some measure of humility and respect. And if I hear that you've been pleading your fool ideas to him, I promise that frustrations over inactivity will be the least of your concerns."

Arland ducked his head and dangled his arms at his side. "…I understand, father." Ursula could see a faint spark of resistance endure in him, but it wouldn't lead to anything so long as Wilmarc was around to stamp it out. Which, considering what she was there to do, wouldn't be much longer. Sigtuna Village, hm? We may have to prepare a welcoming party for Arland…

As he moped out of the room, Wilmarc called out to him one last time, his voice much softer than before. "Arland." The young blonde twisted his head back. "I wish for you to have a glorious future. Remember that even my cruelties are committed with the best of intentions."

She could hear the smile on Arland's face when he said, "Of course, father. I only want to be worthy of that future you wish for." It would seem father and son are closer than they first appeared. Such a heartwarming attachment…and one so easily manipulated. While Ursula planned for the possibility of meeting Arland face to face in the near future, he departed entirely, leaving Wilmarc to collect himself and begin leaving as well.

She didn't delay in sliding into Kaze's curtain – time was of the essence now that Wilmarc was alone. "Target is mine." She hissed. "Follow to room, dispatch there. Take longer to find body than in the open."

"Fine." Kaze replied. "Will follow Arland, see if I can learn more. Meet back at hill outside castle. Won't want to linger here."

They headed the same way downstairs to the now empty meeting room, but separated when it came time to tail their respective marks. Kaze went down the passage on the right while she crept down the one on the left. She was able to retrace Wilmarc's steps by following the scored marks in the stone floor – the maids' heels, butlers' flats and troops' dull iron boots would never be strong enough to make those distinct markings, but the general's polished steel greaves were of just the right make to leave such notches. His path led her up to a secluded hall in the upper east portion of the northern wing. The hall split at the top of the stairs that led her there, but the trail only went one way; a quick check of the opposite end revealed another linen closet for the servants.

Now that she was so close to her target, she was much more cautious about concealing herself than when she'd slinked around the servants and foot soldiers – a man of Wilmarc's experience would have a highly tuned sense of danger, even in the apparent safety of a castle. Some gutless cowards might say that meant it was too risky to try and kill him, but she knew there were ways to get around such guards. After all, nobody was ever fully alert when things were playing out as they expected.

Like, say, when a cup of cinnamon tea was being sent up by an old friend.

Her lips twisted into a cruel smirk as she realized exactly how she was going to kill Wilmarc. It was such a wonderfully ironic twist of fate that his friend's consideration would ultimately be his undoing. Since she knew she had doubtless reached Wilmarc's dwelling faster than it would've taken that oaf to have a servant start brewing tea and send it up, she had to do little but wait behind the wall for said servant to arrive.

It took nearly twenty minutes of patient waiting, but the faint clattering of porcelain against a tray eventually came echoing up the stairwell. Ursula set her tome down a few inches away – she'd need both hands to do this without alerting Wilmarc with the sound of shattering teacups. Her heart pounding with exhilaration, she waited until a maid ascended the final step and began to turn towards Wilmarc's office.

Quick as a bird of prey snatching a vole from the ground, she ensnared her victim. Her left hand smothered the maid's mouth while her right swiped the tray and continued to delicately balance its fragile cargo. "Don't struggle." She hissed into the girl's ear and reveled in the waves of terror that poured off of her. She pressed her boot into the back of the girl's knee to slowly force her to the ground so she could safely deposit the tray. With finely honed grace, Ursula set Wilmarc's tea on the floor and brought her now free hand to deal with the poor fool who'd had the bad luck to run into her.

Normally, Ursula would've have just snapped her neck and been done with it, but she was worried Wilmarc would hear the sound. So, she instead decided to try one of the new tricks she'd learned from Kaze: a choke hold designed to silently knock out someone for future interrogation. This girl wouldn't survive the night, but her death could wait until the higher profile target was dealt with. She adjusted her left arm to press against the front of the maid's throat while her right pressed against the back. Together, the combined pressure from both hands cut off circulation in her neck. In less than a minute, her frantic breaths slowed to a crawl and she passed out entirely.

Thank you, Kaze. She mentally praised. You've proven to be more capable than I ever imagined. Now that the maid was dealt with, there was only one matter left to attend to. She retrieved her Elwind tome and, still some distance away from Wilmarc's room, cleared her throat. Once she was confident she was ready to execute her plan, she let her footsteps be heard as she approached the final threshold.

She knocked on the door and sang out in the most submissive voice she could, "Beg pardon, milord, but I've a spot of tea from General Alator."

"Ah, just set it on the entry table and pour a single cup." His voice came through the door. "I'll enjoy it once I'm finished with work." She couldn't fight the wicked smirk that formed when she deduced that, for as muffled as voiced became when passing through a wooden door, his was a little too muffled. In such a small room, the additional suppression could only have one cause: he was facing away from the door.

In apparent obedience to his command, she opened the door and entered his abode. But she wasn't carrying any tea – her hands were filled by an open tome that had a lethally sharp blade of wind hovering over it. She was prepared to shoot it at a moment's notice, just in case she'd been mistaken, but was greeted by the sight of Wilmarc's back hunched over his desk. With the general none to wiser, she sauntered over to the table he'd described and lined up her aim with his neck.

All too easy.

Her razor gale shot forward and sliced clean through the better part of his throat. Without missing a beat, she leapt forward and gripped his head to pull to the side, widening the wound as much as possible to expediate the blood loss. Wilmarc, to his credit, did try to struggle, and she could tell that his bulging muscles would've been calamitous to face in a straight fight. But then, what assassin worth her salt ever bothered with a straight fight? When his blood was pouring out and soaking the room scarlet, even she was more than enough to subdue him.

As his struggles began to weaken, she pulled his head back so she could watch the light leave his sky-blue eyes. Soon after doing so, she got an exquisitely heartless idea for how to make sure he died in as much anguish as possible. She made sure he could see her vicious smile before she leaned in to whisper, "The Great Hero sends his regards." When he realized his concerns had stronger foundations than he'd ever imagined, his eyes widened in horror and he fought back with a final burst of effort.

Alas, it was too little, too late. His last act of defiance did nothing to save him and he soon slumped lifeless into her arms. A general with the power to bring entire nations to heel with his armies, who was apparently so skilled that Princess Veronica hand picked him when things started to go wrong, had died like a dog to a single woman.

That was why she took pride in her work. That was the proof of her superiority she used to validate her dedication to perfection.

And what a perfect performance that was. She lauded herself as she went back to retrieve the unconscious maid still laying in the hall. Aside from some blood on my dress, I'm none the worse for wear. She concluded her assessment by casually breaking the girl's neck now that nobody was around to hear it. She might've thought to stuff them both under the covers of the bed to delay discovery, but the ubiquitous bloodstains would've rendered such efforts pointless.

She also briefly considered absconding with a few of Wilmarc's documents, but they'd gotten absolutely soaked with blood and rendered illegible. Even if they hadn't, giving Embla an indication they'd gained some intel about their movements could very well negate the advantage of having such information, or even lure them into a trap. No, her work there was finished.

Escaping the castle was a trivial affair – a woman of her talents automatically produced a mental map of any unfamiliar locations as she traversed them, so getting out was a simple matter of retracing her steps while being careful to avoid detection. She'd even had the sense to wring out her dress before leaving Wilmarc's room to ensure no dripping blood would give her away. The servants' quarters were busier than her first time through, but peasants were even easier to sneak past than conscripted soldiers. It didn't even take half an hour for her to be out through the back door she'd used to get inside and be on her way with nobody inside any the wiser.

As expected, Kaze was waiting for her with their horse at the top of the hilly tree line they'd arrived from. "It's been nearly an hour." He said when she came into view, no longer bothering to cut his words short. "I was beginning to worry something had gone wrong."

"It's so sweet to know you care." She taunted, though with significantly less venom than in the past now that Kaze had proved his worth in the field. "But I'm not the kind of woman to fail, let alone on an assignment like this. Wilmarc is dead, and with him a vital piece of Embla's high command. What of his son?"

Kaze hoisted himself up into the saddle. "I followed Arland in the hopes of perhaps eliminating him and sparing one of Askr's villages – his desire to attack Sigtuna was being held in check by his father, after all. Unfortunately, he stayed in populated areas and then joined with Alator, so I never got a chance to strike. I imagine we may have a battle on our hands when he realizes Askr took his father away in so dishonorable a manner."

Ursula climbed onto their steed herself and grabbed the reins. "What was it he said he had available? One thousand men? That will prove to be quite the struggle if it happens." Such overwhelming odds should serve as the perfect test of Kiran's capabilities… "But in the meantime, you ought to be proud of what we've accomplished. I must say, Kaze, you were quite exemplary." She glanced back with what was probably the first genuine smile he'd seen from her. "Should Hoshido ever become unsatisfactory to serve, I'm certain the Black Fang could find a position of importance for you."

She directed the horse to begin trotting through the woods. "I suppose I should be honored to hear that from one with such high standards." Kaze's tone seemed to indicate conflict with his pre-existing distaste of her and a newfound respect for her abilities. "If nothing else, you've shown those high standards are not unwarranted. Whatever I think of your character, I will admit to admiration for your skills."

She chuckled. "It's only natural I should be so proficient. If I wasn't, I could've easily lost my head many times over by now. And since my expertise was born of my desire for perfection, that leaves us with an obvious ultimatum: perfection…or oblivion." She looked back again with a much dryer look. "Really, the answer is quite obvious."

"I suppose it is." He concurred, no longer as dismissive of her passion for perfection as he once had been. He had a good head on his shoulders – she knew that, in time, he'd come to see things her way. People could think what they wanted about her personality, but she'd commanded fear and respect in the Black Fang for a reason. And with this flawless assassination of such a high-profile target, she knew she'd soon earn similar fear and respect from the Order.


Holy shit, it was cold. It was way colder than it had ever been his entire time in Askr. Hadn't Sharena just said it was close to the start of October? So where the hell did all the snow come from?

…Actually, where even was he? Kiran didn't go out all that often, but he thought he'd remember whatever sequence of events led to him trudging through an icy forest in the middle of the night. Hadn't he been lying in bed? He'd been trying to fall asleep and had been surprised to see that he was actually relaxing into the covers instead of anxiously tensing up all night long…

So what, is this a dream? He contemplated, already annoyed at himself for dreaming up biting winds without bothering to give himself a thicker coat. If it was a dream, he probably wasn't going to be in it for very long – even as he hugged his chest, he could feel his arms start to go numb from the subzero temperature. That's just fan-fucking-tastic; my first dream in well over a month and I get to spend it freezing to death. Everything else in my life sucks, so sure, why not?

He perked up when he realized there was a chance he might not succumb to imaginary hypothermia: off in the distance, he could see a faint orange glow. He figured the only thing that could be was a fire, which probably also meant dream inhabitants. With his luck, it was probably Alfonse and Anna to keep bitching at him even in his sleep, but beggars couldn't be choosers. He'd rather keep rolling his eyes and practice telling them to go cry him a river than turn into a human popsicle.

So, with a preemptive sigh of exasperation, he pulled his coat tighter around his body and began trudging through the snow. As he drew closer, he could make out four silhouettes sitting on logs around the campfire and began bracing himself for another cacophony of arguments – the other two were probably Camus and Amelia.

At the edge of the camp circle, he was surprised to see not his usual critics, but a group of totally unfamiliar strangers. On his right was the only man, who had silver hair, a sword sheathed at his hip, and a thick tunic with massive, armored shoulder guards. Straight ahead was the youngest, a little girl with white hair and a massive scarf wrapped around her shoulder that did nothing to protect the legs that were completely exposed by her short skirt. To his left was an older, teenaged girl with blonde hair, a gilded lance, more large shoulder pads and another inappropriate miniskirt. Finally, right in front of him was someone's back, though their curvy outline and the long pink hair he could see made it clear they were a third woman.

Of far more interest than their appearances was the fact that everyone save the pinkette started glaring at him the second he came into view. "Uh, hey there." He began, uncertain what to say in the face of their immediate hostility. "I was wandering through the snow when I saw the fire, so I thought–"

"Get lost." The man barked at him, his tone just as icy as the environment around them.

"Hey!" He protested and gestured to the frozen waste around them. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I can't exactly go anywhere else in this weather!"

"We don't care. Leave." The blonde snapped and angled her lance forward. "Now."

"What the hell is your problem?!" He threw open his coat to show he wasn't hiding anything. "Look, I don't have any weapons. What do you think is so bad about letting me sit by your fire?"

"You can't be trusted." The little girl told him. "We don't know you, so we can't trust you. Maybe you wouldn't try to hurt us, maybe you would. We won't take that chance."

"Are you blind?! I just showed you I have no way of hurting anyone! Do you even realize how low my chances of survival are out in this cold?"

"Better you than us." The blonde dismissed him with narrowed eyes. He heard a shing sound as the man drew his blade and tensed, a clear warning of what would happen if he stuck around. Kiran stood his ground, largely out of indecision for which awful fate he should pick – was it worse to get dream stabbed or dream freeze to death? For that matter, what the hell was wrong with him that this was the first thing he dreamt up since coming to Askr?

Just as it looked like the man or blonde would forcibly remove him, the last woman spoke up for the first time, her voice warm in stark contrast to her companions'. "Come now, there's no reason to be so belligerent." She furthered her welcoming attitude by glancing back at him, an inviting smile on her lips. "Why don't you take a seat next to me and tell us about yourself?" She scooted to the side of her log to make space for him.

Normally, he wouldn't hesitate to take up an offer like that (especially from such a pretty woman), but there was still the matter of her friends. "Sister, what are you doing?!" Or rather, her family, if the words of the man were any indication.

"Being a gracious hostess." She answered with no small amount of amusement. "Really, Hríd, there's a difference between caution and paranoia. He's half frozen already, we outnumber him four to one, and he's shown that he bears no arms. I doubt he's liable to try something anytime soon."

"B-but what if he does try something?" The youngest exclaimed. "We don't know anything about him, so we shouldn't–"

"Ylgr," his one supporter chided the girl, "I assure you, it's fine. Don't you trust your big sister?"

That loaded question did the trick, as all three of his detractors stood down and stopped arguing. In the face of their teeth-clenched acceptance, he reluctantly took his seat on the log and immediately felt himself warm up from the heat of the fire. They still clearly wished he'd make himself scarce, but their specific emotions subtly varied. 'Hríd' was leering at him with suspicion, as if he'd suddenly pull out a sword from nowhere any second. 'Ylgr' looked more wary of him, like she was frightened of the fact she couldn't say for sure what he'd do next.

And then there was the blonde, who was making no secret of her contempt for him. "Dare I ask why you've got such a chip on your shoulder about me?" He asked as he rubbed his upper arms.

"You're an outsider." She wasted no time practically growling her retort, her fingers visibly tightening around the grip of her lance as she did so.

"Well, we are outside." She didn't find his snark very amusing, as her scowl deepened further.

The woman at his side gently sighed and locked eyes with her younger sister. "Fjorm, that's enough. He's staying, so cease trying to make him uncomfortable just because you disagree with my decision." 'Fjorm' showed her dissatisfaction by breaking sight with the woman to glare into the fire instead. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and just focused on how great it was to actually be able to feel his arms again. "Goodness, where are my manners?" He turned his attention back to the woman when she spoke again. "I've yet to introduce myself. You may call me Gunnthrá."

Now that he thought about it, those were all really weird names. Had there been something in that tea that was putting his imagination into overdrive? He stopped wondering when he realized 'Gunnthrá' was expectantly looking at him. "Oh, I'm Kiran." Wait, why do I have to introduce myself in my own dream?

"Kiran, hm?" Gunnthrá tested how his name sounded on her lips. "And who might you be, Kiran?"

In all honesty, he'd gotten somewhat sick of introductions lately and didn't want to go through another one when it ought not even be necessary. "Shouldn't you know that already? I mean, this is a dream I made up, right?"

She didn't answer his question right away. Rather, she tilted her head ever so slightly to the side and maintained her smile. "Dreams can act as gateways for distant people to connect with one another. Sometimes, that distant person could be yourself. Perhaps something has happened to make you feel like you need to talk with a fresh face?" Something about the expression on her face gave him the impression she knew more than she was letting on, but he couldn't imagine what that could be.

In any case, that was a pretty accurate assessment on her part. In fact, it was so on point that she was probably pulling it from his subconscious. "You got that right." He confirmed with a grumpy scoff. "I just keep trying to do my job, but 'His Highness' would rather lick his dad's boot than actually work with me to be productive."

"That coat looks Askran." Hríd spoke up, his fingers still resting on his sword's handle even if it was sheathed again. "Are you referring to Prince Alfonse and King Gustav?" His eyes narrowed as he saw the impudent implication of Kiran's words. "You would do well to consider how you speak of your lieges."

"They're not my lieges!" Kiran snapped back the second he could. "God dammit, I am sick of having to listen to those two when I've never wanted anything to do with Askr in the first place! You'd think they'd care more about what I have to say after going to so much trouble to conscript me across time and space!"

"If you'd rather be rid of them, why continue to wear their colors?" Fjorm asked the logical follow up, her question delivered as if he was actively causing her pain with every second she spent thinking about him.

"Because I have no choice! I hate working for them, but it'd be even worse to stop summoning and let Embla roll all over everyone!"

"…Summoning?" Ylgr asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, the Emblians die in battle and then I use their deaths to summon Heroes from other words." He distractedly ran through an explanation, still caught on the frustration of his catch-22.

"Is that so?" Gunnthrá practically purred and began leaning slightly towards him. "And you'd rather not be using that power for Askr? You'd rather leave them to their fate?"

He sighed and rested his head in his hand. "Look, it's not like I want Askr to be conquered. I'd feel awful knowing random innocents are getting more or less enslaved, but I could eventually live with it if I really had to. The only thing that's forcing me to keep that from happening is that my country will suffer the same fate if Askr loses. Maybe its selfish and heartless, but it's not a crime to stay out of someone else's mess if it's not your problem." He could only imagine the looks on Tana or Sharena's faces if they heard him say that. Ursula would probably approve, which made him briefly think that maybe he should reconsider his sentiment. Then again, Haar had once concurred with him, which meant he couldn't have been completely in the wrong.

"I wholeheartedly agree." He looked back to Gunnthrá and saw that her smile had widened. "Why should we allow ourselves to be dragged into the misfortune of strangers? It's far better to focus on our own concerns than waste precious time and effort that isn't liable to be reciprocated." He glanced back out to see her siblings nodding their heads.

That mindset explained why they'd acted the way they had when he arrived. But then, why had she…? "Then why did you let him sit with us?" Fjorm demanded, further angered by the apparent hypocrisy of her sister. "It's not our problem if some foreigner was too stupid to properly dress for the weather!" Boy, that was rich coming from a girl in a miniskirt of all things.

"Perhaps not. But it cost us nothing to merely sit and talk when we weren't doing anything anyway. And besides," she glanced at him with another lovely grin, "I'd say we've gained quite a bit from the experience."

"…We have?" Ylgr asked when Gunnthrá didn't elaborate.

The pinkette giggled. "But of course. It's always a boon to meet a kindred spirit. Tell me, Kiran: how do you know you can trust what the Askrans say? How do you know their talk of Embla's threat to your home isn't just some story to keep you in line?"

"Because I heard some Emblians talking about it within a few hours of arriving in Zenith." He resented his situation, but at least had faith that the circumstances were what they appeared to be.

"A few hours, you say?" Gunnthrá frowned and stared at him with an indecipherable look in her eyes. "Hmmm…"

"What?" He asked, unnerved by her change in disposition.

"Oh, it's nothing." She waved him off and looked back at the flame, as if the matter wasn't worth all the thought she clearly put into it. "The timing just seems awfully convenient, don't you think? That the necessity of your assistance should be made apparent so soon after your arrival?"

It was obvious what that was supposed to imply. "I-it wasn't a setup!" He refuted whilst trying to ignore the semblance of sense in her observation. "I watched Alfonse and Sharena kill those Emblians!"

"You mean they killed soldiers in Emblian uniforms." She corrected him like a schoolteacher addressing a wrong answer. "If the prince and princess asked some hapless citizens to lay down their lives in the name of securing much needed aid, how many do you think would refuse the request?"

"T-that isn't – they wouldn't do that!" Alfonse alone would never have the stomach to slaughter his own countrymen, to say nothing of Sharena. Besides, they hadn't even known for sure that the ritual to summon him would actually work, so why prepare a scene like that? He looked at Gunnthrá much more warily than he had before. "Who are you? What do you get out of making me mistrust Askr more than I already do?"

She appeared stunned that he would even ask the question and rested her right hand over her breasts. "Shouldn't you be telling me that? Isn't this your dream?"

His eyes widened and he weakly stammered out a response. "I-I don't think they've lied to me! Okay, they can be idiots who don't always act in their best interests, but they've always been honest with me!" At least, he always thought they'd been honest. But who was to say if, subconsciously, something about that first skirmish hadn't sat right with him…?

Gunnthrá only shrugged in response. "If that's what you choose to believe, don't let me tell you otherwise." Before he could stutter out another half-hearted rebuttal, she kept going, this time with her face set in an expression of grave seriousness. "Just remember, Kiran: we distrusted you for being an outsider for a reason. When people don't know and have no attachment to you, it's much easier for them to use you for their own ends. Think about who benefits at whose expense in any relationship you form, stranger or no."

"I still don't trust him…" Fjorm grumbled. Judging by the looks on their faces, Hríd and Ylgr agreed. He could admit Gunnthrá had a point, but also thought that 'stranger danger' was a bizarrely banal lesson for his subconscious to try and teach him. Before he could vocalize as much, his lips involuntarily widened in a yawn.

"Oh my, it looks like our time together grows short." Gunnthrá's face was hard to make out with how heavy his eyelids has suddenly grown – had her smile turned apologetic or was his darkening vision playing tricks on him? "Everyone, be courteous and wish our new friend a fond farewell." Somehow, he got the impression that that was the last thing any of them wanted to do. He couldn't tell if Gunnthrá gave any nonverbal incentive to comply, but the goodbyes started to come in all the same.

"…Take care." Hríd stiffly murmured.

"…Be safe." Ylgr mumbled with no enthusiasm whatsoever.

"…Bye." Fjorm, naturally, ground out the coldest sendoff of all.

Which just left Gunnthrá. "I hope you remain in good health, Kiran. In all likelihood, you probably won't remember the words we've shared. Still, this experience was not a waste for any of us. I can't say when or how, but I want you to know one thing." In the dim haze of his fading consciousness, he barely made out the last words she said.

"Sooner or later, the two of us will meet again…"


How could this go

So very wrong

That I must depend on darkness?

Would anyone follow me further down?


Oh boy, oh boy, I sure do love spending 7+ months writing 50k+ word chapters. Almost as much as I'm sure you love being made to wait that long. A sane man might suggest cutting down on content, but it's not like I plan these to be so long – I just write up a rough outline of scenes and figure 'eh, it won't be so bad this time'. Believe me, I did not intend the first scene alone to be roughly 9k words; it just kept growing and growing before I realized it. And everything is important, damn it! I swear it is!

So, tensions sure are high in the Order. If something doesn't happen soon to put them back on common ground, there could be a schism between the Heroes that support Kiran and those that don't. Kaze and Ursula have learned about a potential Emblian attack from Captain Arland that they've now removed the only obstacle to, so maybe a battle like that is just what they all need to get back on the same page. But then, one thousand troops sounds like an awful lot…

On the subject of things in the imminent future, next chapter's a BIG one. Not necessarily in terms of length (I think it's become clear that I am horrible at gauging chapter length), but in terms of plot. The foundations of what exactly brought Kiran to Zenith and started the war will begin to be laid. And I promise that they are not even remotely what IS has in mind. I said I was sticking to my plot no matter what happens in canon, and I mean that. A part of that means basically pretending that Book V doesn't even exist. I could maybe give Freyr or Freyja a nod or two via Gunnthrá's dream Skype, but I'm not joking when I say I'd have to throw out everything I have planned if I tried to accommodate Book V into my lore.

Speaking of, it's the Nifl siblings! And they sure are different, huh? We'll be seeing more of them and also getting more insight into what makes them tick. Except for Gunnthrá (who clearly isn't quite as innocuous as she makes herself look), the others don't like outsiders, but their exact way and reasons differ slightly (as can be seen in their initial reactions when Gunnthrá forces them to accept Kiran's presence).

Also, Kiran's name. The last name is his default name in Japanese and Baldr is the Norse god of light and joy - Kiran means "ray of light" in Sanskrit and Eclat is a French word meaning "brilliance", so his names have obvious connection to that part of Norse mythology. It is important, but not the way that everyone thought it was. It's more the etymology of the name (the middle name to be specific) that matters…though I don't plan to reveal why for quite a long time.

This chapter ended up being a lot more political than I thought it would be when it first got planned out. There's a lot of different viewpoints being expressed, each with their own merits and flaws. Keep in mind that although Kiran's opinion is probably the most familiar, he isn't necessarily right. Fire Emblem royals do have a lot justifying their rule, so much so that comparing their monarchies to ours is something of a false equivalence. You can bet people would be a lot more willing to bow to King Arthur if his badass super sword Excalibur that only he can wield actually existed. But then, you might still take the Monty Python stance that a magic sword is no basis for a government, no matter how awesome it is.

Our chapter title and verses this time are, yet again, Katatonia. The title is their fifth album (the 'Last Fair Deal' refers to Kiran and Kaze's agreement that giving Gustav the proverbial finger would be a one-time affair) and the verse comes from the chorus of the track Tonight's Music from said album (the dependence on darkness refers to both Kiran having to rely on both Ursula and Hubert to get things done and Mareeta's succumbing to the Shadow Sword after being abducted. If nobody else, Kaze at least was willing to follow him further down). I'd love to share the next chapter title…but I'm afraid it would spoil a big moment. So I'm afraid you'll just have to wait (at the very least I can say it isn't Katatonia again).

Finally, the update schedule: I'll do 4 more L'Amour Detruit chapters, then the next chapter of this, the four more L'AD chapters, and so on.

Please leave comments and reviews, good or bad, since your feedback is how I learn. Thank you for reading.