I expected us to emerge at the same place as last time we went through the portal but was startled to find completely different terrain. We were surrounded by ocean. To our right was a mountain in front of us was a pond or a lake, and there were trees on either side of a little inlet. Though if someone told me that I was wrong, I would have believed them. Across the tiny island were three people. One on a horse, another on foot, and another on a pegasus. The cavalryman was old, his late fifties or early sixties, if I had to guess, but I was never good with ages. He wore ornate purple armor with spikes on his shoulders, a long red cape, and his hair was completely white. He had a sword at his hip but held a lance pointed at the ground at the moment. The swordsman was behind the pond, and he wore plenty of royal blue clothing. His hair was the same color, but his cape was red on the inside. He stood ready with a fancy sword, the hilt of which curved upwards drastically. The pegasus rider wore red, had hair as blue as the swordsman's, and wielded a large hunk of metal that looked like it could do some damage. The landscape, compared to the people, was… out of scale and overall… this place just wasn't right. It was unexplainable as to why or how I knew that, but everyone else knew it too. "This… isn't right," Alfonse spoke.
"I agree, but… I don't understand why," Sharena added. "It's… weird!"
"Could this be the result of the contracts?" Anna asked, mostly to herself. "But what would they have to do the world being altered?"
"I think we're on…Talys, but it looks nothing like the island recorded in our library…"
"It doesn't even feel right," Sharena muttered.
"Nevermind that for now," Anna interrupted. "Virion, do you have a plan?"
"Of course, Lady Anna. However, Maxis, would you like to see if you can come up with one on your own?"
I shrugged. "I guess."
"Excellent." Virion drew an arrow from his quiver and started drawing on a little bare patch. It looked like what we were seeing, but from a top-down view with us on the left and the contracted Heroes on the right. He drew little symbols that I think were supposed to represent the enemies' weapons and transportation methods. He then looked up to me and said, "You have full control of everyone here, Maxis. Just tell me the who, what, where, when, and how of your movements. The why would also be appreciated."
I shrugged. "I dunno."
"I… see. Perhaps I might explain something that will help you with your decision? The weapon triangle is the most fundamental part of every strategy."
"He's right, you know," Anna interjected. She took the arrow from Virion and started drawing a separate diagram. It looked a bit like a recycling symbol, but it had a sword at the top, an axe to the right, and a lance to the left. An arrow pointed from one weapon to the next, a bit like rock, paper, scissors. "Swords have an advantage over axes, axes over lances, and lances over swords. Hence the name weapon triangle."
"But, Commander," Sharena started with a bright smile. "That's a circle." Seeing as she didn't get any positive response, she coughed into her glove. "S-sorry…"
"So anyways, it's like rock, paper, scissors?"
Anna cocked an eyebrow. "Scissors?"
"Nevermind. But… an axe can break a lance shaft easily, a lance has extra range over a sword, and a sword can… thrust?"
"That's right."
"Though that's not to say that a superior swordsman can overtake a lancer."
"Er, yeah, I suppose. It's more of a general guideline that works most of the time. Another thing to watch out for is weapon range. Obviously, Alfonse, Sharena, and I can hit what's right in front of us, but Virion, Mathew, and Raigh can't."
"Why's that? Shouldn't a knife be a good enough melee weapon?"
Anna shook her head. "It's not about killing the enemy, it's about keeping yourself and your allies safe. Sure, they can probably hit things at point-blank range, but that puts them at risk of just being hit again, and if they miss, there's no telling where a knife or arrow could end up. And Raigh could possibly hurt himself if his opponent is too close."
"I'm not a beginner," Raigh scoffed.
"With what?" I asked.
"A spell, obviously," he replied as he looked up at me like I was stupid.
"What, like magic?"
"Gods, you're dumb. Yes! Magic!"
"'Lright, jeez." I looked back at Virion's little battlefield. "I guess I'd have Anna take on the cavalryman, er, wait. Anna, can you even fight someone on a horse?"
"I admit it could be easier, but I'll be fine, don't worry. Remind me to teach you some more about stuff like that once we get back to the castle."
"'Lright, I guess. Anna would take on the cavalryman, then Sharena could take care of the swordsmen. Though, Virion, if you could, you should take care of the pegasus rider."
"Alright," the man spoke. He drew Anna's symbols left of the cavalryman's and smoothed out the opponent's symbols. Sharena's symbols went to the left of Anna's, then his own under Anna's. I raised an eyebrow as he erased Anna's symbols and put the swordman's to the right of where hers had been. He then wiped his own before putting the pegasus rider's to the right of his. "What next?"
"Hey, wait, is Anna just dead now?"
"Goodness, no! I'm only removing them from battle in accordance with the weapon triangle. Having the weapon triangle be unchallengeable is simply for simplicity's sake. Er, ah. Anyways, having each unit only able to take one hit is just to make it easier on your ability to understand. But would you like a do-over?"
"I guess that makes sense… Yeah, I want a do-over. And was that shot too far?"
He erased the symbols, then put the enemies' back into their original position. "I'm afraid so. Think about it like this," Virion said as he added grid lines to his map. "Every unit on a battlefield has a limit to its range and mobility. As we discussed, weapons have ranges to them, but so do people and animals." He pointed to the picture of a horse's head. "A horse can carry its rider…"
"Three spaces, I'd say," Anna supplied.
"Yes, that sounds reasonable," Virion replied as he counted spaces wordlessly. He ended on a square on the edge of his map. "This is the maximum range that a cavalier can attack. Three squares to move and then attacking an adjacent one. He pointed to the picture of a boot, then started to drag a line up and over the pond. "Two spaces for an infantryman." He dragged multiple lines from the wing symbol through two spaces each. "Two for a flying unit. In addition, they are not stopped by mountains, water, or forests. The only drawback is that they are highly weak to arrows, of course."
"Yeah, wounded animals usually don't fly, if they can avoid it…" I thought some more. "What happens if Sharena fights another lance wielder?"
"Hmm. Let's say they can each take another hit, but if the other lancer attacks first, then Sharena can't fight anymore and vice versa," Anna said.
"So everyone has two health, but the weapon triangle doubles damage?"
"What?"
"Nothing. And what if a sword user hits her after she gets hit by a lancer? Does she just not take damage?"
Anna looked at me, confusedly before replying. "Suuure."
"Okay, so then Sharena might be able to handle everything herself."
"No. That is not the case," the redhead replied sternly. "No matter what, she's still going to get wounded, and if she gets enough wounds, she'll die."
"Yeah, I just… But even if we try to get back as far as possible, that cavalier can still go after a second person, and I don't think he's going to pick you to attack."
Anna sighed. "I suppose… So then what?"
"Uh… Then…" I took the arrow from Virion and drew my own little symbols. A sword behind an axe, a lance under the axe, then a bow behind the lance. "That's what I want to do."
"Do you mean you want us to wait?" Virion asked as he raised his eyebrows. "Why?"
"What else is there to do? Anna will get killed by that swordsman, and Sharena can't do everything herself. This seems like the best solution."
Virion raised a hand to his chin. "I see…! Mayhaps you're right." He took the arrow from me then drew the cavalier to the right of my lance, the swordsman above the pond, and the pegasus rider on the inlet. I had Anna take down the horseman, moved Sharena one space away from the swordsman, and Virion one space down to eliminate the pegasus rider. Virion nodded slowly. "This is excellent work for your first time, Maxis."
"It's easy once you know what's going on."
"So this is our plan?" Anna asked.
"Indeed it is," Virion spoke.
"Alright. To arms, everyone!" They all rushed off and followed my instructions without much problem. Sharena was able to parry the cavalier's lance and break through his defenses. Then the pegasus rider moved over the inlet, and the swordsman began to run around the pond. Virion sent an arrow towards the rider, and Sharena quickly intercepted the swordsman. The enemies moved as Virion predicted, and no one was severely injured. Unless they weren't on our side, of course.
Sharena ran towards us and threw her arms around me. I tensed. "We did it! We did it, and it's all thanks to you, Maxis!"
"Yes," Alfonse spoke. "With tactics like that, you'll easily be known far and wide. Even if you weren't the Great Hero."
"And I'll be your number one fan!"
I stammered a bit and blinked my eyes. Sharena was gone. Alfonse was gone. The whole terrain had changed again. A sprawling field dotted with trees was in front of me. I stumbled back slightly, bumping into someone. I whipped around to find Anna and the others. "Maxis! Thank the gods that you're still here. I don't know what happened, but we were warped to a completely different place in the blink of an eye, it seems." After a silent beat had passed, I began stumbling backwards again. I managed to stop myself from hitting the ground too hard, but I felt… odd. No, I felt fine, but I felt like I was supposed to have a headache or something. "Hey! Are you alright?!"
"Wha—?! What's happening…?" I breathed out.
"I don't know, but that's not supposed to happen."
"I…! I want to go home…!"
"H-hold on…! I…!" Anna sighed.
Sharena knelt down beside me. "Maxis?" Her voice was pleasant. Innocent. Childlike. "What's wrong?"
I pushed the balls of my hands into my eyes. "Nothing makes sense…!" I didn't want to cry. "This whole place is non-euclidian…!" I couldn't cry. "I half expect to turn around and find the Thing from the Stars lumbering towards me through twisting halls…"
"Are you alright…?"
I removed my hands from my eyes and gave an exhausted laugh. "No," I breathed out with a tired smile. I pushed myself up, looking around. Things were… normal. The river, two bridges, swordsman and axeman on those bridges, and archer behind the river… were all… normal. I took a deep breath. The color of madness was unnatural. The scenery… was… natural. My mind was shattered… but the pieces had fallen into place. At that moment, I think, I had accepted that my life had changed. No matter what happened next, no matter why it happened, I would accept it without question. "I'm just fine now."
"Are you sure?"
"No." I looked at the battlefield. "Sharena, let that swordsman come to you, Alfonse will let the axeman come to him, then Virion will take on the archer."
"O… Okay."
Sharena stood up and waited for the swordsman to approach. She quickly blocked two of his attacks before cutting him down. Alfonse let the axe fighter approach, parrying the man's swing and ending the man's life. With one arrow, Virion killed the enemy archer. I sighed and closed my eyes. A bridge going over a flowing river led to a desert. Raigh combated a magic user, Anna fought another, and their healer fled. I blinked to find two cavaliers, an archer, and a pegasus rider. Virion dueled the archer, Sharena fought off one of the cavaliers, and Anna held her own against the last two enemies. I blinked one last time to find plenty of familiar faces on an island surrounded by water. They weren't easy to reach, but Raigh and Virion were able to counter the enemy magician and archer, respectively. The pegasus rider and the swordsman from when we first arrived in this world were quickly dealt with by Virion and Sharena, respectively.
I closed my eyes until Anna shook me gently. "You alright? It's time for us to leave." I nodded with a tired smile on my face and followed them through another portal. I breathed a relieved sigh as I found myself in Askr once more. Anna explained to us that there would likely be another world to take back soon, and Mathew volunteered to spy on the portals. Anna agreed then began to lead everyone back to the castle. I followed behind at my own slow pace. I don't remember dinner at all, but I remember that I was focused on making sure that I was calm. I crashed into bed and fell asleep immediately.
