Author's Note: These chapters just get rougher and rougher. Now they have to deal with the rest of Laus' forces, which thankfully aren't anywhere near as many as there were outside, save Caelin's forces and of course we've got Raven and Lucius to run into again.

After this chapter I think I'll need a few break chapters to fill in the gaps between here and Badon. Having taken the time to really play out this battle it's simply necessary to cover the plot points properly. There's also one chapter I want to try, though I'm unsure of how successful it will be.

Chapter 48: Whereabouts Unknown

A letter from Lyndis of Caelin to Tactician William:

Will,

I've let the others handle writing you our letters lately. The last time I wrote you I explained how difficult it was for me to appear in court. I'm going to assume Sain told you the entire story about the Duke of Nerfain and my rather uncouth way of dealing with his demands. Don't worry, grandfather helped me handle that situation before it got out of control. Sain probably only cares about how funny it was.

Some other things have happened in the intervening months. Personally I'm still not sure I fit in here. My mind often wanders back to the plains. When you return, do you plan to live here with us? If I went back to Sacae, would you come with me?

I'm sorry, talking like that isn't like me. There is something I meant to tell you. I asked Florina to join the Lorca as well. It might be… odd to start recreating the Lorca with my friends, but aside from you, I trust Florina the most. I'm happy to say she agreed.

Grandfather continues to improve, though the poison may never truly leave his system. Hopefully soon he can at least sit upon Caelin's throne. You may not believe me but I've refused to do that, even when acting as Caelin's ruler for the time being. I know I'm rambling, but I wanted you to know I was thinking of you, and miss you. It's strange for a peerless warrior to be without her master tactician.

Lyn

"There are still quite a few guards in the castle." Will whispered, looking around the corner. Several of Laus' troops remained posted firmly in their path to the throne. "Where are Caelin's troops?"

"Of the ones who weren't on leave, half were slain in the attack." Kent whispered back. "The rest Lyndis warned to go into hiding, which they've done. Once we've retaken Caelin, we'll inform them."

"I see." Will returned. "A shame we can't count on many reinforcements, since most of us are tired, but there's nothing else for it."

"They're likely locked away as prisoners." Sain said. "We'll have to rescue them quickly. If Marquis Laus holds them hostage, stopping him will become a lot more difficult."

"Right." Will said. "I'll need a team to free the prisoners then."

"Hold on grandfather… I'm coming." Lyn said through gritted teeth.

"Our goal is the throne." Eliwood added. "We claim it, we can drive these louts from the castle!"

"The commander is likely there anyway." Hector agreed. "But I have a bad feeling… no sense worrying about it I suppose. Let's do this."

Will placed a finger to his forehead. Last time this had occurred, they had ended up split between two places. This time, it was likely they would need three teams instead. "Matthew."

"Right here." Matthew said with a grin.

"Treasury is either under guard or being raided. I want you, Bartre and Wil to reclaim the treasury." Will said. "There's a door in the way, but only you three should be needed since the path there will match with the main force."

"Gotcha!" Bartre said. "I'll chop up anyone stupid enough not to surrender."

"On the job." Wil nodded.

"Kent and Sain, you along with Dorcas will escort Priscilla to the dungeons. We need to free those captives, and you three are the best shot of getting there in the best time. With Priscilla, she should be able to heal you and any injured guards you free." Will said.

"I almost forgot." Lyn whispered. "Lucius is likely in the dungeons as well."

"Lucius?" Will asked in surprise.

"He came to visit us." She explained. "When Caelin came under attack, he stayed behind to help. He said he had also been studying healing himself."

"An extra healer could be a great help right now." Will said. "Hopefully he's safe. It doesn't change the plan though."

"I understand." Lyn nodded.

"So that leaves the main group." Marcus said. "I assume we're to march on the throne room?"

"Rebecca and Oswin are to hold position here in case any forces try to come up from behind." Will explained. "We couldn't afford to leave anyone outside, and while I doubt any of Bauker's forces remain we can't take the chance."

"That's why you had Merlinus retreat to the village." Hector said. "I was wondering about that."

"I regret not bringing Serra, but Wallace needs immediate treatment." Will said. "I refuse to let him die to keep us safer."

Eliwood smiled. "Alright, then the rest of us are the strike team?"

Will nodded. "I'll stick to the back myself. I'm still injured so I may not be able to help but I'll stay out of trouble. Florina, you and Huey should stay back as well. These halls are pretty narrow. Can you use javelins from the back line?"

"Yes." Florina said. "I'm sure everyone would feel safer with someone protecting you anyway."

Eliwood, Hector and Lyn nodded. Lowen and Marcus took to the front, while Kent, Sain, Dorcas and Priscilla began making their way down a side passage towards the dungeons.

"Hey, you." Raven said to the nearby Laus guard. "Let me out of here."

"What?" The soldier said.

"Marquis Ostia's brother is among your enemy, right?" Raven asked. "Let me out, and I'll help you. I've a score to settle with House Ostia, and the brother will serve that need."

"You think I'm a fool?" The soldier spat. "You work for House Caelin! You led the force defending the throne from us! I can't trust you."

"Then I'll break down this door and go through you." Raven returned angrily. "You've been using Lucius as a hostage, but now he's in here with me."

"Uh…" The soldier backed away from the door. These bars were impossible to break without a weapon, right?

Lucius grabbed Raven's sleeve, forcing the red haired man to turn. "Lord Raven, don't do this. You came here at my request, not for this."

"Shut up, Lucius." Raven replied, removing his sleeve from Lucius' grip. "You think me foolish, but you don't understand." He turned back to the soldier. "Well?"

The soldier still seemed to be thinking about it, but he had heard even Commander Bauker had fallen to these assailants. "Very well. You! Get out! If you betray us, know that your companion dies."

"I see." Raven said, exiting the cage and accepting the sword that was handed to him. It was much lighter than his usual blade, but it would still serve his purposes nicely. "Just remember, if that happens, you die next."

The soldier recoiled. "Wait!" Lucius shouted, banging against the bars. "You can't go alone, it's too dangerous!"

"Lucius, stay here and be quiet." Raven sighed. "I'll be back for you after dealing with Ostia."

"Lord Raven…" Lucius hissed, but Raven ignored him. He took the sword and positioned himself next to the stairs. It was likely people would be coming here soon, to try and release the captive guards. He'd have to deal with them first.

The first phase of their battle went about as well as Will could hope. Several archers, a dark mage, and two heavy knights barred their passage forward. He was glad Wil was still with them for the moment, but he was beginning to regret sending off and leaving behind some of the better long range fighters. Thankfully, their group was covering for that oversight rather well.

The first group that had approached them directly had the Heavy Knight, two archers and the dark mage. The group immediately separated, pushing their attack while fanning out in the small room to avoid getting clumped together. Lyn dashed forward, unleashing the Mani Katti in a decisive swipe that dropped the dark mage before he could begin chanting his spell. Lowen batted the knight's lance aside with his own, while Eliwood took to the side before jabbing his rapier into the exposed back of the leg. The man dropped, Lowen swiftly finishing his disarm and claiming the lance for their own.

Wil shot an arrow that deflected the shot that came from the first archer's bow, Hector leaping into the fray and pushing the second archer to the ground before he could get a shot off. Roughly he smashed the handle of his axe into the man's face, making him drop the bow before Guy jabbed his sword into the man's shoulder to keep him from getting up. Erk's fireball struck the first archer, setting his bow aflame. He dropped it, and without a weapon to fight with surrendered quickly. "Marcus, guard them. If you hear any trouble from the front or the treasury, you'll be able to get there in time to help. The rest of us will keep pressing forward." Will said.

"Right." Marcus said, acknowledging the order. His began to tie up the prisoners, offering the knight a small amount of vulnerary to ensure he didn't bleed out on the floor. Matthew, Wil and Bartre officially split from the rest of the group, heading for the treasury.

Immediately after this their strike team ran into another group of archers and a heavy knight. Florina managed to take down the farthest archer with a javelin throw, while Erk's fire set the heavy knight ablaze. It seems the armor that heavy knight's wore were made of easily flammable material, as magic tore through them easily. Will made a note to remember this next time they were fighting an opponent like Bauker. Erk's magic was much more powerful than his own, so it was more likely to deal large amounts of damage.

"Down lord Eliwood!" Lowen shouted. Eliwood ducked just in time to avoid a swipe from the archer, who was using his arrow like a makeshift sword and had tried to stab Eliwood with it. Lowen quickly leapt in, striking out with his lance, but the archer dodged. Lyn closed the distance between herself and the last archer just as he took aim, cutting him down. The arrow he fired was caught by Hector, who grunted in annoyance.

"My hand's all cut up now." He sighed, throwing the arrow aside. "Thanks for the help."

"Not a problem." Lyn returned. "Now we just have to—"

"Keep going!" Lowen shouted. "I'll handle this guy! We have to get the throne room before they retreat!"

"Lowen's right." Will said. "Keep moving!"

The group pushed forward, even as Lowen's sword clashed against the archer's bow. "You're strong." Lowen said. "Why serve a man like Laus?"

"You don't deserve to know my reasons." The man growled back. "I'm not so weak as to spill my life story to a man not yet a knight."

"I don't want to kill you." Lowen growled back as the two separated.

"That's the only way you'll stop me." The man returned. Drawing back his bow, he fired off a shot. Lowen batted the arrow aside with his sword, lunging forward to strike even as the man retreated further into the passage.

"I see." Lowen muttered to himself. Gripping his sword tighter, the two continued their duel.

"It's down these stairs." Raven heard the voice of someone he recognized coming from above.

"Won't there be guards?" A young woman's voice asked.

"That's why we're going first. Stay behind us, Lady Priscilla." The voice of the second knight Raven recognized followed behind a young woman's.

"Priscilla…" Raven muttered.

"What was that?" The guard asked.

"Farewell." Raven replied. With a swift leap, he crossed the small distance between himself and the guard before jabbing his sword into the man's stomach. Luckily, there was no armor covering this guard, so his suffering was brief. As Kent and Sain came down the stairs, Lucius grabbed the keys from the guard's belt, heading over to the cage and opening it.

"Oh, aren't you?" Sain asked in surprise, seeing Raven leading the soldiers out of the cell.

"Raven." He replied. "I managed to fool the guard into letting me out. His mistake."

"I see." Kent said, though his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Lord Raven!" Lucius cried, grabbing the mercenary's shoulder. "You moron!" The next second Raven had received a rather nasty punch to the jaw, which sent him crashing to the floor.

"Lucius!" Sain shouted in surprise. It was the first time he had ever seen the calm man lose his temper, especially to that extent.

"Sain, we've accomplished our mission." Kent said. "Give the news to Will."

"But—"

"It's not our place, Sain." Kent insisted.

"Fine." Sain relented. "Lady Priscilla, please make sure every here is treated. Lady Lyndis would never forgive herself if they didn't get their injuries treated."

"Yes." Priscilla said with a nod. The three soldiers all looked much worse than the mercenary and the monk. She spared a rather meaningful glance at the Mercenary, before beginning her work.

"Here." One of the solider said to Lucius, handing him a book. "We managed to hide your light magic book in the cell before they searched us."

"Thank you." Lucius said, accepting the book. "Sir Kent, I believe I shall follow Sir Sain and rejoin the others. Please keep an eye on Lord Raven."

"Of course." Kent said. The monk stepped past him, pushing his hair out of his face in annoyance. Dorcas nodded to Kent before following the monk up the stairs as well. Kent would be enough to keep an eye on this Raven.

Priscilla began healing in silence. The three guards were getting better, but likely wouldn't be able to rejoin the fight. Kent didn't want them to rejoin the fight anyway, so it worked to their advantage. As Priscilla began healing the mercenary, he could hear them talking in a hushed whisper.

"You… can it be?" The red haired man growled in pain as she began healing the bruise around his jaw. "No… I doubt it. It was so long ago when we were separated."

"Raymond." Priscilla returned. Raven's eyes widened slightly. "It's Brother Raymond, isn't it?"

"You've grown, Priscilla." Raven said, wincing as she touched his injured cheek. "What are you doing here? It's been over ten years since Count Caerleon of Etruria took you in…"

"That's right." Priscilla said, smiling. "My foster father has treated me with much kindness. I am still of Caelin's House Cornwall by birth. I still remember mother and father. I've never forgotten any of it. That includes you, Raymond."

"Priscilla…"

"When I heard House Cornwall was lost during Lundgren's tyranny… I was so worried about you." Priscilla muttered, tears stinging the back of her eyes as she finished. "But I couldn't leave right away. Father refused to let me go without an escort, so I had to gather what I could from my savings to hire one."

"So that's why you left Etruria…" Raven sighed. He placed his hand softly atop Priscilla's, perhaps in the first show of kindness he had shown in years. "You've come quite a long way."

"Erk's been a great help." Pricilla affirmed. "When we passed through Laus, The Marquis learned of my lineage and prevented me from continuing. I would still be there if not for Erk finding Lord Eliwood and his companions."

"His… companions?" Raven asked.

"Lord Hector, Lady Lyndis… They've all been very kind to me. I'm so glad I came to Lycia. And now that I've found you…" Priscilla trailed off as Raven staggered to his feet.

"You've become friends with… him?" Raven asked, his eyes glinting momentarily.

"Raymond?" Priscilla asked in confusion.

Raven sighed again, looking at Kent who was watching him carefully. "I see. Then I will join you."

"You'll come with us?" Priscilla asked in surprise, jumping to her feet.

"I could not refuse my little sister." Raven said with a weary smile. "Besides…"

"What is it?" Priscilla asked.

"Nevermind." Raven turned to the knight. "Tell me, do Eliwood and the rest know of Priscilla's heredity? I know you were listening."

"I would not know, but I doubt anyone knows unless she has spoken of it." Kent returned.

"I haven't really spoken to them much aside from Erk." Priscilla said. "He's my escort, so he was already aware of the details."

"That's for the best, then." Raven said with a nod. "Priscilla. And you, Sir Kent. I would ask you keep our relationship a secret."

"If you say I must… I'll trust you, brother." Priscilla said.

"I see no reason to keep word for you." Kent said. "Know that if you threaten my liege, I will gladly reveal your secret."

"Well, being kept honest by a knight such as you may not be entirely bad." Raven returned. "I can agree to that." He turned back to Priscilla. "I am Raven now. Raymond is… a name I've discarded."

"You… You have your reasons, don't you?" Priscilla asked, closing her eyes. "I understand. As long as we can travel together, I'm happy. If we continue on, we may even be able to see father and mother too!" She clapped her hands, opening her eyes decidedly and returning to her task of healing the remaining guard's injury.

Kent could see the look of pain in Raven's eyes as he watched Priscilla move away. He could swear he saw Raven's lips move, forming the words "but that's…"

"I hope you're ready." Matthew said, as he knelt down near the lock. It wouldn't take him long to open the door, but he had a feeling there would be someone inside. Call it the intuition of a thief who saw the haphazard signs of someone trying to pick the lock having been here before him.

"Yup." Bartre growled greedily.

"Arrow at the ready." Wil replied, drawing his bowstring.

"Good." Matthew said. "'Cause I'm done."

He turned the knob, pushing the door open just as he spotted the signs of a shoe at the edge of the door. An arrow whizzed over his head, but Wil's own arrow met the second in the air, making both fall to the ground uselessly. Wil's archery skills always managed to impress. Bartre roared, charging passed Matthew who dived out of the way and swinging his silver axe wildly in a circle. Behind the door, the single archer guarding the ill-gotten goods found himself quickly overpowered.

"What do we have here…" Matthew muttered, looking around. He knew they wouldn't take any of Caelin's gold, but there were two items laying around that looked like they could be quite useful. The first was a staff he thought he recognized. Thieves or more specifically groups of bandits coveted these staves as they held the power to unlock doors. Not only that, they could be used from a distance, keeping the healer using the staff from harm. The second was a very nice pair of daggers made from silver. His daggers had certainly been falling short lately, and he could certainly use new ones. Picking them up along with the staff, Matthew placed them in his satchel, which he slung across his back.

"Well, I'll head back to the others." Wil said. "Will seemed to need more ranged support. You two can hold this area without me, right?"

"No problem!" Bartre laughed.

"Yes, I'll hang out here and let the wildman take care of things." Matthew said with a slight grin.

Wil quickly hurried out of the door, but another problem caught his eye. A small group of cavaliers were approaching the castle gates. On his way back, he ran into Marcus and Sain. Sain had just returned from the dungeons, reporting their successful rescue to Marcus. Behind him, a long haired blonde man Wil recognized followed. It seems Lucius was safe. "Good, you're here! Sain, we need to get back to Rebecca and Oswin!"

"Huh?" Sain asked in surprise. "What's going on?"

"Enemies approaching from behind!" Wil said. "Let's back them up!"

Sain nodded. "Hop on. Lucius, Dorcas, you go back up the main force."

Lucius nodded, heading in the opposite direction of Wil and Sain as he headed for the throne. Dorcas followed behind him in silence.

The push to the throne room was making slow progress. There was really only one way for the team to go forward, and at every turn there were more enemies facing them. Three more heavy knights, an axeman and five archers currently blocked their path forward. They didn't have any remaining fighters with high defense or shields to block arrows while pushing forward, which made their current position undesirable.

"How are we going to move forward to the throne now?" Hector growled.

"I could rush them and create a path," Guy began.

"Getting yourself killed in the process? No thanks." Will said, cutting him off. "If my magic were better, I'd say Erk and myself could try and pick off some of the archers, but the heavy knights are blocking them and bringing them down may take too much time."

"Then our only choice is to charge in." Lyn said, gripping her sword.

"I would ask you exercise caution." The soft voice of someone Will recognized said from behind. He turned, a smile spreading across his face at the sight of the long haired monk.

"Lucius!" He exclaimed happily. "You have a better idea, I take it?"

"You now have three magic users at your disposal, along with Sir Dorcas." Lucius said smiling. Behind him, Dorcas nodded. "I would assume that changes the playing field quite a bit."

Will closed his eyes, putting a finger to his forehead as he thought. Lucius and Erk are higher magical firepower. However, the heavy knights are still blocking the archers. If that's the case, don't plan on hitting the archers, hit the heavy knights. If we hit them, that will give me the ability to blind two. Would two be enough? They have five. One heavy knight and axeman would remain. If that's the case… no, even then our chances are slim at best. He opened his eyes, biting his lip. "We may need to retreat."

"Retreat!" Lyn shouted in surprise. "I can't agree to that."

"I'm not going to propose a plan that will most likely get one or more of us killed." Will argued back. "I'm not here to get you killed."

"We're not here to lose my grandfather to Darin by being cowardly either." Lyn growled.

"Even if I manage a proper magical attack, we'll take out at most three enemies, and even then only in the front line. The five archers will have clear shots of our troops." Will clutched his fist.

"Now Will…" Lucius said, smiling. "You always win by thinking outside the box. I've taught you magic has many uses. I'm sure that wasn't the only idea you could think of."

Will closed his eyes again with a sigh. Carefully, he placed his finger back on his forehead. Hang on… Why bother with the attack if it won't do enough? If two attacks and one distraction isn't enough, I should give them a target to attack within the light. Lucius and I can blind them long enough for Erk to maybe do something… but won't they all target him? How do I stop that? Hang on… of our current forces… Hector is the only one who can even possibly take those blows… Instead of fire, maybe use his axe? Then what do I do with Erk? Will opened his eyes. "How many Vulneraries do we have on hand?"

"I've got one." Hector said.

"I've got a couple myself." Eliwood added.

"I've got three." Lyn said.

"T-two." Florina added.

"And I've got one…" Will said, holding it up. "Alright, here's the plan. You're going to need to follow this to the letter and even then I'm not promising success."

"Get me to the throne room, that's all I ask." Lyn said with a nod.

Rebecca fired an arrow at the approaching cavalier, but her arrow clanged off his armor as he drew his lance. Oswin stepped forward, preparing to fight. Rebecca began to back away as the three others came towards her, one turning around to sandwich Oswin in a pincer attack. "I was so sure we got them all…" Rebecca muttered, grabbing another arrow and drawing her bow.

"Stand aside, Dame Rebecca!" A voice shouted behind her. Just in time she rolled to the side as Sain galloped passed, Wil behind him on the horse. Standing on the horse behind Sain, Wil took aim and fired one careful arrow before leaping off the horse and rolling in the grass. His arrow hit true, the first Cavalier heading towards her dropping with an arrow in his helmet, while Sain's lance flashed and smacked against the second cavalier's armor, his sword swing missing Sain by quite a bit.

Oswin elbowed the horse behind him with the butt of his lance as the man closed in, sending it toppling to the ground. The second cavalier charged the moment Oswin moved, crashing his lance against Oswin's heavy armor. Oswin was thankful for Lord Uther's kindness in letting him make such fine armor, as the lance broke against it. Gripping his own lance, he threw it roughly into the man's chest, his lance piercing through the inferior armor. He felt the first man grab him from behind, his arms wrapping around Oswin's throat as he attempted to choke the heavy knight to the ground. Oswin lashed out with his head, but the man's head was out of his reach. He stomped on the ground behind him with his feet, but the man knew he would try that next and avoided it. As Oswin felt his oxygen grow scarce, he heard a cry as the man's grip suddenly released. Looking behind him, he saw Rebecca breathing heavily, an arrow held in her hand still plunged into the man's back. "Thank you."

"No… no problem." Rebecca breathed.

Sain's lance flashed out once more, knocking the last cavalier's lance away before he kicked out and knocked the man off his horse. Wil quickly followed up, drawing his bow and keeping the man on the ground. "Surrender?" He asked. The man raised his arms, to which Wil smiled. "Good."

"GO!" Will shouted. He and Lucius both directed their arms towards the group of enemies.

"Lightning!" They shouted at the same time, a flash of light blasting from their hands. Before they hit the enemies both balls of light exploded in a bright flash that blinded the group, who couldn't help covering their eyes as they did so.

Seconds later, and axe flew in from the left, smacking into one of the heavy knights and knocking him into his ally. Immediately the archers turned, firing into the fray where the axe had come from. Another second later, a group of enemies emerged from the smoke. Lyn and Guy led the group, their higher movement speed allowing them to close the distance before the archers could draw their bows again. Guy clashed with the axe user while Lyn dashed past, unleashing her Mani Katti upon the archer behind the axeman and removing him from the equation. Guy quickly spun under the axe users reach, slashing his Killing Edge in a clean upward arc that dropped the axe user to the ground as well.

Eliwood and Lowen performed a similar maneuver, though a tad bit slower. With the only weapon capable of getting in the weak points of the heavy knight armor, Eliwood caught the attention of the heavy knight and unleashed a short flurry of attacks to draw him away. The moment there was a gap, Lowen dashed through, his Iron Blade swinging through the air to take out the second archer, who was still rubbing his eyes blindly.

The third Heavy Knight found his armor hit by a trio of fireballs, which lit his undershirt on fire. With no way to remove his armor, he could only struggle and yell as the fire consumed him. Closing her eyes, Florina rushed passed him with Dorcas. She took one archer while he handled another with his steel axe before throwing his own hand axe to strike the final archer.

With only one heavy knight left, Lucius and Will focused on attack instead, using Lightning and shine to keep up a constant stream of attacks until his body hit the floor. Thanks to Lucius and Dorcas, the plan was a success after all. "We can't stop now." Will said. "Push the throne room!"

Inside the throne room were three more heavily armored knights along with one especially armored opponent. From the looks of it, it wasn't Lord Darin. In fact, he didn't appear to be anywhere and neither did Lord Hausen. This seemed to anger Lyn even further, but a hand from Hector stopped her from rushing in. "Will, what's the plan here?" He asked.

The throne room, especially with four enemies already inside, would not be a good place to fight all at once. One of them each would need to take the enemies while two or three tackled the man protecting the throne. But no matter what, it'd be a hard fight. "Dorcas, can you take one of the extras?"

Dorcas nodded. "It won't be easy, but I can handle it."

"Thanks." Will said. "Lowen, I need you to take a second one."

"Me?" Lowen asked in surprise.

"Yes." Will said. "Of all of us, you've got the best chance to survive while beating him. Erk, you need to handle the last one."

"Never the easy job." Erk huffed. "I've got it."

"Lucius, is it true you can heal now?" Will asked.

"I don't have a staff on me." Lucius said, shaking his head. "I'm afraid right now I can't promise anything."

"I see. Then you'll back up Hector and Eliwood. I need them to take the man on the throne." Will said.

"But!" Lyn protested.

"Lyn." Will said firmly. "Your sword is not made to handle heavy armor. Even Lundgren nearly killed you one year ago. Florina's armor is too weak and without her pegasus she can't fight at her full potential. This is the best way to retake the castle with everyone alive."

"Fine, I get it." Lyn said. "But I don't have to like it."

"You, Florina and Guy are to back up the other three in their fights against the extras. Florina, you help Dorcas. Lyn, you're with Lowen. Guy, you've got Erk." He finished.

"Right." The group answered.

Crashing into the throne room, the battles began almost immediately. Dorcas smashed into the foremost heavy knight, knocking him to the ground. Because of this, the battle ended rather quickly with Dorcas' steel axe embedded in the opponent. Erk's opponent also fell rather quickly. Erk's first fireball missed, but Guy managed to block the heavy knight from progressing towards the mage which bought him enough time to aim his second strike, ending the knight's threat.

Lowen and Lyn's opponent was a little rougher. His armor seemed to withstand both Lowen's lance and Lyn's Mani Katti without budging, though the Iron Blade left a small gash in his armor. Lyn had managed to avoid being hit, but Lowen had taken a couple of rough blows from the lance as the battle went on around them and prevented him from moving how he wanted. Lyn knew she couldn't let this battle go on much longer, but Lowen seemed determined to handle this opponent himself. It would be much simpler if she could just slip the Mani Katti through the gash his Iron Blade had created, but now the two were struggling over the man's lance, which he was trying to drive through Lowen's leg. His Iron Blade smacked into the lance and knocked it away before he swung it around, creating another gash. He brought it back once more, creating a third and final gash, before the Knight batted him aside angrily with his armored fist. Lyn had her chance, dashing forward and stabbing into the small opening Lowen had created near the man's stomach. He grunted in pain, before bringing his armored fist down upon Lyn's head. "Huh?" She said in surprise, before her head smashed into the throne room floor.

"Lady Lyndis!" Lowen shouted, jumping at the armored knight. His Iron Blade stabbed into the man's shoulder, and for a moment the man seemed to give, staggering back and away from Lyn. As he did so, however, his reared his lance before stabbing forward, driving through Lowen's shoulder and sending the knight sprawling to the ground. As Lowen yelled in pain, Florina's Javelin flew in from the side, jabbing into the final slit Lowen had created with his Iron Blade. Finally, the knight fell to the ground.

"Lady Lyn! Sir Lowen!" Florina shouted, hurrying over to Lyn. Pulling out the Vulnerary from her friends dress, she began applying the medicine as quickly as she could, before heading over to Lowen. "I'll treat you now."

"Thanks." Lowen winced. "That didn't go as well as Will had hoped, I imagine."

"You're alive." Florina said. "That means it went as well as anyone could hope."

Hector, Eliwood and Lucius approached the leader who stood firmly next to the throne. "I am Bernard, Knight Commander of Laus." He declared. "I would test the might of the one who defeated Bauker."

"Lord Wallace was injured in the fight against your subordinate." Eliwood replied. "He is unable to fight at this time."

"Still living though, it seems." Bernard said. "I see. Come then, Eliwood of Pharae. I will fight you to the death."

Their battle began. Bernard knew it was a three on one and knew his odds of survival, yet still fought with the ferocity of a man half his age. Eliwood and Hector were saved twice by Lucius' masterful use of Light magic, before a dangerous javelin throw had forced him to retreat. With only Eliwood and Hector to fight, Bernard seemed to grow even stronger. Hector's Wolf Beil was in constant motion, trying to cause or prevent damage as he fought of the man's excellent spear and axe use. Eliwood's rapier seemed unable to find the weak point usually present on armored generals like this, as twice now his jabs had failed to pierce. Even so, it quickly became apparent that the older man was wearing down and when he finally lunged too far in an attempt to stab Hector with his lance, Hector grabbed his arm and put it into a lock. Without a word, Eliwood quickly stepped in, jabbing his rapier at the only exposed place left: the throat. "I'm sorry." Bernard heard the young lord whisper.

As blood filled his mouth, his let out a sad chuckle. "No need… this is the reward… for Laus' brutality…" His voice failed him as blood poured from it, falling to the ground. Castle Caelin had been retaken.

From the shadows, a woman with red hair sighed in relief. She was glad she had decided not to get involved during the battle. Unfortunately, she would now have to give her report. It was something she had been dreading ever since Ephidel left the castle.