Author's note: This chapter brings one of the most interesting mysteries Fire Emblem 7 presents. Also, in a small continuation of the small amount of AU liberties with the story, you'll see something pretty different from the main game. Hopefully, after the Pegasus chapters, you'll like this one. If you skipped the previous two, know that Imprisoner of Magic's dialogue began very slightly at the end of last chapter, so there may seem like a small skip to you. It shouldn't be too bad, though.

Nintend101: It's certainly an interesting theory. I'll admit who is the descendant of which hero hasn't crossed my mind just yet, but I'll make sure to figure it out going forward. Don't be too surprised if you turn out to be right.

whitepriest27: Well, Will himself probably won't be doing much of the fighting, but yeah, Aion's going to regret his words.

Guest: I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far! As for Lord Elbert, I'm going to save that since it'd essentially be spoilers whether or not he passes. Weird that I've gone enough canon just enough to be able to say that now.

Pixelsaber: I'll admit, I wasn't entirely happy with forcing the story in the second half, but I couldn't really find any better way to do it. Also, pushing Pride of the Pegasus down until like... five chapters from now due to other chapters developing instead was something I wanted to avoid. So I finished it. And yes! All four of the Pegasus expendables (Sorry I know that's terrible to say) were based off other Fire Emblem games. You got one of them, the other three we'll see if you go back and check. Also Leila is a bit hazy and disoriented and may not even remember the events she witnessed clearly. She was nearly dead, after all.

If you review, thank you. If you don't, I hope you enjoy the story anyway. 'Tis why I write it.

Chapter 59: Imprisoner of Magic

To my dearest wife,

I hope this correspondence finds you well, for I write with wonderful news! In searching for a way to Valor, the so-called Dread Isle, I happened to stumble upon a young mage named Erk who invited me to join his company. It turn out they were traveling to Valor themselves to look for and rescue Lord Eliwood of Pharae's father!

Of course, it would be rude of me not to lend my considerable knowledge to such an admirable cause. However, I do wish we had more time. Our ride will only wait for us for two weeks' time once we arrive! This will leave little time for researching the mysteries of the island. I had hoped to find out more about these golden eyes humans people were claiming to see throughout Elibe as well.

Despite that, I do not regret my decision. Both young Erk and that Tactician William are very interesting mages in their own right. Erk studied under the Mage General of Etruria, if you can believe that! William, meanwhile, does not seem to fully remember when and how he learned magic, but his ideas for its uses are far more intriguing. He's proposed to me a theory of so called 'enchantment,' Where a magic user, by turning down their magical power or ones with lower magical power like William can imbue a weapon with the properties of that magic. If he's correct, this may be how Rune Swords were originally made! IN hindsight, it seems a simple solution, doesn't it?

I'm also quite curious in William himself. This… low amount of magical ability, I'm not sure I believe it's true. He has aptitude in all three forms of magic. I've already told him, but such a feat isn't possible for normal mages. In fact, the earliest previous example was the Archsage Athos, and even he only possessed Affinity for two kinds of magic. Most magic users eventually become able to channel healing as well as their magic, but not use two different forms. Archsage Athos could use both Light and Anima magic. William can use all three! How can I not be excited at the prospect of the birth of a new Archsage?

But perhaps I am getting ahead of myself. I know you would tell me not to rush, to take things one step at a time. Also, this Letter is running far too long and the pirates are eyeing me more suspiciously the longer it runs. I will have to end it here and hope they still hold onto it for me. I will send this just before our departure. Hopefully, in a little over three months, I will write a new letter to you.

Take care and I love you,

Canas

"I can see ruins up ahead." Matthew reported. "Is that the Dragon's Gate?"

Will, Eliwood and Lyn attempted to make out the shape Matthew pointed out in the distance, but none could say for absolute certain. Only Lyndis was able to see the hazy form Matthew was directing them to. Slowly, from just behind them, Ninian staggered forward.

"Ninian!" Both Will and Eliwood cried in surprise. Eliwood hurried over and offered her an arm to lean on. "Are you alright?"

Ninian shook her head. "I had to… Tell… Beware! Enemies come!"

"Enemies?" Eliwood asked in confusion.

"Lyn!" Will shouted suddenly, summoning a fireball and throwing it into the fog. A moment later, a black cloaked figure emerged, his cloak protecting him from the fire as he laughed. "Eliwood of Pharae… Prepare yourself!"

He fired a blast of dark magic, Which Lyn barely managed to deflect with her sword. Eliwood attempted to retreat with Ninian, but several more shadowy troops appeared from the trees. "We won't reach the Dragon's Gate if we end up on the defensive!" He called to Will. "We should find their commander and attack!"

"Will, I'm spotting a couple ruins in our vicinity." Matthew said calmly. "Could their commander be in one of them?"

Will glanced up at the sky. Despite the fog that fell on the island, the sky above was clear. He could actually see the night above them. What worried him was how far morning was. The fog would clear somewhat during the day, which would have made this fight much easier. As it was, he couldn't be sure how well the Fang knew their position. They'd have to figure it out as they went, he supposed. "You're probably right, Matthew. I only wish I knew which one."

A bolt of lightning struck down, narrowly missing the tactician as Matthew tackled him out of the way. "Damn." The thief cursed. "They've got a Bolting spell."

"I've heard of that magic." Will said. "Some of the most powerful thunder magic, it can hit people over a mile away. However, it requires a large amount of magical power and cannot be used in quick succession."

"What are you, a magic student?" Matthew groaned.

"Somewhat." Will replied. "If he's using such powerful magic, we should be able to find him in the ruin with the most open space for his casting. However, we need to be careful not to get hit. If we get hit… I doubt we'll survive."

"I'm not too confident against magic." Matthew sighed. "I don't like how quick and nasty it is for normal fighters. But we'll have to deal with these guys around us if we want any hope of catching the big guy."

"You could always hide in the back." Will said, chuckling. "Give us a nice heroic tale of how Matthew fled for his life."

"Low blow, friend." Matthew said, though he sounded amused. "But I can't save your sorry arse from the rear."

"Now you're sounding like Hector." Will chuckled again.

"Well, the vassals do take after the lord to some extent." Matthew grinned. "Now let's do this."

"Kent, Sain, Marcus, Lowen!" Will shouted to the front. "You all accompany our magic users! Protect them! Make sure Lucius has clear lines of fire! Erk, these are shamans, so you may be at a bit of a disadvantage, but if you team up with Canas you two should be able to make headway! Serra, stay with them! You may be able to pick up some light magic from Lucius!" He spun to the rest. "Hector and Oswin, as much as they'll hate me for it, will need to stay back and protect Merlinus, Leila and Ninian. Meanwhile, I need everyone to group up here with us. We're going to make our way south around these small mountains. Trying to cross them while our enemy possesses Bolting is foolish!"

"Got it." Eliwood said firmly. "I'll bring Hector the bad news and make sure Ninian gets in the caravan."

"Thank you." Will said. "Find at least one partner and don't let yourself get separated in the fog! If you need to, hide out in the forest until daylight! By then, the sunlight will return!" Uhai's shortcut paid off, but I'd rather not spend too much time here. While only three days may have passed, that means we have barely eleven left.

Hector swung his axe idly. It was just his luck to be stuck in the back this time. He supposed Will had a point. He and Oswin's armor often stood up poorly to magic. Yet he had still brought Wallace, so Hector felt there was a bit of favoritism flying in the air at the moment. To be fair, if most of the enemies were magic users like Will was suspecting, he didn't enjoy fighting them all that much anyway. After what happened with Uhai, however… Hector grit his teeth, swinging again.

"Lord Hector." Oswin said calmly.

"What now, Oswin?" Hector growled.

"I was watching you just now." Oswin began.

"Of course you were." Hector sighed.

"I merely wanted to say you're in top form today." Oswin said with a small smile. "It's good to see."

"So, you finally opened your eyes to the truth!" Hector said happily.

"The way you wield your axe shows how hard you've trained with it." Oswin admitted. "Where did you learn?"

Hector stopped practicing, turning to Oswin curiously. "Where? In the ring, of course. You know I love that place. I used to sneak out of class almost daily to fight."

"So, you fought your peers in the ring." Oswin sighed. It was just like Hector to give up studies in favor of a fight.

"Yeah yeah…" Hector waved his hand. "Just… don't let my brother know, alright? I had to threaten the teachers and every- oh."

"Ah, now I have you!" Oswin declared triumphantly. "I thought you might be disobeying Lord Uther. The brother of Marquis Ostia, fighting in the ring… What would your brother say if he were here right now!"

"Fine!" Hector said quickly. "Fine, I get it! Just please don't tell him."

Oswin grinned. "Perhaps we can work out an arrangement… Do you promise never to go to the ring again?"

Hector slapped his head. He had walked right into that one. He really didn't like getting himself blackmailed like this, but considering the alternative, there wasn't another choice. "Fine. I'm out. Done. On my honor as a man, I won't return to the ring!"

"Of course you won't." Oswin chuckled.

"Ill-hearted old man…" Hector grumbled.

"Not to correct you a second time, milord, but I'm only in my thirties." Oswin said with a serene smile. "I would think 'ill-hearted gentlemen' would be more appropriate."

"Huh?" Hector asked, surprised. "Thirties? Wait, you're lying right? You must be joking."

Oswin merely shrugged in response.

A few hours passed in slow, monotonous silence. After Erk, Lucius and Canas had taken out the Shamans attacking them, the main group had moved forward in complete silence. Will was with Lyn, Eliwood with Guy, Matthew with Raven, Fiora and Florina stuck together since they would fly or land together, And Wallace protected Priscilla, who was their healer for now. Dorcas, Bartre and Dart made up and interesting trio, though Wil and Rebecca stuck close to them so it was more of a quintet. Using the tree foliage as their cover, they had finally managed to creep down south far enough to see their path past the mountains.

"There are some small ruins to the south." Will said. "Lyn and I will check them out. The rest of you hold position. I'll send up a fireball if we need aid, so be ready."

The rest of the small group nodded and Lyn placed a hand on Will's shoulder. "Are you sure?"

"We need to check it out." Will said. "If the layout is anything like the other ruins where our enemy is hiding… it may give me some insight on how to find him."

"Got it." Lyn said. "Then stay beside me."

"Of course." Will replied.

They entered the ruins, a strange sense of presence gripping them both the moment they set foot inside. "How many?" Will asked.

"I don't feel a drastic change in the wind…" Lyn said. "Either many people left here recently, or one or two people have lived here a long time. It's hard to say."

"Do we take the risk?" Will asked.

"Who are you?" A calm, deep voice asked from just behind the duo, making both of them jump. Lyn quickly pointed her blade at the person, while Will answered.

"I think the more important question is who you are." He said. "You're dressed like a Bishop, but no follower of St. Elimine would remain on this cursed Isle."

The man, who was indeed dressed in a Bishop's garb, laughed. It was soft, but the sound was hollow. His stark white hair looked unkempt and he held a staff in his right hand. "You may believe that. Yet, here I am all the same. Would you deny your own eyes?"

"Not deny." Will said. "Question, perhaps."

"Semantics." The Bishop replied. "Wordplay to prevent your enemy from attacking while you feel out your strategy. A tactician, then? Where did you study? Bern, I presume."

"Self-taught." Will replied. "You don't appear to be with the Black Fang. Otherwise you'd have attacked us already."

"Ah." The Bishop seemed to understand. "You are… no, I shouldn't guess. Guesses make fools of us all in the end, isn't that so?"

"If you are not with the Black Fang, then why are you here?" Lyn asked.

"I believe I'm justified in saying I do not wish to share that information." The Bishop replied.

"I see." Will replied. "Then what will you do? Leave the battlefield? Fight us?"

"Hmm…" The Bishop crossed his arms thoughtfully. "I likely cannot convince you to lay down your arms."

"We're under attack at this very moment." Lyn replied. "Unfortunately we cannot comply."

"I see." The Bishop nodded once more. "Hold a moment." The Bishop placed a finger softly to his forehead. Was he thinking about something?

"Will, this man is… he does not seem to be our enemy." Lyn whispered.

"I know." Will whispered back. "Even so, best to be safe. I'd rather him leave to safety than remain if he is an innocent. How he got here though… That's a question lingering in my mind."

"I wish I could simply tell you to not worry about me and be on your way." The Bishop said, opening his eyes as he brought his hand down. "However, I believe you would be unable to do that. To that affect, allow me to join you."

"What?" Will asked in surprise.

"I am a Bishop, after all. I can heal wounds for your party. I'm also quite proficient in light magic as well." The Bishop said. "You may refer to me as Renault, unless you prefer my title."

"Well, not that we couldn't use the help…" Will began, his thoughts swirling. "If I do this, will you agree to a guard for the time being? I need to ensure you aren't a Black Fang spy of some sort."

Renault nodded. "Of course. That is an easily accepted term."

"Then, for the time being, welcome aboard, Renault." Will said, extending his hand.

"Thank you for your trust." Renault said. "I shall not let you down."

The group outside was thoroughly surprised to see Will and Lyn return with another person in tow. Renault bowed politely and introduced himself. "For the time being, I've decided to trust him. However, I want Wallace to be guarding him just in case."

"You've got it, laddie." Wallace said with a grin. "Count on me."

"Oh." Renault said, eyeing Wallace with surprise. "You're… no. Once again I look outside my bounds. An honor to be guarded by you, Sir Wallace."

"Yeah… nice to meet you too." Wallace said suspiciously, eyeing Renault with a bit more concern.

"Let's keep moving." Will said. "The sun is almost up."

"Oh, is that so?" Renault asked in surprise. "Then you may not need to worry about that magic user with Bolting for much longer."

"What do you mean by that?" Will asked.

"Once in a while, a being emerges from beneath the island." Renault said cryptically. "I do not know all the details, but when it does emerge, all magic ceases to work around it."

"Wait… All magic?" Will asked in surprise. "And you're sure of this?"

"I cannot claim one hundred percent accuracy." Renault admitted. "Time here does not seem to follow a natural flow."

"Florina!" Will shouted, hurrying over to her. "I need you to head back to the first group and warn them. If Erk, Lucius and Canas are fighting and magic suddenly stops working, it could put them all in danger!"

"Got it." Florina said firmly. "See you later." She reared her Pegasus, flying off into the sky back towards their base camp.

"The rest of us will push forward." Will said. "Priscilla, Renault, if your magic stops working, let me know."

"I don't need to." Renault said calmly. "The effect has just begun."

Aion collapsed to one knee, his breathing becoming heavy. He hadn't used Bolting that much, had he? No… it was something else… "Wha-what? The magic power of this place… the source is… distorted! I can't use any magic!"

"Lord Aion!" One of the troopers just outside shouted frantically. "Disaster! The Magic Seal!"

"The magic- curses!" Aion spat. "That good-for-nothing has shown his face? I'd not forseen this!"

In the ruins, just near Aion's own troops, a strange red robed creature sat, staring into the morning sky. Around him, four golden eyed warriors patrolled in a circle, protecting it from any and all threats. It opened its mouth, but no sound emerged.

Without their Magic, only the heavily armored knights Aion had were of any trouble. While Bartre, Dorcas and Dart handled them with some back up from Fiora and Eliwood, Will, Lyndis, Guy and Matthew led Rebecca and Wil carefully into prime position. The leader, panicking over the loss of his magic, seemed to be directing units to track down the source.

"Thunder… thunder! Damn it! Even rudimentary spells are beyond me!" The man cursed.

"Can you get him?" Will asked.

"You ready, Rebecca?" Wil asked, drawing back his bow.

"Of course I am." Rebecca replied. With a wordless nod, the two fired their shots in unison. A moment later, the enemy commander collapsed to the ground, one arrow in his chest and another through his eye.

"Good. Come on guys, we'll mop up the rest. Then we need to find that thing that's sealing our magic." Will said.

The mop up went smoothly. All but a small group up north had been cleared, which they had planned for. Thanks to Matthew's scouting, he reported four enemies surrounding a strange creature in a red hood, all with glowing golden eyes.

"We've come across them sooner than I'd wanted to." Will muttered. "We know they die thanks to information Fiora provided, but it isn't going to be easy. Four people will have to take one each while everyone else concentrates their attacks on driving away that red robed creature. I'm betting that's what's blocking our magic."

"So even you can't use magic right now?" Lyn asked.

"Yeah. I thought since my magic was weaker it wouldn't bother me as much, but my head is beginning to feel a little dizzy." Will replied, placing a hand on his head. "That's why I want to finish this quickly."

"We're going to need the best to handle them, then." Lyn said. "Two of them carry bows, while the others are heavily armored. How should we handle it?"

"I'm… not sure." Will said. "We've been warned these things are exceptionally strong, so…"

"I can handle a heavy knight." Eliwood announced suddenly. "My rapier is meant exactly for fights like this."

"I can handle one of the Archers." Wil said. "It won't be easy, but I think I can handle it."

"I can handle the other heavy knight, Laddie." Wallace said confidently. "So long as leaving these two alone for a bit is fine." He jabbed his finger to Renault and Priscilla.

"We'll risk it." Will said. "Priscilla, keep yourself safe."

"Right." Priscilla said.

"I'm the least injured of us Axemen." Dart said confidently. "Let me take the other heavy knight. Least that'll give me something to tell the captain."

"I'll take the other archer!" Rebecca suddenly announced.

"Are you sure?" Will asked.

"I know I don't always have the most confidence," Rebecca said, "But I can do this."

"Alright then. The rest of us are to concentrate attacks on the red hood and drive it away, at the very least." Will said. "Everyone ready?"

The group nodded.

The four drew away the four Golden eyes warriors, and the battles began. It would've been nice to double or triple team these enemies, but Will was right. Getting rid of the Magic Seal so Priscilla and Renault had access to their healing would be key if any of them screwed up and needed saving.

Not a pleasant thought. Wil mused to himself, as he drew his bow. The first archer, spotting his bow, followed suit. "Let's see who draws faster."

The two began their duel. Firing the first shot, Wil was confused when the archer didn't make a move to dodge. The arrow bounced off his chest armor, which was another issue entirely, but the archer didn't seem to care, drawing its bow and firing an arrow of its own. Wil threw himself to the ground and the arrow rocketed over his head, so fast that he could not be convinced it was fired by human hands. Wil jumped to his feet, grabbing another arrow and firing just before the archer fired its own. However, the archer's arrow barreled through Wil's, and he barely sidestepped the second shot. Yup, definitely not human.

"Quality is not going to help me here." Wil muttered to himself. "Fine. Quantity it is."

He grabbed three arrows, drawing them all at the same time. Aiming just towards the rising sun, he fired them into the air before once more throwing himself to the ground. As he predicted, a third shot rocketed over his head once more. A moment after that, his arrows fell from the sky, piercing the enemy's shoulders on both side with one arrow each. The third missed, falling into the grass. However, the two shots did cause the archer to drop its bow. Wil quickly drew another arrow, drawing the bow taut as he tested the limits of its steel. He fired the last arrow, which pierced through the archer's chest armor and dropped him to the ground.

"You're mine, swine!" Dart shouted, smashing his first axe into the Heavy Knight's rough armor. The second axe came down just as swiftly, but the enemy's lance batted him back. "What the hay?" He shouted, confused.

The Heavy Knight's lance arm pushed forward with such force that, even though Dart blocked, he was pushed back several meters by the sheer force of the attack. The Golden Eyed Warrior continued to lumber forward after the attack, raising its lance to attack once more.

"Cap'n will have me head for this!" Dart shouted angrily, before slicing down with his axe. It met the lance as it attacked, and Dart nearly felt his legs give way under the force of the blow. Bringing his second axe around, he sliced the lance head from the weapon. For a moment, the heavy knight seemed to show some modicum of emotion, pulling the broken lance back. Dart leapt on that moment, slamming his axe into the shoulder joint of his opponent. Not wanting to risk the fight continuing, he brought his second axe into the enemy's exposed neck, ending its life. "Not much of a fun fight, that." Dart gasped.

Eliwood jabbed his Rapier through the exposed neck of his opponent at nearly the same time as Dart. Luckily, these enemies were not very fast, nor did they seem particularly intelligent. However, their strength was completely out of this world. His opponent had only hit him with the side of the lance once during their duel, but Eliwood had nearly fallen to the ground in a faint from how much his head reeled from the blow. Even so, he'd need healing rather quickly. For the moment, he began to apply a Vulnerary to stop the flow.

Rebecca staggered back as she managed to avoid the barrage of fire coming her way. Each arrow felt like it had been shot from a cannon, each one getting closer and closer to piercing her. She had fired back, but each time it felt like her arrow got weaker and weaker, bouncing off the enemy's armor to the point were she wasn't sure she could aim at anything else. Looking over, she saw Dart and Wil, breathing heavily, but standing over their defeated enemies. She couldn't be the only one left behind. Otherwise, why had she ever come in the first place?

Gripping her bow, Rebbeca slid under the next arrow, feeling her hair whip back wildly as she approached her opponent. If long range wasn't going to work, she had to risk a close confrontation. Drawing her bow, she fired and arrow into the enemy's left shoulder. It didn't react, merely pulling back its bow for another shot. Rebecca dived to the side, avoiding the arrow by mere inches as she grabbed another arrow, notched it, and fired into its leg. It wobbled unsteadily, but once more drew its bow as it aimed at Rebecca, still on the ground from her roll.

"Not this time." She growled, already with another arrow in hand. She fired and just as the opponent began to let go of the bow's string, it snapped in two as Rebecca's arrow whizzed just past its ear. It looked down at its bow, confused, before Rebecca closed the gap between the two of them, shoving an arrow as hard as she could into its eye socket. Being covered in blood was absolutely disgusting, but the enemy fell to the ground, dead. She had managed it.

As Will's team suddenly descended upon the red hooded figure, it looked at them curiously with its head tilted to one side. A moment later, it vanished from sight.

"Is everyone alright?" Lyn asked, particularly of the four who had fought the golden eyed enemies. Priscilla and Renault had already begun to work, healing Dorcas and Bartre's injuries sustained while fighting other heavy knights. They didn't know how or why the figure had vanished, but for now they would count it as a small victory. At least magic was working again.

"Somehow." Rebecca chuckled cheerfully.

"I don't see why you're so happy." Wil muttered. "That was frickin' scary."

"We managed it, didn't we?" Dart said confidently, pumping his arms enthusiastically. "It's not so impossible."

"No, it isn't." Eliwood said with a smile. "But I must admit, I'm not overly eager to test our luck again."

"Fiora, can you get the others?" Will asked. "Let them know everything's fine now."

"As you wish." Fiora said, hopping onto Apples and taking to the sky.

"It's oddly empty, this island." Eliwood commented. "After fighting Uhai, I expected resistance in the hundreds, yet we've barely fought fifty."

"You're right." Will agreed. "That is strange. Maybe the forces on the island have moved?"

"That would be strange in and of itself." Lyn said. "As scared as they are, I think Badon would've noticed a foreign boat carrying golden eyed warriors."

"Unless they didn't go to Badon." Will said. "Are there any other ports you know of?"

"Well, Elibe isn't a huge continent." Eliwood said, crossing his arms. "I don't think it would be a stretch to think Etruria or Bern have ports."

"Bern…" Will muttered. "I suppose that's the most likely one. For now, I'll just count ourselves as lucky and hope our enemies are less prepared than we are."

"Will!" Came a shout. From above, Florina landed and dismounted quickly. "I saw Fiora along the way, but there's news I need to relay to you immediately."

"What happened?" Will asked.

"It's Ninian." Florina said. "We don't know how, but she's gone missing!"