The pair of spearmen in front of us are the first to go. Ross and Lute pair up against the first one, while Neimi and Franz deftly handle the other. Colm and Joshua easily handle an attacking myrmidon, while Artur cleans up a knight from the north. Eirika's rapier finds the heart of an archer. The first wave defeated, the plan becomes one to split up, half to the north, and half to the west, and I go west.

An armored knight moves quickly to block our path, but Charsi easily casts him aside, her Flux spell ripping flesh and armor apart like paper. We arrive in a new corridor in time to see... what the fuck?

Alright, it's official, my presence here has seriously screwed up something! I know for 100% fact that there were no GENERALS on this level, save for Tirado! But that's alright, because Ephraim's Reginlief is OP, as he clearly demonstrates for us. No, really Ephraim, that thing just ripped past, like, 18 points of Defense and 50 HP in TWO HITS! Then, he just looks up, sees Eirika, and runs forward.

"Eirika, you're alright!" He says, a wide smile on his relieved face.

"Ephraim!" She rushes forward to hug her brother, and I move forwards, past them, to give them some space.

And to help Currently-Nameless-Knifemage to fend off a quartet of incoming cavaliers. I give a curt nod to the pair of Renais cavaliers, and move forward, past their mounts, to... what.

What?

WHAT!

MOTHERFUCKINGSUPERNATURALDEITIESOFCHANCESPACEANDTIME!

ISWEARTOYOUTHATIWILLKILLALLOFYOUFORTHIS!

I'm not just in a Sacred Stones Self-Insert, I'm in my Awakening Self-Insert!

Alysia's paired knives flash as she parries a strike from a cavalier's sword, then she ducks under the lance of another, silver hair flowing behind her. I move forward, using my shield to intercept the sword of a third, and smile as Kyle and Forde finally realize that, oh hey, THERE'S FIGHTING TO BE DONE!

I cut out in front of my shield with my sword, then take a step forwards, keeping my shield up to block another stroke from the cavalier's sword. "My name's Andrew." I say to Alysia. "I'm with Eirika's force. I don't recognize you. What's your name?"

She sidesteps the lance of the cavalier in front of her, then rushes the rider, driving one of her knives into his horse's back as she levers herself up to drive the other into the rider's chest. "It's Alysia."

I nod, block another strike of my foe's sword, then deliver one of my own, cutting into his leg. He yelps in pain, and I deliver a second strike, this time a thrust to his stomach. I grit my teeth as my sword grates past his mail armor and into his gut, then retract it again. He falls from his mount and onto the stone floor. I take a glance around the room, and see that the would-be reinforcements have been defeated.

One impossibly long corridor crawl later, we arrive at the next batch of resistance. The shaman and archer prove to be especially annoying, but thankfully, we had Natasha on hand to heal up any injuries. And the General sitting in defense of the chest room ahead was no match for Reginlief. Once we find the cracked wall, it's simply a matter of smashing it in. Alysia produces a Lightning tome (technically, the game refers to it as a Thunder tome, but I refuse to call an electrical attack 'Thunder.') and blasts the wall out. We climb over bits and pieces of rubble and WHAT THE FUCK PALADIN! Shield!

"SHIT THAT FUCKING HURTS!" Drop to a knee and clutch at the spot in my side where the rider's lance oh God that's fucking warm and wet. It wasn't just some stab, the bastard fucking tore a hole in my side! There's a chunk of my flesh sticking to DEAR GOD WHAT KIND OF LANCE IS THAT? There's no tip on that thing! It's like someone slapped a bunch of nails and razor blades on the end of a really long stick! And why the fuck does it have a slight glow to it?

Well, I get pulled back for Natasha to heal, but that shit fucking hurts! I shut my eyes tight and brace myself for OH SWEET JESUS THAT HURTS TOO! Oh God that hurt! Ow! I shudder and pick myself up, giving Natasha a smile and a "thank you" before heading back into battle. We meet back up with the rest of the group, and arrayed against us are three Generals. A barrage of magic helps to soften them up for Alexi, Garcia, and Ross to go toe-to-toe with them. As they handle that fight, the rest of us filter into the throne room, where Tirado waits with... is... is that a BRAVE SWORD?

Seth steps forwards, Silver Lance held firm in his hand. "Tirado, this is your time of judgment. For the deaths of King Fado and my brothers in arms... For the destruction wrought by Valter in Renais... For the suffering of Renais and her citizens!" Seth flourishes his lance, and reins back his horse. "For all of your evil and that of Grado!"

Seth's lance hits Tirado square on his chest, even as Tirado tries to block with his sword. Tirado grunts, and falls to the ground, as his blood begins to flow.

"Seth, are you alright?" Eirika asks.

Seth takes in a deep breath, and nods. "Yes, milady. I'm fine."

"And what of you, brother?" Eirika asks. "Are you well?"

Ephraim sighs. "I worried you, Eirika. And you as well, General."

Seth shakes his head. "Milord, we are just glad to see you safe."

Ephraim nods. "I don't see Orson among your number. Is he-"

"Milord?" I say, stepping forward. "My name is Andrew. I am a mercenary under the employ of Milady Eirika. Orson... Sir Orson is dead, slain by Tirado."

Ephraim blinks. "What."

"Milord, we encountered Orson in the gatehouse of Renvall. He led us here, into the keep, where we encountered Tirado. From what I could piece together from their brief exchange, Tirado was using Orson's wife as leverage to force him to aid him in a plot to capture Eirika. When Orson asked Tirado for his wife..."

"She is dead as well?" Ephraim asks.

I nod. "Tirado claimed she lays dead in their hometown."

Ephraim nods. "Sir Orson was a good knight and a loyal husband." He says. "After we escaped from Renvall the first time, Orson was badly injured. He told us repeatedly that his injuries were only slowing us down and draining our resources, but we refused to abandon him. One night, he left himself. It pains me to hear that this sacrifice of his was in vain."

"No, milord, it was not in vain." Seth says, moving forward. "You are alive. You have helped us, and you moved swiftly to come to our aid. It is because Orson left that you were able to move as quickly as you did. In a way, Orson saved us."

"Ephraim?" A girl walks forward, her indigo hair adorned with golden ribbons, her eyes a deep crimson that seems to stare into my heart and soul.

Ephraim turns to her. "What is it, Myrrh?"

"A black tide approaches," she says, "larger than the sea, more numerous than the sands, and stronger than any army in Magvel."

Ephraim nods, and turns back to us. "We should get out of here." He says.

Eirika frowns. "Who is she, brother?"

He shakes his head. "A long story. Right now, we must move. Let us just say that Emperor Vigarde is meddling in otherworldly powers beyond any of us. We must go now!"

After days of travel, we return to Castle Frelia. While Ephraim and Eirika are at a war council with King Hayden, I decide to have a little chat with Alysia. I find her on a training field, drilling with her knives. She sees me coming, and stops her drills. "Andrew, right?" She asks.

I nod. "Alysia. I'd like to talk to you for a moment."

She nods. "What about?"

"Just a friendly conversation." I say. "Where are you from?"

She hesitates. "I... I don't know."

I frown. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I've little memory of my past, beyond scattered dreams and flitting images." She says. "My earliest memory is of Ephraim rescuing me from a group of Grado soldiers."

I nod. "Amnesia. At least it doesn't seem to have hindered your fighting skills."

She laughs. "Indeed. Were it not for that or my mind, I doubt I'd have come this far with His Highness."

I raise an eyebrow. "Your mind? Now, miss, we've one self-proclaimed savant already."

She shakes her head. "Not like that. I... think fast. Develop strategies and tactics on the fly, working ones. Useful ones."

"A tactician, then?" I ask. "With a working knowledge of knives and magic?"

She shrugs. "Apparently."

I nod. "Well, I hope that you learn the truth about yourself."

She smiles, and nods. "Thank you, Andrew."