When accepting Chrom's offer of joining the Shepherds, Lunearc had expected to be taken to their headquarters, and dropped off there as Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick spoke with the exalt and the other top brass of the nation.
He had most certainly not expected to be taken directly to the royal palace, directly north of Ylisstol's main square. Yet, it seemed to be exactly what Chrom had in mind for him as the group trekked up the hill leading to the extraordinary structure.
The castle had been clearly massive from afar, but up close… it was almost incomprehensible. The sheer scale of the building dwarfed any of the other buildings in the castle town, the size seemingly almost as large as an entire section of the city. The higher elevation of the castle compared to the rest of the city had contributed to this sensation as well, with the highest towers in the castle almost seeming like they were stretching into the heavens above.
"...You live here?" Lunearc gaped, astounded at how someone could live here, "This place is absolutely insane. There are only a few people in the royal family, right? Or is there a thousand more I don't know about?"
"It's just Emm, Lissa, and I in our little family." Chrom explained, chuckling as he observed Lunearc's dazzled reaction, "But it isn't like we are only ones who reside here. Many of our closest knights and officers have housing here, as well as the workers on the premises. Not to mention the constable, the steward, the marshal, and their respective families."
"Yeah, in hindsight, that does make sense. I feel like it'd be impossible to landscape and maintain a building this large without considerable help. And having the leaders of different areas of expertise nearby is a good idea to have as well." Lunearc rationalized out loud, in order to reinforce his own understanding, then paused as he narrowed his eyes, "Just to make sure my brain isn't completely fried, that's what those people are, right? Important advisors to the crown? I don't want to misunderstand something important."
"Uh-huh! Seems your head isn't as scrambled as your feared!" Lissa exclaimed, tapping the forehead of Lunearc.
Finally at the top of the hill, as Lunearc stared forward, he could spot a great wall surrounding the castle proper, spreading out around it for as far as he could see. With fortifications this impressive, any intruder would be hard pressed to make headway in sneaking in.
The only visible point of entry was a large gate, manned by a single gatekeeper. As the group of Shepherds approached, the gatekeeper visibly smiled, recognizing them instantly.
"Greetings, Prince Chrom and Princess Lissa! Oh, and Sir Frederick, too! Nothing to report here at the gates, they are safe under my watchful eye!" the gatekeeper beckoned to the Shepherds, beginning to amicably chat.
"Ah, hello there sir gatekeeper! How has your day been going? For my part, my day so far has been off the walls eventful!" Lissa responded amiably to the gatekeeper, and the two began to chat about all sorts of random things.
Eventually during a break in the conversation, the gatekeeper turned his attention to the newcomer of the Shepherds, Lunearc.
"I said before that there was nothing to report… but you seem like something interesting indeed! What is your name, friend? What brings you here?" the gatekeeper inquired, very curious about Lunearc.
"I'm Lunearc, it's nice to meet you." Lunearc answered, the gatekeeper's friendliness having an infectious quality that could put a smile on the face of any, including him.
"And Lunearc going to be our new tactician! Isn't that great?!" Lissa hopped in, still clearly celebrating the fact that Lunearc had finally accepted the position. She deserved to bask in the achievement, as it had not been an easy task to convince him.
"Then on my behalf, welcome, tactician Lunearc! Be sure to check out the libraries on the premises, there are all manner of fantastic books here!" The gatekeeper enthusiastically disclosed, then spoke once more, "I'm not sure how many of them will be relevant to whatever a tactician would be interested in… but I'm sure you'll find something you like!"
"Oh, thank you! I'll definitely be sure to check out the library." Lunearc thanked the gatekeeper, putting the task of going to the library in his mental to-do list.
Following the rest of the Shepherds into the gates, Lunearc bid adieu to the kind keeper of the gates with a smile and a wave.
While the proper castle building itself was massive, that had not even been accounting for the sheer distance of well maintained grass and shrubbery that the grounds consisted of.
But alas, the group had finally arrived to their long awaited destination: the doors of the royal palace. After the guards at the front of the building opened the doors for the group, Lissa promptly turned to look at Lunearc to see how he would react.
In Lunearc's eyes, the interior of the building had been more shocking than the view from afar. When up close to the palace, the pure quality of the engineering made itself obvious, with the quality materials used to build it including fine bricks, and polished stone of many different varieties. These materials had not been wasted idly, either. It was clear that master craftsmen had used this location as a canvas for their architectural muse, sparing no expense to create a masterpiece that would surely last the test of time, and definitely had been up to this point.
Then, the carpets blanketing the floor had such elegant displays and patterns, the weaving quality top notch as well. When Lunearc put his hand on the ground to feel it, an exquisite softness could be felt.
For the lighting, the engineers had designed the building to be filled to the brim with lamps, as well as many open areas where light would shine in naturally during the day.
"How old did you say this place was? It looks brand new." Lunearc inquired, impressed beyond belief as he took in every minute detail he could.
"The Ylissean royal palace was built during the height of the first exalt's reign, and this has remained the home of the royal family since. Over the years, certain areas may be renovated or added, but the builders take great care to keep the spirit of the building the same as it was initially envisioned." Frederick explained, but quickly changed the subject, "I understand it is very impressive, but you should walk rather than gawk."
"You're right. Lead the way!" Lunearc snapped back to reality, recalling the reason for being here in the first place.
As Chrom and Lissa navigated the palace hallways with the expertise expected of those who had spent their whole lives living there, Lunearc followed along, doing his best to keep his mind on important matters, as opposed to gushing over the beautiful classical architecture around every corner.
The path to wherever the group was headed was a complicated one to say the least, the many turns discombobulating any sense of navigation he would try to string together. The whole walk was a complete blur of gilded hallway one after another, and to one as uninitiated as him they all had the habit of blurring together into an amalgamation he could not comprehend.
The hallways themselves were full of motion, guards and workers inside the building being a common sight. As the group seemed to near the destination, what looked to be soldiers also could be seen, each sporting armor with the color scheme of blue and white.
When Chrom arrived at a set of double doors, he halted to an abrupt stop, grabbed one of the door's handles, and impatiently pulled it open with great force. The guard stationed at the door seemed none too surprised by this act, but quickly motioned to assist in opening the other of the double doors, in an attempt to prevent any possible further property damage.
Chrom, followed by Frederick and Lissa, quickly trekked into the opening between the doors. As Lunearc entered the room beyond the double door, the sight that laid before him had made the rest of the castle look almost paltry by comparison, though perhaps it was recently bias clouding his judgement on this case.
Ornate, gorgeous chandeliers hung from the heightened ceiling, glimmering light upon the sight below. Every wall had multiple banners hanging from them, with a color scheme exclusively of green, white, and gold. Colored stained glass windows were also adorned in multiple areas above, each of the individual sections telling their own section of the history of Ylisse. Among them, Lunearc spotted a blue-haired man enveloped in an artistic rendering of a stream of light, a sword in his hands that echoed familiarity in Lunearc's mind.
In the room itself, three figures could be visibly seen at the end of the room, currently in conversation with each other. Among them, Lunearc recognized the blonde-haired woman as the one who had been talking with the citizens in the town square. She must be Exalt Emmeryn, the older sister of Chrom and Lissa.
As Lunearc finally had an unobstructed view of her, he now was able to piece together the family resemblance between the three. Emmeryn shared the same brand that Chrom possessed, though in a different location on her body: the forehead. And the hair colors between the two sisters perfectly matched, as well. It seemed Chrom's blue hair was the exception, rather than the norm. Emmeryn's height was greater than Lissa's, and only a smidge below her younger brother.
On Emmeryn's left side was an older, durable looking man decked in heavy armor, head to toe, that Lunearc did not recognize. Where he had likely once had a fine head of hair, all that remained were graying roots of silver strands. Despite his apparent age, his barehanded fortitude seemed to radiate an aura that could make a polar bear beg for mercy. Strapped to his back was a massive axe, lending credit to the massive strength he possessed.
And on Emmeryn's other side stood a woman with short, light blue hair. While Chrom also possessed blue hair, his had been a far darker shade. She seemed to prefer lances, predominantly of the lightweight variety. The woman wore armor as well, though it seemed to mainly be condensed from the waist up. The garb she wore appeared to be very breathable, and almost seemed to be something one would wear if they were ready to go flying in the air.
Ha! What a silly thought. As if one could fly!
Being the first to enter the room after storming through the doors, Chrom waved as he spoke to the group ahead of him, "Hi Emm, we're home!"
"Emm!" Lissa exclaimed, bounding towards her older sister, a smile wide on her face.
As Chrom and Lissa moved toward Emmeryn, she motioned towards them, happiness alighting her face as she parlayed with her siblings.
"Chrom! Lissa! Welcome home, both of you. I see you've taken to rushing through the doors as usual, quite the signature entrance you've developed. Just please, try not to damage anything." Emmeryn kindly greeted their return, making light of how they decided to make their entrance, before turning her attention to the other of the Shepherds, "Oh, and good day, Frederick. How fared you all?"
While Emmeryn had not seemed to turn her attention to Lunearc, he could still feel the cold stares of those who had. Glancing to his side, the rustic archways that were throughout the sides of the room seemed to hide more than what could be seen with an untrained eye. This throne room was certainly more well guarded than what could be seen in plain sight.
"Well—we shouldn't have any bandit problems for a while. Or at least, that would be what I'd like to say, unless my fears are not unfounded… But overall, we have all returned, safe and sound." Chrom replied in response to Emmeryn's query of their travels, giving a brief overview of both the good and worrying.
"It is wonderful to hear none of you have been harmed. I am curious in what you mean by your fears, however… but I suppose that can wait for now. Are our people unscathed?" Emmeryn spoke, the compassion she innately displayed extending towards all of her people.
"Safe as they can be in these tough times, Emm. Many of the people of Southtown were injured, but luckily we had arrived before the scene became grisly." Chrom gave a report on the safety of the people on the town, before issuing a warning, "We need to increase our focus on the borders, as there is no doubt in my mind that the brigands had originated from Plegia."
Clearly anxious from the report of the incursion of banditry from the mountainous border pass of Plegia, the woman next to Emmeryn issued an apology to Chrom. "Forgive me, milord. My pegasus knights along with myself should have been stationed there to intercept them before they could cross over."
...Pegasus? Like, the mythological creature pegasus? What?!
Lunearc gave a look of confusion when the mythological creature's name was spoken of as if it were routine, common knowledge, but kept silent for the time being.
He felt as though he would have a difficult time speaking even if he had good reason to, as he felt completely and utterly out of place in this elegant throne room. He hadn't had the opportunity to clean himself or look even remotely presentable since… before he lost his memories? The only thing he could even somewhat count as a shower or bath was his accidental dive into the pond thanks to Lissa's surprise. Hardly enough to look presentable inside of a royal palace, especially with his current getup consisting of decrepit armor which had long passed the point of usefulness, and was most certainly not fashionable.
The cold stares from before had not receded either, so he had become even more self conscious of his own actions, knowing that one misunderstanding could land him in deep trouble. In fact… he could now sense the older silver-haired man's set of eyes as one of those stares.
"No, Phila. Your duty was here, with the exalt. Let the Shepherds handle whatever may come." Chrom stated, in retort to the "pegasus knight's" apologies.
"Yeah, leave it to us! We even picked up some great new help during our journey!" Lissa exclaimed, gesturing at Lunearc to make his presence known, "Lunearc did incredible in the fight against those gnarly brutes!"
"Ah, so that is the new companion you've brought with you?" Emmeryn asked, just now acknowledging the unexplained elephant in the room.
"That's correct. Lunearc joined us in the fight of his own volition, showing bravery under pressure." Chrom confirmed, before speaking of his plans, "I've decided to make him a Shepherd, and to have him train to become our chief tactician moving forward."
"How interesting. This is the first time I've seen you personally recruit a member of the Shepherds, Chrom." Emmeryn observed aloud, then spoke directly to Lunearc, "It sounds as though Ylisse owes you a debt of gratitude, Lunearc."
Being brought up as the center of attention was exactly what Lunearc had been hoping to avoid having occur, though now it was far too late to turn back. If he played it cool and collected, hopefully this would quickly pass. Resolving for that to be his plan of action, Lunearc replied in a humble fashion.
"Thank you, but I merely did what was the right thing to do in the situation." Lunearc hesitantly stated, unsure whether to accompany the statement with a courtesy, eventually deciding to stay still.
"Excuse me, but I must speak my mind on this matter." The sliver haired man spoke aloud, his deep voice reverberating throughout the hall, "I have never heard of one named Lunearc, not throughout any well known families, nor as a name in general. Are we sure this person is vetted to be acting in Ylisse's best interests? Do you know where his allegiances truly lie? And how did you find this fellow?"
"We cannot say much about his past, Marshal Balthasar. When we found him, he was unconscious on the ground, and had suffered from an amnesiac condition causing him to remember nothing but his name." Chrom replied, cautiously aware that his explanation may arise even more suspicion from the Marshal.
"Are you mad? Faking amnesia is one of the simplest plots to deflect blame and build sympathy! How can we expect to defend you from external threats when you invite them home?" Balthasar bellowed, at wit's end from stress, "Frederick, why didn't you stop him from making this decision before leading the snake into our den?"
"I must say Milord was insistent in the matter, even against my best wishes. Though for what it is worth, my doubts over the sincerity of Lunearc have lessened over time." Frederick explained, surprisingly coming to the defense of the amnesiac, "I have seen zero occurrences of behavior befitting of a spy or untrustworthy bandit, yet multiple cases where he has foolishly put his own life on the line carelessly to protect Ylisse."
It's great he came to my defense, but why must he add in the jabs at the end? Not that he is incorrect, but I'd rather not think about those close calls again…
"But even still, I can't condone such a decision! I cannot bear to see you hurt, my prince." Balthasar interjected, deeply concerned for his liege's health, and looked like he had more to say.
"Thank you for your input, Balthasar." Emmeryn stated, diplomatically deciding to cut Balthasar short, and turning to her brother with a serious, reflective expression, "Chrom. Does this man have your trust?"
"Yes. I trust him. He has thrown himself into battle head first to defend our people." Chrom resolutely stated, making his decision on this matter quite some time ago.
"Not to mention, he's literally saved my life on multiple occasions! I would not be standing here today if it wasn't for his timeliness…" Lissa weighed in as well, showing a unified front with Chrom, "He's absolutely worthy of my trust!"
"Well, it seems you have managed to gain the trust of both Chrom and Lissa, Lunearc." Emmeryn observed, a calm smile decorating her features, "And thus you have mine as well."
Still tongue-tied and unsure how to act in this situation, Lunearc offered a short, elegant reply, nodding his head in reverence.
"Milady."
"Hmph. I do not like this, but if all three of the royal family agree on this decision, it is my sworn duty to follow it." Balthasar spoke, clearly not thrilled with the decision ultimately made, "I just hope it will not come back to bite us in the future. And as for you, Lunearc. If I so much as sense you doing something untrustworthy, I will cut you down slow and painfully, to the extent that you would regret ever being b—"
"Thank you for your prudence, Balthasar." Emmeryn stated, before changing the topic, "Now then, was there anything else of interest you came here to speak about?"
"Yes, there is one more eerie development we have come across. In the forest directly south, we encountered creatures more dead than living, and highly violent." Frederick explained, turning to Phila to ask a question, "Phila, have there been reports of similar sightings that you have been privy to?"
"Those sound reminiscent of the undead propping up all across Ylisse." Phila answered, causing a chill of unease to fill the room.
Those remnants had not just been isolated to that single forest, but were all throughout Ylisse? It was a sobering thought, capable of bringing a sour mood to even those having the best of days. And today had not been the best day to begin with.
"We were actually planning to hold a council on that subject shortly. Your input on the matter will be valuable thanks to your firsthand experience, if you wish to join, Chrom." Emmeryn informed Chrom, to which he reacted with an understanding nod.
"Of course. I will prepare at once. It will be a good opportunity to raise my concerns about the bandits' strange organizations, as well." Chrom affirmed, seemingly beginning to formulate his list of topics to speak about.
Lunearc had seen Lissa visibly grow a mild look of delayed terror at the mention of the word council, clearly not interested in being a participant herself.
Curious to see how she would react next, Lunearc's attention lingered on her for a few moments longer. Her eyes seemed to wander as she looked for an excuse to escape from the upcoming council, before noticing that she was being watched by him. She quickly registered an idea, smiling as she turned to Lunearc.
"Hey Lunearc, I think that's our cue! C'mon, follow me, there's a place I want to show you!" Lissa exclaimed, practically pushing Lunearc out of the throne room, through the set of double doors.
Lunearc couldn't complain about Lissa's solution, as it would finally bring an end to the rather tense meeting, and away from the cold stares watching him from the shadows.
….….….….….….
Once out of the throne room, Lissa huffed a large exhale, thankful to be away before the council could begin.
"I really hate those council meetings. They always take soo long, and they are dreadfully boring. There's always someone with simply the most inane of irrelevant opinions, yapping away at how some other noble offended them in the most petty possible way. Simply a complete waste of time." Lissa complained, glowering as she reminisced over one of the dumbest excuses for a waste of time she'd seen, "When I waste time, I want to do it on my own terms, after all! What good is wasting time if you aren't having fun?!"
"If that's what those meetings are like, consider me to be extra grateful for you extracting me from that situation. Though, I get the feeling today's meeting would cover some rather important subjects." Lunearc thanked Lissa, but decided to expand upon his reasoning, "Anyway, I'm glad to be out of there quite a lot myself, although for another reason entirely. The amount of stares I was receiving were enough to make me get chills down my spine. In particular, I got the sense that Marshal Balthasar absolutely loathed my presence."
"Yeah, old Balthie acts that way around strangers all the time. He's just overly protective of us, that's all. He's been the Marshal for as long as I can remember, and likely even longer, so I've learned to get used to his furrowed brow." Lissa amusingly explained, using a rather unfitting nickname for the giant of a man.
"There's justifiably protective, and then there's "I'll rip your body in twain if you so much as come an inch nearer to me or anyone I'm in charge of safeguarding!" protective. Frederick can be categorized in the former group, but Marshal Balthasar is certainly the latter." Lunearc remarked, never hoping to be alone in a room with the Marshal any time soon, or ever for that matter. "But I now certainly understand why you, and everyone, think of Emmeryn so highly. Even from the rather limited interaction we had, it's obvious that she is a great sister, and leader."
"I gave her the title of best sister in the world for a reason, after all!" Lissa pronounced as she dashed between hallways at a breakneck pace.
"Where exactly are we going right now, anyway?" Lunearc asked, walking at a fast speed to keep up with the high energy princess.
"That's for me to know, and for you to find out!" Lissa exclaimed, fond of her surprises, as always. "Don't worry, you won't be waiting long, we're almost there anyway! It's a short walk."
"Hopefully the suspense won't knock me out first!" Lunearc joked, following Lissa blindly, as his sense of direction inside the palace was minimal.
Reaching a set of doors, Lissa practically threw herself against one of them, intending to open them. The tactic worked to perfection, with the doors opening with a bang, revealing the outdoor world once more. Perhaps it had been too effective, for some of Lissa's hair flopped over her eye.
"A flair for the dramatic, much?" Lunearc rhetorically asked, in response to Lissa's over the top movements.
"What can I say? I'm really excited, too!" Lissa responded, brushing her hair back into place, "Now c'mon! Let's get going! Pronto, mister!"
The next couple minutes consisted of hurried footsteps to wherever it was Lissa had decided to lead Lunearc, with the castle growing further away with each and every step.
Eventually, in the horizon an interesting building could be spotted, and Lissa seemed to be directly traveling towards it.
From afar, it looked to be a small military fortification, obviously somewhat old in stature but maintained quite well. Surrounding the building itself were flat plains and fields with training equipment strewn about.
For example, Lunearc could see training dummies holding mock weapons and armor, and targets lined up in a lane elsewhere. Those were simple enough to understand their purposes, but there had been even more than that littered across the field. A wooden structure with a bag hanging onto the wooden arm could be seen, and Lunearc was clueless towards its use, or the fact that it was called a quintain.
The creaking sound of Lissa heaving the garrison's door open quickly brought Lunearc out of his internal observations, his suspicions of this building being her planned destination ending up being accurate.
Lissa dashed inside, leaving Lunearc no choice but to follow her into this structure of mystery, unsure of what awaited him.
Shimmying her arms upwards and theatrically presenting the room behind her with a three hundred and sixty degree spin, Lissa exclaimed "Behold! The garrison of the Shepherds! I've been looking forward to showing you this place all morning. It's pretty sweet, right? Go on, take a look around!"
Deciding that Lissa's suggestion aligned with his instincts of curiosity, Lunearc immediately began to absorb the many details of the Shepherds' garrison.
Inside, the building had all the makings of a proper military fortification, with barricades placed intelligently throughout, likely to make the location more easily defensible.
Evidence of activity could be seen, with tools, equipment, iron weapons, and sharpening whetstones easily accessible around every corner. There was even a giant, unmoving set of armor standing tall!
In the sides of the room, tables with sturdy wooden chairs stood, books placed upon them. Some were currently open to a page, the absent reader evidently not finished using it to gain knowledge.
Near the center of the room, a pair of people could be seen chatting. One was a blond, tanned muscular man with a clear distaste for shirts, allowing his pectorals to stand alone under his scattered armor pieces at his hip and shoulders. The other was a woman with long, flowing brown hair, who sported exclusively purple armor and clothing. Of note was the head ornament on top of her head, which looked to be winged in nature, but more like a seraph's wings as opposed to a bird's.
Lissa's exclamations had seemed to gain the attention of both of the pair, who had interrupted their chat in order to turn and acknowledge the energetic Lissa. The tanned man seemed to be formulating something to say, but before he could verbalize his thoughts a separate woman ran to Lissa with all the speed and urgency of a cheetah at max velocity.
It seemed mono-color preferences for outfits continued to reign supreme, as this blond woman was covered in clothing decorated by pink coloration. Her appearance was that of a stereotypical noblewoman, complete with frilly clothing and parasol. Her emotions certainly did not line up with the stereotype, however, as she looked as though she could explode due to anxiety.
"Lissa, my treasure!" the woman worriedly exclaimed, stopping her sprint a few inches short of barreling directly into Lissa, "Are you all right?! I've been on pins and needles!"
"Oh, hey, Maribelle!" Lissa familiarly yet nonchalantly replied, seemingly unfazed by the noblewoman's – Maribelle's – worry.
Going by what Lissa said earlier… Maribelle was the daughter of Duke Themis? According to Lissa, they were quite good people. Maribelle certainly seemed to hold Lissa in an exceedingly high regard, quite beyond what was normal behavior.
"Aww, you worry too much about me! I'm totally fine, see?" Lissa stated, performing a little spin to show how every angle was totally unharmed, before adding an addendum, "… I'm really happy to be back to civilization, though. If I never had to deal with the bugs and bear barbecue again, that would still be too soon..."
"Bear barbecue?! What have you been forced into doing out in the wilds… oh no, this simply won't do, not at all! You need to consume a proper diet, right away!" Maribelle dismayed, alarmed at the obscure option in Lissa's available cuisine while traveling, "I'll make a bid to locate suitable sustenance for you posthaste!"
"Hmmm… I guess I am pretty hungry, it's not like I managed to down much of that bear. It was far too fishy! Figuratively and literally!" Lissa agreed with Maribelle's sentiment as her stomach grumbled, but still tried to motion the hurried Maribelle back, "But you don't need to rush on my account, Maribelle! Stick around for a bit!"
At the mention of the bear feast, Lunearc's stomach also started to rumble in tandem with Lissa's. It was already quite past midday, yet he hadn't had a morsel to devour since last night, aside from a few scattered pieces of bear jerky leftovers. Pulling some out, he nibbled softly to not interrupt the current conversation ahead. Lissa seemed to notice Lunearc's action in the corner of her eyes, but she did nothing to acknowledge it.
"Of course I'll keep you company, if that is what you are suggesting!" Maribelle excitedly exclaimed, jumping to conclusions quicker than an overexcited puppy, "We need to make up for lost time!"
"Hahaha, sure sure!" Lissa laughed, highly amused by her friend's antics.
Sensing an opportunity to finally speak – or perhaps he had finally thought of something to say – the tanned muscular man spoke to gain the attention of Lissa.
"Heya there, squirt! Where's Chrom at? Ol' Teach's muscles are itching for some action, and who better to go spar against than Teach's fated rival?" Vaike vociferously proclaimed, little going on between the ears save for physical combat.
"Wait, who's this "Teach"? Oh, is that the name you are going by now? You know a person isn't supposed to refer to themselves in the third person, right…?" Lissa confusedly inquired, trying to understand if Vaike was at all self aware, or if he truly was this witless.
"Don't be silly, the Teach is only a single person! Not three!" Vaike responded dimly, completely missing the point of the question sent to him in a way so stupid it almost looped around to actually being an intelligent comeback. Almost. It was clear that was not his intent, as he had responded with not a single hint of comedy on his voice, after all.
"And here I thought people were just born lacking wits, and now you're telling me you can teach it?" Lissa laughed, not able to withstand the pure lack of perception displayed by the "Teach".
At this point, the absentminded brown-haired woman interrupted the conversation, finally breaking her silence.
"Erm… ah… pardon me. When might we see the Captain?" The woman probed, acting highly self-aware and nervous.
"Poor Sumia. She's simply been concerned about Chrom since you all left yesterday, and hasn't maintained a steady stream of focus all throughout training today." Maribelle sighed, shaking her head as she recalled the bruises Sumia had acquired because of her distracted mind.
"Awww, Sumia, that's so adorable of you to worry endlessly over Chrom." Lissa teased, clearly hinting at the fact she understood exactly why Sumia had acted the way she had.
Being an amnesiac who was new to the group, Lunearc was completely clueless to why that was, and simply continued to wordlessly watch the conversation unfold.
"Huh? Worry?! Well… I… uh… Chrom's our captain and prince… so of course I'd worry!" Sumia defensively excused, the excuse so blatantly false that even the naive amnesiac of the group could see through it.
Then, suddenly, Lunearc's nose began to tingle slightly. He was feeling an uncomfortable urge radiating from there as he breathed in, and the tingling only grew more annoying. In the next moment, he could not hold back an awkward yet audible "Achoo!" as he sneezed.
Well, I guess I can now veritably say I recall what a sneeze is. Also, that it's not the best of ways to gain attention…
And just like clockwork, every single set of eyes in the room had set their sights on the sneezing Lunearc. Lissa, Maribelle, Vaike, and Sumia all had turned directly towards him.
Heck, even that set of armor seemed to be looking right at him! Wait… what? Wasn't it on the other side of the room a minute ago?
Giving an inquisitive glance, Vaike was the one brave enough to question the unexplained visitor.
"So, who's the stranger? And how's he got such impressive muscles? He's almost a match for Teach, and that's no small feat!" Vaike asked, giving a glowing physical observation.
"No one's stranger than you, Vaike. Though if anyone comes close, it'd have to be the person I'm about to introduce!" Lissa exclaimed, to which Lunearc gave a look of denial. Lissa quickly countered with a "you know it's true!" kind of glance, smiling mischievously as she shook her water-skin flask, and Lunearc quickly relented his refusal due to primal fear of a repeat drowning session.
"I've been waiting to do this all day!" Lissa exclaimed, seeming to grow more energetic and hyped up with each passing moment. "Everyone, meet Lunearc! The newest member of the Shepherds, and our new tactician! Chrom and I may have done a bit of recruiting out in the field, and we just so happened to meet him there. You'll be absolutely shocked when you see everything he can do, and the tricks he has up his sleeves! And I think he can do even more than what we've seen so far!" Lissa championed Lunearc, raising expectations far beyond what he was comfortable reaching.
Lunearc understood Lissa was trying to do this as a kind gesture of introduction to an unfamiliar group, but she definitely was making it difficult for him to live up to the lofty heights set. He'd have to tell her to tone things down a bit, later.
"Well, I'm not actually as interesting as Lissa says, but I hope to get to know you all well just the same." Lunearc tempered expectations, and offered a pleasant, humble introduction.
"And when Lissa says she recruited me in a field, she meant it quite literally." Lunearc joked, in part to assuage his own nervousness, and to bring some levity to the situation.
"Wait, what do you mean by that? Are you saying… you were found in a field? And what kind of tricks are you hiding?!" Maribelle exclaimed, starting to brandish her umbrella in such a way that was more akin to a weapon of war as her voice became uneven, "By my umbrella, I hope they aren't particularly nasty ones that would set a terrible example for my treasure to observe!"
"Oh, tricks? Teach knows a ton of those! Teach'll bet that the new Shepherd can't match Teach's ultimate technique! Watch and learn, future pupil!" Vaike bragged as he prepared to show off, obviously not understanding the type of "tricks" that Lunearc had been able to perform.
After a brief moment of agonizing suspense for what Vaike had planned, Vaike began to burp rhythmically as he put his left hand into his right armpit, and flapped the arm on the side of the armpit to produce a noise that sounded like a fart. Doing both at the same time, it almost sounded like he was creating music. Horrible, distorted music that probably shouldn't ever see the light of day, sure, but quite comical nonetheless.
Laughing louder than he expected from sheer surprise, Lunearc needed a second to formulate a response to the one man band.
"I didn't even know it was possible to make a burp sound melodic, but you've somehow managed to pull it off! Perhaps you do have the qualifications to be a "Teach" after all." Lunearc responded, praising Vaike's bizarre party trick.
Maribelle seemed to take exception to both the impromptu concert and the accompanying reaction to it, as she curled her face into disgust and narrowed her eyes as she went to vent her complaints in a scathing tongue.
"Ugh, Vaike! What was that?! No, wait, what that was, was simply abhorrent! Must you baseborn oafs pollute the air, in ever more disgustingly creative ways? If you had put quarter the amount of effort into improving your manners as you did with developing that stunt, you'd be much better off! Instead, you decide to only stray further from that noble benchmark with every passing moment." Maribelle scorned, then snapped her head to face Lunearc, a disappointed scowl adorning her facial features.
"And you, Lunearc! I'd have hoped that you were cut from finer cloth, but I see now I expected far too much from one who had been "found in a field", like a wild barbarian! Hmph!" Maribelle scoffed as she derided Lunearc, likely frustrated by the fact that yet another unsophisticated member had somehow managed to join the ranks of the Shepherds.
It wasn't like Lunearc would have been able to decipher what "proper manners" were in the first place, as if he had ever known them they'd have been erased as part of his memories, too.
"Lissa, darling, I'll go retrieve some food for you from the pantry forthwith. I cannot abide this group any more chance to prove themselves puerile." Maribelle uttered to Lissa, as she turned to leave the garrison in a huff of frustration.
"I thought I recalled you describing Maribelle as a "kind and friendly" person, Lissa?" Lunearc softly spoke as he glanced at Lissa, referring to the conversation about nobility that had taken place before arriving in Ylisstol, "She seemed to absolutely despise me from the drop of the hat. Did I do something to upset her so greatly...?"
"Don't take her words to heart, Lunearc. Maribelle can sometimes be a bit prickly around new acquaintances, and warms to people slowly." Sumia reassured, explaining that it was normal for Maribelle to act that way.
"Or she'll burn too quickly!" Lissa intervened in the conversation, not unable to resist the absolute layup of a pun, giggling to herself for a line perfectly delivered, "But yeah, just give her time to get to know you, and she'll show that she is indeed extremely friendly!"
"Speaking of getting to know you, tell us about yourself!" Sumia innocently inquired, bridging the conversation back to those present.
"As you know, my name is Lunearc. And I, how do I say this… don't know much else." Lunearc answered, telling and good and honest truth.
"Come now! Ol' Teach always says you should be open with your feelings, and to not hold back details! Teach knows you can give us more than that!" Vaike exclaimed, digging for more information.
"Well, I guess I can say I'm decent with a sword, and have some tactical knowledge…?" Lunearc responded as he scratched his head instinctively, not having much information to give in the first place.
"Decent with a sword? That's what Teach likes to hear! Teach'll have to test that claim on the training grounds, to see why Chrom likes ya so much!" Vaike energetically exclaimed as he cracked his knuckles, eager for a sparring partner.
"That's interesting, but I was curious about your interests and the like. What do you find fun?" Sumia rephrased her question, hoping for a more specific answer.
"Fun? Interests…? Hmm..." Lunearc questioned as he zoned out, completely unsure of how to answer in any form that did not include the words "I don't know".
What did he enjoy doing? He hadn't had much time at all to think about that. The past day had mostly consisted of fighting, eating bear, fighting, getting waterboarded by Lissa, and pondering over whether or not to join the Shepherds.
And that single day happened to be one hundred percent of the time that he could remember, so what exactly could he define as an interest? Drowning in ponds? No, absolutely not. Lunearc preferred breathing air. Maybe hating sheep could qualify? That's technically an interest, right? No, that won't work, it's too petty and bizarre.
Turning back to Sumia with wider than normal eyes, Lunearc was finding it impossible to respond with anything more than a questioning look.
"Ah, that's right! I forgot to mention he has amnesia. He can't remember a thing from before we found him yesterday." Lissa thankfully intervened in the awkward situation at the ideal moment, clearly reading that Lunearc was having a difficult time responding.
"Yeah, that's true. I have amnesia. I'm sorry, I should have explicitly mentioned that from the start. I don't really know much about my interests…" Lunearc confessed, but suddenly narrowed his eyes as he thought of something that may pass for an answer, "Unless… perhaps… Yes! That could work nicely."
"I'm not sure this counts… but… while I don't have many defined interests... I do have a dream for the future. I want… to be a hero. A proper one." Lunearc disclosed, completely embarrassed from his rather strange answer, "I know it sounds silly."
"...So that's why." Lissa inaudibly whispered, seemingly now understanding something that had been confusing her prior.
"That's a great thing to strive for! To be something like a knight in shining armor, going around the countryside to protect the innocent who cannot defend themselves… it's something I actually read about quite often in stories." Sumia gushed, highly interested in the subject of heroism.
"Oh, reading? I suppose there would be stories that covered such topics." Lunearc realized, mentally kicking himself for not realizing such a possibility, "You'll have to recommend me a good one sometime."
"The Teach knows nothing about this so-called "reading" thing, but if you're looking to be a hero, the Shepherds are the perfect place to be!" Vaike proclaimed, encouraging in his own, strange way.
"I've never heard of an illiterate teacher before, but I guess there's a first time for everything." Lissa laughed at Vaike, using far too complicated language for him to understand.
"Illiter-what-now? Who needs to read when action is the best way to learn?" Vaike retorted, with a surprisingly decent yet poorly thought out argument.
"For what it's worth, I think it's really valiant that your goal is to be a hero, Lunearc. I wonder if you had gotten that gallant inspiration from a certain someone… I can't help but wonder who that could have been." Lissa grinned as she teased with a knowing smile, which only had the effect of causing a deeper shade of red to venture onto Lunearc's cheeks.
At that precise moment, the door to the garrison slammed open, as Chrom walked in as though he owned the place. Which, in this case, was totally correct, seeing as how he was the Captain of the Shepherds and all.
"Hey everyone, I've finished up with all those meetings." Chrom announced, before noticing Lunearc's unusual state, "Huh, Lunearc? Why is your face so flush? Dehydrated again?"
"Don't even think about it, Lissa." Lunearc directed towards Lissa before she could prepare her water-skin flask for a return checkup, "I'm completely fine, Chrom. If you had been here, you'd have understood what happened."
"Well, okay then?" Chrom responded, not quite sure how to interpret what Lunearc was talking about, "If something is wrong, don't hesitate to talk to me."
"Thanks, Chrom. I'll do just that." Lunearc nodded, not having anything to hide besides his own prior embarrassment.
"Ah! Captain! You've returned! I was—I mean, we were so—" Sumia fumbled with her words, soon leading to her fumbling with her footsteps as she went to hastily walk towards Chrom, causing her to trip and take a painful looking dive.
"Sumia! Are you all right? Here, take my hand." Chrom extended his right arm to the fallen girl, who took his hand with blissful reverence.
As Chrom pulled her up, Sumia blushed harder than Lunearc had been, seemingly unable to respond with a straight answer to Chrom's concern.
"I'll take that as a yes." Chrom stated, not hearing any word of complaint from Sumia, before turning to the group, "The morning three days from now, we'll be marching to Regna Ferox in a bid for their strength, to help quell this new menace."
"Right, right. Regna Ferox… Reg-na Fer-ox..." Lunearc thought aloud, trying and failing once more to recall any details of the geopolitical landscape, "Nope, never heard of such a place before!"
"They're a nation to our direct North, built upon a culture of warriors. Typically in such a request for aid, the exalt would take the trek themselves. But should recent events with the Risen become common knowledge, the people would go into a furor if they found that the exalt had left the capital without an announcement. Thus, the Shepherds will lead this highly important task. It is strictly voluntary, so if any of you cannot go, that is accept—"
"I volunteer!" Lissa emphatically offered her services, not willing to wait through another moment of Chrom's speech.
Next, Vaike also volunteered his axe, followed by Sumia, though she had her hesitations over joining the active battle itself.
Even the suit of armor offered its services! Wait… what…? It can speak? Nah, must have just been the wind.
With the only one who had not given an answer being Lunearc, Chrom turned to him to hear his answer.
"Obviously I plan on going. I'm your tactician, after all! What kind of tactician doesn't travel with their captain?" Lunearc proclaimed confidently, accepting the mission without a second thought, before deciding to walk back his previous rhetorical question, "Then again, I don't exactly know much about other tacticians, so maybe it'd be best if you don't answer that. But yeah, I'm coming with you."
"That's what I like to hear." Chrom smiled, slapping Lunearc heartily on the shoulder, "But before anything else, there's a few orders of business we need to complete. It shouldn't take too long, but it'll need your full attention."
"Of course, lead the way, Chrom." Lunearc assented to Chrom's suggestion, turning to follow him closely as he began to move, leveling one final comment to the other Shepherds, "It was good to meet you all! I'll chat with you all some time later."
….….….….….….
(1/31/2023): Thanks for reading!
In the past month, I have been enjoying playing Portal 1/2 (beaten), as well as Fire Emblem Engage (not yet beaten).
Hard/Classic isn't too bad yet, but there have certainly been some moments of challenge.
I've been looking at Chapter 1 of Victory Fire recently, and I have some ideas for cleaning up the introduction.
As this story is fully in 3rd person, that first section being in 1st person is slightly strange. I'm planning on going through and just transitioning it from 1st to 3rd, while keeping the actual content and level of humor as unchanged as I can make it. Thoughts on this?
Oh, and also. I wrote a small little humorous one shot for the Cabbage Man from Avatar, check it out if you want :)