"Ike, we have to do something before they end up slaughtering us." Tibarn stated, with his large, brown wings flapping as he floated above the ground. The Phoenician King was awaiting the blue-haired mercenary's answer to his statement, but Ike simply faced forward, looking at his surroundings.
Ike turned his head to see a Daein myrmidon slay a cat laguz, while a ballistician fired an effective shot at a hawk laguz, clipping its wings. He saw Mia engaged in a close duel against the Dawn Brigade's red-clad trueblade named Edward. Now, as he turned his head to the side, he saw Titania take on Zihark, one of his own former allies.
Ike sighed, but knew he had to keep his head held high. If they had conquered Nox Castle, they would be able to finish the war quickly, and less blood would be shed upon the already-soiled grounds of Daein. He held the golden blade of Ragnell in his hand, ready to cut down any person that wished to cross him. However, he just couldn't help having the feeling of doubt in the back of his mind.
Edward swung Caladbolg at Mia's shoulder, managing to scratch it slightly. However, Mia never felt a thing; her adrenaline was at a high from this battle, and all she focused on was winning this battle, even if she would be cut down after it. She gripped Wo Dao, and swiped at Edward's arm. Edward just barely dodged the blow, as he parried. This left Mia open, and in that moment, Edward made his move.
Edward felt a green energy overtake his blade, and he made various movements with it before finally facing it towards Mia. He swiped his blade at her, and did it again. In his third slash, he turned, allowing him to strike at Mia swiped it. Then, he flipped, slicing Mia upward, before rushing in for his final blow. He rushed forward to swipe at her, as she fell to the ground with tattered clothes and blood.
Mia felt her heart start to race, and pain start to fill every corner of her body. She looked up to the sky as blood flowed out of every cut, while the opponent that had defeated her simply walked away, albeit sored. Mia looked up at the clear blue sky, and doubts began to fill her mind about whether this was worth all of the pain and the bloodshed that was happening. She closed her eyes, but could feel a person pick her up. She felt her body being moved to the back, and, when she opened her eyes, she saw Rhys holding a Mend staff, above her, despite him being visibly sick. Mia felt some of the pain get soothed by Rhys' powerful staff magic. She noticed all of her fellow mercenaries there, with injuries just as bad as hers, if not, worse. Mia simply sighed, and closed her eyes once more.
"You fought with us last time, Zihark! How could you betray us, and kill laguz instead?" Titania yelled at the silver-haired trueblade in front of her. Zihark paid no heed to her words; he blocked them out, and only focused on taking out one of the Greil Mercenaries' top gold knights. He swung his Killing Edge at her leg, managing to slice it through the chinks of her armor. The red-haired gold knight winced in pain, but gripped her Tomahawk. She ran away, and threw the golden throwing axe at Zihark, while the latter sidestepped to avoid the powerful axe.
Titania felt the cold wind and the low temperatures of Nox Castle increase their effect on her. Her pale face felt numb, but she didn't focus on her own personal well-being. Her main goal at the moment was to defeat the Daein opposition here, and to defeat the Begnion Senators. She felt her pulse rise, and her adrenaline increase with the rush of battle, and she hurried over to Zihark; this moment of restlessness would be her downfall.
Zihark took the moment when he had the chance to; he sidestepped Titania's attack by rolling to the side. While he rolled, he managed to get a clean slice on Titania's leg, causing some blood to fall to the snowy ground. As Titania winced in pain, Zihark rolled behind her horse, and sliced at her back, albeit not deeply. Finally, he rolled to her other side, and sliced at her left hand, causing her to let go of the horse, and to fall off. The red-haired gold knight was now on the ground, horseless, and powerless. Her axe was at her side, and Zihark kicked it away, before leaving the girl there. Wordlessly, he left the battlefield as he noticed the large absence of Greil Mercenaries.
"Ike, the situation is worse than we thought-"
"My friends are getting healed by Rhys right now, Tibarn. I know how bad it is. Their marksman just shot Mist, while Mia and Titania were defeated by their trueblades. Rhys, who has come down with a fever, is just healing all of my other mercenaries. We can't win against them, Tibarn. The Dawn Brigade are too powerful. We underestimated Micaiah's forces." Ike interrupted Tibarn. A hawk laguz was just killed in front of them; its hazel feathers fell to the snowy ground, before being covered by the body of a dead cat laguz. The numbers of Ike's army were falling fast, and Ike needed to do something quickly in order to secure victory. The blue-haired mercenary tried to remember the various tactics that Soren had tried to teach him, but, in the rush of this battle, he couldn't think quick enough.
Micaiah noticed the last of the Greil Mercenaries fall to the Dawn Brigade, and she smiled a relieved smile. Her golden eyes eyed the battlefield, noticing the laguz being cut down left and right. She felt a pang of guilt and remorse for the slaughtered laguz, and she knew that her friends did as well; the blood pact had taken too many lives as it is. The silver-haired maiden began to think about Pelleas' decision to end his own life. Fortunately, Micaiah had convinced Pelleas to try and find Lekain, and destroy the blood pact by killing him.
"General Micaiah, the forces of the laguz alliance are weakening! The Greil Mercenaries have been defeated, except for their commander, Ike." The bow paladin from before told her, before rushing off to kill more laguz. Micaiah gave out a sigh of relief, as she walked closer to the ledge of the battle, gripping her Purge tome. She knew that she had to be the one to finish the battle; Edward, Leonardo, Aran, Laura, Jill, Zihark, Meg, Fiona, and the others would not be able to stop him.
Ike noticed Micaiah staring at him, with a tome in her hand. His eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen, and he began to call out to Micaiah.
"Micaiah, we have to talk. This is insane."
"What's insane about a person fighting for their country?"
"There's got to be something we can do! Let us help, please!"
"Why would you want to help us, after everything we've done? No, after everything I've done…"
"We know you don't want this fight to go any further. Enough lives have been taken. Can't there be a way for us to avoid it?" Micaiah thought about Ike's question for a moment. A deathly silence fell between the two as the battle raged on besides them. She thought about all the lives she had taken for Daein's cause, and all of the blood that had been shed because of her. Micaiah thought about Pelleas, Sothe, and all of her friends. With her mind cleared, she answered with certainty.
"No, I'm afraid there isn't. We've done too much to give up everything now, and my friends and I have sacrificed too much to give up here and now."
"But, Micaiah…!"
"I'm so sorry, Ike…Sothe always knew you were a good person, and this just makes what I have to do even harder. May the Goddess forgive me…"
"Micaiah…" With these final words, Micaiah knew that the conversation between them was over. She gripped the Purge tome tightly in her hands, and began to speak the enchanted words that would, hopefully, bring her opponent down. Micaiah closed her eyes, focusing all of her energy into one place. She opened her golden eyes, and stared at Ike, who was her target. Micaiah felt a surge of energy rush through her, signifying that this attack would be at least three times as powerful than normal.
"Light of Life! Shine a ray upon my path and strike my enemy!" Micaiah spoke in the ancient tongue as the spell was cast. Micaiah's hands moved, creating magic circles around her, showing the power of the attack. A circle of light surrounded the blue-haired mercenary, who looked around, knowing that there was no way out of it. He accepted his fate, despite knowing that the Laguz Alliance depended on him. All of those lives lost were for nothing...all of the laguz lying in their own pools of blood were for naught. The light engulfed him, and Ike knew he was going to lose…
Until, he felt a person push him out of the way of the attack. He felt himself get pushed upon the snowy ground, and he turned around quickly to see the person that had pushed him. He was horrified; the bloodstained feathers on the ground, and the non-moving hawk figure pointed to one person only. Tibarn had pushed him out of the way, and took the brutal attack directly. The blue-haired swordsman rushed over to the hawk king, but couldn't make it in time; Tibarn's hawk form changed him back into untransformed form, as he was on hisknees. The power of the attack almost killed him, and he was just barely alive. He saw Tibarn turn towards him, and the latter spoke words.
"Go, Ike, go! You need...to gather your friends and escape..."Tibarn's words were powerful at first,but slowly lost their energy as he became weaker and weaker. Ike held a hand out towards Tibarn, but the Hawk King was already surrounded by Daein soldiers. He didn't care; Ike ran towards the Hawk King, before hearing a voice behind him.
"Ike, we need to move, now! Our forces at the front of the castle have lost! Tibarn will be fine, okay?!" Soren called out behind him. Knowing that it was for the greater good, Ike turned to see one last look of the beaten Hawk King, and ran in the opposite direction, following Soren and the other mercenaries.
As they ran, Ike knew that the battle had been a complete failure. His team was now in a bad position, and so many laguz lives had been slaughtered without reward. In addition, the Daein forces had captured Tibarn, one of their strongest men,, and he didn't know what the soldiers would do to him. He had now been exposed to the forces of Micaiah and the Dawn Brigade, and he realized that the tides had turned. All of their previous victories? That didn't matter, since they weren't able to take Nox Castle, and take down the heart of the Daein forces. With a feeling of failure and despair in his heart, Ike left the snow-filled Nox Castle with the rest of the Greil Mercenaries, and the Laguz Alliance.
Micaiah rejoiced, as she saw the Greil Mercenaries leave the battlefield as a tired wreck. The rest of the laguz didn't pose a threat to her, and, as a bonus, the Hawk King was disabled, and couldn't assist the Laguz Alliance. She could only pray to the goddess that this would satisfy the Begnion senate enough to not activate the blood pact. So many lives had been lost over that one piece of parchment.
Suddenly, Micaiah heard a noise. It seemed so familiar, and she turned to see a large black object flying toward them at hypersonic speed. As Micaiah focused her eyes on the image, she saw that it wasn't just an object; it was a dragon, and a black dragon at that, which were the most powerful. She saw the dragon open its mouth, and exhale, releasing a light-colored breath. The breath was exhaled in the direction of the laguz, as they were decimated by the dragon's sheer power. Micaiah saw the laguz fall in all directions, and the black dragon descend near her to the point where it was right in front of her. Micaiah would've been lying if she believed that she wasn't afraid. However, instead of attacking her, the dragon began to glow a faint white color, and changed into the form of a human being. Micaiah recognized the figure as soon as the turquoise hair and the purple outfit showed; it was Kurth!
Micaiah rushed over to hug her old friend, which she had rescued from Jarrad's prison. Now, the moment seemed so long ago. Kurth returned the hug, and explained the situation as to how he knew when to come as the battle quickly finished.
"Goldoa caught word of your conflict with the Begnion senate, but I knew it wouldn't be like you to hurt laguz on purpose. I wanted to make sure that you were okay, Micaiah, and I'm here to help."
"But, Kurth...what about your father?"When Micaiah asked him the question, Kurth blushed slightly, before turning away shyly.
"My father doesn't know I'm here. Micaiah, why are you helping the Senate? I'm almost certain that it's not on your accord." Micaiah looked at the ground before answering. Since Kurth had already told her that he was on her side, she felt that he had the right to know, as the Senate wouldn't invoke the blood pact then.
"Pelleas, the new king of Daein, was tricked by Lekain, one of the Begnion senators. He signed a blood pact unknowingly, so we have to bend to the will of the Senate unless we want Daein's citizens to die...I would've never even participated in this war had this not happened…" Micaiah felt her eyes start to water, and she began to think about all of the innocent laguz that she had killed simply because of the blood pact. Micaiah turned to the battlefield, now deathly silent as she noticed that the fighting had ceased as the laguz were all slaughtered. She began to cry, releasing all of her emotions, and the effects that the war was taking on her. Kurth noticed this, and comforted her, wrapping his arms around her as he enveloped her into a loving embrace.
"I'm so sorry, Micaiah…I'll make sure that the Senate won't harm Daein…" Kurth whispered words of reassurance into the maiden's ears. Micaiah thanked him for his help before directing him to the inside of Nox Castle, so that she could take a body count of the Daein soldiers. Suddenly, she heard a noise, and turned to the source of what sounded like Rescue staff being used.
Micaiah broke into a soft smile, needing this very moment to happen. Right in front of her was her savior on that horrible night when Jarrod tried to kill her. In front of her was the man that had protected her, offering support of the utmost importance when the final attack on the Begnion Occupational Army had arrived, the man that helped her with the Senate's first order to assist them in the war. In front of her was the Black Knight.
"My Maiden...I had heard you have been in involved with the war between the Laguz Alliance and the Begnion Senate. Why did you choose to become involved with this war?"
"Our king, Pelleas...he was tricked into signing a blood pact with Senator Lekain of Begnion. If we don't follow his orders, he will invoke the blood pact against Daein, and the citizens will die until Daein becomes extinct…" When Micaiah told the Black Knight these words, she felt a wave of comfort wash over her, as if all of her troubles went away at least just for the moment. The Black Knight looked over at the bloody battlefield, where there were bodies of both Daein soldiers and laguz. Then, he turned back to Micaiah.
"I've seen the blood pact be invoked before, during Mad King Ashnard's reign. He ended up tricking his father into signing a blood pact, and then immediately invoked the curse so that he could receive the throne next in line. He personally killed off his own father, and then he was crowned the 13th King of Daein…" The Black Knight spoke ominously. Then, he turned to the castle, before looking back at her.
"You did well defending this castle today, but I can see that you struggle with your feelings about being a part of this battle. Do not worry, my maiden, I will be here to protect you." The Black Knight said, and Micaiah smiled. Then, the two walked into castle, side-by-side.
Inside the castle, Nailah, and Rafiel were waiting for them. Micaiah had seen them on the battlefield rush to them, and knew that, by the way that they were rushing towards her, they needed to speak with her.
"Micaiah...why are you fighting this war?" The Queen of Hatari asked her, with Rafiel beside her. She had her arms at her sides, wondering why Micaiah, whom she had known was kind to the laguz, was taking part in a war against them.
"The Begnion Senate, namely Lekain...they tricked us into signing a blood pact. If we don't comply, the Senate will invoke the curse, and the Daein citizens will die. I've already convinced Pelleas not to end his life for the sake of Daein. We've won the battle for now, so the Senate will be satisfied…" Micaiah explained to the Wolf Queen. Nailah looked at Rafiel, who nodded as if Nailah asked him something wordlessly. Then, Nailah turned back to Micaiah.
"Micaiah, Rafiel and I will assist your cause as a way to repay the debt we owe to you for helping Rafiel. We'll make sure that the Senate is pleased, and then, we'll eventually figure out a way to kill Lekain, and to destroy the blood pact."Nailah smiled at the Maiden of Dawn. Micaiah let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she was in good hands with Nailah, Kurth, and the Black Knight supporting them, not to mention the fact that the Hawk King, one of their most powerful opponents, was subdued.
The Greil Mercenaries were back at camp near Palmeni Temple. Ike recognized the area; it was the temple that his mother had served at to worship Ashera. The temple had been long abandoned since Mad King Ashnard's reign. At some points, Ike swore he saw his mother's shadow, walking up to his late father to kiss him. However, Ike knew that their time had passed. Regardless of how it happened, Ike knew that the goddess willed it to happen; to wish anything else would be to against their word.
Ike could still see Tibarn getting captured, all weakened from the critical Purge attack, to the point where he untransformed. He remembered seeing the blood pool from his knees, and his tattered clothing. His mind instantly flashed back to his friends getting defeated. He saw the marksman take out Shinon and Rolf, as well as Mia losing to their trueblade. Ike saw former allies fighting against him, as Zihark had taken out Titania. He saw all of the laguz that had attacked fall to their strong defenses, to the point where the tides had turned against them.
Empress Sanaki had heard of the battle's result, and awaited them with Sigrun and Tanith at her side. The apostle held her Cymbeline tome in hand, while Sigrun and Tanith held their lances. Wordlessly, Ike laid down camp for the night, tending to his wounded mercenaries, and the remaining Laguz Alliance. Sanaki noticed this, and told her Seraph Knights to try and help Ike. This became easier when Rhys awakened, as he was used for his staff abilities.
Suddenly, Ike heard a flapping sound in the distance, as well as sounds of horse. He turned to his north from where he was standing, and saw the unmistakable white of the Crimean Pegasus Knights, as well as the Crimean Royal Knights. He felt a wave of relief wash over him, as if all his troubles worried away, when he saw Elincia, Astrid, Kieran, Makalov, Marcia, and Geoffrey leading the Crimean Royal Knights as they approached the camp. Ike felt a bit safer now that the Royal Knights and the Crimean Pegasus Knights were with them.
"Ike, Elincia has arrived to join our forces." Soren informed him, coming up behind him unexpectedly. Ike jumped a bit at the voice before turning to his tactician. The tactician noted the patterns of the Crimean Royal Knights, noticing the excellent form and posture that each of their knights was in. They were in a perfect battle formation, ready to tackle on any opponent that wasn't too strong for them.
When Elincia arrived, she was greeted with praise and gratefulness for choosing to assist them. All of the Royal Knights met up with the Greil Mercenaries, and Sanaki was thankful for the fact that Elincia brought healers to assist Rhys and her Seraph Knights. Within only a few hours, the Laguz Alliance was healed up enough to rest.
Perhaps we have a chance, then. Soren thought to himself, reviewing today's failed battle plans. He kicked the books away, and slammed the table he was working on with his fist; how could his plans fail so horribly? It was his fault; hundreds of laguz died without any reward or advantages to reap from it. Now, the Daein Army could start hunting them, and the Laguz Alliance couldn't do a thing to stop them with the forces being as strong as they were. Of course, the facts had changed since Elincia's army had met up with them. Perhaps the Crimean Royal Knights and the Laguz Alliance's combined forces would be enough to overpower the Daein side, but this was too much to hope for; Soren never worked dealing with chance. He had to have a set plan for everything that he did, regardless of how miniscule it was. However, this was war; his battle plans needed to be perfect, otherwise they would cause the deaths of hundreds of laguz and possibly even Ike, as they did today.
"Damn it all…" Soren whispered to himself, sitting down in his archsage garb. Giving up for the night, he decided to rest. It would only be detrimental if he formed horrible battle plans due to his lack of sleep, and it would definitely be counterproductive to do that under the circumstances that they were currently in. As he lay on the ground of his tent, he looked up, wondering how this war would end. Initially, there was not a doubt in his mind that the Greil Mercenaries and the Laguz Alliance could destroy the Daein Army; they had done it in the past. However, with the new general Micaiah, things got complicated, and now he was having doubts about the chances of victory. He remembered Sothe's emotionless state as they were fighting, as he was so intent on protecting the Silver-haired Maiden. Was it worth it to betray his friends over? Soren couldn't tell; he was never good at understanding emotions that people sometimes felt. Within a few minutes, however, while he was thinking about this, he fell asleep wordlessly, dreaming about the victory that would hopefully come to them.
"I'm so happy that you came…" Ike admitted to Elincia, while the latter was meeting with him in his tent. He let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the war would be at least a bit easier than what had happened today. Ike cursed under his breath; how could he underestimate the strength of the Daein Army, to the point where the Greil Mercenaries were taken out? Granted, they had defeated Daein in the Mad King's War, but the soldiers now were different; they weren't following out of fear, they were following out of their own inspiration by Micaiah, who they called their "Silver-haired Maiden." Was she truly that influential that the Daein soldiers would rally behind her?
"Ike, do not worry anymore. The Crimean Royal Knights have arrived, and I've left Lucia in charge of Crimea for the time being. I don't think any of the nobles will think of crossing her anymore, especially with what had happened before." Elincia said, closing her eyes. She remembered the feelings of exasperation and relief when the Greil Mercenaries had saved Lucia from getting executed by the Crimean Rebels. Thankfully, they had arrived just in time to save her, and to keep Duke Ludveck of Felirae in jail. She had spilled so much Crimean blood, but the results of the Crimean prosperity were worth it.
"You sound so serious. What happened, Elincia?" Ike said, turning to the Crimean Queen. She looked away from him, clearly harboring bad news to come along with her visit. However, inside of her mind, she mustered up the courage to tell the blue-haired mercenary, and faced him.
"The Queen of Hatari, Nailah, Rafiel, the prince of Goldoa, Kurthnaga, and the Black Knight have been seen approaching the Daein Castle, with the intent of helping them. I remember Soren telling me of his return when the Greil Mercenaries first collided with the Dawn Brigade at Ribahn River. Even with our help, the war's only going to get more bloodier, and Lehran's Medallion has been burning a radiant blue." Ike turned to her, shocked at the news. This was possibly the worst outcome to appear out of the situation. Even with the Crimean army's help, the Daein Army had the assistance of the wolf laguz, a heron prince, and a damned dragon! Ike let out a sigh of annoyance, realizing now that the bloodshed would only get much worse. He also realized that the Black Knight and him were fated to meet once more at opposing sides, and that a battle between them would be inevitable. Ragnell and Alondite were fated to cross blades once again, as sisters would.
"What's our plan of action, Elincia? The odds are overwhelmingly against us. The Black Knight, Kurthnaga, and Nailah are all against us, and they're all very powerful on their own. Combine that with the Daein Army's forces, and we've got little to no chance." When he said this, he was met with a swift smack across his face. Turning back, and feeling his now red cheek, he raised his eyebrows in suspicion of what had happened.
"The Ike I know that won the Mad King's War had never given up, regardless of the situations that he had experienced. When your father died, did you give up? No, you took the reins of the Greil Mercenaries, regardless of what happened afterwards with the members. No matter how cruel it got in the war, you ended up winning because of your persistence, and I, as the Queen of Crimea, shall not let you give up so easily." Elincia said firmly, crossing her arms as she did so. Ike was shocked, but this was just the motivation he needed; he felt a newly invigorated spirit running through him. The war was not over because some measly battle was lost; the war was over when the leader of the Greil Mercenaries, he, was dead on the floor, with everyone else dead around him. Ike mentally slapped himself for even thinking of the idea to give up on the war, and knew that, regardless of what happened, he needed to push on through. He gripped Ragnell, which was in his tent.
"Thank you, Elincia. I was just acting childish before."
"Remember, Ike; all of us, the Greil Mercenaries, the Crimean Royal Knights… we're all behind you, no matter what you do. The Daein Army may kill us, but your vigor will lead us through to the eventual victory." Elincia said. Then, without facing him, she turned and left the tent, to rest on her own. Ike rubbed the back of his neck, wondering how Crimea was so lucky to have such a queen.