Fire Emblem: Valiant Dawn

Author's Note

And the OC chosen to appear in this story is (drumroll please)... revealed later in the chapter. What, you thought I'd spoil it right away? HA!

Replies to reviews and such will be in the A/N at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC. The other OC belongs to someone else. I'm still not telling.

Chapter 13

Revelations part II

The axe rose and fell in rapid succession, raining powerful blows on my shield and driving me back on my heels. Its wielder snarled, sensing victory, and swung again. This time I angled my shield and sidestepped, swiping my weapon at my opponents back as he stumbled past. I hit nothing but air as my adversary, no stranger to the flow of battle, realized his mistake and turned his momentum into a shoulder roll. He spun about as he came to his feet, and we faced each other with a little more caution. I pointed the tip of my blade at him over the top of my shield, and he brought the axe up in a high guard. We circled warily, waiting for someone to make the first move.

"C'mon, get'im!" came a shout from the gathered crowd, not at all pleased to see us at a temporary standoff. I grinned, happy just to have come up dead even for once against this guy.

"Yeah, c'mon! What're you afraid of?" I taunted, banging the blunt sword against my round shield and motioning him forward. I stopped circling, keeping the sun behind me so it wouldn't get in my eyes.

"Lose the shield, it's a wimpy tool for wimps!" Boyd, eloquent as ever, shot back. I just laughed at him, and watched in joy as his face turned red with anger. "HYAAA!" he yelled as he launched himself forward again. The crowd around us roared its approval as I rushed to meet him, and the fight began anew.

It was day and a half after that brutal battle against the corsairs. The ship was once again underway, but only at half sail to give everyone some time to rest and recover. Boyd, always eager for some downtime, had tried to enlist my help in dodging Titania and the practice swings she was no doubt eager to make him do, but I just laughed and poked fun at his laziness. Annoyed by my comments, he challenged me to a sparring match which, in retrospect, was the exact opposite of what he wanted to do in the first place, but well- that's Boyd. I accepted eagerly, as we hadn't fought since leaving Gallia and I was pretty keen to try my new skills against him. Unfortunately, we were in the middle of the deck at a time when the crew didn't have a lot to do; A crowd formed around us as soon as weapons were drawn, and before long men were calling out bets and exchanging bags of gold. By now, the fight had been going on for at least half an hour, the pot had grown to almost a thousand gold, and neither one of us had been able to land any decisive hits.

Our weapons met in a fierce clash, and I slammed my shield into his ribs to drive him back and force him to disengage before he could use his brute strength to push me off-balance. Advantage gained, I waded in after his retreat, sliding out of his center and hitting him from an angle. Surprised and off-balance, he countered with awkward blocks and parries as I drove him backwards. I began to think for a moment that I could actually win this fight; Boyd was good, but I had been training with Zihark for a long time now, and next to his speed and precision Boyd was practically moving in slow motion.

A moment later, however, I was reminded why Boyd always beat me in practice fights as he finally got in a solid counter. I mostly blocked the blow with my shield, but he hooked his axe on the edge and used that to yank the shield off my arm and send it flying to the side. He followed the disarm with a nasty kick to the midsection, and suddenly it was me stumbling backwards and awkwardly batting away attacks.

Still, Boyd was tiring fast, and I ducked one clumsy blow and made a run for my lost shield, scoring a quick but weak hit on his calf as I passed. I scooped up my shield and spun to meet Boyd's pursuit, and not a moment too soon. He launched himself through the air, all of his weight behind that axe and aimed right at my chest. I blocked, but even so the sheer force buckled one knee. I pivoted away from it as much as my awkward pose allowed, but it twisted my buckled knee and the muscles cramped painfully. Putting my shoulder into the back of the shield, I tried to force him back, only to have him pivot away and send me stumbling past. I mimiked his shoulder roll from earlier, but it was much less graceful and I stumbled as I came to my feet again. Luckily he was too tired to pursue and once again we faced off across the deck. This time, though, there was an air of finality to it; Boyd's breath was coming in short puffs, and my leg was shaking with the effort of staying upright. One way or another, this fight was ending.

"He's weak, take'im down," a sailor shouted, seeing my knee trembling.

"Finish him!" another called out. Immediately people began yelling to encourage Boyd, while the men collecting bets began shouting new odds. I tried to ignore them, but they were clearly not in my favor. I glanced down to asses my leg, and willed it to hold me up just a little longer. A good stretching would stop the muscles from cramping and make it good as new, but Boyd wasn't about to give me time for that. He finally caught his breath and stalked towards me, getting into position for one last, duel-ending charge. His axe was held low, as though he were going to go under my shield to take out my weak leg.

A lesson from Zihark, one reinforced by many, many stinging bruises, ran through my head; When your enemy tires, he will try to finish the fight by putting all of his strength into one last attack. Be wary, because it will not come from the direction you expect. Watch his stance, and you will see. Instead of looking at his axe, I took a second to look his posture as Zihark had taught me, and immediately saw that the set of his shoulders and feet were all wrong. It looked like the attack would come in high and from the side, above the low block he was baiting and straight into my neck. A grin spread across my face; I might have this fight after all.

"YAAAHHHH!" Boyd yelled as he charged in, axe still low. I obliged him and dropped my shield low to protect my legs, offering the only counter I had to the attack. As I'd suspected, he brought the axe up prematurely and redirected the momentum into a side strike. I had absolutely no way of blocking, so I didn't even try to. Instead I just let my weak leg collapse under me and dropped to one knee. I rotated my hips as Boyd's axe cut through empty air above me and slammed the edge of my shield into the back of his leading knee, then straightened my good leg and stood, reversing the momentum of my shield to smash it into his chest and right arm. To his credit, he somehow kept his feet under him and landed on both knees instead of his rear, but before he could recover I had the tip of my sword pressed against his neck while my shield remained firmly planted between his weapon and my body.

"Yield," I said breathlessly, hardly believing my luck. Boyd nodded and dropped his axe, admitting defeat.

A chorus of groans came from those who'd bet on him to win, while winners began collecting their bags of coin. I took a few seconds to stretch out the tensed muscles in my leg before I helped Boyd up. Rolf was laughing hysterically as I pulled his older brother to his feet, and Oscar came over to congratulate us both on a duel well fought. I shook the offered hand, then made my way over to where Zihark was collecting a small bag of coins from the ship's cook to see what he'd thought of the fight.

"You bet on me?" I asked him, surprised and a little flattered.

"I'm not going to bet against someone I trained," Zihark explained. "And besides, betting against Boyd was a pretty safe wager."

"So you're saying my training has already made me better than Boyd?" I asked, hoping to get a rare compliment out of my mentor. He'd long ago explained that he only gave praise when someone really excelled, but I was hopeful.

"Don't kid yourself, Boyd has used seasickness to get out of training for this entire voyage. He was slow, rusty and overconfident, and yet it was a very close fight; You've still got a long way to go before you're as good as any of the mercenaries," Zihark explained matter-of-factly. "That being said, it is nice to see that you've taken some of my lessons to heart," he allowed. It wasn't quite a compliment, but it was good enough for me.

"So, more training today?" I asked eagerly. I had come to enjoy training since Zihark had agreed to teach me, especially after Titania recommended I use a shield to offset my defensive weakness. Shields were just so much fun.

"Not just yet. You need to rest that leg for a bit, or you could injure yourself," Zihark said, indicating my cramping leg. "And besides, I was going to spend the afternoon with Ilyana."

Any smart remarks on my part about him and Ilyana were cut short as the first mate came over and handed me my share of the winnings. I did a quick count, shielding my eyes from sunlight reflecting off the waves, and whistled appreciatively; There was about a hundred gold in the pouch, give or take. Not too bad. I was just about to turn back to Zihark when we heard surprised shouting from the portside rail.

"There's someone in the water!" Nephenee was screaming, pointing frantically down at the water.

"MAN OVERBOARD!" the first mate yelled, and began directing men to throw ropes to the unfortunate soul.

Once again, a crowd gathered as the person was hauled to safety, and I had to push and shove to get close enough to see who it was. When I finally got through the press of onlookers, I stopped dead in my tracks. It wasn't a member of the crew or the mercenaries who'd been in the water. Hell, it wasn't even someone I recognized, but there was something I did recognize; The clothes and backpack they wore were definitely not Tellian. Drenched and bedraggled though they were, they were unmistakably from Earth.

I was completely and utterly frozen, too shocked to move, talk or even think as Rhys directed Mordecai to carry the semiconscious form to a cabin while others ran to get warm blankets. By the time I snapped out of it, they were gone and someone was prodding my shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong? Ye look like ye've seen a ghost..." Nephenee asked, her head cocked to the side in confusion.

"What did you see?" I blurted, hoping that, since she was the first one to notice that person, she might have seen something out of the ordinary. Anything to confirm my suspicion.

"I-I saw someone in the water-"

"No, before that! Did anything strange happen, something to make you look over there?" I demanded.

"Ummm, I dunno, there was just a flash like sun reflectin' off the waves near the hull, an' then all of a sudden there's somebody thrashin' an' screaming right where the flash was," she said, taken aback by my harsh tone. She hesitated, then added "This may sound weird, but I don't recall seein' anything in the water before that. It's like they just appeared outta nowhere."

Holy shit, holy shit! There's someone else like me! "I gotta go, thanks Neph," I said breathlessly as I ran off in the direction they'd taken the person. I have to talk to them.

"Wait, aren't ye gonna tell me what's..." Nephenee protested, but her voice trailed off as I got out of earshot.

I was pretty far behind Rhys and the new arrival, and had to stop and ask a few crewmen where they had gone. After barging into the wrong room twice, I finally found the right place. Unfortunately, Rhys was just leaving the room and blocked my way when he saw me approach.

"Rhys, is that person in there? Are they conscious?" I asked urgently.

"Yes, bu-"

"I need to speak with them! Now."

"No, not now. She's still recovering," he said calmly as he tried to steer me away from the door.

"Rhys, I need to talk to them before anyone else does," I replied urgently. Rhys didn't budge, so I stepped closer and lowered my voice. "This is important! I am going in there, one way or another." Now Rhys took a cautious step back.

"I am just looking out for her well-being. She's been through a lot, and I won't let you go in there and interrogate her," he said, holding both hands up defensively. I realized what I was doing, and backed off a bit. Did I just threaten Rhys? Frak, I need to calm down!

"That's exactly why I need to talk to her! Rhys, trust me; This is as much for her good as it is for mine," I said earnestly. He looked torn, so I added "I'll be nice, promise."

"...Fine, but only for a few minutes, and if she doesn't want to talk, don't press the issue." Rhys stepped aside. "I'll be right out here," he added as a not-so-subtle warning.

"Thank you, Rhys," I said as I opened the door. He grabbed my arm before I got all the way in.

"You wouldn't have actually forced your way in?" I couldn't tell if he meant it as a question or a statement.

"Of course not," I said with practiced sincerity. But that doesn't mean I didn't consider it. Before he could say anything else, I entered the room and closed the door firmly behind me. I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me. Here goes. I turned to see who this new, unfortunate abductee was.

I don't know what expected, but for some reason it wasn't what I saw. Before me sat a short, dark-haired girl, perhaps a year or two younger than myself. She was shivering under a dry blanket that concealed her distinctive attire, but her backpack was discarded near the door. I surreptitiously examined it as I took a few steps into the room. Yep, it was definitely from Earth. My first instinct was to unleash a barrage of questions on the poor girl, but then my first instinct in the hallway had been to shove Rhys aside, so my judgement was clearly not so great at the moment. Be nice, Adam, I reminded myself.

"Who are you?" she asked when I got to within a few steps of her.

"A friend. You can call me Adam. What's your name?" I was careful to keep my voice quiet and my tone under control, but I was practically bursting with anticipation. If this girl really was from Earth, then it would change everything.

"Where am I?" she asked, ignoring my question.

"A merchant vessel, off the coast of Goldoa," I answered, watching her reaction to the name closely. There was a small spark of recognition, then her brow furrowed in concentration as though she were trying to place the name.

"Goldoa... Why does that sound familiar? Where is this, Africa? Asia?" That confirmed it. Just like me, this girl was from Earth. Again, I barely contained my excitement.

"Tellius. You're in Tellius." There were a few seconds of silence as that sank in, then her eyes went wide.

"What?! No, that's impossible, Tellius isn't real," she exclaimed. Oh good, she knows what Tellius is. That saves me a lot of awkward explanations.

"Well, we're both here, so it must be," I chuckled. She probably thinks she's dreaming now. It's a logical assumption.

"Okay, this is all a dream then, no? That has to be it." Called it! Booyah! The girl started tugging at her hair. "I know I'm not crazy, so none of us are really here. You, this ship, and all those people must just be a figments of my imagination. You're not real."

I laughed. "That so? Well then prove it; Wake yourself up," I challenged sarcastically.

"Well, I kinda want to stick around for a little while at least. I mean, I am in Tellius now, why should I be in any hurry to leave?"

"C'mon, just try it! Humor me," I requested again, suppressing another laugh at her expense. Well, at least she isn't freaking out about alien abductions and scary trees, unlike a certain someone *cough*me*cough*.

"Man, for a fabrication of my subconscious you sure are pushy. Fine, but if I wake up and can't have another dream about Tellius, I blame you!" she said before closing her eyes and pinching herself hard on the cheek. Her face scrunched up a bit as she sat there, but nothing else happened.

"Still here," I said after a few seconds, prompting the girl to open her eyes again. Now she was looking a little shocked, eyes wide and staring off into space. Well, so much for being nice.

"Gods! How is this-? I'm not- I-I can't be... No! Nononono! This is insane..." She returned her focus to me. "You're real, you're actually real! I'm not imagining this, am I?"

"Nope," I answered, pulling up a chair and taking a seat facing her. Time for me to figure out exactly how she got here. "Now, my turn to ask some questions. Let's start simple; Who are you?" Her mind was clearly busy with something else, so I had to repeat the question to get an answer. "Hey! What's your name?"

"Uh, I'm Al," she answered absently, tugging anxiously at her hair.

"Say again?" I had to do a double take when I heard the name. Al can't be her real name, that's a guy's name.

"Oh, it's short for Alarice. I just prefer to be called Al," she said as she hastily regained her composure. Before I could ask any further questions she took a deep breath, then abruptly spewed out a story at lightning speed. "Look, sorry for all that crazy talk I just got hit really hard on the head 'cause y'see I was on a, uh, a merchant ship travelling back tooooo... to Begnion 'cause my family is all merchants but then we got attacked by pirates and it was so terrible and the ship sank and I don't really remember much else because I was hit really hard on the head - I already said that, no?- And maybe I also have memory loss as a coping mechanism because of all those horrible things I saw on the-"

"Bullshit," I interrupted. Still, the story had been pretty decent for something she came up with on the spot. Had I not already known what was going on, I might have bought it.

"No, really I-" she tried to protest, and I gestured for her to be quiet.

"Just gimme a second," I said sternly.

"But-"

"Zip it!"

"You're calling me a-"

"A liar, yes," I finished, not quite able to suppress a grin. Her expression turned angry and she started to stand up, so I held my hand up to deter any forthcoming outburst. "Hey, I'm trying to help you here, so just hear me out. I think I can explain all this."

"Fine. Jerk." I ignored that jab, and considered my next words carefully.

"Okay. Well, I know you're not from Begnion. I bet you've never even been there, or anywhere else on Tellius for that matter. Truth is, you're from a world known as Earth." Al's jaw dropped. "Judging by your accent, you're a North American like myself, and you're probably a gamer because you seem to know a bit about Tellius. As for how you got here, there was an... unusual event, and you were inexplicably transported into a world that was supposed to be just a video game. Am I close?"

"Holy shit, so you-"

"Got teleported here, just like you," I explained. She looked shocked right now, so I explained everything I knew; Daein's magical experiments, the attempted abduction of Elincia, and the fact that the chances of finding a way back to Earth were slim at best. In turn, she told me her story. It would seem that like me, she was from Canada, and she'd been trapped and brought here by Daein's warp magic and shine barrier combination while she was out taking a stroll. More importantly, on Earth it was about three months after my disappearance, which meant that the magic was somewhat more consistent than Rhys and Soren had predicted. I didn't know much about magic, but I suspected that this meant I could potentially return home, provided I got access to that magic. I kept that suspicion to myself, though; I didn't want to get her hopes up when all I had was a hunch.

"So let me get this straight; I got warped into what I thought was a fictional world just because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now I'm on the same ship as a bunch of video game characters?"

"Pretty much." I was surprised by how well she was taking this.

"This sounds like a bad fanfic," Al chuckled to herself. Seriously?! People actually write stories about that? I thought. That sounds stupid- Wait, what am I thinking?! Ugh! "But this is so awesome! I can meet Ike and Rolf and Mist and Oscar and all the other characters. right? It's gonna so cool!"

"Yeah, and I'm sure commander Ike will let you stay with us for a while," I agreed. Man, she is taking this news really well.

"...So I get to be a member of the Greil Mercenaries? For real?" she asked, her face lighting up with excitement. Shit, that's not exactly what I meant. I don't have the authority to make a promise like that.

Before I could correct my mistake, there was a heavy knock on the door. I excused myself and answered it. Ike and Soren stood on the other side, looking quite serious.

"Adam, what are you doing in here?" Ike asked. Soren glared suspiciously at Al.

"Rhys let me in, sir. I needed to speak with her," I explained.

"We just pulled her out of the water, and we don't know who she is. She could be a Daein agent for all we know!" Soren chastised me.

"I'll vouch for her. She's from the same place I am," I explained. Before I could say anything more, Al rushed over and extended her hand for Ike to shake.

"Hi Ike. I'm Alarice," she introduced herself with a deliberate air of nonchalance.

"Umm, yes hello, I am Ike of the Greil Mercenaries," Ike said as he shook her hand. "Nice to meet you." He turned back to me. "Care to elaborate?"

"Oh, I'm from the same world as him. I was out taking a walk when I saw this ring of light on the ground, and next thing I know I get dropped in the ocean. Thanks for taking me aboard, that water was cold. Obviously, I don't really have anywhere else to go at the moment, so is it alright if I stay for a while?" Al asked

Ike considered her for a moment before he spoke again. "Well Adam already vouched for you. What do you think, Soren?"

"Well, we don't lack for provisions, so she won't be a burden. As long we can confirm her story and you feel we can trust her, Ike, then I see no problem with her being aboard," Soren said, being unexpectedly nice. He was still Soren, though, so he added "But if she causes any trouble, we should absolutely throw her back overboard. She's small, so it shouldn't prove difficult."

"Why you-" Al snapped angrily as she took a step towards him. Much as Soren deserved a good smack, I quickly blocked her with my arm to keep her from attacking the little twerp. She settled for a menacing glare instead. "I'm not small," she growled.

"He's like that with everyone, just ignore him," I advised her quietly. Man, he must have hit a nerve. I turned to speak with Ike. "So, she can stay?"

"Yes, as long as she keeps her temper under control," Ike said bluntly. "And Soren, stop provoking her," he added.

"So, I'm a Greil Mercenary now?" Al asked, suddenly happy and excited again.

"Not yet, but we can train you if you want to join us. I'll warn you, it's dangerous work," Ike replied.

"Yes, absolutely! I would love for you guys to train me!" she exclaimed. Her celebration was cut short, though, as Rhys, who had stood outside the door during the conversation, came in.

"Not right now. Miss Alarice needs to dry off and rest before she gets sick," Rhys said as he entered the room. "I'm sorry, but you will have to continue this conversation later." He wasted not time ushering Ike, Soren and I out. Once we got outside, Ike's expression turned grim.

"Are you sure about Alarice?" he asked me as soon as the door closed firmly behind us.

"Completely, sir. She knows too much about Earth to be an imposter," I replied. Ike nodded as if that was the answer he had expected.

"Then Daein has tried to kidnap Elincia again," he reasoned.

"The princess is safe, right?" Soren asked urgently. "We can't afford to lose her."

"She's fine, I was just with her. They missed, but only by a little this time," Ike reassured him.

"How could they know where we are? It's not like they can track us..." I asked, baffled. Ike was right, they did come awfully close with that one, and as far as we knew it was only the second time they'd tried it.

"Daein can't, but the ravens of Kilvas have been. If those corsairs were working for Daein, then it would explain a lot. Adam, you told me some Daeins are likely pursuing us in a ship, correct?" Ike asked. I nodded. "Then that explains how they found out about us so soon after the battle. The ship must be only a day or two behind us, it's the only way they could have gotten news so fast."

"Of course! This explains everything!" Soren exclaimed. Ike and I turned to him, confused, and a few crewmen turned quizzical glances our way in response to the outburst. Soren lowered his voice and elaborated. "It's only logical; Laguz lack the ability to use magic, so it had to be a human that summoned the fog when the corsairs attacked. If the Daein ship is only a day or two behind us, that mage would be able to summon the fog ahead of our course, setting us up to be disabled and set adrift by the ravens' attack. It would have just been a matter of catching up and capturing the princess. Once news reached them of the attack's failure, they then tried a more experimental approach, namely the warp and shine barrier combination."

"Wait a sec, you said that magic was too unpredictable, and yet it's now snagged two people from the same world and same approximate time. That sounds pretty consistent to me," I reasoned. "How is that possible?"

"It has to be related to elder magic, the summoning arts they used to create that fog," Soren said. He didn't even try to be rude or talk down to me. Instead, he had the earnest focus of a scholar making an important discovery. He seemed almost thrilled. "That art has been dead for centuries, what with the church's ban on blood magic and dark practices, but if those researchers have rediscovered it, who knows what they could have learned! That explains how they joined the shine barrier with warp magic; The result is evidently still transdimensional, but they must have found a way to stabilize it and prevent any catastrophic consequences. However they did it, Daein magical research must have uncovered at least some of that ancient power."

"So, what you're saying is that Daein has unwittingly created, for a few seconds, stable portals between this world and mine, and that one of the people capable of opening said portals is quite possibly on that Daein ship, orchestrating these attacks?" I asked, just to clarify. Yes! This could be it! I know we're going to have to fight that ship, so if I capture that Daein mage, I can make him send me home!

"It's a likely explanation," Soren agreed.

"Alright. Soren, come with me, we need to tell Titania and the princess what's happened. Adam, take a message to Nasir. Tell him we are being pursued and to put us under full sail. We have a small lead on them now, but I don't want any chance of them catching up before we get to Begnion," Ike ordered.

"Yessir," I said before jogging away to find the ship's captain.

Several minutes later, I found myself standing in what remained of the crow's nest. The ship was once again under full sail, and a nice wind was carrying us along at a good clip. Since there wasn't much for me to do after speaking with Nasir, I took the opportunity to come up here and sort through my emotions. It was nice to finally have some answers, and I was elated to have a shot at getting home, but also troubled by something I hadn't really considered before; Suddenly I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave anymore.

"Thought I'd find ye up here," Neph's voice came from behind me as she clambered into the crow's nest, stirring me from my thoughts.

"Oh, hey Neph," I greeted absently. "What's up?"

"What's goin' on with ye? First that girl appeared outta nowhere, an' then ye started actin' all strange an' rushed off. Ye wouldn't even talk ta me," she asked once she was fully inside the crow's nest. Her sharp tone really got my attention; She'd always been soft-spoken.

I silently berated myself for ignoring Neph earlier. Worse yet, I still hadn't come clean about my past. And sure she wasn't the only person who didn't know, but after the first talk in the crow's nest we had grown to be pretty good friends and even confidants. We swapped stories from home, sparred occasionally, and sometimes just hung out and talked. She'd even helped me deal with the worst of my nightmares. For some reason, though, I never wanted to tell her about my past, or about the fact that I was determined to leave Tellius. I definitely owed her an explanation. "I'm sorry, Neph, I didn't mean to ignore you. I should have told you what was going on."

"Ye can tell me now," she said. To my surprise I heard almost no anger in her voice, just genuine concern.

"Umm, look, there's more than just that. Before, I wasn't entirely honest about who I am and where I'm from," I admitted. "I-I never lied to you," I added quickly. It sounded like an empty excuse, even to me. "But I didn't tell the whole truth either, and I'm sorry." I felt like a terrible person.

"I know," she said. I was speechless. "Rhys telled me a while back. It's okay, we all have our secrets. An' besides, ye only left out the parts that made ye sound like a crazy person," she added with a chuckle.

"Oh, that's a relief. Thanks for understanding," I said, feeling much better.

"So, ye gonna tell me what's botherin' ya?" Neph asked, leaning a little closer in anticipation.

"That girl in the water was brought here the same way as me, from the same world. The time even matches up; I've been here three months, and back home three months have passed since I left. I think it means those portal things might be stable enough for me to go home," I explained.

"That's great news!" she exclaimed, beaming.

"Yeah, it's great," I echoed with less enthusiasm. "But..." My voice got a little choked, and I had to stop to compose myself. Neph's smile was replaced with a look of concern.

"But what?" she asked softly as I tried to find a way to articulate my fears.

"But what if it's a one-way trip? What if I can't get back here again? I mean, this is exactly what I've wanted to hear since I got to Tellius, but now... I have Boyd, Ilyana, Zihark, you. If I can't make it back, I lose contact with a lot of people I care about." I sighed in frustration. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."

Neph reached over and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Ye should go, it's what ye've wanted."

"Well regardless, I won't be leaving anytime soon; I'm fighting this war with you guys now, and I intend to see it through 'til the end," I said. That's it, Adam, procrastinate. You're good at that.

Neph spent a few seconds staring out across the water, then finally spoke again. "Well I can't help much with yer choice, but if ye're goin' after them mages ye'll need help. Count me in."

"You don't have to do that. I mean, it's my fight, and I don't want you getting killed on my acc-"

"Look, ye're me friend, an' I'm not lettin' ye do it alone. It's the least I can do, an' I'll hear no argument," Neph said firmly. She cracked a small smile. "Besides, maybe those mages'll know of a way for ye ta go back an' forth."

I smiled back and squeezed her hand, grateful for her optimism. "Thanks Neph." Still, I felt a cold knot of fear form in my gut; How am I ever gonna choose?

A/N

So, I would like to take a moment to say that choosing an OC for this chapter was not easy. Not easy at all. You guys sent in some awesome characters, and sadly there was no way I could ever use them all :( That being said, even though I said I would only use one, well let's just say I've made room for at least one (possibly three) more of them to appear down the road. As for the character I chose for this chapter, it came down to a coin toss. The winner (tails, if you must know) was Archsage12's character Alarice. I hope my protrayal of her was okay.

Okay, time to answer questions from reviews/PMs.

Nekuromansa000 - 1. The church in this is indeed modeled on the medieval christian church. Given that it is a monotheistic religion, with an organizational structure similar to christianity (priests, bishops, archbishops etc.) and the fact that much of the game's society seems to be based on feudal systems, I thought it was a better fit that germanic or gallic paganism.

2. I had no idea the heron language was backwards japanese, but that is very interesting to know. As for whether or not I will write it that way... well, my forwards japanese is not very good, so that language will probably just be arcane-sounding gibberish to Adam.

3. For simplicity's sake, I'm just gonna say it's english. Lazy, I know. Also, I've never seen or read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I should probably go do that.

Archsage12 - Of course. I don't forget people.

So yeah, please leave a review and let me know how I did. It always makes my day when I see feedback. Seeya next time!