Howdily doodily, folks! Some of you may have noticed that I only upload stuff on weekends, and yet, today is Wednesday. What is this madness? I'll tell you what this madness is: THIS... IS...because I'm unavailable this weekend, so enjoy it now.

I got my book notes back from Edinburgh, but it took WAY too long for them to sort it out. They sent us the wrong form to fill out, refused to acknowledge this when we told them and then said 'you've filled out the wrong form' when we sent it back. Well done, East Coast Train Services! Anyway, I'm back on track and am much happier than in recent months, so writing should increase massively. Please enjoy, and please please please review and let me know what you think of absolutely anything in here!

Chapter 4: Incursion

Lucina, barely eleven years old, and Cynthia, only eight, ran through the large palace garden. The young girls carried sticks as makeshift swords; Cynthia had even found one with a small set of leaves to form a guard at the hilt. They had discovered a "dragon" in the form of an overgrown bush and were repeatedly hitting it and running away from the "fire" of falling leaves.

Lucina was "set aflame" and fell to her knees, performing her best impression of a woman on fire. Cynthia ran over and pretended to grieve for her fallen fellow hero before Lucina started to laugh, presumably because Cynthia's hair tickled her face.

Chrom watched the whole scene unfold from a window on the first floor, smiling the entire time. There was a sudden knock on the door, the successive repetitions denoting its urgency.

He left his viewing point and opened the door, a young soldier standing on the other side of it.

'Sir!' He saluted before continuing. 'Captain Phila returns with dire news.'

'Phila? But she was stationed at Southtown.'

'She reports that only she, two riders and a handful of citizens have survived a Risen attack.'

'What?!' Chrom's eyes bulged at the news.

The Risen had begun appearing half a year ago. They had been a problem, of course, randomly attacking people and towns, but never anything beyond the handling capabilities of a few basically-trained soldiers.

'There's no way they could have managed something like that! The worst they've ever done is burn a few merchant convoys and even they have been safe since we issued free military training to all.'

'The captain claims they have begun strategising: they came in formation and systematically targeted salient locations throughout the town.'

'This is madness! They've never behaved this way.'

'I fear the report worsens, milord. Captain Phila also confirms other eyewitness reports of a Risen army marching on Ylisstol.'

'Gods! Order everyone to arms. Rouse the entire army and set off the Crook.' The soldier saluted again before running off to perform his tasks. 'And get me our tactician!'

The Crook was one of Miriel's inventions. It consisted of a light metal tube filled with large amounts of explosive powder and a fuse with which to detonate the powder. In theory, it would launch itself into the air and explode, acting as a signal to gather the Shepherds at the royal palace.

Sumia ran to the room Chrom was in, searching for her husband.

'Chrom.'

'Sumia, have you heard of Phila's return?'

'Yes. We've never had anyth-'

'Take the girls to Lissa's. They'll be safe there. I want you to stay there with Lissa and Vaike as well. I've ordered the Crook to be set off.'

'I'm coming back to help. If what Phila has said is true, you're going to need all the help you can get.'

'Take the girls and go! End of discussion.'

She recognised the look in his eyes that said there would be no changing his mind. She sighed exasperatedly before kissing him and running to the gardens.

'Girls, come here. We've got to go for a ride.'

The two stopped the tickle fight they had gotten into and bounded over to their mother, jubilant at the promise of riding a pegasus.

'Yay! Pega-pony ride!'

'Where are we going?'

'We've got to go to Aunt Lissa's; come on.'

She herded them to the stables, where she released the pegasus and saddled it before sitting the children on and mounting behind them.

'Are Uncle Vaike and Owain going to be there?' Cynthia asked as she was planted behind her sister.

'We can play Heroes with him, too!' Lucina chirped.

'Hold onto your older sister, dear.'

As the pegasus took flight, the Crook shot into the air from the central tower of the palace, a trail of smoke highlighting its path. It exploded in a shower of red sparks, attracting gasps of wonder from the children.

'Why has daddy exploded Crooky?' Cynthia swung her legs as she used her affectionate nickname for the rocket.

'Because there are…' She trailed off, unwilling to describe the tormenting portrayals of life the Risen represented.

Cynthia looked into her mother's eyes, which were on the brink of tears. 'Mum?' she questioned worryingly.

'It's nothing, dear. Just enjoy the flight.' She bent down to kiss her youngest daughter on the head.

Lissa and Vaike had been happy to accept the three girls into their home, the young sage busying about with as much food as she could manage to cook up for them.

'Honestly, Sumia, it's almost as if you think we wouldn't want to see our nieces.' she chided as she ruffled Lucina's hair, who ignored it to run off with the other two children.

'Oh, you know what I'm like. Thank you so much.'

'I'm more concerned about Phila's report: those creatures are actually capable of that sort of thing? I really want to be there just to make sure everyone's okay.'

'No. Chrom explicitly stated you two need to stay here and look after the children. I'm the only one going back.' Lissa looked uncomfortable at the instruction, but Sumia spoke again before she could protest. 'Maribelle is there to heal anyone who gets hurt; plus Ricken, Miriel and I have been learning to use staves as well.'

Lissa sighed. 'Fine. I guess someone's got to look after the children.'

'Too bad.' Vaike interrupted. 'If I was there, those zombies would take one look at the Vaike before running scared.'

'No, sweetie, you'd just start another fight with Chrom.'

'Hey, I gotta make sure my rival hasn't lost his fighting spirit, right?'

'Alright. I've got to go now. Thank you again. I'll be back as soon as I can.'

As she was about to get back on her pegasus, Cynthia ran up to her mother, holding a small bunch of daisies she'd collected from her aunt's garden.

'Mum. Take these for good luck. I picked them from the lucky patch, so you'll be safe forever.'

Sumia knelt down and took the flowers in her hand, kissing her daughter's cheek. 'I love you, okay? Tell your sister as well; I'll be back soon. I promise.' she whispered as tears began to flow again.

Lucina slashed down a man's back, saving the terrified soldier on the floor beneath him.

'Get up!' she ordered, offering a hand.

'Yes, ma'am.' The man grabbed his spear and shield from the floor once he was on his feet again.

Lucina turned, ready to fight anyone who may have taken advantage of her exposed back. Kjelle stood in the centre of the corridor, blocking several axemen from approaching as she stabbed into the small crowd. Brady was out of the main battle, healing anyone who needed it. Lissa's arrival had meant he only needed to focus on half as many people.

She surveyed the more open battle in the larger room beyond. Chrom and a small troupe of soldiers had aided Cynthia, Inigo and Laurent in securing a path to the room before forcing their way into it in an attempt to split up the invading army. Chrom had apparently convinced one of the hired thieves with a bag of candy into joining their side and she watched as he dashed about the room, deftly avoiding various attempts on his traitorous life.

Lucina whirled into the man to her left, who had been about to bring an axe down on her head. A simple stroke across the chest had him incapacitated before she found Kjelle's struggle again.

'Little help, Luce!'

'Springboard!'

Kjelle skewered another man before kneeling down and holding her shield over her head, making sure to keep it angled down to reduce exposure. Lucina ran at the knight and jumped onto the shield. Without stopping, she propelled herself over the nearest assassins, pushed further by Kjelle's efforts in forcing the shield up.

Landing in the middle of the battle with her sword in one man's skull, she and Kjelle easily managed to butcher the men stuck between them. They and the few soldiers with them moved into the open room, leaving someone to defend the corridor with Brady hanging behind him.

Lucina cut down the nearest cavalier, letting the horse charge into the other enemies beyond. Another cavalier came from her left, the horse whinnying as it reared onto its hind legs. A powerful hoof struck Lucina in the mouth, sending her to the floor and Falchion out of her grasp. Blood seeped from her mouth as she hunted for her sword with blurred vision and the horse's rider bore down on her with a lance.

'I forgot to ask Lucina for my talisman. I'll just go get it and run back here.'

Severa held an arm out to stop the archer from running. 'It's too late, Noire! We need you here and we need you to fight! I know you can get angry without that thing and you are going to tear these idiots apart with that bow of yours.' she spurted as she blocked a sword strike then cut the wielder down.

'I-I'm not sure I…' Owain laid a hand on her shoulder.

'Noire, you must find your inner warrior's spirit. Grieve for your parents, for your lost world and country. Find all the sour feelings you have ever had for Plegia and the Grimleal. Focus your anger, call it forth and imbue each of your arrows with the immeasurable strength of sheer willpower. Strike these dastards down, Noire! Believe in your abilities.'

Noire's heart lifted as Owain's shivering sword hand lashed out at the nearby recently dismounted cavalier. She did as Owain asked, concentrating on how her parents had died, forcing every ounce of pain to the surface. As she did so more and more, her anger and sorrow rose in parallel until she could contain it no longer.

She screamed, punching an axeman, who had thought her an easy target, in the face and sending him to the floor, dazed and confused.

'BLOOD AND THUNDER!' she yelled, pulling an arrow from her quiver and stabbing it into another soldier. 'YOU WILL PERISH WHERE YOU STAND!' She unleashed a flurry of arrows, each finding a mark.

The Ylissean soldiers were just as scared as the Plegian ones, having dismissed her as too timid to be of any help in the battle. Without looking, Severa smiled as her friend's more destructive side showed itself.

'We push forward! Get to the room beyond this corridor!'

One of the more senior guards looked at the hero incredulously. 'You've got to be kidding. We can hold them off here, but there's no way we can push forward. There are too many of them.'

Severa merely winked at the soldier and said, 'Trust me; you haven't seen half of my archer friend back there.'

'CHARGE! WE WILL SWIM THROUGH A SEA OF THEIR BLOOD!' Noire roared as she did the exact opposite of what any traditional archer would.

She ran headlong into the Plegian mass, some of them scattering in pure fear at the petite young devil girl. She delighted in slaughtering any who didn't run, using arrows and any weapon she found on the floor.

'FINISH THEM! THEIR BLOOD WILL MAKE FITTING WINE FOR OUR FEAST!'

The guards looked at each other in shock before cheering and running forward into the fray, soon followed by Severa and Owain.

'Didn't I tell you that girl could fight on her own?' Severa bragged, proudly watching her best friend hack into an enemy archer's skull.

'Not to gloat, but it would appear that my own powerful spirit has empowered-'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah. Quit your fancy talk and let's get rid of these guys.'

'YOU DARE HOPE YOUR FEEBLE BLADE COULD CUT DOWN OUR FUTURE EXALT!?' Lucina heard the talisman's rage as five arrows embedded themselves into her imminent attacker.

She scrambled up and found Falchion next to Noire's obscure keepsake, which had slid out of her pocket when she hit the floor. She picked it up too, before staring at the psychopathic archer.

'Unbelievable. She doesn't even need the talisman now.' She wasn't sure whether it would be a useful or dangerous trait. 'Noire!'

'DO NOT DISTRACT MY BOW UNLESS YOU WISH TO FEEL ITS BITE AS WELL!'

'Do you want your talisman?'

The archer stopped dead, three arrows notched in her bow. She stared at Lucina and the decoration in her hand.

'Y-yes, please. If it's not a bother, that is.'

Lucina smiled as she handed it over. 'You're doing well. Keep it up.'

Noire cackled loudly as her skin made contact with the metal once more. 'REPENT AND DESPAIR! YOU WILL FALL TO THE MIGHT OF YLISSE'S GREATEST DEFENDERS!'

What in all the hells is that shouting? The Plegian sorcerer had not expected the Ylisseans to be able to put up such a fight. Enraged, he ordered all remaining troops to make a last push for the Exalt before entering the palace himself. One idiot soldier thought it prudent to actually attack the sorcerer, but a blast of Elfire killed him before he could realize his mistake.

His vanguard of cavaliers suddenly collapsed, two of them falling dead to the ground. As the third was downed, it became apparent that the culprit was in fact a taguel clad in purple armour.

Surely the taguel were all wiped out? Ah, it will be little trouble to send this one to meet its clansmen. He charged a Thoron bolt in his palm and fired it through the newest gap in the Plegian line before him. The unsuspecting taguel took it straight to the chest, launching backwards into some of the Ylisseans.

Validar walked through the gap and into the main fighting area. He slung spells at any Ylissean he saw, killing many more than any other Plegian had thus far managed.

'DEATH TO ALL WHO OPPOSE US!' Noire shouted above the noise, unleashing three arrows in Validar's direction.

He ducked to avoid the one headed for him, but the other two slew another pair of his underlings.

'Someone shut her up!' he ordered, already taking it upon himself.

The Mire spell coated Noire, but the extra strength from her talisman allowed her to break out of it just enough to stab a nearby Plegian with an arrow. The talisman began to glow a bright red, penetrating the thick green mass. The spell began to melt away, Tharja's work on the talisman proving extremely potent. Noire cackled maniacally before firing more arrows into the Plegians.

What magic is that talisman? Validar's thoughts were interrupted by a savage wind spell from Laurent, sending him crashing to the floor. In a blind rage, Validar pushed himself up and charged the mage. Two soldiers blocked his path, but multiple fire spells soon put them down.

Chrom had used the time it took Validar to dispose of the guards to make his way towards him. Laurent and the sorcerer fired various spells at each other, neither getting an upper hand, but Laurent proved a good enough distraction for Chrom to slice his way through some remaining enemy knights unnoticed before burying his blade in Validar's side.

Validar looked down at the wound, outraged at the outcome of the battle. Laurent blasted a final Arcthunder spell into his chest, dealing the death blow before any words could be said. Soon, the enemy had all either fled or died, leaving the remaining Ylisseans to savour their victory.

Lissa tended to Panne, a large burn on her chest from Validar's spell. Chrom had immediately run back to Emmeryn, ignoring the departing children. Gaius stood around idly, not sure what to do other than wait for Chrom to return, preferably with more sweets.

Gerome spoke to the group in hushed tones as they descended the stairs to the exit. 'We can now no longer be certain when or even if events will transpire.'

'Yeah, but what was it that priest guy said? Time always favours its original course or something? Most of what we know should happen anyway.' Inigo countered.

'Regardless, we should stay in the loop regarding any developments. Bear in mind that Plegia and Ylisse are still on the cusp of war, even without a dead Exalt.'

Chrom caught up with the party in the main courtyard. 'Going somewhere? You in particular have a bad habit of leaving before saying goodbye, Marth.'

'I'm afraid I have a few bad habits.' Lucina replied, as they continued walking.

Chrom was persistent in talking, though, and walked alongside them. 'And a few good ones - you've saved the lives of every living member of the royal family. There must be some way we can repay you - all of you.'

'We have done what we came to do. You are not in our debt.' Gerome replied.

'Thank you, but I must refuse your offer of a clean slate: no self-respecting man could-'

'Believe it or not, we did not aid you today for your benefit. We have our own reasons for saving the Exalt.'

'I can believe that.' Chrom nodded knowingly.

Severa sighed heavily. 'Dude, seriously, just take the hint. We don't need your stinking help. Gods.'

Taken aback by Severa's harsh manner, Chrom paused a while before responding. 'Fair enough. If you change your mind, I'm going to assume you know where to find me.'

'We do.' Lucina confirmed. 'Thank you for the offer.'

Chrom bowed his head at the children, leaving them at the palace's main gate.

'We still don't know where Nah and Yarne are. We could wait at the Azure Wyvern for them, but we have no idea when they'll show up.'

'Trust Yarne to be the no-show.' Brady chided.

'Nah could drag him here by his ears if she needed to.' Kjelle said.

'Not if they been separated. 'E could be 'alf way to Valm by now.'

Lucina turned to Laurent. 'Did you apply a trace to either of them as well?'

'Unfortunately not. I was not competent enough with a staff to bestow more than one trace at the time.'

'Then we shall have to hope they keep their ears to the ground and find their way to us.' Gerome summarised.

Gerome entered the inn, returning from his morning scouting flight. The other nine children were gathered around a larger table this time, further into the building. He made his way over to them and took the empty seat between Cynthia and Severa.

'Minerva can smell no Risen nearby. We did see a large group of people leaving the palace and eventually make their way to Breakneck Pass.'

'What the hell are they doing there?' Severa frowned as she spoke her mind.

Lucina answered, Cynthia's exaggerated nodding confirming her claim. 'There's a second palace just beyond it. They must be taking Emmeryn there just to be safe. Were you able to tell who was in the group?'

'Most, if not all, of the Shepherds, multiple royal pegasus knights, including Phila, and several horse-drawn carts. If you are correct, I would assume that Emmeryn was in one of those carts.'

'With that many of the Shepherds gone, Ylisstol would be nearly defenceless against any attack from Plegia.'

'And the Mad King has already declared war. It would not surprise me if he has a spy or two in their ranks as well, making this the perfect opportunity.'

'Quickly, people! We're already on the bad end of a surprise, we can't give them any slack!' Phila's second in command ducked behind a crenelation briefly as a large Flux bolt hit the defensive wall, blowing chunks of rock out of it. 'You lot!' She pointed at the small group of archers and mages moving alongside her. 'Stop their mages getting more hits on this damn wall!' She turned her attention to the other pegasus knights. 'Group one with me! Genius, you lead group two!'

Their youngest member twitched at the nickname, but took half the knights along the wall to one of the towers. The other half followed the acting captain to the other side as the archers and mages took positions at each crenelation, firing into the Plegian army below.

A wyvern rider landed his beast on the walkway, clawing at the archer trapped underneath as the man on top threw knives into the small crowd trying to fend him off. Five arrows pierced the lizard's neck and it collapsed, dragging its rider and a few cubic metres of rock down to the valley below with it.

As the leader of the first group was preparing to mount her pegasus, a soldier ran up to her.

'Ma'am!' he saluted. 'We have received an offer of help from a group of armed men and women at the main gate. We also have it on good authority that they are the ones who aided in the protection of Exalt Emmeryn last night.'

'Then by all means, get them out there. We cannot afford to turn away help at this time.'

'One personal concern, though, ma'am: their leading woman appears to be in possession of Falchion.'

The leader stopped her preparations and frowned. 'You.' She pointed at a senior pegasus knight. 'Lead group one until I get out there.' She returned her attentions to the soldier. 'Woman? The Exalt would never take up arms and the princess is not one of the blade's chosen.'

'The wielder does not appear to be either of those two. Hence, my concern.'

'Send her up to me; get the rest of them out there!'

'What's your name?'

'Marth.' Lucina answered, impatiently gripping her sword.

'An odd name for a woman.'

'A fake name for someone who wants to go unhindered.'

The pegasus knight nodded at the sword on Lucina's hip. 'An odd sword for someone who wants to go unnoticed.'

'A forgery. My father was an accomplished swordsmith; he considered the famous Falchion a challenge.'

'It can't be all too valuable; you won't mind if I test your claim?'

'I would much rather you didn't. It has a great deal of sentimental value and if it isn't too much trouble, don't we have a slightly more immediate problem?'

The knight stared unwaveringly at Lucina for a few moments before conceding. 'I suppose so. In that case, I'll talk to you once we've fixed that little problem.'

'Good. I take it that's a way into the battle?' Lucina pointed in the direction the others had been led down.

'I'll take you there...' The commander was obviously still suspicious of Lucina, but so long as she didn't attack any Ylisseans, she believed the blue-haired woman could be trusted.

The defending archers and mages were dealing with the attack well enough, considering their disadvantage when it came to numbers, but the pegasus knights were apparently less capable without their acting captain. Many of them had already been grounded or killed and those who had remained on their pegasi were having trouble breaching the enemy ranks. Minerva was able to keep most of the much younger Plegian wyverns busy and the Ylissean army had happily accepted Gerome as a ground leader as long as he helped them survive.

'Laurent, can you do anything about those catapults?' Gerome directed the mage's eyes towards a battery of large wooden ballistae lining themselves along the horizon.

'A dauntingly large enterprise... I trust that you can enlist a small contingent of soldiers as my safeguard while I undertake it?'

Gerome signalled to a small group of the soldiers. 'Protect him. He's going to destroy those catapults, but he can't fight while he's preparing the spell.'

The soldiers formed a semi-circle around Laurent and sought to deflect or block any arrows or bursts of magic that came their way. Laurent began the incantation, but not before the first barrage was launched. Pachyderm missiles soared over the battlefield, bearing down on their target. One malfunctioned and exploded in mid-air, showering both armies with flaming embers and rocks. The soldiers did their best to shield Laurent, but one of them had one of the larger pieces of debris slam into his leg.

The majority of the missiles found their mark, decimating a small section of the Ylissean wall, sending defending mages and archers to their graves and chunks of the wall crashing down onto some of the rear guard. The wall was gravely damaged now and parts of the Ylissean countryside could be seen through the hole that had been created.

Reloading the ballistae would take a long time, but, to take out as many of them as he could, Laurent's spell would need some time as well. Gerome nervously glanced back to the mage, noticing the injured guard.

A Plegian soldier took this as his opportunity to break past Gerome's makeshift front line and charged for Laurent. The injured soldier guarding the mage couldn't raise his shield in time and fell to the lance which pierced his neck. The other guards turned against their attacker, but he was already thrusting again, this time directly at the still-oblivious Laurent.

Lucina barrelled into the scene, grabbing the shaft of the spear with both hands and pulling the soldier off-target. Both parties crashed to the ground, tumbling over each other. The soldier pulled a knife when he recovered, just as one of the ballistae fired its second shot. The blade came for Lucina's throat, but she twisted in the dirt. The pair's entangled legs meant that the Plegian spun too and sliced nothing but the air between them.

Just as the pachyderm smashed into the Ylissean wall, so too did a spear into the Plegian's skull. The Ylissean soldier helped Lucina back to her feet, who wiped some blood from her forehead before drawing Falchion and falling into formation to protect Laurent. Spotting a dropped shield, she picked it up as well.

Laurent finished his spell and opened his eyes, clearly drained. Dark orange clouds formed above the Plegian ballistae, casting long shadows across the battlefield. A column of fire descended from the swirling vortex, decimating the weapon beneath it and igniting the ones nearby. The pachyderms lining the ammunition storage exploded, showering the rear of the Plegian army with rock and fire.

The flames and explosions spread, and soon the entire battery of siege weapons was reduced to useless piles of debris.

'My gods, Laurent.' Lucina looked upon the destruction with a mixture of awe and fear. 'How did you manage something like that?'

Laurent could barely keep his eyes open as he replied. 'Like I said... practicing...' He collapsed, exhausted by the drain on his magic.

Close by to the devastated weapons, a red-cloaked man in a lop-sided crown stood atop an outcrop of rock, overlooking the beginnings of a war. As the explosions died, he began to cackle.

'Oh, that is wonderful! Not something you see everyday, that!' He called out his next command to the men and women on the field. 'Charge forward! We take their precious Exalt today!'

A woman dressed in a bizarre black costume gave a sideways look at her king. 'Milord? Are you sure that's wise given our wooden cavalry's new state?'

The man smiled. 'Ha! Wise? Possibly not, but they've done their job of breaking down that blasted wall. Plus, I'd like to bring a few trophies back myself and whatever mage did that isn't exactly going to be in a good position to fight for a while.'

The fingers curled around his jagged sword tapped the grip rhythmically. He waited for a gap to appear in his legion before jumping into the fray himself, as his subordinate looked on, exasperated by his antics.

Damn, that ending took me ages to write properly. I kept getting sidetracked by ideas for later chapters, but I'm ultimately happy with the way it turned out. What did you think? Gangrel's going to be a fun one to write in the coming chapters.

Remember last month when I, and I quote, "shamelessly advertise[d] my friend's awesomeness"? Well, in response to the recent disaster in the Philippines, she's made some special bracelets, all the proceeds from which go directly to the Philippines to help out, so buy 'em up! Same as last time: search 'Myseybeads' on Etsy, then click the 'Philippines Aid Bracelet' listing.

The next chapter will be up in New Years' Week (that is TOO a thing!), so keep an eye out. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this one and please give me your thoughts on all of it.

Have a nice day,

TRN