Author's Note: One of my favourite little sections of the game was in Chapter 10 and revolved around Yurius and Ishtar attempting to kill a member of your party. I managed to beat Ishtar with Sety (wielding Holsety at the time) and thought it would fit well into the story.
If Thracia was considered a difficult campaign, then Miletos defied description in Arthur's eyes as the mountains of increasingly powerful corpses mounted wherever the Liberation Army went.
Even Hilda, the source of so much of his personal suffering, had finally deigned to grace the battlefield with her cruel sneer. The self-important bitch had actually guarded Chronos Castle as its last line.
Despite his best efforts, Arthur had failed to kill her, her fire magic overwhelming his own power and scorching his snow white skin darkest black. Lana had nearly broken the Relive staff passed on from her Mother just to keep his charred flesh from slipping off the bone afterwards.
Still, the day's events brought a proud grin to his lips at the memory of Teeny, having just been promoted for her efforts during the Thracia campaign, using her Elthunder tome to cripple the source of her childhood anguish.
But even the brightest stars eventually fall and the day had ground to halt as the self-professed "future Queen's mother" had managed to evade the vengeful siblings, vanishing like a passing storm that left nothing but damage and suffering in its wake.
Still the celebration had been a pleasant affair. While many of the group taking the night to repel Ridale's forces, Arthur and Teeny had been left in the castle to rest and recover. Arthur's wounds were healing nicely due to the persistent use of Teeny's new stave skills gently soothing over his scars until only the faintest lines remained to stain his pale complexion.
Wandering about the castle grounds with a surprisingly light feeling in their chests and a spring in their steps that lifted their spirits whenever the topic of the shocked face of the electrocuted Queen passed their lips. Yes, it was an ideal night as the two finally dropped backwards to lie in the soft grass and stare upwards at the moon while the cries of war seemed years away amidst the calm ambience.
He stretched his arms out before slipping them beneath his head, and smiling softly at Teeny.
"You did well today" he commented, enjoying the adorable blush staining her cheeks as she nodded in agreement
"I can't believe I finally beat her. I know I shouldn't think like this but… I enjoyed watching her scream in agony. Does that make me a bad person?" Teeny turned towards him, faint fear mixed into the cheerful demeanour she displayed whenever the two were bonding
"Well, if you are, then so am I. She deserved to die there" Arthur's head spun with thoughts of desecrating and ravaging the corpse with his most powerful tomes, a sadistic pleasure coursing through him at the illusions "And the next time I find her…"
What he would do didn't need to be explained, both Teeny and Arthur looked towards that final retribution with the same relish that the target of their hatred coveted the throne of Grandbell.
"I wonder how the others are doing" Teeny's eyes were locked on the moon above and her voice was so quiet that Arthur almost missed it entirely
"I'm sure they're fine" noticing her fingers twitch with anticipation, Arthur added (masking an identifiable irritation at her concerns) "They'll be back before you know it"
That (thankfully) seemed to do the trick as Teeny beamed at him before collapsing back onto the ground to stargaze again.
Having spent the majority of his early adolescence and late childhood largely isolated from people, Arthur had become a relatively quiet young man, often feeling out of place in large crowds. His dreams revolved around quiet homes, warmed by a gentle flame and enveloped in a comfortable silence. Thus, an upset sister was not something an isolated soul, like him, would be used to.
However, the loneliness that an eternal winter had numbed him to was slowly becoming a more pressing reality as the thought of returning to that solo existence repulsed Arthur more and more with every passing moment he spent in the Liberation Army.
His plans had always included room to manoeuvre where his biological family was concerned, if he found his mother and sister they would be exceptions to his solitude… that much was already decided.
No, the waters only became murky when his thoughts shifted to inheritance and Pegasi, a fiery/ thunderous burden and a fierce woman both coming to mind whenever he tried to plot his no longer simple future.
His eyes rested on his younger sister, now breathing softly as the day's excitement finally caught up to her. The moon's rays caught her ashen face at just the right angle to bathe it in an angelic light. The obvious beauty of the scene brought out only ugly musings in the tormented Mage Knight.
She was also a variable, wasn't she? They had two noble lines running through their blood and, if the war reached its bloody climax, then they could very well be the last survivors of both Houses when all was said and done.
Should the ancient dukedoms stand, then that scenario would probably leave them both ruling their own expanse and subjects. Arthur doubted travel between them would be difficult and they could come close to his desired relationship with his no longer estranged sibling.
Those were the civil ideas floating gently in Arthur's mind as torrents raged around the alternative option, Teeny following a Silesian royal back to his homeland and spending the remainder of her days as a bitter crone watching the object of her affections with another.
Even if the wind Mage did not intend it, life would probably not fall into their laps so perfectly as to allow them to spend their last days united in bliss. If the divine bond of blood could not bind Arthur and Teeny together, then what hope did the passing affections of a noble have of withstanding the test of time?
No, Sety could not hold the girl in any special regard after so short a time but he insisted on pursuing the lavender eyed girl. Couldn't he see that she wasn't ready for such a relationship… that wounds left by her foster family had left her desperate for genuine affection?
Arthur may have decided that Sety was not malicious in his heart but he had also decided that it was ultimately irrelevant. Sety seemed pleasant and was certainly physically potent but that paled in comparison to his lack of commitment towards Phee.
Sety had inadvertently abandoned one of the most important women in Arthur's life already and Fala's descendant was determined to ensure he didn't have the chance to repeat the mistake.
Hearing feet pounding on the stone floors leading to the courtyard, Arthur awoke from his thoughts and rose to greet those who returned. His intent as focused as it had ever been as he followed behind Teeny.
Birds scattered from trees in a nervous flurry of squawks as magic both anima and dark careened through their forest home like a herd of bulls in a china shop, tearing roots from Earth and burning wood to crisp piles of ash.
Loputo priests were scattered about that Earthly place, several of them wielding powerful sleep staves that left people as dissonant as Isaacian princes and overly energetic thief fighters slumped on the ground in paralysed heaps while they were swarmed by dark robed figures attempting to pick their bones.
Arthur found himself pushing through with brute force, relying more on his superior strength and speed than strategy to dominate the Sect priests before they could attempt to lull their entire army to dreamland.
Finding himself surrounded and increasingly outnumbered with every passing second, Arthur was only able to watch on as the trademark silver of Tordo's line was glimpsed between the trees. A sideways ponytail slung down past a bare shoulder, the solid shape reminding him more of his own follicles than Teeny's.
Arthur blinked rapidly; trying to clear away the horrible vision as memories of his previous encounter with the Thor Hammer flashed haunted him, Bloom's daughter practically oozing power as she strode through the battlefield with sad eyes.
The scattered yells from warriors who'd wandered farther ahead of him heralded another nightmare as the name "Yurius!" resounded throughout the narrow clearings like a lead weight.
Arthur knew that the Holy Weapon clenched in Ishtar's hand could crush him before he had a chance to retaliate. He knew he had to escape but his legs were frozen in place at something moving in the corner of his vision.
Teeny was running towards Ishtar, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she cried out for the older girl who had treated her like a sister. Her words, her eyes, her posture… everything twisting to beg Ishtar to stop fighting, to join Sir Celice and his crusade.
Ishtar merely lowered her eyes as Thor's Hammer began to glow slightly with the signature shine of the Holy Crusader's weapons. Teeny's unprepared hands rushing to one of the tomes fastened to her sides, the panic causing her to fumble the effort as it slipped from her fingers while Arthur's normally deft digits were too slow to drag his own weapon into position to interrupt the Divine attack.
However, the crack of thunder was drowned out as the wind swirled viciously around the Goddess of Thunder, throwing her concentration off completely and actually sending her skidding back a few feet before her natural resistance kicked in to absorb the force of the attack.
Without missing a beat, Ishtar finished twisted about to unleash Thor's Hammer, her enhanced skill shining through as she struck a fast moving target between the trees dead on. The collision had a green haired Sage violently rolling into the clearing on his back, Holsety noticeably gripped between his long, dextrous fingers.
Arthur actually found himself shaking under the sharp glare shared between the two magic wielders as their eyes met, a protective glint dominating Sety's as he appraised Teeny's teary appearance through the periphery of his vision.
No words were spoken but a warm feeling of relief rushed through Arthur at her shy nod towards him. She was safe and Ishtar was not as disproportionally powerful compared to Sety as she was towards Tailto's children. A small spot of hope had appeared and it seemed to explode outwards as Sety launched his Earth shattering attack first, the violent breeze engulfing the entire area.
For the briefest moment, the entire world consisted only of Sety, his presence enveloping perception as all in the clearing became intimate with his will manifested through the Dragon's blood. Warmth, determination, loyalty, kindness, hopes for a better future for the entire continent. All of it seemed to carry through the wind like a father's firm grip, steadying and uplifting to all those lucky enough to experience it.
Ishtar's scream echoed in a cacophonic screech as she finally fell, her tome still held with a vice grip but the brilliant flash of colour fading to a dull blue that seemed to encircle the book as she warily eyed Sety from her vulnerable position.
Sety was equally cautious, shoving himself to his feet and taking an uncertain step forwards… one eye always on the next line of Holsety. Teeny had fallen into step beside him, pulling on one of his robes roughly and begging him to stop.
He spared her a glance and a slight smile, opening his mouth to reply before his jaw went slack in amazement as another being in dark, luxurious robes appeared to teleport into existence, grab Ishtar and vanish as quickly as he had come, leaving the trio in shock as they tried to process the strange turn of events.
The aura of mysticism and energy built by the use of God-like weaponry and inexplicable talents for evasion soon collapsed in sync with Sety as his legs gave out and he sunk to his knees in an exhausted heap.
"Sety!" Teeny shrieked nervously, squatting down to check on him, a stave appearing almost instantly to treat her patient "Are you alright?"
Wincing as he reached an arm up, he gently rubbed her cheek, staining them crimson as he lovingly caressed her face.
"So long as you're fine, so am I"
Arthur couldn't help but feel isolated again, watching from the background as they showed their affections, completely ignorant to his presence. Not even caring if anyone saw them because to them, the world only consisted of two people in that moment.
Sety could probably be trusted with his sister more than any other man alive; Arthur's complaints were being struck from his mind with a resounding finality.
And yet… Arthur had never felt bitterer about their relationship than he did when they embraced each other warmly on that day.