To head things off at the pass, I imagine some of you loyal readers might be annoyed to see me uploading a Fire Emblem piece that isn't 'Entwined by Misfortune,' my classic case of "I promise I won't be one of those writers who abandons a fic, but-" Frankly, after I got caught up with work it became too much to keep up with the idea of retelling an entire game's story, even if I was already a decent chunk of the way through that endeavor. I do still have various stages of that Three Houses fic planned out, so perhaps it will return when I feel the drive again, but it may be in the form of one-offs instead. We'll see.
For anyone who just wants to see me write about Fire Emblem Engage, you're in luck.
I really liked Engage a lot more than I expected to based on its early marketing, and spent a good few weeks really hammering through all of its content. In fact, I meant to have this published a lot earlier - the first chunk was written on an airplane in late February. It just so happened that other games like Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe and Horizon Forbidden West's DLC distracted me, as did fics like 'Harmonic Frequencies' that really tugged at my heartstrings.
Still, this has been sitting on the backburner mostly finished, so I didn't want to completely sideline it. My longer wait period just brought about the realization that maybe I shouldn't also try to retell the story of Fire Emblem Engage across 200 chapters, despite having plenty of other ideas for it. Thus we have a one-off piece taking my usual formula of "original canon based on gameplay mixed with Support conversations" that has the potential for sequels, assuming people out there are interested.
Lapis is my personal companion forever and always, but god knows other pairings from this game also won my heart. Chloé and Merrin, my beloved...
So, yeah, if you enjoy this let me know!
Lapis stares mortified at the ring before her, eyes transfixed as its golden band glistens in the evening light. Her right hand clutches the beige strap of her shoulder bag tight, the other stuck firmly at her side.
"I don't mean to be rude Divine One, but…" She clears her throat, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. "You can't be serious. Right?"
Alear keeps a casual stance, presenting the well-polished Emblem Ring as though it were a copper coin. He tilts his head curiously at the girl's response.
"Have I given you reason to believe I would be lying, Lapis?"
Her eyes jump up, meeting his candy-coated heterochromia with her own salmon-pink shade - decidedly at the lighter end of Brodia's red-eyed spectrum. All the color drains from her face.
"No!" She bows her upper-body much like her master, though can't dip quite as far. "Of course not… I would never accuse you of dishonesty, Divine One."
The display brings a smile to Alear's face. So he persists, placing the Emblem Ring squarely under her head.
"Then you know I am being serious."
As soon as Lapis sees that ring, she straightens to get away. His smile fades.
"Is that truly so hard to believe?"
"Well… Divine One, I…"
In an effort to stop stammering, the young warrior turns her attention toward the curling oak they stood beneath out by the Somniel's Records Hall. Her hands fold together, rest at her sternum, and ruffle her white blouse.
"This is the ring we just retrieved from Princess Ivy of Elusia, is it not?"
Alear nods and imprisons the accessory between his fingers.
"It is, yes. The Ring of the Sage Lord."
Lapis' fingertips go white as she threatens to snap her fingers in half.
"Don't you think it would be better in the hands of another royal? Like Prince Alcryst, y'know?"
"Not every Emblem Ring we own is guarded by royal blood, Lapis." He tries to dispel her concerns with a casual laugh. "Yunaka has been quite effective with Micaiah at her side."
She rolls her head back-and-forth, a wishy-washy reaction.
"Sure." Her eyes drift down to the massive tree roots that rupture out from the floating island's soft soil. "But isn't that a special case? The Dawn Maiden called out to Yunaka, like they were destined partners."
"Perhaps so. But the same can't be said of Chloé and Sigurd."
Alear pauses as Lapis returns her gaze to his messy red-and-blue hair. He gently strokes his chin.
"Though, I suppose I did give her the Holy Knight. If we asked, Chloé might just say she was destined partners with the fairy tale hero of her dreams…"
This consideration makes Lapis crack a smile.
"Depending on how you look at it." Her smile droops as the Divine Dragon meets her eyes. "Still, there are lots of skilled warriors in our army who would be much more deserving of this honor."
"I don't think so." Alear takes a step forward, half-cape a beat behind as the shadows cast by foliage change the illumination across his casual clothes. "You should have more confidence in your abilities. I know the others do, many of them recommended you."
A shiver visibly runs up Lapis' back, shutting off all brain activity as it reaches the scarlet-and-brown leopard headband that barely holds her pink bangs.
"They did?"
"Mm."
Alear shifts to stand beside her, both their backs to the tree, and holds the Ring of the Sage Lord between his index finger and thumb. Now they could both gaze upon it without her shying away.
"I've made a point to research each of the Emblems as we collect their rings, both in the Somniel's personal library and by conversing with them directly." He peeks over with the peripheral vision of his blue eye to see her, again, transfixed on the glowing accessory. "Leif has quite the story."
Lapis lets her hands rest along the red apron-skirt over her stomach, clearly more relaxed without the pressure of being face-to-face.
"I… Guess I would be curious to know more."
Hook, line, and sinker.
"In his original homeland of Jugdral, Leif joined a second generation of heroes who railed against the forces of evil. After Lord Sigurd and his companions were killed, including Leif's parents Quan and Ethlyn, their descendants were all who remained to face the Loptr Church." Alear gestures his free hand in small circles as he talks. Lapis can't help but notice. "As Sigurd's son Seliph ventured to unite the whole continent, Leif's rebellion steadfastly held the eastern kingdoms and defeated the dark bishop Veld. He became a Master-of-Arms and trained his allies in all manner of weaponry to squeeze out but a chance to succeed."
Lapis lets loose a guttural sigh.
"He sounds incredible, Divine One." Her head wavers back-and-forth like a spirit haunting the oak. "With a legacy far more grand than I deserve to inherit."
Alear passes a jovial breath. "You, Alcryst, and Citrinne really are similar."
That pointed remark drives Lapis' gaze toward the ground again. He takes the opportunity to continue.
"Leif says he granted his last host expertise in nearly all forms of combat. Not to mention the instinct to draw whatever tool they needed at a moment's notice."
He bumps their shoulders to make sure Lapis was listening.
"And as I understand it, you also have expertise in numerous tools."
Lapis' pupils narrow with realization.
"I am crafty, yes." She shakes her head to brush off the foreseeable assurances. "But I don't see how that translates to combat."
"You should hear the words whispered around the Somniel, Lapis." Alear palms the ring again, and then holds his closed fist over his heart. "You've promised to build Céline a new tea set. Etie some workout devices. Machinery, musical instruments, farming equipment."
As the Divine Dragon lists off each new thing, snippets of the conversations in which Lapis told members of the army about her crafting feats fill her waking memory. Her cheeks flush the same color as her eyes. Knowing people spoke to one another made her feel more embarrassed about sharing – bragging, even.
"... With that understanding of so many trades, I can only imagine what a savant you could be on the battlefield." Alear reaches his hand out, offering Lapis another chance to take the ring. "Provided you have the right tutelage."
The Brodian retainer stares at this divine gift, pit in her stomach demanding that there must be somebody – anybody – more capable of borrowing Leif's power. She squeezes her left thumb so hard that it ripens like a tomato out from her fist.
In a last-ditch effort to sway her, Alear leans in and speaks more quietly.
"Besides, I imagine the two of you would make great friends."
"Friends…"
Finally, Lapis claims the Emblem Ring; moving cautiously in anticipation of whatever trap Alear might still be waiting to spring. Once it's clear there is no ulterior motive, she cradles it like a cold handful of water in the Queendom's deserts.
"To think, the daughter of yam farmers… Friends with a legendary hero," she mutters. Her eyes glisten like the ring as they glaze over with tears.
"Pardon?" Alear turns completely toward her.
It takes Lapis a moment to collect herself, sniffling back a sob as she closes her fist around the ring while she dries her tears against a now-stained white sleeve.
Once in order, she steps back to stand at full attention, arms at her side and face stoic.
"If you believe in me, Divine One, then I have no choice but to believe in myself." She offers another deep bow, shoulder bag dangling just above the ground. "I promise I won't let you down!"
Alear never knew his mother well enough to really understand what it meant to have pride in one's child. But as he looks upon this Brodian retainer with whom he trusted his life, he shares Queen Lumera's smile.
"You never could."
Lapis throws her head back, only to wind up with a face full of hair flipped over her headband. Alear's face contorts as he holds back laughter while she scrambles to remedy the situation, yet she reads every detail in the pinched corners of his lips.
"I… I'm not used to being complimented like this. But, um…" She clears her throat, trying to squeeze out as much as she can before cold embrace of fear overtakes her. "Thank you, Divine One."
Before he has the chance to respond, Lapis careens around to start lumbering away. Despite her Sunday best, dirt caked around the edges of her worn red flats – the rightmost heel replaced by crudely painted woodwork - gave away the game on Lapis' modest upbringing and preference for the outdoors.
"I should go. Please excuse me."
She only manages to jog a few paces before Alear's call puts a stop to any forward momentum. He steps out from the shade of the tree, arms crossed.
"You're pretty hard on yourself, huh? I guess that can be a good motivator…"
Despite sounding like a backhanded compliment, Alear's tone is fully sincere.
That doesn't pull Lapis' stare away from the castle walls ahead, agonized at the feeling of his gaze on the bristling back of her neck.
"But you shouldn't compare yourself to others like that. Everyone has different skills." His sympathetic smile and casual step forward, reaching out toward her, are lost as she refuses to look. "Be a little more kind to yourself, OK? Like I said, you've earned a bit of confidence."
Lapis clutches her new Emblem Ring tight enough to mark her palm. She doesn't respond. Instead, the Brodian girl scampers off in a hurry; the heavy footstep of her wooden-sole shoe clattering with every step as she passes from dirt to paved stone. A nearby awning's shade hides her from the golden light.
Alear sighs, laying his left arm over his chest to table his right, letting him cradle his chin.
"There has to be some way to help her work past that mindset."
It takes Alear a while longer to move on from the Records Hall, at which point he finds Clanne caring for a pair of dogs roaming the nearby farmyard.
Lapis signs with relief as Alear heads in a different direction. She pulls her head back behind the cobbled stonewall and starts pacing, no longer able to use spying as a distraction - not that there was much room for her to move around this hallway-turned-glorified storeroom for the Somniel's arena.
Now that the Divine Dragon's cotton candy-swirled hair wasn't sucking up all the oxygen in the room, Lapis found herself unable to perceive anything but that shining ring against her sun-kissed, calloused palm.
She stops and turns toward the entrance to the Somniel's main plaza. Like Alear before her, Lapis holds the ring out between her right thumb and forefinger. She closes her left eye, trying to see what the world would look like if all that existed fit betwixt its tight band.
The fingers of her left hand twitch in a random sequence as she holds it up, deciding where to place her new gift. Index would make sense, but using her middle finger would give Lapis just the right excuse to use her dad's favorite salute.
No, no. She couldn't do that. Not here.
Millennia of computation take place within the span of a single blink, and a cool, emotionless energy washes over as she instinctively slips the Ring of the Sage Lord onto her left ring finger. It slides on smooth and sticks snugly on her proximal phalanx. It feels like Alear really chose the ring for her.
Lapis rotates her hand repeatedly in the dim light that manages to squeeze its way into her hideaway, eventually pushing out her palm to see how it sits against her knuckle. She stares at the accessory, unblinking. Despite representing a figure of legend, its understated gold-on-beige color was appealing to her. Fine metalwork wove across the surface like bramble around the woods back home. Its yellow gemstone centerpiece glints against the light, but doesn't draw attention for anyone not looking for it – much like the prince whose adventures might have been a missing footnote in another hero's story.
Lost in thoughts, Lapis realizes she was no longer alone a moment after the ethereal white knight shimmers into existence. Leif floats down from the empty airspace, neatly quaffed brown hair and rippling cape filling Lapis' vision.
As Leif sets foot on the pavement, his palm presses against the girl's outstretched hand. Each finger fans out between hers with almost mechanical precision, and he closes them around her knuckles.
Surprised, it takes Lapis a moment to get over her starstruck staring. The Sage Lord smiles, and the fuzzy feeling in her gut subsides as she returns the gesture and intertwines their fingers.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lapis."
Though his reputation precedes him, the Prince of Leonster and descendant of the great Crusader Njörun sounds distinct due to a childish vocal tenor.
"Alear was right," he says with a confident nod. "I can already tell we're going to be great friends."