Chapter 23

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how it was looked at, for Nathan, the staircase of the Mila tree was extremely long. This gave the tactician quite a bit of time to talk to the others and try to clear up some things.

First, he branched off from the others to find Chrom. After pulling the prince aside, they began to discuss their plans for the 'dinner proposal' for Frederick.

"So, to be clear here, neither of us can cook…and neither can Lissa…Sumia can cook a mean Rhubarb and Fiddlehead pie, but…" Chrom mused, "…What are we supposed to make them eat other than that? Sumia can't cook everything. We'll need some outside help."

Nathan nodded as the two trudged up the stairs. "Lon'qu seems to hang around the cooking tents sometimes, and he always shows up carrying a sack of potatoes. Maybe he can do something?"

"It's worth asking, at least."

The tactician grunted in agreement. "So that covers that, what about meat?"

Chrom laughed. "Well, I don't think there'll be any bears around here…we've got some things in the convoy, right? Cooking can't be that hard."

Nathan laughed awkwardly, remembering his first cooking experience with Donnel. The two had caught some large fish, and things didn't go too well, with the tactician searing his hand and both of them having burnt the fish to a crisp. He figured it was a better idea to keep that between him and the Village boy rather than tell Chrom and have him laughing the rest of the way up the stairs.

"Er…yeah, sure. We'll wrangle in Lissa too, I'm sure she'll want to help."

Chrom rubbed his chin in thought. "So, we'll go somewhere nice and decorate it, make everything look all fancy for Freddy…but when he shows up, should we have, like, greeters of something?"

Nathan thought for a moment before giving a nod of approval. "Who knew you were such a good dinner planner!" He teased.

The Exalt shot him back a smug look. "I may not seem like it, but I do have my moments of brilliance when it comes to Sumia…"

The tactician chuckled. "Uh, I think you're forgetting your little 'first proposal' to your wife last year…"

Nathan was referring to directly after the war against Plegia, during the celebration the following night, Chrom, while very intoxicated, tried to propose to Sumia, which he had been planning on doing for quite some time coming. Luckily for him, Nathan was around to drag him off, and he ended up giving a 'real' proposal the day after.

Chrom smacked Nathan in the back of his head, laughing slightly. "Okay, well maybe we're not so great at romance for our wives, but romance for other people, I think we can do!"

"Hey, don't lump me in with you in the 'bad at romance' category! I know how to turn on the old charm!"

The Exalt rolled his eyes as they continued marching up the steps of the Mila Tree. "You slept in on your wedding day…"

The tactician opened his mouth to try and retort, before crossing his arms begrudgingly. "Mm." He spat back, pouting.

The two then shared a laugh before returning to their main topic at hand.

"So, greeters for the folks. Sounds easy enough. Why don't we just get our kids to do that?" Nathan mused.

"Yeah, that should work…" Chrom agreed.

"Anything else we need to cover?"

"No, I think that should do us…"

Nathan nodded. "Sounds good. I'll see you soon enough, I've got a few other things to cover for right now."

The tactician waved to Chrom as he walked off to look for Owain. It didn't take long to locate the swordsman, as listening for the dramatic yells and painful groans were easy enough to do. Nathan quickly pulled his son off to the side, away from the others.

"Ah, yes, father! My sword hand trembles in your presence! Do you wish to know the secret to my awakened techniques?"

After thinking for a moment, Nathan decided to play along. Most of the others seemed to be annoyed by Owain's dramatic speech, and while he could at times be included in that group, at many times the tactician quite enjoyed it.

"Ah yes, my noble son, you must teach me your ways! Where did you learn such a powerful move as the 'Ignis' you displayed?" Nathan emphatically replied. Owain's eyes widened in shock for a moment, before a huge grin appeared on his face, losing his dramatic personality for pure happiness.

"Father, my sacred technique, the one passed down our lineage, and many more, can be found (He scrambled through his robes and pulled out a worn black book that the tactician recognized instantly) in here, the Manual of Justice!"

Nathan took the book, recognizing it as the version of his own, like the one Morgan had brought with her from her own timeline. However, upon opening the text, he saw that all of his own original pages and notes had been torn out, with new ones glued and sewn into the book in their place.

"The Manual of Justice includes precise reference to each of the members of the Justice Cabal, active and…er…others…and all of the sacred techniques I have learned, and so much more! It is not meant for mortal eyes, but I have firm belief that at the very least, my own father can witness its glory!"

Nathan flipped through the book for a moment. It was much thicker than the version from his timeline, or Morgan's, nearly bursting at the seams with pages.

After staring at the book for a couple more minutes, scanning some of the pages as Owain watched in eager anticipation of a response, the tactician turned to his son.

"Mind if I borrow this for the night, to read?"

Owain's eyes glittered with joy as he grabbed his father in a full on bear hug, nearly sending them both down the stairs of the Mila tree. "YES, YES, OF COURSE FATHER! MY SACRED TECHNIQUES ARE OURS TO MASTER!"

"That's…good…" Nathan managed to squeak out, his voice being muffled by mushing up against Owain's chest. Once his son finally released his grip, he watched with joy as Nathan carefully slid the 'Manual of Justice' into his robes and they continued up the stairs.

"So, I'll learn about your technique from that…what about the Justice Cabal? There's one in your future? How does that even work?"

"Well, in a way we're one and the same." Owain explained. "Shall I explain the sacred tale of the formation of the new age Justice Cabal?"

Nathan grinned at his son. "Go for it. The historically accurate one though, if you please…"

Owain looked off into the distance as he began to explain. "It was long ago, in the future past of my world. We only heard tales, stories, of the original Justice Cabal. Legends had it that the Cabal was a group of the strongest warriors in all the land, united in truth and cause to save their land from the evils that tried to overtake it."

Nathan nodded, laughing slightly. "That's…a bit of an overstatement, but, flattering…anyways, keep going."

"They fought their way across the land, virtually untouchable. And then, one day, in a fight to sway their destiny, the Grandmaster Tactician, Prince of Ylisse, Nathan, and the Holy Exalt, Guardian of Ylisse, Chrom, vanished. Chrom was later found dead, and Nathan was gone. Only his cloak was found."

"Heard that part before, you told me about it a while back." Nathan interjected.

"Do you want the full tale or not?" Owain grunted back.

"Alright, fair enough. Continue, this sounds like it's about to get good."

The overdramatic Swordsman grinned. "After that, the remaining members of the Justice Cabal went their separate ways. However, one of them, Lon'qu of the silent blade, decided to stay around Ylisstol, taking up refuge in the Palace of Ylisse, along with his wife, Maribelle."

"Oh, this is definitely getting good. Is this the part where you show up?"

"Dad! Stop interrupting!"

"Right, right, sorry…"

"Anyways, as I was saying, Lon'qu took up refuge in Ylisstol. It was there that he met a humble young boy with dreams of becoming as powerful as his heroes from eons past, the hero of our tale, Owain.

As Lon'qu, the silent swordsman, taught our hero the ways of the sword, the way he believed his fallen father would have wanted, he learned that saving the future would not be possible without a team of the most powerful warriors, like the Justice Cabal from years past."

Nathan scratched his head. He could see where things were going.

"Upon the passing of Lon'qu in battle, the final surviving member of the original Justice Cabal, Owain swore to continue their legacy, and took up the mantle as leader of the Cabal, a title once held by his father."

Nathan nodded. "So, who's on your team then?" He asked.

Owain scratched his head awkwardly, letting out a nervous laugh. "That part…hasn't…gone too well…" He admitted. "In the future, it was just myself and Cynthia. At least here in this timeline, Morgan joined us, which was a huge boost, but we're nothing like the original. Seeing you guys fight together was amazing!"

The tactician laughed. "We really look that good, huh? Nice to see that people gave us a golden reputation…"

The myrmidon rolled his eyes. "It's more than a reputation! From what I've seen, those tales are more than backed by truth!"

Nathan grinned at his son. "You really think so, huh? Looks like I'm gonna have to master the techniques in the manual of Justice if I really want to turn out like the legends say I do…"

A massive grin spread across Owain's face, and never left as the two walked the rest of the way up the steps together, talking all about the 'Cabal' and everything else they could think of.