Yay! I'm still alive! Mwahaha! The plot twists...the events...things just continue to flow into my mind! (much evil laughter)

Blue Orbi Angel: Hi, again! It's good to know that Ranulf is sane, despite...other reasons, haha! Ashy is stuck in medallion, but question is: is she coming out? (dramatic music) Thanks as always for reviewing!

Knowlee: Haha, yep. Ginia is like the best friend who wants to pair people up! And I know what you mean about Ranulf and the forbidden talk. You have a good point, but really, Ranulf was just egging Tibarn on to find out about it... WAIT! You didn't hear that from me! There is NO ulterior motive, ME SWEAR! Hehe :-P. Thanks for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Fire Emblem. All of that belongs to the creators. Sadly, I am not one of them. But if I were... (evil look)

XxXxXxX

Chapter 15

"So Tormod, Muarim, Aislyn, and Shoen all told you the same thing?" Skrimir cocked his head, facing Ranulf.

"Yeah. Shoen, Tormod, and Muarim gave me descriptions and Aislyn said that they were the exact people that had attacked Altiaire." Ranulf scanned around the throne room, as though Stasik and Karoline were hiding in the shadows of the castle. However, his eyes landed back on his king. "You want me to see if I can track them down again?"

"Actually...I am thinking on sending out Lethe, Lyre, Kyza, and Lyron."

Ranulf's eyebrows raised with surprise. "You're going to send Lyron with his younger twin sisters? Man, you must have a plot behind this insane reasoning."

"As long as they're focused, they'll be fine," Skrimir scoffed lightly, as if to say that it was no big deal. "Besides, you're going to accompany them to make sure that they stay under control and don't get sidetracked. Meanwhile, I'm going to patrol the borders..."

"I swear, when Caineghis assigned them all on the same unit under me, I thought Lyron was going to tear Lethe and Lyre apart because Lethe wanted to tear Lyre apart..." Ranulf grinned sheepishly. "Good times."

Skrimir chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I have a question for you."

"Yeah?"

"Why did I smell Ike on the beach that day?"

Ranulf looked at Skrimir with shock. His king hadn't even gone to the area where Ike's companion had treated Mihara. Ike's scent was very faint, even when Tibarn, Reyson, and Ranulf had arrived. "Ahh...about that..."

XxXxXxX

Yune appeared, at last, before Lorazieh and his children. "Lorazieh, I came as quickly as I could! How is the medallion?"

"Ah, Lady Yune. The medallion is slowly winning, I'm ashamed to say. We have been singing for days."

Yune shifted to her child form. "I am sorry, Lorazieh, to ask so much of you and the others. May I see the medallion?"

"Of course. It is up here at the altar."

Lorazieh gracefully led her up the stairs to the altar, where Reyson and Rafiel were singing, Leanne taking a break. She looked up, smiling with relief. "Lady Yune!"

"Hey, Leanne. Reyson, Rafiel."

The brothers did not falter in their singing, but they nodded their heads in acknowledgement. Yune walked over to the medallion, the red flame jumping out at her. Her face contorted into that of dispair and sadness. "It won't be long now. Unless...they find the other one...I fear that the worst will happen."

"Lady Yune..." Leanne stood from her resting spot on the ground. She straightened out her dress and looked hard at the Goddess. "Goddess Ashera is in there, isn't she?"

Yune seemed shocked. However, she frowned slightly. "...How do you know that?"

"Then it is true?"

Yune swallowed hard and nodded. "But how do you know?"

"I had a dream of it."

This shocked Yune. She became extremely serious. "What happened in the dream? Please, tell me!"

"...There was a forest. It was on fire. People of the bird tribe were fleeing... I think I saw...Sir Ike. There were...two medallions."

"...Both hope and fear..." mumbled Yune.

"Could you tell us what is going on?" Leanne glanced at her hopefully.

"...I suppose I should."

XxXxXxX

Mihara took a glance at her younger brother in his full hawk form. Even though he was younger than she, he was about the same size – perhaps even slightly larger. For the most part, he had dark brown – almost black – feathers, but at the tips of his wings, they changed into a much lighter brown color. Mihara and Shoen were flying around Altiaire for the day, with no one else with them (much to Tibarn's dismay). They were talking, trying to get to know each other better.

"I can tell that you don't really like to talk about it much, but what was it like back on that other world?" inquired Shoen.

Mihara sighed. "Well, it's kind of hard to think of a place to start. For starters...it's nothing like here. There aren't any laguz – it's specifically all-beorc and animals. It's nowhere near as peaceful as Tellius, even if there have been major wars in the past few years. That world is majorly polluted...people are always fighting...there are a lot of major cities. Ones that are a lot bigger than Altiaire's castle area or Nevassa."

At that, Shoen's eyebrows raised.

"But there were good parts. There were beautiful places to go to, and the countryside was always peaceful. There were things that my friends and I got involved in and we had fun with that stuff."

"I don't mean to have snooped, Mihara, but...are one of those...things that you got involved in like that picture with you and all those people dressed up in those funny green and gold clothes?" Shoen winced, half-expecting Mihara to be upset that he'd gone through her stuff.

However, she just shrugged it off. "Yeah, like that. That had to be my most favorite thing to do. It was called a marching band. We all played instruments – similar to ones here – but we moved on a field, making shapes and stuff to entertain people."

"That sounds cool!" Shoen chirped.

"It was fun. I remember the first time I did that." Mihara laughed. "I was so nervous, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."

"Why were you nervous?"

"I get really nervous when there are a lot of people watching me, waiting on me to do something."

"Ohh...I get that way, sometimes, too."

Mihara smirked. "Haha, really? There's one silly thing we have in common."

Suddenly, Shoen's gaze turned downward. "Hey, is that Lord Keenan and his people?"

Mihara looked down to where her brother was and saw a large group of people and unusually large horses, crowded around in a group, near a large, dark blue lake. She turned her head sideways with curiosity. "Yeah, I think it is."

"So...they're staying here now?" Shoen turned back to his sister as they continued flying.

Mihara nodded. "That I know of, yeah. I heard Aislyn saying something like the plains were the most like their original homeland, Staltone."

With a glance towards the mountains, Shoen inquired, "Have you been to the mountains yet?"

"Not really. ...Do you want to go?"

"Maybe another day. I don't really feel like stopping today." Even in Shoen's full form, Mihara could easily see the smile on his dark features. "I just feel happy and energetic today."

"...Yeah. I know whatcha mean," answered Mihara, turning her focus back on her flying path.

XxXxXxX Approximately four hours later... XxXxXxX

Lethe, in her feline form, slunk down gingerly, lowering her nose to inhale the scent of the people she and the others were going to find. She studied the scent, though there was a lot of blood scent in the air. She snorted lightly and raised back up, letting her younger twin sister smell next. Lyre asked, when she was finished, "Where are we going to start looking first?"

Ranulf sighed and sat, swishing his tail back and forth, trying to think of a place to begin. "I suppose we should check all the areas in Begnion, first, where rebels have been spotted. Obviously, these two were the leaders, so they may try and get back to their companions."

"Good thinking, General Ranulf," Kyza commented, finishing memorizing the scent.

The last to kneel down – in a half form - and smell the scents was Lyron – Lethe and Lyre's older brother. He had the same fierce, hard, merciless purple eyes as Lethe did. His orange hair hung, unkept, in his eyes, sticking up in some places. Looped around his hands, wrists, and feet were red wrappings. Around his neck was a dark brown choker that he had received from someone who he had been seeing for a while. He stood up, crossing his arms. "Alright, I think we're ready to go."

"Are we going to stop by to inform Sanaki about this?" Lethe demanded.

"We might. I'll decide while we're running. But, remember: if we see anyone that we know while we're trying to track these people down, we tell them nothing. If word reached Tibarn that Karoline and Stasik are still alive, Goddess only knows what he would do." Ranulf looked at them sternly. "Understood?"

"Got it." They all nodded.

"Right, then. Let's move out!"

XxXxXxX

Felicity threw herself into the water again, Ike watching her from the surface, praying that she would find what they were looking for. He knew that what they were looking for was in this area and in that particular sunken ship, but she just couldn't find it.

Please, Felicity...we really need this item...for the good of beorc and laguz. And for Tellius and all that lies beyond.

Felicity shifted as soon as she hit the water, diving down deeper. She glanced around her surroundings, praying that no one was around. She didn't want to have to confront her cousin, Hadrian, again. Or worse – her king. She left Nylonti from a dream that she had had about fifteen or sixteen years ago. She swore that the Goddess had tried to contact her, so she went off in search of what the Goddess had asked. Then, again, she had the dream only three years ago. This time, however, it had been a different Goddess, but a Goddess nonetheless – that much she could tell.

The female otter laguz swam fast, quickly reaching the sunken ship outside of the new country of Nylonti. The castle had already been built and the people seemed to be living happily. It made Felicity's heart ache slightly. She wanted to be back with her only family – Hadrian – but she couldn't; she couldn't until she completed her mission. She felt that this mission was important to everyone, anywhere on the world.

She went through the ship, as she had been doing so much of lately. She went through corridors and explored rooms that she hadn't before, searching for what she needed to find. Door after door, she broke or pushed open. Please be somewhere in here...I've got a feeling that I need to find it, or else something bad is going to happen... she silently prayed.

XxXxXxX

Xavier strolled along the rocky cliffs, watching as his people swam about in the water, all laughing and splashing each other. Even Hadrian was down there with them, playing with the younger laguz. Xavier liked it here. It was peaceful. The entire continent might not have been as peaceful as his original country of Nylonti, but it was still enough that he didn't have to worry for his people's safety. He stared down hard towards the deeper, colder area where he had swam to before – where the sunken ship had been. Something told him – his gut, perhaps – that nothing good was down there. It seemed like the ship was harboring something evil. Yet...there was a faint glow of hope with that evil.

Why was that?

He grumbled something under his breath before continuing to walk. It's probably nothing, he told himself.

Oh, Goddess...is it...?

Xavier stopped. His body completely froze. The air seemed to have dropped a couple of degrees. That evil feeling under the water...it was now in the air.

It is...! Ike! I've done it! I've found it!

Xavier turned back towards the water, and without a second thought, dove into the water, which was also noticeably cooler. He shifted and he swam down as quickly as he could.

Now...we can save Tellius.

XxXxXxX

Sanaki gave a violent jerk. Sigrun instantly rushed over to the apostle's side as Sanaki sat in the gardens surrounding the palace. "Apostle Sanaki? What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's...nothing. I'm...I'm fine, Sigrun."

Sigrun gave Sanaki a harsh glare. "Milady, I saw you jerk. What is the matter? Is something bothering you?"

"No. I swear, Sigrun, I'm fine. I must've just had a chill or something."

Even though Sigrun obviously didn't buy the Empress' excuse, she slowly walked away to leave Sanaki to her thoughts.

What...was that...? I didn't really feel anything, but...

"...My apologies, Empress."

Goddess? What is it?

"That jerk of your body was caused by me. I felt a great disturbance to the west. Far west...something is stirring."

Sanaki paled slightly. I'm guessing that the stirring is something bad?

"...You guess correct."

XxXxXxX

Mihara mumbled unpleasantly. "Sure, we get back, only to learn that we have to train tonight..."

"Is...training with Vlas really that bad?" Shoen inquired, having a slight fearful look on his face.

Mihara grumbled something along the lines of "you have no idea" and began leading him to the area where they would be meeting him for training. Janaff, who had delivered the message to them, stared after them with obviously amused features.

Vlas had been standing in his spot, as usual, outside the castle's walls, his arms crossed, waiting on the two to join him. Once they were a few feet from him, he said, "I was wondering what kept you. Where have you two been all day?"

"We were out flying around Altiaire. Had we known we were going to have lessons, we wouldn't have gone," explained Mihara.

"...I see. Well, I expect you at least ate before you came?"

The two nodded. Once they had returned, they grabbed dinner from the dining area. As soon as they had left it, that was when Janaff caught them.

"Good. Well, shift, so that we may begin."

Instantly, the two shifted to their complete forms. Vlas did, as well, and said to Mihara, "First, I'll spar with you for a few minutes to see if you remember what I've taught you."

"Alright."

Without any warning, Vlas beat his wings powerfully. A rush of adrenaline pumped through Mihara, and she flapped as strong, taking to the air and dodging his attack. Without even hesitating, Vlas circled around and lunged at Mihara, talons ready, giving a battle cry from his great beak. Mihara held out her own talons and charged at him. The two collided, their talons closing in on the others' talons. Shoen watched the two with awe. Obviously, they had been training together for a while.

They broke away from each other, flying around in slow circles, waiting on one to make a move. Mihara went first, this time. Except, this time, she tried a maneuver she had seen her father do in the fight against Stasik and Karoline (just thinking about the two sent a chill down Mihara's spine). She charged straight at Vlas, and just as his talons could've sunk into her feathers and flesh, she dropped. Only a few feet, however, for she then gave a powerful beat in her wings and had her talons aimed at Vlas' neck before he could turn around to face her. He nodded approvingly.

"Obviously, you have either been training with or have been watching and observing your father. Well done, Mihara."

"Thank you." Mihara removed her talons from her opponent and teacher, but didn't let her guard down. More than once, he had attempted a sneak attack on her.

With a watchful eye, she followed him down to the ground, where he began at the beginning – the same way he'd started when training Mihara. So, she tuned out his speech and turned her head off towards the mountains. Maybe soon, she and Shoen would go and explore around the mountainous areas. Maybe. Now that she thought about it, Mihara hadn't really seen that much of Altiaire. Only the path along which she took to fly to Crimea and when she flew out with Ranulf and Skrimir to see if enemies were coming. However, the thought of that night, of Karoline and Stasik, of the blood, of how excited she was to fight, and of how Leanne allowed her to break down, made her shiver again. She hoped to not go through that again, but...something deep inside her gut told her that that night...was really only the beginning. It told her that she would have many battles while learning how to live in Altiaire, even if she was – as Ranulf put it - "adjusting well". She still had to learn of customs – both beorc and laguz. She still had to learn of their music (Maybe they have something like a cello here so that I can learn...not exactly where I pictured myself learning, but...beggers can't be choosers, right?) and...so many things flooded into her mind, slightly overwhelming her. She shrugged it all off and turned her attention back to Vlas and Shoen.

XxXxXxX

Tibarn stared out the window, frowning in thought. He sighed heavily into his hand. There had to be an explanation on why Yune told him first...about Ashera. But why? Why had Yune chosen to tell him, out of all people, first? He brought his head out of his hand, quickly, with sudden realization. Does it have to do with Ashera and Mihara or Shoen?!

Tibarn recalled something that Yune had said that made his blood boil. "Tibarn, I think that I'm only just now coming up with an idea of something Ashera might've done... She may not have killed the laguz who abducted Mihara. Instead, she may have transported his body, and possibly, changed who he really was. Volke has told me that Sanaki has started hearing a goddess' voice...but it is not me. I fear the worst."

The Hawk King looked back out the window. His sharp vision allowed him to see Vlas training his children in the distance. At the sight of his two supposed-to-be-dead children, his anger temporarily subsided. Hopefully, soon, the entire situation would under control.

However...something in Tibarn's gut told him that he didn't think the matter would be resolved soon.

His mind was made up. With a grim, yet determined face, Tibarn walked out the door.

XxXxXxX

"It won't be long now..." Yune whimpered. "I had hoped, day in and day out, that I wouldn't have to...but I have no choice, now."

"What will you do, Yune?" inquired Reyson, who was taking his turn for a break.

"I don't have a choice anymore. I must warn the other countries. They must prepared for war. I need to bring Micaiah and Sanaki here. I don't know what's triggering Ashera to break free, but maybe their singing will be a more peaceful path. I am so sorry, you guys. Please hang in there for just a little longer!" Without any more hesitation, Yune took to the skies.

Reyson watched her as she flew away with haste. As he turned to give his father a break, the flame surrounding the medallion shot higher into the air. Not only that, but heat emitted from it, as though it were a true flame. The herons, dumbfounded and startled, stopped singing. The flame from the medallion danced about, heat shooting out. Reyson grabbed Leanne's hand and forced her away, as did Rafiel to Lorazieh. Laurel came flying, Adrian at her side.

"What's happening?!" she cried.

"The medallion...! It's..." Leanne's eyes widened.

Rafiel pushed his father farther away from the medallion. "Ashera is coming."

Swiftly, Laurel said, "Adrian, bring me as many of our people as you can! They must be close by! I'll need help to sing our song of containment! We can't let this forest burn!"

Without even saying anything to his queen, Adrian took off, calling to his people.

XxXxXxX

"Go to where?" Shoen blinked with confusion, not having heard his father on the ground.

"To the Serenes Forest." Tibarn looked up at his son in the sky.

Mihara frowned. "Why? Not that I'm complaining, but..."

"I've just...just a feeling," he explained.

Mihara nodded, slowly. "Okay...and you want me 'n' Shoen to go with you?"

"Yes."

Shoen, who was just now learning why Mihara dreaded going to training with Vlas, nodded excitedly, as though it were Christmas. "Okay!"

Tibarn glanced at Vlas. "So, you don't mind resuming when they return, right?"

"Of course not, Your Majesty," answered Vlas quickly.

"Are you two okay to leave right away?" Tibarn turned back to his children.

Even though Mihara and Shoen could understand the urgency in their father's voice, the two needed at least a little snack before flying across the sea to Serenes. Mihara brought this up, Tibarn nodding understandingly. As the siblings turned to go towards the castle, Mihara could've sworn she caught a glimpse of Ginia, standing on a balcony, staring at...someone.

XxXxXxX

Okay, not much of a cliffhanger, but everything dramatic (that might happen)... I just wanted it to be in the next chapter! If you have any specific requests on pairings you would like to see, or, if you want a character of yours to be in the story, you can leave me suggestions!

Now, onwards! To write more!