Alex was surprised by far as he thought that Emmeryn's words would influence a few of Plegia's residents, not legions of Barbarians, Wyvern Riders, and Dark Mages along with others as they clashed with the loyalist forces of King Gangrel, marking themselves with vibrant colors of green in honor of the late Exalt as they proceed in combat with their former colleagues with the Ylisse-Ferox joint army bearing down as well, leaving the Shepherds a wide open hole to exploit as they fought against King Gangrel's personal guard.
At first, he had believed that they were not quite ready to face the threat of open war, their small group against the best of what Plegia has to offer, but the moment he stepped on the battlefield, he knew the outcome...
...King Gangrel would fall this day...
Having the Shepherds separate was a wise plan as he had the ones on horseback taking out the forts to the side of their entrance while the main body focused down the enemies in front of them, the advance slow, but sure as they took out the guard one by one as they approached Gangrel, smug as the day Emm died, but his forces would not break the Shepherds now and not ever.
As usual, Tharja took to Alex's side like a moth to a flame, yet her expression was conflicted as she was between fighting or hugging him tightly. He pondered why she would be so crushed between the options when he spotted Gangrel, the sneaky monster, trying to get a back strike on Tharja.
Alex shoved her out of the way just as the blade was rushed forward, Alex's left shoulder now impaled and stunned for the moment as Gangrel was wielding a Levin Sword, the tactician quickly leaping back to avoid another bolt of lightning as he quickly pulled out a Steel Sword to fight, his right hand the same that will see him through the day.
The two clashed against each other as the fighting grew as more soldiers flooded the area to overwhelm the Shepherds, though it was hard-pressed to even kill them as Chrom was trying his best to save his friend with the vigor of a wyvern, a fact that Alex was glad to have as steel clashed with magical alloy, the tactician standing his ground in protecting Tharja from Gangrel's attacks while she kept the distance between the small fight and the army.
"Foolish little boy, you are nothing in the face of true power!"
"You're only half-right, Gangrel, I am something, something that surpasses you in every way and that is why you now know, deep down, that you are going to die this day with only your beliefs to keep you up." Gangrel snarled as he lashed out further to kill Alex, but the tactician stood the ground, he held the king back as he bided time for the Shepherds to catch up. "Your men abandon the monster that wished to continue an age-old war, a war that never was pushed for as both sides suffered, but only one side had actually took the courage to recover and wait while you were brewing in your own resentment for a man who gave everything to his line to clean up while he died without facing the suffering that was before his people, and that's the thing..." Alex gave a small grin as he finished. "Emm was a far better ruler than you can ever hope to dream."
"GAAAHHH!" Gangrel roared as he swung faster in wild abandon, Alex now struggling to keep the blows from killing, though he was getting slashed across his body and stumbled back as Gangrel slashed his left cheek, a jolt of electricity surging from the wound as Ale was forced to close the left eye as the power surged through his face before he tripped and Gangrel moved for the killing blow, only for Chrom to rush in with a parry, knocking the Levin Sword out of Gangrel's hands as the prince ran him through with Falchion. "F-fool of...a prince... Your people care not for you... You are...alone... As every man lives and dies ...alone..." With a swift pull, the Mad King fell to the ground, blood now seeping out the chest wound as it soaked the sands red.
With Gangrel fallen, the remaining soldiers quickly surrendered as hostiles ended and the damages across the land were fixed, the threat now over as all returned to their place, the now Exalt Chrom, though he forsworn the title in respects, taking his new place and role as leader of a nation while Alex stayed at the Shepherd Barracks, resuming to read and partake in some cinnamon rolls there as he had no home to go to, his marks healing up as he sat in silence, Libra already healing him up, but the wound under his eye would need time to completely heal, even with the stave's energy.
'Well, at least I have a place I can call home, but it feels unreal... not being by Chrom's side right now and though politics are not my forte, it just is worth it...' His silent thoughts were soon interrupted as someone entered the room, his gaze tilted up to see Tharja closing the door behind her with a look of worry. neither said a word as the dark mage strolled up to him and, without hesitation, ran a hand over his cheek as she touched the wound with regret as she crouched to his level.
Tharja decided to start it off with her own words. "...Does... Does it hurt now?"
Alex shook his head as the hand came away. "Libra did an excellent job fixing it up, but there is going to be a scar under my eye, he said that the magic from Gangrel's sword may interfere with the healing process and could be several years before it disappears." Tharja stood back up to walk behind Alex before encircling her arms around him, a sweet gesture that shouldn't be working for her, but it was. "Are you okay?"
"...No." Tharja solemnly said as her hold slightly tightened. "I was trying to support you as best as I can since we had overextended, as you said, but the moment that... you were stabbed, I was running in my mind, scared out of it as I saw it in front of my eyes and thought I was in the way, that I was going to die if you didn't stand, but you did..." She emitted the urge to press closer, but she just stood. "I'd hate myself if I was the cause of your death, of your... end..."
"It's... fine..." Alex was unsure of how to do this as she was being honest about this, did she want to be closer to him or being sincere to him? "There was a sense of concern running through my mind as he was charging for you, he wanted to kill you and I couldn't just stand there and do nothing..." Alex rubbed his hands together as he pondered the situation. "You... are a dear friend of mine and I had to buy you time... by stalling the king himself, a reckless move, but..."
"It worked out." Tharja said as she released her grip and headed back to the front of the tactician, her back turned to him as she spoke. "Am I truly that dear, I wonder..." With that, she left the room and left Alex alone to his thoughts.
'She was reserved this time around... like she was trying to play a different person, the vibe was like a less imposing Maribelle who could share her feelings willingly... why would Tharja try to be like that...?' Alex wondered the whole thing out, but there was no common logic to her actions or behavior so he pushed it to the side as he returned to reading before he spotted something under a pile of notes that he had made for the Shepherds and a new unit of Plegian soldiers to rebuild relations between the nations, reaching over and removing the small pile to find that Chrom had sent him a request, reading it aloud.
"Dear Alex,"
"I hope this letter finds you in good health after the Shepherds were left to their own within the weeks of the war's end."
"As I take the place of ruler, I have need of someone of great military value to help guide and organize Ylisse's currently scattered strength."
"I ask that you take the mantle of Grandmaster of both the Shepherds and the Ylissian forces."
"I can't think of anyone else who has not only driven the Shepherds to victory, but has also become a critical part of its forces."
Alex smiled as he spotted a side note that actually looked like Chrom's handwriting, explaining that Fredrick was the one who had not only wrote down the letter, but had also printed it out in a few fonts to get the meaning across, even tried to get a full squad of cavaliers to escort the tactician to the capital, but the idea was vetoed immediately as Alex should come on his own, not under heavy protection. He took a breath as he stood up. "Well, if the ruler of the land wants me to be his aide, I will not deny him the chance." Picking up the needed things, he opened the door and went on his way, his short chat with Tharja roaming in his mind for a time.
