Tharja: Tell me not I am unkind

"Of course, if we lose, there's no point in contingencies. But even if we win…"

Robin sighed and looked over the room.

"The crowned heads of most of the world are here, and against Grima I can't promise perfection. There's going to be chaos enough already without a succession crisis. We need to have this in order. Now."

Basilio shook his head.

"I told you. Little sprog's always worrying! Ha! Don't worry. Raimi can keep Ferox in line until they have someone who can fit my chair."

Flavia glared at him.

"You mean my chair, oaf?"

"Just wait until next time."

Robin nodded.

"Fine. That's Ferox accounted for. There's a temporary regency system in Ylisse until Lucina comes of age, so no particular worries there, even if Grima somehow cut through four of the best warriors we have and still lost. Chon'sin and Valm in general are going to be issues… Tiki, I hate to do this, but I'm going to have to ask you to stay in a support position for this one. Someone needs to defend our long range firepower. Someone also needs to stay alive to keep Valm from falling into total anarchy. You're the only person qualified for both.

Tiki nodded.

"If it helps my friends, of course."

Robing nodded back.

"I'm glad we have an understanding. Moving on, we also have Plegia."

Robin took in a deep breath.

"I think I have a good claim for the throne, but… just in case… Aversa, I need you to endorse the claim for any relatives in play. IE, my wife."

He nodded towards Tharja. She glared back in silence.

"Not as good a claim as blood, but she'd run the throne behind Noire's back if I tried to say she was in charge, and Morgan's… Morgan."

Morgan's voice echoed out of the next room.

"I'd argue, but… you're pretty much right."

"And I'd say Morgan shouldn't eavesdrop, but…"

"A key part of any tactician's survival is finding as much information as they can get!"

"Exactly. Are there any objections?"

Aversa smiled. As usual, Robin wished she hadn't.

"Oh, I'm sure the commoners will love having a traitor as their queen, at the word of another traitor."

"And I'm sure I'll regret not killing you when I had the chance sooner or later, but for now, we're supposed to be family, and I'm not too proud to beg. Plegia needs a firm hand on the throne, and this is the best I can do on short notice. Now, unless everyone here WANTS to die horribly and let the world burn to ash, I need to retire to work on some strategies that might, gods willing, give us half a chance."

Robin grabbed a few pages of notes off a table, nodded, and left for his private tent. Well, his more private tent, the one with three layers of noise cancelling enchantment, five libraries worth of books, and a note on the door apologizing to Tharja that he would be too busy tonight for any… standard activities. He opened the flap, looked at his notes, and looked up to find Tharja staring at him.

"How stupid do you think I am?"

"I don't. Gods, I thought we'd had this conversation before. I think you're…"

"Then why are you lying to me?"

Robin stopped and ran through his recent conversations with Tharja, before going back to something even more basic. This tent had wards. Many wards. What Miriel once called an "intemperate allocation of magical capital and general wherewithal" once she was done gasping. No-one should have been able to get in without his direct permission. His own wife shouldn't have been able to disturb him.

And there his wife was. Disturbed as ever.

"Weren't there… wards?"

"I dealt with them. Obviously, you didn't mean for them to apply to me, so I helped you fix your mistake."

"...Thank you."

"It was simple."

Robin coughed. He wasn't that lucky. He never would be that lucky. But maybe with a few seconds of distraction…

"Well, again, thank you, but I have things to plan for. You know that, given a choice, I'd be spending almost all my time with you, but there's more important things than our happiness."

Tharja glared at Robin.

"You've made that clear."

"When?"

"Today. You're going to kill yourself. For Lucina."

Robin stepped back.

"WHAT?"

"Don't play dumb. I heard your little conversation with… Naga. She wants you to die so that the world can be hers, and you're going to lie down and do it. If Grima doesn't kill you first."

"Chrom made me promise not to throw my life away. He believes me…"

"And he's an idiot. I know you better than he does."

"Why would I want to die? I'm married to the best woman in the world. I have two loving daughters, with a third on the way."

"Because we aren't as important to you as Lucina's precious future. Because you feel guilty and whenever you feel guilty the first person you latch onto can do whatever they like with you."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I've done it! And now you must be tired of me. So tired that you'd throw your life away."

Robin stepped back again, and took a breath.

"Even if I wanted to do what you're accusing me of, I wouldn't be throwing my life away. Killing Grima would be as good a death as I could ask for."

"Oh, a hero's death."

Robin paused and nodded.

"Well, yes."

"Like all the heroes who died fighting to protect Plegia. In case you didn't notice, I didn't like dying then."

"And I'm glad you didn't! But this isn't your life we're talking about."

"No. It is."

"It would be my…"

Tharja stepped forward.

"Which you promised to me. Or is the lowborn traitor not important enough for you now that you're royalty?"

"No, of course not! Gods, I don't… every…"

"Or do the little people stop mattering when you're a god? Because I don't remember Naga saying anything when Chrom's father was murdering his way through Plegia."

"Noire wouldn't like you saying that about…"

" I thought I was marrying someone with a spine, and now you're hiding behind Noire."

"Well, maybe if you let her stand on her own, she'd surprise you!"

"Or maybe she'd die. I thought I could trust you and look where that got me."

"In an argument over nothing. Because…"

"Because you're about to lie to me."

Robin closed his eyes. Sighed. And nodded.

"I was about to try. Gods, you do not make it easy."

"No. Because if I found out you were lying to me, I'd have to kill you myself."

"And then I'd be just as dead as if I kill Grima. I can't see how what I'm planning to do is much worse."

"They're different."

"I don't see how one kind of death is worse than another."

"If I had to kill you, then you wouldn't have been worth caring about in the first place."

"And if I die saving the world, and giving you, Morgan, and Noire a legacy to be proud of?"

"Then the most important person in the world just threw his life away."

"Maybe that's why I'm important! Maybe that's the only reason I lived this long! To have a chance to make up for all the horrible things I did!"

"Like our daughters?"

"They're… the exception. I know what I'm meant to do. I know what I'm going to do!"

"Orphan and widow people you claimed mattered. Or is Chrom more important to you?"

"It doesn't matter who's most important. I'm doing this for everyone."

"Good. I'll just tell Morgan that you're abandoning her for her own good. And next time Noire runs off crying with no-one soft enough to bother with comforting her, that's for her good. I'm sure I'm better off alone. What kind of cackling witch would be respected if someone bothered to love her?"

"You have a family here."

"Oh, good. Family. My family was stupid enough to believe in the Grimaleal doctrine, no matter what I said. So, because you took the Fire Emblem, they had their souls devoured."

Robin narrowed his eyes.

"Don't even try it."

"Don't try what?"

"The dead family sympathy play. A month ago, I might have nodded and let you sway me from what I have to do. But I buried a sword in my father's heart past the hilt. My knuckle still has a scar from where I splintered his rib cage. Don't even try to guilt me with that."

"Because you're too busy feeling sorry for yourself to think about anyone else's pain."

"Because we're past the point where it does any good! I want to protect what family I have left and I'm not sure I can find the strength to do it if I spend five seconds thinking about what I have to do for it!"

"So don't. Let Chrom steal the glory."

"You've seen as many battles as I have. I don't think either of us has seen a speck of glory. Gods, I don't know what I'd do with it if I found any. Give it to Kjelle?"

"So people a thousand years from now matter more to you than your family."

"Did you ever think what I'd leave you with if Grima was still alive? Every single cultist, every maniac who still worshipped a god that nearly burned the world would be after you, and Morgan, and Noire, and any grandchildren and great grandchildren we're lucky enough to have. And that's just the start! You think you've been a pariah? Imagine what Morgan's life is going to be like when everyone knows her blood is going to lead to the end of the world."

Tharja smiled.

"Do you remember what happened to the last people to insult Noire?"

"Yes, and it wasn't how I would have handled things."

"It worked."

"Great! Now can you do that every day for centuries to come? I've read history. Hell, I've read Sumia's favorite trashy romance novels, and that was enough to tell the story. If a dark god MIGHT come back, and there's someone to blame, they will be blamed. Chrom might be able to keep things in line for a while, and Lucina might keep them a little longer, but sooner or later it's all going to fall apart."

"So you want to make it sooner."

Robin slumped against the canvas of the tent.

"I'm giving what I have and hoping it's enough. And it's all up in the air anyway. I give us one chance in five of making it through. Worse if I even try to keep everyone alive."

"Which you will."

Robin smiled for a second. Or at least, his mouth smiled. His eyes didn't notice.

"I'm a man of habit. I can't change now. Do and die, one way or another."

Tharja stared at him. Then, after a few seconds, she smiled.

"Or I could just hex you."

"You could."

"A little blood, a few words, and you'd be mine forever."

Robin slumped a little more.

"I'm not arguing with that. I don't have enough drive to fight it off. There's nothing in the world I want more than to stay with you and Noire and Morgan. Three years, and I haven't even scratched the surface."

"Just a few ingredients…"

Robin looked up.

"I know you can. Which means I need you to listen. If you love me… if you ever loved me, you won't."

"I'm saving your life."

"You'd be damning me. Every day, I'd wake up knowing what I should have done. Every day, I'll look at the mark in Morgan's eye or on Noire's back and know the hell I left them because I couldn't do what they needed from me. Every day, I'll break a little more, because we'll both know what I should have done, and that I couldn't do it. And every night, I'll pray to Naga for the death I deserved years ago."

Tharja stopped.

"You're lying."

"You said it yourself. You would have killed me if I was. I'm telling you what would happen."

"But I'd still have you."

"And you're the only one who can tell me if that would be worth it."

Five seconds passed. Ten.

Then Tharja walked towards the entrance to the tent.

"I'm never going to forgive you for this."

"I understand. And, if I get the chance after all of this, I'll spend my whole life trying to make up for it."

"If."

"There was a chance. Even Naga didn't rate it very highly, and she's the closest thing to an authority we had, but she said there was a chance, if the ties that held me to the world were strong enough, if there was more of, well, if you and Morgan and Nore and Chrom held more of me than Grima, I might be able to come back."

Tharja turned towards Robin.

"Why didn't you tell me that first?"

"Well, you didn't offer me much of…"

Robin gulped.

"I didn't want to give you false hope?"

"You're saying that if you live or die comes down to whoever wants you most. An overgrown lizard with delusions of grandeur. Or me."

Tharja smiled.

"No-one wants you more than I do."

"I'm glad to see you're confident."

"Of course, that's no reason to ignore an opportunity to be… even closer."

Robin looked around the room.

"You know, I was supposed to be planning. Since we're all going to be fighting for our lives. And…"

"You said I was your muse."

Robin looked at the table. The books and maps were already on the floor. Tharja was getting ready next to it.

Somehow, most of their arguments seemed to end this way.

Well, he'd probably die tomorrow, and he had thirty pages of strategies written out already. No point in ignoring what was in front of him.

Funeral Oration

It was raining.

Lucina noticed the rain more than anything else. It was the one difference between the landscape around her and the world of her childhood. No plants. No sun. The smell of death. If it wasn't for the rain, it would feel too familiar for comfort.

She looked around. None of the others felt it. Not that there were many people. Robin. Aunt Emmeryn. A few gravediggers. And a hooded priest. Not much of a funeral. Robin was standing over the grave, holding his notes and stumbling through the end of his speech.

"He was a friend. And… he will be missed."

He stumbled back towards Lucina, muttering.

"A barfight. A godsdamned barfight. He tries to do the right thing… damn."

"You can't blame yourself, dear. He made his own choices."

"He dug his own damn grave and I was too blind to see it. And look at this. Three guests at a funeral. Even a bad king… even a bad man deserves someone to remember him."

Which is why her husband dragged her along to this farce. Well, Gangrel was dead and even odds the world was better off for it. Lucina had no love for the man, not after all he did in her past and when she returned. She came here for Robin, who was a far better man than he gave himself credit for if he'd spare a second's thought for that dog. She'd give him a little more time, then they'd push a little dirt on the grave and forget this whole affair.

But Emmeryn walked up to Lucina before the time was done. Gods only knew why she was here. That monster cost her as much as anyone. She was dead before Lucina was born the first time, and Lucina barely had time to meet the woman her father had almost worshipped before Gangrel broke her. A good person would be expected to take vengeance. The truly great could extend mercy, but giving the man life was mercy enough. Attending the funeral was… well, father had said Emm was kinder than he could ever be. It seemed he was right.

"Say… something."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know the man."

Emmeryn glared. Lucina almost stepped back. She didn't know her aunt's eyes did that.

"Say… something."

Lucina turned to Robin.

"I would just have old stories and what you passed on. Tell her."

"I think she's not going to back down. She didn't for Chrom, she didn't for me. And, no offense, but we had better arguments."

Lucina sighed.

"All I have are insults."

"Who's going to object? Emmeryn asked you, so she can't complain when you're honest. I paid the staff a damn sight too much for them to say anything. And I'm sure the deceased would want someone to be honest."

Lucina sighed again, and walked towards the grave.

"I… didn't really know Gangrel. We never talked in camp. I never spent much time with him. My husband said he wanted to be better. Robin is an honorable man, and I believe… he believed that was true."

Lucina took in a breath. Let it out.

"But I knew of him. He died not long after I was born, the first time. I heard stories from my father about him. He was… is..."

The present tense was still a novelty when discussing her parents. Lucina wasn't sure if she'd ever lose the pleasure.

"one of the best, kindest, men in the world. Gangrel was the only man he hated."

Lucina hated him too. Cynthia, Owain, they had trouble adapting to the past at first. Seeing people kill each other, seeing man's inhumanity to man, it was a shock. Owain told her about the first time he killed a man, how he'd hardly slept for days. The shaking hands, how food had no flavor. Lucina had nodded. She let him assume that she'd been the same way, had the same trouble.

The first man she killed was a bandit, on the border of Ylisse and Plegia. She heard him say he was working for Gangrel… and it came easy. No guilt, no doubt. Just a man dead on the ground and the satisfaction of a job well done.

"Father's stories of him were how I knew what evil was. When Grima came, of course, everything changed. It was easy to forget how vile your fellow human could be when you all had no choice except to stood together against the dark. I… never told anyone else the stories. Gangrel was a private devil. And he was gone with the rest of the old world. I never thought any of it would come back."

Lucina tapped her foot.

"When we were able to come here… he was everything I expected. I would have killed him in a heartbeat, if I'd had a chance. The day he died was one of the happiest in my life."

When he supposedly died. Lucina saw her father stab Gangrel where his heart should have been, watched from the shadows as a priest dragged his body away for whatever accursed rites the Grimaleal practiced.

It wasn't Chrom's fault the man was a gifted actor. It wasn't her father's fault the man's heart was on the wrong side. It was Lucina's fault that she didn't follow to see that the man was really dead, but someone had to summon a few Risen to kill Chrom in the middle of his victory, and keeping those from interrupting Chrom's marriage proposal was enough work for anyone.

"That was the end of it. Years came and went. I married the most wonderful man in the world. Had a daughter. Fought in the largest war the world had seen in centuries. Even if I wanted to think on that worm again, I would have been too busy."

Those were remarkable times. One day could be almost perfect. The next everything would come crashing down. Lucina had been used to decay, to hope as defiance more than anything else. A world where hope almost seemed… reasonable was a change, and not always for the better. The more you had, the more you could lose. And when… well. She and Robin both had a lot to apologize for before it was all over.

And then Grima returned and there was no time for anything but running and fighting. Robin had ideas, of course. He always did. Drawing Grima to a pirate city. They would put up enough of a fight that Grima could be delayed and the Shepherds could escape to the Dragon's table. It was trading lives for time, but at least it wouldn't be innocent lives, or the lives of anyone under Chrom's command. In the long run, it might even save lives, removing a bandit threat like that.

She remembered Robin's eyes the night he suggested it. Red. He didn't sleep much, in those days. Didn't talk much. Never looked at Morgan except to issue orders. Never talked to her except when she forced the issue.

"And then... we passed the Sea-king's throne."

That was the real risk. Grima needed to see them pass through for long enough to attack, long enough to bait the pirates into war, which meant doing a little fighting themselves. Tired, underequipped, and unsupported, with half their number scattered across the world to find anything to help in the fight.

Lucina was glad Morgan was away then. That at least her daughter was safe. Of course, when she found out where Morgan actually was at the time, that turned out to be… inaccurate. But it was a relief at the time.

"My father made an offer that day. Anyone who surrendered and aided us against Grima would be given a full pardon. Only one man accepted, and even then, only at the point of a blade."

Lucina didn't see any of it past the first offer, of course. She was busy staying alive, and keeping Robin in the same condition. She still had the scar from an arrow that would have killed him. It was the only time she'd seen her husband that… sloppy.

"Gangrel. A man we all thought was dead. I was sorry to see we were wrong."

She never said so to his face. He was one of them now, for good and ill, and that meant she would treat him with respect. No more than the minimum, perhaps, but it was still an effort.

And Robin made her efforts look like nothing in comparison. She managed to treat Gangrel like a human being. Robin was his friend.

"He served with us in the last battles with Grima and the Risen. I knew him more by stories from my husband than anything I saw myself. From what I heard he was a broken wreck of a man. I couldn't hate him. That was more effort than he was worth."

Robin told her stories, most nights. Talked about good intentions and bad results, mistakes and folly, how his father had made everything worse when it was primed to go bad already. Talked about guilt, and moving past it to try to do something constructive. There were only a few weeks between the sea king's throne and the final battle with Grima, but Robin seemed to know the man's entire life in that time.

"The last day I saw him was the day Grima fell. Naga only knows why he was one of the soldiers she chose to fight the dark god, but he was fearless. Even the bravest of us held back from time to time, considered our own safety. He only thought about clearing the path."

That and holding Chrom back. Distracting him to make sure Robin could deliver the killing blow. That made three people who knew the plan. He was a good choice. The last person Chrom would want to talk to, and the last person who could reveal anything.

"At the end, when my husband was… gone, was the only time we talked. He… said the wrong man died. And that he was sorry for all of it. I believe he meant it."

She cleared her throat. She'd been too busy to bother with any followup. She had a daughter to look after, reconstruction efforts to assist, and rumors to chase for the last year. Miracle after miracle, so much good that she didn't dare hope for. Why would she ruin it by chasing after a broken thief?

"I suppose that's all I can say. Gangrel was never a good man. He committed actions anyone would be hard pressed to forgive. But in the end… he knew the truth about himself. And he wanted to make things right. I can't be sorry he died. I can regret that he died before he could set things right. May whatever god takes his soul grant some measure of peace."

Lucina walked towards Robin. He nodded. Neither of them said another word. The coffin went into the ground. Dirt covered it. The priest muttered a few words, and it was all over. The priest and the pallbearers took a few coins for their trouble and left. After a few more moments, the party from Ylisse turned to walk back towards the nearest village.

Robin turned towards Lucina.

"Thank you."

"I didn't have many kind things to say."

"Gods know no-one else did. I knew Gangrel about as well as anyone did, well, anyone who survived the Plegian war. If he wrote the eulogy, it would have been much less complimentary."

"I think you said as much when you were writing your speech."

"Did I mention how much cruder it would be?"

"I think Morgan was in the room at the time."

"I'll take that as a no. Well, trust me. It would have been something else. I just wish I could have done more."

"You were a good friend to him. I think he'd admit he was given better than he deserved."

Robin looked up at the sky and smiled.

"Not like he's the first."

Dark god in Repose

"Trust me, you'll love it."

The blue haired woman smiled across the table. Her companion's pointed ears folded.

"You say that about everything, Morgan."

"And sometimes it's true! It's called a cafe. I guess you were asleep when they started popping up everywhere. Time flies, huh?"

Nah sighed.

"I don't sleep that much. I was hardly out for six months last time."

Morgan smiled.

"Only six months. Your sister never goes longer than three weeks."

"She's managing a country. I'm helping the voice of a god hold onto her last connection to the world. It's a little more stressful!"

"You should try being a god. Much easier."

"Morgan…"

Morgan's smiled broadened. Her eyes glistened.

"HEY EVERYONE! I JUST SAVED YOU ALL FROM THE WRATH OF MORGAN, GOD OF EVIL AND DESTRUCTION! BE GRATEFUL."

Every eye in the room turned. First to the yelling psychotic, then to the apprentice to the Voice. Then back to Morgan. No one moved closer. A few people backed away.

"I hate when you do that."

"I know. But think of it this way. If I indulge myself by being a little irritating, that means I'm not indulging myself by ending the world."

Nah shook her head.

"I can't go anywhere with you, can I? Did I miss anything else while I was out?"

"Not… much. I had another funeral. I forget how many greats came before grandson. State thing."

"It never gets…"

"It does. It really, really does. I mean, it gets numb-er too, but I've gotten through it being the worst thing ever, to being numb, to being numb being horrible, to, well, now. It's not anything anymore. I mean, I miss him and everything, but…"

She shrugged.

"Even if I remember him, I'll get over it. "

Both women were silent for a few moments.

"Geeze. Sorry to be such a bringdown, Nah. So, I should probably think of something else to get us moving again."

"If you need time…"

"I really don't. Well, I don't need that kind of time. I get enough of it from other people. Time with my best friend is rare enough it should be spent on something less… sad and boring. Oh! How's Tiki? Any gossip? We're supposed to be archenemies. I could plot something!"

"She's been sleeping longer. And longer. It's hard to get her to pay attention to the waking world."

"Oh. That doesn't seem to be much of an opportunity to, well, plot."

"I think we'd be halfway to resurrecting Grima before she'd pay much attention these days, if I wasn't around. Gods, it's exhausting."

"It sounds like it. And while she sleeps, you do all the work. Wait. I had an idea."

"Is it having someone do all your work for you?"

"What? No! Look into these eyes. They're innocent of all deceit and guile! These are the eyes of an honest woman."

"Those are the eyes of a complete lunatic!"

"An honest complete lunatic."

Nah smiled.

"Usually."

"Right. Here's my idea. You've seen… problems, right? I mean, I have. Every few hundred years someone tries to resurrect a dark dragon to burn the world for some reason."

Nah winced.

"Lady Tiki says they succeed every few thousand. The world nearly met its end more than once. If we fail to remember the wisdom of the past, lose our connection to Naga and the fight to protect all life, then… well, your father ended Grima."

"He didn't talk about it much. I think it scared him. What he had to do."

"He never said anything to me."

"Or to Mark. Or younger me. He talked about it with mom and grandpa a little. And me a little more. I don't think he would have wanted me to talk to anyone else about it. And it's not important right now. Since, well, Grima's not the only dark god ever, right?"

"As long as there is evil in the hearts of man. At least, that's what most of them said as they died."

"Well, that's probably what I would say too. I mean, if you can't get any real revenge on someone, you can at least make them a little uncomfortable."

"Maybe."

"I'm pretty sure I can guess what I would say, Nah."

Nah shook her head.

"Morgan."

Morgan smiled again.

"Anyway, if they keep coming back, that usually means someone brought them out. Which takes a lot of time. I mean, you need to get a lot of human sacrifices, you need to organize rituals, you need ancient sacred artifacts. It's not easy."

"Which is why we find them before they can do anything."

"Only they're getting smarter every time. And you need to sleep, you can only see so many places, and everyone knows you'll be looking for them. You're second only to The Voice. It doesn't make it easy to hide. I mean, even aside from your sister being the most recognizable person in the world. Who looks just like you."

"Does any of this have a point?"

Nah's voice didn't even hint at anger. She'd spent too long around Morgan for that. It was simply a question. The tangents varied from intricate strategies to, well, stupid and meaningless tangents. Without asking, it was had to tell in advance.

"Oh yeah. The problem is, they're going to find another dark dragon someday, and then we'll have to find heroes, and then a lot of people are probably going to die. Which neither of us wants."

"I know."

"Which is why we make sure they find one!"

"Morgan, is this one of the times where you have a good idea, or is this another Plegian Fish Crisis?"

"...I think it's the first one. And the fish thing would have worked out if I had a few more years to work on it."

"No. It wouldn't."

"It was pretty funny either way. Man, the look on the Exalt's face..."

Nah coughed.

"The plan?"

"Right! So. I lay low for a century or two. You let rumors spread in the church about a blue haired monster with the mark of an ancient evil. Now, let's say you're evil and planning to destroy the world. Do you go looking through hundreds of ancient scriptures, or do you just look for the guarantee? Hint. They're going to do the one that's a trap."

"A century or two?"

Morgan's smile faded.

"The last grandkid I had who talks to me died three months ago. I didn't have much else to do. Valm's safe with you, Ylisse is safe with other Nah. And I'm bored. You have your mom, and your sister, and Tiki. I just have you."

"Morgan…"

"It's fine. It's more than enough, really. But it means I can take some time to avoid boredom if it helps my best friend. It'll be like old times."

"Old times were you hitting me in the head with a book. Over and over."

"We really had fun."

"I really had bruises."

"The important thing is, I helped you out then."

"I don't remember it that way."

Morgan shrugged.

"Well, I can help this time. We can exchange coded messages. Keep in touch. And when the time is right, snap goes the trap, and the world is safe."

Nah smiled.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Centuries of your life…"

"I was born to a dark god. I have to live up to expectations somehow."

(Author's notes: Well, here we are, at the conclusion of another installment. Might even be the last one for 2014, considering the season. Hope it's not ending on a low note, at least.

As for the individual stories:

Tell me not I am unkind: I hadn't done anything with Tharja and Robin together. The thing that struck me about that particular relationship is, well, how far it was from Lucina and Robin (Which, I admit, I've got a certain fondness for). Lucina and Robin have a whole "Could not love thee, Dear, so much, loved I not honour more" thing going on. They're crazy for each other, sure, but a big part of their affection is based on the fact the other puts the good of the world ahead of their own happiness. Tharja, on the other hand, seems to go full steam in the opposite direction, with a very... possessive attitude towards Robin.

Which made me think of the sacrifice ending. Lucina, it's easy to see how that talk would go. Nobody'd be happy, maybe, but they'd agree what had to be done. Tharja didn't strike me as the type to put people a thousand years on ahead of a relationship in the present. Thus, this. Haven't tried to write for Tharja much, and I hope I did alright.

Funeral Oration: There were a couple ideas in play here. The first was simpler. Gangrel's supports with the male Avatar make a fairly nice series, moving from depression to embracing his second chance at helping his people. Nice and upbeat. Then the ending comes, and it's casually mentioned he probably died alone and unloved in a gutter. The second was considering Lucina's upbringing. In the game timeline, Chrom took Emmeryn's sacrifice as an incentive to try to be more peaceable, to offer a second chance. On the other hand, where Lucina's from, she died to a knife in the back and the war with Plegia presumably went for a few more bloody years. Lucina's father still seemed to be a good man, but he'd probably have a few less regrets about using excessive force, and a few more curses for the mad king's grave. Brought them together, and this came out.

Dark god in repose: Simpler idea still, I'm afraid. It started with the first law of thermodynamics. Now, it doesn't always apply to stories about magic, but Grima dying would have to have a major impact on the world. I mean, the consciousness is clearly destroyed, but the energy might not be. Path of least resistance would be to Robin, but they're sort of dead at the moment. Morgan wasn't, and there was no mention of a mark of Grima vanishing from them. And, well, Grima couldn't die to anything but Grima...

So, that was the set. Hope you enjoyed, if there's anything that stood out for good or ill feel free to point it out, and thanks for reading this far.)