~ Epilogue ~

Homecoming

Late in the afternoon, a faint crimson glow illuminated the familiar outer walls of Ylisstol. "Ah, home at long last," Owain sighed contentedly, overwhelmed by feelings of nostalgia. "Though how long our respite shall be remains a mystery. The road of the wandering hero winds on, its end hidden from sight."

"Nope. This is the end of our road," Severa said firmly. "Don't you dare think about running off again, Owain. Or did you already forget about our daughter?" As she spoke, she nodded towards Ophelia, who was currently being held by Crescent. Crescent, like Morgan, had instantly taken a liking to the little girl.

"B-but weren't you the one who ran off last time?" Owain protested.

"Was I? That's not how I remember it," Severa said. She blushed and looked away.

"So, this is where you three grew up, huh?" Crescent asked, her gaze slowly sweeping the busy streets around them.

"Yep! Welcome to Ylisstol," Morgan said cheerfully, exaggerating her excitement to hide her nervousness. "What do you think?"

"There's just so many people here, and so many different things happening," Crescent marveled. "It's like this place came straight from the old stories, but it's livelier than anything I could have imagined."

"Oh, that's right! You and Hel both like reading, don't you?" Morgan remembered. "Just wait until you see Dad's library here in Ylisstol. It's the biggest library in all of Ylisse!"

"Really?" Crescent said, intrigued. "The library in Sol Hearth always seemed a bit small to me, but Hel told me the libraries out in the Reaches were even smaller." She glanced at Helios, who only shrugged and continued looking about warily.

Suddenly uneasy, Morgan, too, began looking around for any hints of trouble. "Is something wrong, Hel?" she asked.

"Those guards back at the city gates gave us some rather odd looks," Helios explained.

"Are you really surprised?" Severa said, rolling her eyes and reaching out to prod Morgan's shoulder. "How often do you think they see a thirteen-year-old girl carrying around a sword like Morgan's? Or any sword at all, for that matter?"

A sheepish look came over Morgan. "I guess I should've put my sword away," she said worriedly.

"I doubt it's a big deal," Severa said dismissively.

"It doesn't look like any of them are following us," Helios agreed.

"They likely recognized Morgan, though. They're probably already on their way to Castle Ylisse with the news," Severa added, smiling slyly.

Morgan blanched. "Y-you think so?" she said timidly.

"Castle Ylisse? A real castle?" Crescent asked, her eyes shining with interest.

"Home to Exalt Chrom and his family," Owain confirmed, pointing towards the not-so-distant castle. Castle Ylisse wasn't quite as grandiose as most other castles, but it still loomed high above most of the buildings surrounding it.

"Including Prince Owain here," Severa added.

"And now you," Owain countered. Severa only shrugged, for she hadn't given the matter much thought until now.

"But why would they be interested in Morgan?" Helios asked, concerned by Morgan's nervous reaction. "Morgan, you aren't in trouble with the royal family or anything, are you?"

"No, I…" Morgan began.

"She might be," Severa interrupted mischievously. "Our father is close friends with the Exalt."

"Sis!" Morgan protested loudly. "You promised they wouldn't be mad at me!"

Severa laughed, but knew better than to push her sister any further. "I'm only kidding, Morgan," she said comfortingly. "I promise. Mom and Dad won't be angry with you."

Morgan nodded reluctantly, and they resumed their march, but she stopped again soon after when they came upon one of the larger roads in the city. "Give me a minute, okay? I'll be right back," she said. Then, before anyone could respond, she ducked through the closest door, into a large and crowded tavern.

Severa stormed into the tavern without another word, not willing to take any chances where her slippery younger sister was concerned. Owain, Helios, and Crescent followed curiously, but Morgan had already disappeared into the throng.

A sense of growing unease plagued Severa as she led the way through the tavern's rowdy patrons. That unease had nearly progressed into full-blown panic when she felt Helios tugging at her wrist.

"She's over there," Helios said, indicating a table near the edge of the room, where Morgan was seated beside an older, grey-haired man.

Relieved and confused all at once, Severa rushed to Morgan's side. "You again!" she exclaimed, recognizing the Fireman at once. "What are you doing here?"

The Fireman eyed Severa calculatingly. "Long time no see," he finally said. Then he nodded towards Morgan. "I came when called."

"Long time?" Severa echoed doubtfully. "It's only been, what, two weeks?"

"Alas, how quickly time flies," Owain said. Severa promptly shushed him.

"Do you know this man?" Helios asked Severa and Morgan, and he seemed even more wary of the Fireman than of the city guards earlier.

"He's the one who sent us to Monolith," Severa replied stiffly. "Morgan, what's this about? You're not still hoping for answers about Calamity, are you?"

"The eidolon? That's what you were hoping to learn more about?" the Fireman asked, turning to Morgan.

Morgan shook her head. "Nope, and I bet you're pretty confused right now, aren't you, Mister Fireman?"

The Fireman simply leaned back in his chair, unimpressed.

"Fifty," Morgan said.

"Fifty?" the Fireman asked.

"You of all people should know that information has its price," Morgan said, her eyes flickering playfully. "I've learned something that I'm sure you'd like to know. Tell you what, though. If you decide it wasn't worth the price after all, I'll return your gold."

"Fifty," the Fireman repeated dubiously, unconvinced that any information worth hearing could be so cheaply purchased.

"Suit yourself," Morgan said uncaringly. She rose to leave.

The Fireman's hand went to his belt, and upon seeing the motion, Helios's hands immediately went to the hilts of his swords. The Fireman was faster though, and before Helios could slide either of his swords more than an inch from their sheaths, a small pouch of coins fell onto the table. The Fireman reached into the pouch, extracting a few coins, then slid the remainder across the table towards Morgan. "Fifty," he repeated a third time, indicating the bag.

Morgan smiled, but made no move for the pouch. "Did you know you have a doppelganger working in Valm?" she asked.

The Fireman's gaze hardened, but he said nothing.

"What are you talking about, Morgan?" Owain tried to interrupt.

Morgan ignored Owain. "I was searching for you across the ocean, in Valm," she explained, her gaze firmly locked upon the Fireman.

"Wrong continent," the Fireman answered tersely.

"I figured as much," Morgan admitted. "So I was just about to come back to Ylisse and search for you, but then you showed up anyways. Only, it wasn't really you, was it?"

The Fireman again fell silent, his expression inscrutable.

"He answers to the same name and greets his potential employers the same way," Morgan said. "He even looks just like you. He was a bit more talkative, though."

The Fireman only stared.

"That's all I had for you," Morgan said, and with a shrug, she slid the coin pouch back towards the Fireman.

The Fireman wordlessly rose to leave, promptly vanishing amidst the nearby crowd without a trace, save for the fifty coins he had left behind.

"What was that all about?" Severa wondered.

"Oh, I just wanted to see him squirm a little," Morgan said happily.

"How did you know the Fireman we met in Valm was a fake?" Owain asked, seeming quite a bit alarmed by the implications.

"I thought back to what Morgan said about him, and it just didn't make any sense," Morgan said. "Why would the real Fireman have needed Dad's help to come to Ylisse if he could travel between Ylisse and Valm so easily?"

"Why are you suddenly talking about yourself in third person?" Helios asked wryly.

"Different Morgan," Severa corrected quickly. "There's another Severa, too." Helios and Crescent both stared at her, as if they weren't entirely sure whether she was joking.

"Also, the Fireman didn't want to sell me the information I went to him for, remember?" Morgan continued. "He ended up selling me the map to Monolith at a fraction of the price. At first, I thought he was just being nice, but… well, he used to be an assassin, according to Morgan."

"An assassin, huh?" Helios mused.

"So I decided the one we met before had to be a fake, and the real one just confirmed it," Morgan concluded, scooping up the coin pouch.

"Or, since you only asked him for fifty gold, he might have decided it was a small price to pay to keep you guessing," Severa suggested dryly.

Morgan paused for a moment, considering that possibility. Then her expression drooped. "I didn't think of that," she admitted.

"Well, you tried," Severa smirked. "Now quit stalling, Morgan. Let's go see Mom and Dad."

"Alright," Morgan reluctantly agreed.

As night fell over Castle Ylisse, most of its inhabitants retreated indoors. The Shepherd training grounds, located in one of the castle's many small courtyards, was left nearly deserted. Most of the Shepherds – all but one, in fact – had long since left in search of their evening meal.

But Princess Lucina, unofficially the leader of the Shepherds, remained behind, relaxing beneath a barren tree as she watched one of her training dummies fall victim to a relentless stream of magical lightning.

Standing roughly twenty feet away from the dummy, the veteran mage continued his furious barrage. Crackling energy continued to arc from his fingertips, coursing in and out of the dummy and leaving a webbed pattern of scorch marks upon the ground. After several minutes of the impressive display, the mage finally lowered his tome, closing his eyes briefly, for the effort had left him drained.

"I think that's enough, Uncle Robin," Lucina said quietly, her voice edged with sympathy.

In answer, Robin looked up at the dummy again, flicking his wrist. One last bolt of lightning erupted from his palm, a focused beam that rushed forth, momentarily lifting the heavy training prop into the air and flinging it back nearly ten feet.

Robin sighed, and ran one hand through his messy platinum-blond hair. "Probably," he agreed wearily. "This isn't going quite as well as I had hoped. My technique hasn't improved in the slightest."

"That's what you said last week, and the week before that, too."

With a slight grimace, Robin turned to his wife, who was seated on a bench not far from Lucina. The red-haired woman remained as beautiful as ever. Even her waist-length hair was perfectly groomed – a remarkable feat, considering how busy she was both with training the Ylissean Pegasus Knights and the time that went into looking after the couple's fussy teenaged daughter.

"You know how much difference a bit of practice makes," Robin said defensively, when he saw the worried look upon Cordelia's face.

"I think you've gone beyond a 'bit' of practice, at this point," Lucina remarked, a sad smile upon her lips.

"And it still might not be enough. I set my sword aside for a few years, only to find that I could no longer even hold my own against one of your newest recruits," Robin reminded her.

"Because it's been years since you've last needed your sword," Cordelia argued. "And when you decided to start training again, you picked it all back up in less than a month's time."

"If only," Robin disagreed, shaking his head in dismay. "I'm still far slower than I used to be."

"You'll get there," Lucina said reassuringly. "As long as you don't burn yourself out first. There's no hurry, is there?"

Judging from the look on his face, Robin clearly disagreed, but he knew better than to argue.

Then, as usual – for this was an argument the three had shared several times throughout the recent months – Cordelia decided to cut straight to the heart of the matter. "All the training in the world won't bring her back," she said. The words seemed to pain her as much as they did Robin.

As if those simple words had drained all of his strength, Robin seemed to deflate, and for a moment, he looked to be on the verge of collapse. He slowly trudged across the training grounds and seated himself beside Cordelia. "It's been more than two years," he whispered.

"I know," Cordelia said patiently.

"She was only eleven when she left. She's thirteen now. She'll be fourteen soon," Robin went on tiredly.

"I know," Cordelia said again. "Robin, I miss her every bit as much as you do, but there's nothing more we can do. We've tried everything we could think of, and we've had all the help we could've asked for, but she's managed to stay a step ahead of us the entire time."

"There has to be another way… something we haven't thought of yet," Robin insisted, though he sounded desperate and pleading, as if he were simply grasping at straws.

"And when you think of something, we'll try it," Cordelia promised. "But until then, we'll just have to trust her. She'll come back when she's ready."

"In the meantime, there's no sense in working yourself into exhaustion," Lucina added.

"What if she gets into trouble? What if she needs us, and we finally figure out where she is, and there's nothing I can do to help her?" Robin asked, his tone growing more urgent with every word.

"Then us Shepherds will go and help her," Lucina reminded. "And all of the Ylissean army, if needed."

"And what if it's not enough?" Robin demanded.

"Do you really think one more sword or tome would make all the difference?" Lucina pointed out.

"We can keep training with you if you'd like," Cordelia said quickly. "I don't mind, but you really need to pace yourself, Robin."

Robin sighed and said nothing, and when he felt Cordelia tugging gently at his arm, he listlessly laid his head against his wife's shoulder.

"Nothing's going to happen to our little girl," Cordelia assured him. "Her sister's keeping an eye on her, remember? Morgan will let us know right away if her younger self gets involved in anything too dangerous."

That reminder did ease some of Robin's fears. The older Morgan had proved to be as quick of a thinker as ever; realizing she wasn't about to talk her younger self out of leaving, Morgan had instead urged the girl to return to Ylisstol and steal one of the two-way mirrors, so that the two of them could stay in touch.

But his daughter's safety was only one of Robin's great worries. "What if she never comes back?" he whispered.

"She'll come back," Cordelia insisted, reiterating the same answer she had given countless times before. With each utterance, there was less conviction to be found in her words, and even she had to admit that by now, it was more wishful thinking than anything.

"I failed her," Robin said, closing his eyes tightly. "All that time, I should have been listening to her… helping her…"

"Yeah, well, you weren't the only one who wasn't paying attention," Lucina said darkly, remembering quite clearly the incident that had driven the younger girl away from Ylisstol. "But I think she'll forgive you. This is Morgan we're talking about, remember? The little girl who used to curl up beside you in your workshop, refusing to go home with her mother when you were up working late?"

"The one who came by just a few months ago, leaving gifts for both of us with Chrom," Cordelia added. "Please, Robin. We both know she didn't leave because she was angry with you. She was confused, and hurt, and…"

"And way too clever for her own good," Lucina interjected.

Cordelia nodded. "She just needs some time to herself," she insisted, though she had no idea whether or not she was right.

"How much longer?" Robin whispered pleadingly. "Another month? Another year?"

Neither Cordelia nor Lucina had an answer to that.

Thankfully, they didn't need one.

"You know, when the guards told me you three were down at the old training grounds, I sort of figured you'd be training… not slacking off and making faces as if you were preparing for a funeral."

Robin, Cordelia, and Lucina all frozen upon hearing the familiar voice. The three of them tentatively turned towards the doorway, as if they hardly dared to believe what they thought they had heard. Though it had been seven years since any of them had last seen Severa, all three of them recognized her at once, despite her dyed hair.

"Surprised to see me?" Severa smirked, though her feigned smugness could not quite hold up against her own discomfort.

"Severa? Is that you?" Cordelia whispered. She and Robin both rose, almost unconsciously, and began hesitantly approaching their long-lost daughter as if they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing.

Severa swallowed and nodded. "Hello, Mom. Hello, Dad," she said, her bluster falling away. "I'm… I'm home. And umm… I'm sorry I was gone for so long." She shot Lucina a sidelong glance. "Hey, Lucy," she added, grinning weakly.

"It's you. It's really you," Robin murmured.

"Uh-huh," Severa nodded. "Oh, and there's something I wanted to ask you, too." She turned and poked her head back into the hallway where Morgan was waiting, white as a sheet. "You didn't happen to misplace one of my little sisters while I was gone, did you?"

Before either Robin or Cordelia could register their eldest daughter's words, Severa seized Morgan by the wrist and dragged her out into the open.

Robin and Cordelia froze completely, and in their state of shock, a gentle breeze would likely have knocked both of them over.

"Umm… hi," Morgan said shyly, shrinking back.

"I ran into Morgan and her friend on my way through Valm," Severa explained lightly. "She seems to think you're angry with her, Dad, and it wasn't easy for me to convince her otherwise. So, don't you dare mess this up again. Okay?"

Robin hardly heard Severa's warning as he stumbled towards Morgan, his jaw agape as if he were in a trance. Then, without warning, he scooped his youngest daughter up in both arms, lifting her clean off the ground and hugging her as tightly as he could.

"Ow! Not so tight, Dad!" Morgan complained, but not too loudly.

"You're safe… you're home…" Robin whispered, tears of joy and relief flowing freely down his face.

Morgan sniffled, trying to stifle her own tears. "Yeah, I… I'm back," she said. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"I'm sorry too, Morgan," Robin croaked, the only words he could manage.

Several seconds went by as neither father nor daughter moved to let go, until finally, Cordelia tugged impatiently at Robin's arm. Robin understood and finally set Morgan down, and the little girl promptly threw herself into her mother's arms.

"I missed you, Mom," Morgan said, her voice muffled.

"We missed you, too," Cordelia said warmly, somehow maintaining her composure, although her eyes were glistening, too. "Morgan, listen to me, okay? No matter what happens, you'll always have a home here."

"But…" Morgan began. She hesitated, afraid of accidentally rekindling an old argument.

Yuelle seemed to sense Morgan's distress, and revealed herself, climbing out from Morgan's hood and onto her shoulder.

"Is… is it okay if Ellie stays with me?" Morgan asked tentatively, dreading the answer.

"Of course," Robin replied immediately, to Morgan's great relief. "I'm so sorry, Morgan. I never should have tried to be rid of her in the first place," he apologized. "I was only worried for you. For both of you."

"All that matters is that you two are safe and happy," Cordelia quickly agreed. "And if any trouble does happen to find you, we'll all be here to help."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Morgan said quickly. "Henry's magic has been very stable."

"Then you haven't run into any more of those wraiths?" Robin asked, comforted by the thought.

Morgan winced. "I… umm…" she stammered, before shooting her older sister a pleading look.

Unable to help it, Severa began laughing. "Just a handful," she offered playfully. "Like, a couple hundred or so."

Robin only stared silently at Severa, his eyes widening in horror. Cordelia and Lucina looked similarly alarmed, the latter reaching instinctively for her sword as if she feared they were about to be attacked.

"But they had nothing to do with Ellie," Morgan said insistently, glaring at Severa. "Ellie won't be any trouble at all. I promise."

"If you say so," Robin said, and though he seemed unconvinced, he let the matter drop, at least for the time being.

At the same time, Morgan began thinking of Monolith again, wondering how she'd eventually explain everything that had happened. That led her to think of the friends they had brought back with them. "Oh! I nearly forgot!" she suddenly exclaimed. "A couple of our friends came here to Ylisstol with us. I promised I'd help them find a place to stay, but could they stay with us until then?"

"Actually, Morgan, I think Helios and Crescent would rather have a bit of privacy," Severa interrupted, giving her younger sister a meaningful look.

Morgan looked puzzled for a moment, but she caught on quickly. "Oh, right," she said, blushing. "Never mind then."

"Why don't you let them stay in your mansion?" Cordelia suggested.

"Morgan's what!?" Severa exclaimed. She stared at her younger sister, who seemed just as confused as she was.

"Yuelle understands us, right?" Robin asked, glancing worriedly at the jeweled butterfly.

Morgan nodded as Yuelle flapped her wings lazily.

"Yuelle, your father did not last long in prison," Robin explained sadly. "Your mother fell ill a couple of months later. The healers and herbalists we sent to her were unable to help, and she passed away a short while after."

Yuelle's wings had perked up at the mention of her father's fate, but drooped almost immediately afterwards.

"Neither of them had any family left," Robin added. He turned to Morgan. "Just before she passed, Yuelle's mother came to your mother and I, and showed us the letter that you had left for her."

"Which letter was that?" Morgan frowned. While she remembered leaving a letter for Yuelle's mother just before departing from Ylisstol, she couldn't quite remember what it had said.

"You apologized for being unable to help her and her daughter before it was too late, and promised to keep taking care of Yuelle," Cordelia said.

"Oh, right," Morgan said. She glanced at Yuelle sheepishly. "I think Ellie's been looking after me, actually," she admitted, and at that, Yuelle seemed to straighten proudly, flourishing her wings. "But what does this have to do with a… oh! She left us her home?"

"And everything else she owned, too," Robin added.

"We weren't sure what you'd want us to do with it all, so we moved most of it into the castle treasury for safekeeping," Lucina said. "It's all yours, though."

"Oh," was the only word Morgan could manage. The thought of the veritable fortune that had unexpectedly fallen into her hands was more than a little bit daunting. All of a sudden, she became conscious of the sizable amount of gold she was carrying on her person already.

"There's no hurry," Robin said, noticing Morgan's confusion. "We can leave it in the treasury until you need it. I'm sure Chrom won't mind." He changed the subject then, turning to his oldest daughter. "It's great to see you, too, Severa."

"Where have you been, anyways?" Lucina asked, frowning. "After you and Owain disappeared, Morgan – our Morgan, that is – tracked you all the way to Valm."

"She spent nearly an entire summer in Valm, searching for you, before finally giving up. She said it was like you two vanished into thin air," Cordelia said, sounding just as curious.

"Inigo disappeared, too. He left Ferox right about when you and Owain supposedly did," Lucina added.

"It's a bit of a long story," Severa said uncomfortably, suddenly remembering her undelivered letter to Inigo's parents. "Though, Owain came home with us, too."

"Really? Where is he now?" Lucina asked, eager to see her cousin again.

"I think he's off to show our daughter to his parents," Severa explained, blushing slightly when she saw both her parents and Lucina smiling at each other knowingly. "A lot's happened."

"Aunt Lissa should be down at the dining hall. Why don't we go join them? You can tell us everything over dinner," Lucina offered.

"Sure," Severa agreed, though, like Morgan, she wasn't entirely sure how much she and Owain were ready to share.

After briefly tidying up the training grounds, the six of them – including Yuelle, who fluttered cheerfully in circles around Morgan – set off towards the dining hall. As they went, Morgan reached out to take both her parents' hands.

For the first time in more than two years, everything in the world seemed just right to the young and road-weary tactician.

Morgan whistled happily as she shut her bedroom door behind her and settled down by her desk. After only three days, her life in Ylisstol was almost entirely back to normal. The city was just as she had remembered it, as were most of its people.

Morgan still wasn't entirely sure what to do with her newfound wealth; the fortune Yuelle's parents had left to her turned out to be even larger than she had initially thought. She had pressed a fair amount of gold upon her reluctant father, mostly to alleviate her own guilt for everything she had taken before leaving Ylisstol, but that still left her with more than she could ever remember using.

Unfortunately, though there were plenty of loose ends left to be tied up and unanswered questions to be puzzled through, money alone didn't seem to be the answer. "Maybe I can convince Uncle Chrom to sell me Water's Edge," Morgan quietly mused. She had yet to tell anyone else in Ylisstol about Water's Edge, but while passing through the island village, she had noticed that the ship the villagers were building was nearly finished. The Valmese refugees couldn't remain unnoticed forever.

On a similar note, Morgan hadn't mentioned Monolith to anyone, either. She had been intentionally vague with the details, and so far, everyone had simply assumed that Helios and Crescent – who were now living together in Yuelle's old mansion – hailed from Chon'sin. Morgan had a feeling the truth would slip out sooner or later, though.

"Hidden truths," Morgan muttered, and a triumphant smile slowly spread across her lips. To the young tactician's great disappointment, neither her sister nor Owain had volunteered any further details of their own misadventure. In this regard, thankfully, Morgan had thought of a solution. In fact, she had thought of a solution quite some time ago, and now, she finally had some time to think.

To think, and to read.

With a silent apology to her presently absent sister, Morgan reached deep into her traveling pouch and retrieved a small, ragged book bound in worn leather, filled with pages of Severa's immaculate handwriting.

As Morgan gingerly opened her sister's diary, Yuelle settled herself upon the young tactician's shoulder, and the two began reading eagerly.

As with every morning since the destruction of the Solcryst, the sun dawned upon Sol Hearth, casting its warm, comforting rays across the summit of Sol Sanctus. Icarus's body had been removed and respectfully interned, but the fragments of the Solcryst lied undisturbed, for the newly freed people of Monolith had little idea of what to do with them. In fact, ever since the first day following Icarus's defeat, no one had found any reason to ascend to the tower's summit.

Until now.

A grey-haired man dressed fully in black, a spitting image of the Fireman, emerged from within the tower. The assassin – or rather, a magical puppet in the exact image of the assassin – approached the ruined crystal, carefully inspecting its remains. He then gave a short, satisfied nod, and stepped aside, waiting patiently.

Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes to hours, and still the grey-haired man did not move. He simply stood and waited, until finally, just as the sun reached its zenith, something large soared overhead, casting an ominous shadow. Leathery wings beat loudly, heralding the approach of something far larger and far deadlier than the Nightmares Monolith had known.

A mighty skeletal dragon, fully fifty feet in height with bones seemingly hewn from darkness itself, landed directly beside his magical emanation. The golden pricks of flame swirling within the creature's hollow eye sockets flared as the menacing creature took note of the residual magic in the Solcryst's crystalline shards. Then he began to laugh, a horrible, grating laugh that would have sent any ordinary man or woman scrambling for cover.

"Ah, you are a remarkable one, young Morgan," Calamity crowed triumphantly. "You have laid low a god, the hidden king of this land. Now, a new god shall be born."

Responding to the eidolon's incredible power, the shards of the Solcryst trembled. Slowly, eerily, the fragments began to float and gather, reassembling themselves into something new, yearning to serve a new master.