Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.
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Very early next morning…
Outside of the desert, Khimari sat by himself observing the night sky. The moon wasn't as bright as when he had left Gallia, but it still had a bright place in the sky. After yesterday's mess, Khimari took a 'personal walk' by himself and just returned a couple of minutes ago, a good while after midnight. After a long conversation in his head, he decided to leave Izuka alone for as long as he had the Daein prince Pelleas with him. As soon as this liberation crap was done, though, all bets were off. His fur twitched in anticipation for the day that he would dismember Izuka limb from limb and savor it for the rest of his life.
"You're back?" a voice sounded. Turning around, he saw it not to be his mother or Volug, but Kurthnaga and another woman. She was brown with green hair, similar to Kurthnaga. She wore a veil over her head with a long black dress that gave her the air of someone important. "I'm glad to see you are safe."
"Thanks, Kurth...Who's she?" the wolf asked.
"This is my sister, Almedha," the dragon answered. "We waited for a while for everyone to sleep before we went outside to talk."
"Khimari, was it? ...Thank you for keeping my brother safe," the woman said.
"No problem. I just did what any friend would do. So, how does this lost prince person look? I didn't see him yet."
"He's…"
"My son is perfect," Almedha cut in, extremely defensive. "You will find he is a great boy."
"Umm….sure," the wolf half-heartedly replied. "So what's their liberation plan?"
"As far as I know, Izuka-"
"Spare me the name, please," Khimari growled.
"...There are rumors being spread around Daein as we speak," she continued, not aware of the history between the two. "Today, everyone will relocate to the Daein Liberation Army's base where many soldiers have already gathered and have been training for the last few weeks. From there, they will have an official meeting to discuss the next plan of action."
"Wow, you're really in the know, aren't you?"
"My dear Pelleas tells me everything. How could one be a good mother and not expect to hear everything from their child?"
"Trusting them to be adults," another voice answered. Looking back, the three found Nailah walking up to the group. "My little Khimari has much to tell me and much that he doesn't want to tell me, but that's alright. As long as he can think enough to make his own well-thought decisions, I know I played a decent role as his mother."
"Well...Everyone is different, it seems," she replied, looking away from the wolf queen. "I'm going to retire to my quarters."
"Hold on!" Khimari whispered/shouted, stopping the wayward dragon Laguz. "Would you happen to have paper and something I can write with?"
"Hm? Yes, I suppose…"
"Can I use it?" he asked, tipping his head to the side. In response, the woman simply exhaled deeply before motioning for the wolf prince to follow her.
XXXXX
Two days later…
After everyone had settled in, the Dawn Brigade had been shown the Daein Liberation Camp, where they would stay as allies (props, in Khimari's words) to rally the base and create an increase in morale. At the moment, Khimari, in his wolf form, sat next to Jill and Tauroneo. "Khimari, are you sure you want to be here?" the red-haired dracoknight asked him. She, Khimari, Sothe, Zihark and Tauroneo met privately to discuss the reason why the wolf was so taken aback by the mentally questionable Izuka. They had decided that Khimari should sit in the meetings because of his military and strategic experience, though on the condition that under no circumstances would he be close to Izuka or have to respond to him. Tauroneo offered to explain it to the crazy man, but Khimari had simply said he would be silent and give his advice in the post-session after the scientist had left.
"No, I don't want to be here, but it's the least I can do for you guys," he said as Zihark walked in. "You helped Ike and the rest of us out, and now it's time to do right by Daein...well, its people at least. Some of your higher-ups can drown for all I care." Knowing exactly who he was referring to, Jill simply rolled her eyes as the two Beorc men in the room grunted in amusement.
A few moments later, Izuka and Prince Pelleas entered, followed by Sothe and Micaiah. The Lost Prince and the crazy scientist went to one side of the table, while Micaiah and Sothe went over by Jill. Zihark shifted over a little as to make space for Sothe while Khimari perked his ears to hear what the plan would be.
"How are you today, Lord Izuka?" Tauroneo asked in order to start the meeting.
"Well, well," he impatiently replied, before giving a sadistic cackle, for lack of a better term. "The rumor that my...operatives spread has taken hold of Daein like wildfire! 'The Late King Ashnard's Son emerges! The Silver-haired Maiden is at Prince Pelleas' side!' The people are listening, now...we steal their hearts! We extol the savior, begin the rebellion, go to battle and conquertheenemyinablazeofglory!" he shouted in glee, sounding frighteningly similar to someone who was under the influence of a hallucinogenic beverage.
"Do we have enough forces to arouse said rebellion and achieve victory?" Sothe asked with a bored tone, clearly not one for Izuka's antics (none of them were).
"You let me worry about that," he disregarded, before opening up the war map on the table, which had been riddled with small marks across Daein. "This highly sophisticated strategizing is beyond your young minds! Worry not! I have determined the exact locations to target!" he said, before motioning for everyone's eyes to focus on the map. "Gather around! Hear the plans for our next strike." Refusing to get out of Laguz form, Khimari's front paws were put on the table, making him stand tall enough to see the map on the table.
"An attack on any of these places by our Liberation Army will give us certain victory," the man announced, before pointing at a location close to the Daein/Begnion border. "First we'll target Talrega. It borders the frontier, its hold is shaky...and resentment runs high. "
To Khimari, that was quite possibly the most idiotic thing he had ever heard from a strategy room. If someone is trying to take back a country, why would they attack a place that borders the country they're trying to liberate from? It won't cut off any supply chains, the terrain is hellish, if the floodgate problem from Crimea's attack on there is an indication and it would be easy for word to cross the border and give a reason to the Begnion Senate to silently send reinforcements that would crush the Daein Liberation Army.
Well….in this case, it would be helpful if Sanaki or Sephiran got a hold of the information, but he had already made a plan to take care of that, the wolf thought to himself with an inward grin.
Thankfully, it seemed that sense was alive in the room. "No," Micaiah denied with a shake of her head. "Talrega is no good."
For a moment, Izuka stopped, as if he had been frozen in time. Then, he snapped his head over to the silver-haired girl quicker than lightning. "Wh-what was that!? On what grounds are my decisions being questioned by this...this child!?"
"The timing is all wrong," she explained, her eyes closed in deep thought. "The heavy rain will prevent us from being able to advance well, let alone fight against them."
"Micaiah is correct," Jill tagged in. "I'm from Talrega. I remember very well the landslides and floods that come in the springtime. The mountain road leading up to that particular work camp is notoriously treacherous."
"Wh-what?" Izuka sputtered, his eye twitching erratically. "Impossible! My strategy is nothing less than perfection! Pure genius, I say!"
"Micaiah, where should we attack?" Sothe asked gently, rolling his eyes at Izuka's clear display of narcissism.
"...Terin," she decided after a few seconds. "We'll have much better luck in Terin."
"Terin also lies in the mountains, in the region of Marado," Tauroneo noted. "...But in the arid northern region, where the weather is much more predictable."
"Micaiah, you're amazing!" Pelleas complimented with stars in his eyes. "I count every blessing to Ashera having you as my vice-general."
"Very few people that aren't from Talrega know of the yearly landfalls of the springtime," Jill noted. "Micaiah, have you visited before?"
"She's a very powerful seer," Sothe answered this time, seeing as the silver-haired girl was starting to feel overwhelmed. "We in the Dawn Brigade owe our lives and freedom to her abilities."
"AAAARHRHARGHAGRH!" Izuka yelled all of a sudden, as if he had gone mad. "She can see battle outcomes? MAGNIFICENT!? Why didn't anyone tell me of this? ...Never mind! This is only the Goddess herself smiling upon my impeccable brilliance as a tactician. My idea of decreeing her as vice-general was flawless and infallible. No-Pure GENIUS!" he ranted. "Well, now. All hail the visions of the Maiden! Time to make the preparations to leave for Terin!" he yelled, rushing out of the strategy room.
"Um...I'll go...check on the preparations," Pelleas said shyly, running out after the crazy scientist.
"...Are you sure I can't kill him yet?" Khimari asked after transforming.
"As...irritating...as he may be, he's the main advisor to Prince Pelleas," Tauroneo sighed. "You'll have to hold off on that sentiment just a little while longer."
"That...aside, what do you think about the plan?" Sothe asked. "Since you're the actual war strategist here."
"I only helped Soren with a little more than half his plans, thank you very much," the wolf rebutted. "Anyways...I know nothing about this location, but if the weather is stable, you don't have to risk being negatively impacted. Since it's in a more rural region, there shouldn't be a giant Begnion influence...scratch that, there's gonna be a lot of resistance."
"What makes you say that?" Jill asked.
"The keeper of the lands, Fiona," the wolf answered. "I talked with her on my diplomatic trip in Daein two years ago. Apparently, Marado is known for having an independent streak and didn't deploy at all in direct disobedience to King Ashnard during the Mad King's War. That being said, Begnion most likely has a decent amount of soldiers there to keep an eye on them. After all, Marado's reputation would make it the perfect location for the beginning of a revolt," he recounted. "So, in short, follow what the silver-headed sparkle mage said," he bluntly summed up.
Micaiah couldn't help but redden with embarrassment as Sothe and Zihark lightly chuckled. "Sothe! Zihark! Why are you laughing?"
"Well…" Jill put in, struggling to keep a straight face. "Khimari is definitely not one to mix words."
"Hmph. I'll go oversee the preparation," Tauroneo announced, though he cracked a small smirk as he left the tent.
"We should go follow him," the swordmaster suggested. With that, Jill and Sothe left, leaving Micaiah and Khimari all alone.
"...Thank you, Khimari," she said after a few seconds of silence.
"For what?"
"For helping us reconquer Daein," she said. "For sitting in the meeting and...for keeping Sothe safe."
"He praised you three minutes ago, and now you're gushing all over me?" the wolf joked. "What's up?" he said, sitting on the table, with a relaxed expression.
"I mean...nothing," she said. "It's just...I don't like being praised all the time."
"Is it because you're different?" the wolf asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Hm? No...not because I did fortune telling…"
"Not that, you dingus," the wolf bluntly put aside. "The fact that you're a Branded."
"A...Branded?" she echoed, not knowing of the terminology. "What is that?"
"A Branded is a person who is the offspring of a Laguz and a Beorc," the wolf summarized. "When the two people of different races get together, it creates a Beorc, but the Laguz blood usually manifests itself as a mark on the child's body, which I'm assuming is on your hands or arms because you're always wearing those long gloves, even when it's ridiculously hot outside." After Khimari explained it, Micaiah's face became as white as a ghost.
"How did...How did you find that out!?" she whispered, coming closer to the wolf.
"Let me help you out. Beorc, for all intents and purposes, are stupid when it comes to this stuff," he started. "Laguz, on the other hand, have stronger natural senses, such as smell. Most of us will look at you suspiciously, since you don't smell like a Laguz or a Beorc, though most won't know what you are because a Branded isn't the most common thing in the world. Other Laguz like me, for example, would know at the drop of a hat. I knew what you were ever since you were thrown in that prison cell with me and Kurth," he revealed, making Micaiah gasp.
"You've known for that long? Is it...really that noticeable?"
"Yes," he blinked. "Especially since you're a freaking fortune-teller that looks into people's souls. I'd bet a week's worth of fish your Laguz descendants are from the Heron tribe. That aside, you age ridiculously slowly, starting at a certain age. Also, you can end up getting certain Laguz attributes of whatever your bloodline is mixed with. In your case, it's being nosy and sensing impending danger."
"..." As much as Micaiah wanted to say something, she had no idea what to say. In the matter of a minute, she had been completely figured out by the wolf prince. "I don't...I didn't want this for me!" she said, keeping the tears away.
"Welp, you have it," Khimari bluntly stated. "You're gonna get hate for it, especially from Laguz, if you see a lot of them. They tend to call the Branded 'Parentless' or whatever kind of crap that is. Beorc don't like Branded people either, but just tell them you have a Spirit Pact or whatever and they'll believe you."
"Why...are you telling me this?"
"Sothe cares for you. That, and everyone else here is just as clueless as you are concerning this topic." Micaiah honestly didn't know if that statement was meant as an insult or not, and just settled for giving Khimari a strange look. "At the end of the day, just be Micaiah. If anyone gives you crap about this Branded stuff, I'll bite their hand off for you."
"Um...thanks?"
"No problem!" the wolf smiled. "Now, I'm not going with you to Terin, so make sure to actually think before you rush into a situation," he advised, poking her head with his index finger.
"You aren't coming? Why?"
"I have my own business to take care of, Micky!" he vaguely responded, before transforming. "Now, I'll see you in about two to three days, give or take. Tell Edward that I cleaned his Wind Edge for him and he has until I get back to learn proper sword maintenance from Zihark. He will get tested."
"Uh, okay…" she said, walking out with the wolf. Afterwards, they parted ways, with the Daein Liberation Army's vice-general headed for Terin while the Laguz prince did...well, she had no idea what he was going to do.
XXXXX
The next day…
"Are we all ready?" Sothe asked everyone. "I have no doubt that Begnion already knows how close we are to Marado." They had already left under the cover of dark yesterday with the plan of reaching Terin by midday. If everything went as planned, they'd be able to get back to the Liberation Army camp by dawn tomorrow.
"We're good to go!" Edward enthusiastically replied. "It's time to take Daein back!"
"Curb the excitement, Edward," Leonardo advised. "This is only the first mission we're doing joined with the Liberation Army. Wait a little bit before you start screaming all over the place."
"Maybe it'd be best if you both got ready instead of bickering," Jill scolded. Even if she had gotten better over the years, her sharp tongue was never lost on her. "After all, we are due to confront Begnion forces any minute."
"...It's time," Micaiah decided, her eyes closed. She took a deep breath before opening them. "Everyone, it's time to attack!" Spurred by her call, the Dawn Brigade advanced, coming into contact almost immediately with Begnion soldiers planted in the pathway waiting for their arrival. Whispering an incantation, she sent a strong flash of light that blinded the first four fighters. "Now!"
Without hesitation, Edward, Zihark and Volug ran forward to quickly finish them. Tauroneo and Meg guarded the rear end to prevent any surprise attacks while slowly advancing. Zihark, with his Killing Edge in hand, quickly dispatched two fighters while Edward engaged in combat with another swordfighter. Jumping back, the brown-haired boy shot a blast of energy with his Wind Edge that greatly wounded the enemy. Without reservation, he shot another blast, dealing a concussive blow that sent the swordsman crashing on the rocky slope, which couldn't have been pleasant.
Unaware of an approaching lance soldier, Edward was caught unaware when Volug threw himself in front of the young swordsman, throwing the Begnion man to the ground and finishing him with a quick bite to the neck. "Thanks, Volug!" he said before returning his attention to the battlefield. It was clear that Begnion wasn't ready for this level of resistance, seeing how easily the Dawn Brigade was advancing towards the village. Jill single-handedly was taking care of the few Pegasi knights with Leonardo catching any of them that tried to escape from the battlefield.
Looking forward, he saw Micaiah and Sothe moving forward, and decided to run after them. "Hey, you guys!" Edward yelled. "How many are left?"
"They're almost completely gone, save for the ones inside the village, of course," Sothe summarized. "Tauroneo and Meg are dealing with a few from the back, but they should be done so-"
"You will not have to wait," said white armor knight reassured, as he and Meg came forward with the rest of the group. "There are no forces to our interior any longer. Shall we proceed?"
"Yes," Micaiah nodded. "The only thing left are the gate guards. We can do this!" Full of morale, the Dawn Brigade advanced to the gate of the village, which was guarded by a Begnion horse knight and two soldiers. Chanting a Thani spell, Micaiah drew a small vortex of light with her hand before slamming it through the air. Above the horseman, a huge ball of light appeared and exploded on top of him, killing him on impact and disorienting the other two.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Volug and Zihark, the two fastest of the group, pounced and killed the last two Begnion soldiers. "Alright, let's go," Micaiah motioned running forward. After checking for any traps, Sothe opened the gate to the village, revealing a large field and a bridge that separated them from the village proper.
"...This so-called "Liberation Army" will force me to sacrifice this boy!" a voice screamed, forcing the Dawn Brigade to run forward to witness a Begnion soldier, likely the commander by his dress, and a troop of soldiers with weapons to the backs of innocent civilians.
"No!" Micaiah screamed, alerting them to the Daeins' presence.
"Fight, and these people will be executed where they stand!" the man said mercilessly. "Surrender yourselves, and they will be spared."
"...Drop your weapons, everyone," the silver-haired girl decided, dropping her tome to the floor as an example.
"You have a feeling, don't you?" Sothe asked quietly, before giving a dry laugh. The next sound that was heard was his dagger hitting the ground. "Got it. We'll follow your instinct," he said a little louder, so everyone got the picture and dropped their own weapons.
The Begnion commander gave out a laugh at the cooperation of the group. "A wise choice, girl! Well...no more need for these prisoners, is there? Kill them all!" he commanded, to everyone's horror.
XXXXX
Meanwhile…
In Begnion's Grann Desert, there wasn't much to see. Sand extended for as far as the eye can see, and there was hardly any civilization out here except for those who would soon die and the actual crazy people who had the gall and insanity to call this formidable desert a home.
Khimari was on his way to see the latter. Traveling nearly non-stop except for a small rest to recuperate, the blue wolf finally reached his destination. A slightly renovated, but still worn-down looking building stood right in front of him. Sitting on his back paws, the wolf let out an ear-piercing howl that echoed for a good distance in every direction.
Waiting patiently, the wolf looked around the sky for a while until two excited screams broke the air.
"KHIMARI!" two teen-like voices screamed. Out of the building came a Beorc with red hair and a matching color cape and a Laguz with orange hair and a simple brown shirt with off-white pants.
"Hey, Rikari and Tormod!" the wolf greeted back, transforming into his two-legged form. "I haven't seen you guys in like three weeks."
"That's still a long time!" the mage retorted as three more figures came out of the building. "How have you been? Is everything fine in Gallia?"
"Yeah, sure, why not," he responded nonchalantly, before looking up to the older three people, Maurim, Tora and Vika, a relatively new raven Laguz that joined about four months ago. They had gotten to talk a little, but she creeped the hell out of him.
'I probably shouldn't have said that the first time we met…' the wolf offhandedly thought before shaking his head. There were more pressing concerns at hand. "Did you get my letter thingy? This mail system is trashy as it is."
"Yes, we got it yesterday," Tora answered. "So what exactly do you want to bring up to the Apostle?"
"Yeah, nothing much except half of her military are openly abusing Daein citizens and treating them worse than dogs treat cats," Khimari responded. "They have labor camps, they threw me in prison with no proof or due process among who knows how many other people, they separate families and that's not even the half of it. It's a damn circus up there."
"Hm...We have to get this info to the capital immediately," Maurim said. "Even if it is Daein, these types of abuses are...inhumane."
"My thoughts exactly. How quick can you get Sephiran into Daein?"
"Sephiran? I mean...That could take a while, depending on how much she knows," Rikari said.
"Okay, two weeks at the latest? How does that sound?"
"...Not happening," Tora shut-down. Khimari breathed loudly at the reply; count on Tora to give the honest truth.
"Alright, whenever would work...Ya know what, screw it. I'm going to see Sanaki myself," the blue wolf decided. "How long would that take?"
"Well...since we report directly to her, we could have that done tomorrow first thing," Tormod shrugged. "That would be best since we avoid the rest of the Senate and the whole bureaucratic process." Khimari nodded at the answer, before getting a tap on the shoulder from Rikari, who had grown a lot taller over the last three years. He was almost to Khimari's shoulder, and only 15. He'd probably be Khimari's height when he gets to 18. Tormod, on the other hand…
Yeah. It's a touchy subject.
"So, Khimari, how did you figure all of this out?" Rikari asked.
"Well, I found my mom in the Desert of Death-Later, you two," he said to Rikari and Tora, whose eyes widened to the size of the moon itself, "and ended up helping out Sothe, who's with this little band of refugee fighters who are trying to take Begnion down. We ended up finding some random prince who's 'Ashnard's son-'"
"He had a son!?" Tora yowled in surprise.
"...Yes, but no," Khimari said confusingly. "Don't worry about that right now," he waved off, knowing that he had his own suspicions over Prince Pelleas. "Anyways...They made a Liberation Army and Sothe and friends are helping lead it. His girlfriend is even the vice-general or some crap like that."
"Sothe has a girlfriend?" Tormod asked, almost like a whine. "...Did he get taller?"
"...You can see for yourself, Tormod," Khimari said ambiguously. "That aside...after seeing Sanaki, I need to go back to Daein to help since Mom and Volug are still there."
"Can we go with you?" Rikari said, jumping. "We want to help Sothe out. He was one of our best friends back then!"
"It wouldn't hurt seeing your mother, either," Tora put in, looking around to avoid the crap-eating grin on Khimari's face.
"Sure, after Sanaki, we'll go straight back to Daein."
"...I'm not saying that it's wrong to help Daein," Tora started, "but you're going awfully far to help a country that attacked yours, imprisoned you and considers Laguz as trash." At that, Khimari rolled his eyes and gave a smirk.
"Always you, looking at the whole picture. You're right," Khimari confirmed. "I have no problem helping out Sothe, and the Dawn Brigade, the little fighter group, are considerably less prejudiced than their country as a whole, but it's really Prince Pelleas."
"What would he have to do with anything?" Rikari asked.
"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer," Khimari said. "By working with Daein, I get to see firsthand how this Prince Pelleas is. If he's anywhere near as bloodthirsty and unreasonable as his supposed father was, I'll personally kill him on the spot." A deep silence followed his words as the other five exchanged looks with each other.
"Wouldn't that be an international incident?" Vika asked, speaking for the first time. "That's not the most discreet course of action."
"Normally, no, but Begnion made it much more convenient with their own stupidity. As it were, if something happened to their rumored prince who is unofficial in basically every sense of the word, they'd just pull it on Begnion. Even if they knew it was a 'sub-human,' they have no military capacity to do anything except focus on their own rebuilding. The anger over him would vanish in a few weeks," the wolf summarized. 'Especially with little Micaiah being a fortune-telling princess,' he thought to himself.
"That's...devious," Tora said, inwardly shocked at how calm his prince was at telling his plan. He was definitely glad they were on good terms.
"I know." The serious look on the blue wolf's face reminded everyone of how deadly Hatari's Lost Prince could be when it came down to it.
"Well...in any case, let's get ready for our trip to the Apostle," Maurim said. "We have much to plan if we want to have any headway." Nodding, Khimari followed the rest of them into the compound to prepare for their upcoming audience with Sanaki.
XXXXX
A/N: And that's one! Alrighty, first college chapter complete! (I think…) Anyways, I hope y'all liked it, but I might keep to smaller chapters around 5K words so I can try to be somewhat consistent while I'm going through school until semester break.
As for that...I'm probably going to start getting rid of pre-chapter A/N's because I forget to write stuff there a lot...so there's that. But anywho, see y'all soon!
Blizzard, out!