Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.
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"...Laguz brothers, it is time to advance!" Skrimir told the giant army. The Greil Mercenaries had just left with some Phoenicians to carry out their part of the mission, leaving Ranulf along with Skrimir and Tibarn to lead the main charge against the Begnion Central Army. "King Phoenicis. Your forces will be ready when the time comes?"
"They're already in position and ready to go," the hawk responded confidently. "Ulki will have his ears out, so give the word whenever you're set." With nothing else to communicate, the Laguz King took flight, going up to a medium-sized hill peak that overlooked the banks of the Ribahn River. With a heavy spirit of urgency, the army went out to do its first major-scale confrontation with the Begnion Central Army.
Ranulf couldn't help but feel a strong conflict of emotions going on inside of him. On one hand, there was an unease unlike anything he ever felt before brewing in his gut. But on the other hand, he had an eerie sense of calm about him as he marched with Skrimir to what would be the first major conflict with the Begnion Army. Throwing in his soon-to-be flying experience on a hawk most definitely did not make anything feel better. '...What would Nailah say right now?' the cat wondered. When it became apparent that thinking about his family would only put him down a mental rabbit hole and take his mind off the incoming plan, he shut out those thoughts and only looked ahead of him.
Gallian soldiers marching. Begnion soldiers watching. The fog was thick, which was good for them considering their superior eyesight. The silent sound of Ribahn river clashed nearly paradoxically with the padding feet of the Gallian Laguz and the distant clanging of the Begnion Central Army's iron. This was the true war scene that everyone had awaited since the beginning of this conflict.
"The van's marching," Ranulf told Skrimir. "Halfway across the river already…Oh well…" he decided, setting his focus completely on the plan set before them by Soren. "There's no point in waiting. Enemy'll spot 'em soon."
"Then it is time to fight," the lion replied, with a calm expression. Strangely, the battle hungry Laguz had a different sort of mannerism about him that Ranulf couldn't place quite just yet. "You should go."
"Don't remind me," the cat sighed. "Anyway…Give the word, will you?" He found himself confused at Skrimir's smirk for a split second until he remembered that with Ulki's ears, that Tibarn would always be on the same page as them.
"No need. Our friends heard every word." Knowing exactly what he meant, Ranulf took a couple of Gallians along with him and ran to the right to be picked up by the squad of Phoenician hawks. Breathing deeply, he let himself go limp as the bird Laguz's talons carried him into the air, far above the fog where there'd be no chance that a ballista could see them. Forcing down a feeling to throw up, the cat closed his eyes for a brief time to collect himself. He'd be taking on Zelgius, the Central Army General himself. The conversation he had with Ike beforehand quickly turned to the forefront of his mind.
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Last night…
"Hey, Ranulf. Are you here?" the cat heard someone ask from outside his tent.
"Yes, come in!" he permitted, perking up slightly to see the leader of the Greil Mercenaries step in front of him. "Ah, look who it is! What can I do for you, Ike?"
"I just wanted to check on you before tomorrow. Are you feeling okay?" the Beorc asked.
"I'm feeling better than ever!" Ranulf responded. That answer didn't seem to fix anything about Ike's dreadful expression, however, making the Laguz warrior's upbeat attitude deflate a little. "Is something on your head?" he asked, seeing Ike make that face before when deep in thought about something.
"I just…I'd feel responsible if something happened to you," Ike admitted. "I don't want Khimari to have to go through that pain…" Although he didn't finish, both knew that he was thinking back to Greil's death at the hands of the Black Knight three years ago. The death of a parent was not an easy burden to bear.
"I understand…Honestly, I feel the same about you guys, sometimes," Ranulf returned, surprising Ike. "Even though you two don't have the same parents, you guys are just as much brothers as anyone else I've seen. If Nailah ever saw it, she'd agree, too. So you have to stay safe, too, understand?"
"...Sure, Uncle Ranulf," Ike snorted sarcastically, taking great relief in the quick diffusion of the tense conversation they were having just a moment earlier.
"Uncle!? I should flay you for that!"
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There was no turning back now. "Down here," Ranulf told the bird when he saw that they had crossed over the entire Begnion Continental Army, seeing only Zelgius and two other soldiers by the rear, most likely to get a better handle of the battle situation. Feeling the hawk let go of him, he quickly straightened himself out to have a smooth landing on his feet, true to his identity as a cat. "Well, well…" he started, walking up until he faced directly opposite the famed Begnion General. "Sorry to drop in unannounced. We thought it'd be best to hunt the strongest prey first."
"...Of course," Zelgius responded, quickly looking up to see the hawks retreating to join the battle with an assault on the rear ranks of the army. "Interesting maneuver."
"Will you draw your blade?" Ranulf asked, getting straight to the point. The entire mission relied on getting Zelgius occupied as quickly as possible for as long as possible.
"I trust you know who you face," the Beorc responded in a tone that possessed a powerful confidence worthy of his position. "Zelgius, the general of this army. If you are not worthy of fighting me, then you are only wasting my time."
"I'm Ranulf, right hand to Gallia's future king," the cat returned, beginning his transformation. "Will that do?" the cat hissed in all of his transformed glory.
"...We shall see. I accept your challenge," Zelgius said, pointing his blade at the blue cat Laguz. "At your ready."
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Meanwhile…
"What to do, what to do…" a certain wolf mused as he sat alone in a semi-forested clearing, which was pretty rare in the region where he was. As far as the Apostle went, he simply had to wait until he could get any other information. With anything else in Begnion….well, that would be suicide.
"Should I go back to Gallia?" Khimari wondered, before discarding that option. As good as it would be to comfort his mom with his presence, he would be severely pressed for words considering the state he saw his father in a little while ago. That didn't even begin to scratch the surface as he would then have to face King Caineghis with an explanation about how he knocked out a cub and escaped the country or about how the king of Goldoa…
…Well, no one knew about that part, Ena, Nailah and Volug included, but that'll be a secret between him and the prehistoric lizard for quite a time. "Who knows? Might be quicker than I think," the wolf shrugged. "But back on topic…I should still keep tabs on Ike and Dad for sure, but first I think I should tell Volug and Homasa that everything turned out okay."
Just then, an idea came to Khimari's head. "Wait…I should make another pit-stop to see how the battle is going before I run off to Daein again…Back to the Ribahn I go, then!"
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Two days later…
"So, what is our plan of action for today?" Skrimir asked with an excited look on his face. Currently, he, Ranulf, Soren and the other leaders of the Laguz Alliance and Greil Mercenaries all found themselves in the war room tent preparing their assault on Castle Seliora. After the successful river crossing, the group, high on morale and energy, thundered across northern Begnion, finding themselves camped outside of the crucial stronghold.
"Castle Seliora is not inhabited by the Central Army at the moment. Though they left a somewhat sizable amount of men to help with the recovery of the northern armies of the Senate, Zelgius' absence and the Senators' bickering has made them vulnerable," Soren quickly debriefed. "With that said, it'd be best that we attack right at daybreak."
"Hmph. So it's an all-out assault at this stage?" Tibarn echoed, his arms crossed. "I can work with that."
"The only caveat to the assault would be the amount of ballistae that occupy the castle. It's a very beneficial location for staving off potential attacks because of the surrounding hilly terrain. We'll need a guerrilla force to divide the defense force. Since they have no capable general at the helm, an opening will present itself for Skrimir to lead their forces and take the castle."
"I'm assuming we'll be heading the guerrilla force, then?" Ike asked, to which Soren nodded.
"I'm willing to help out, too, if you want," Ranulf volunteered.
"No, Ike is taking some other beast Laguz with him," Tibarn denied. "You still have injuries you need to recover from after fighting with Zelgius and I'm not explaining to your crazy family how I let you off and die without even a watch." At that, Ranulf simply laughed.
"They're not that bad," he tried to defend. Reyson promptly snorted in disbelief at that statement.
"I can't speak for Queen Nailah, but I would wager even Tibarn would have trouble keeping Khimari held down in that scenario."
"If I could even find the blue hellhound," the hawk king continued. "That sneaky sack of fur is the most elusive being on Tellius, and he inherited his mom's snarky attitude and cunning to boot."
"Anyways…I'll be sitting this one out, it seems?" Ranulf redirected after he shot a quick warning look over to the bird Laguz to tone down the talk about his family…Even if they did have a point.
"You can help facilitate the camp movement into the base as the battle winds down," Soren quickly relegated. "That way, we can better request reinforcements and supplies if necessary."
"Done and done! You won't be disappointed."
"...If that's the case, then this meeting is over." With that, Soren quickly walked out, soon followed by Titania and Skrimir.
"How are your wounds healing, Ranulf?" Ike asked. "Tibarn had a point. You've been quite headstrong lately."
"I feel much better than before. Besides a few aches, I'm already itching to get back into battle."
"Make sure all those aches are gone before you step on a battlefield," Tibarn muttered. "I can't come get you every time you decide to go in over your head."
"Sure, Tibarn." After exchanging temporary farewells, Ranulf left the meeting tent to go to his own sleeping place. Entering the tent, the blue cat gave a large sigh before transforming to do three turns and lay down. Licking his side a couple of times, the cat sighed as the thought of his family once again entered his head.
"Hmm…I hope Nailah isn't too worried about us," he muttered, stretching out a little bit. "Then again…I can't blame her when I'm worried about Khimari…"
"Why worry? I told you I'd be okay." Startled, the cat jumped to his feet to see a blue wolf a little larger than him standing on all fours with a small smile and a swiftly-wagging tail. "Granted, you weren't exactly conscious at the time…"
"Khimari!" Ranulf yowled, immediately jumping to touch noses with his son. "Ike told me about what you said," the cat continued after a few licks. "What have I told you about getting in trouble?"
"Says the one who was laying in his own blood," his son snorted in return, narrowing his eyes at his biological father. "What in the world possessed you to put yourself in that much danger? You should have known how dangerous the Central Army-"
"The Central Army didn't knock me out," Ranulf interrupted. Seeing Khimari recoil in shock, the Gallian quickly decided upon himself to explain everything. "They arrived after we finished a small campaign in the northern plains, yes. I advised a retreat to Skrimir, but he refused in all his stubborn glory. I took him on in a fight and that's how I ended up unconscious."
"...Are you telling me…Skrimir did that to you?" Khimari growled, his eyes turning into slits.
"Khimari, wait before you do anything hasty!" Ranulf blurted out. "I've more or less recovered from that. These wounds are from General Zelgius."
"You…General Zelg…Dad," Khimari said. The wolf sat down with a critical look in his eye that looked a lot like Ranulf when he was scolding his son. "Are you telling me that after you went unconscious, you went into a fight with one of the most powerful soldiers that Begnion has to offer? No less than the damn leader of the Central Army?"
"...Yes." Ranulf personally couldn't believe he was about to get scolded by his son.
"...I'd call you an idiot, but I'd be insulting myself, too," the wolf sighed. "So, what is the current state of affairs, now?"
"Tomorrow morning we're laying siege to Castle Seliora," Ranulf recounted, happy for the change of topic. "We leave at daybreak."
"Seliora at daybreak…Alright, I'll help out."
"Wha-Khimari, have you forgotten that the Senate wants you dead? You can't go around fighting-"
"Well, I want them dead, too, so that's a fair deal, I'd say," Khimari snarled. His eyes once again took on a more…intense characteristic, making Ranulf a little more wary of his son's inside thoughts. "It's about time someone cut their necks out. Besides, you aren't in much condition to be fighting at daybreak."
"...So are you going to tell Ike and the others that you're here, then?"
"Nope." At Ranulf's look, the wolf gave a quick laugh before licking his chest fur. "I'm going to put the castle into disarray so that the rest of the army can smoothly take it over."
"And how will you do that?" the Gallian asked.
"You'll see. Just make sure they're on time for the fun show. And tell Ike I said hello." With one more exchange of licks between the ears, Khimari left Ranulf's tent, leaving the cat to think to himself once again.
"...Goddess, please help me with that child."
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The next morning…
"Are we all ready?" Tibarn asked, looking the same as ever. The attack squad had already moved out and were a few hilltops away from Castle Seliora.
"Yes, the Greil Mercenaries are mobilized."
"As are the forces of Gallia," Skrimir added."
"Who will come with the guerrilla force?" Ike asked. "Some Laguz should come with us."
"So…When are we charging forward?" Skrimir asked, clearly impatient.
"Ranulf told me something last night. He said, 'be ready for the signal to attack,'" Ike responded, confusing both the Laguz leaders.
"...A signal?" Skrimir echoed. "There was no mention of that in any of the meetings."
"...Honestly, I'm not sure what he meant. Ranulf hasn't pla-"
"My King," Ulki suddenly interrupted, cutting Ike off. "The enemy is being thrown into disarray. There is steel dropping and soldiers yelling at the castle."
"What?" the King of Phoenicis said. "Who is-"
Tibarn found himself cut off by an ear-piercing howl that everyone heard clear as day. Completely caught unaware, everyone in the vicinity looked at each other for a second before the realization started to set in.
"Was that who I think it was…" Tibarn muttered.
"Greil Mercenaries, move out!" Ike called, brandishing his sword and taking off in direction of Castle Seliora. Without any hesitation, the rest of the company, the Gallian beasts and the Phoenician hawks followed behind, running to see exactly what Ulki described to them; Begnion soldiers running around with a host of weapons running around the castle.
"...Get the sub-human! He's fleeing to the north!" Ike heard a soldier yell.
"...The army is organizing up north," Soren noted after taking in the situation for a few brief moments. "That means our direction of contact will have minimal resistance. This is the optimal time for a full-scale offensive."
"There is nothing else to be said," Skrimir agreed, with a smirk on his face. "All forces, attack!" At his command, a raging sea of beast Laguz came storming up the hill. The diversion clearly worked, as the Begnion soldiers on the left flank of the base were easily overwhelmed by the Gallian forces. As they cleared out the perimeter, Ike and Tibarn's forces started to attack the Begnion soldiers holding the base at the entrance and at the fort's main entrances.
"Let's take those ballistae out!" Ike said to his army after watching a large arrow bolt sail through the air, narrowly missing a hawk Laguz. Marching forward, the mercenary commander found himself in combat with Titania as they squared against a group of Begnion soldiers who were clearly disoriented. "Titania! Take out the armored knights and get Oscar, Boyd and Gatrie up to the ballistae users."
"On it!" With a large wind spell from Soren, Ike plowed into a nearby group of axe warriors along with Mia. With many well-placed slices from his large sword Ettard, he quickly made work of the opposition and quickly went ahead to get a better scope of how the battle fared.
Most of the Begnion resistance were decimated. Already, Gallia's soldiers had started spreading to the north and south in search of any remaining pockets of resistance, which included the soldiers initially spread up to the north.
"Commander! The residing commander has been defeated and the senators here have been captured," Titania quickly reported. "The rest of the soldiers are retreating to the east towards Castle Gaddos. Shall we give chase?"
"...No, let's gather everyone nearby and then advance our entire arsenal here. We can use this base as our new foothold across the river," the Beorc decided.
After a short while longer of cleaning up, the peak of daytime was rapidly approaching when Ike again met up with Tibarn and Skrimir. "Castle Seliora is ours!" Skrimir said with great energy, excited by the efficiency and decisiveness of the victory.
"That's a relief!" another voice cut in. Looking over, they saw Reyson and Ranulf walking side- by-side to the group carrying a load of supplies. Well, more like Ranulf carrying a load and Reyson trying his best to carry what he could. "I see everything here went just peachy."
"Ranulf, I only know of a few wolves left on Tellius, and you're involved with all of them," Tibarn started, cutting immediately to the chase. "Did you tell them to storm the castle by themselves?"
"No, I was given a visit last night by Khimari. He volunteered himself to help out before sneaking away. I passed the message along to Ike that he was going to make a diversion, but I had no idea what in the world he planned out in his head."
"And why is he not in Gallia with King Caineghis? I thought he was staying with his mother?" At the hawk's questioning, Ranulf could only sigh.
"That, I have a feeling that only Khimari can answer." Before a response could be given, another howl pierced the air, though it was obvious that there was much more distance between this compared to the first time, before the battle officially began. "...And I doubt we're getting that answer today."
"Those sneaky wolves…Not even ten of them left on Tellius, and they're still giving me headaches," Tibarn mumbled. Again, Ranulf let the comment slide with only an inquisitive look that the hawk king more or less disregarded. In that one moment, the Gallian cat truly wondered what in the world happened between Nailah and Tibarn that could have made them get to the point where they were at.
'Today's just full of questions, it seems…'
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That Night…
After the capture of Castle Seliora, the Laguz Alliance Army took no time in unpacking themselves to fortify their newest foothold in the charge against Begnion's massive army. Groups of units scouted the area one after another to make sure that Begnion's presence was completely eradicated from the area to prevent any ambush or guerrilla strikes. Overall, the effort had been a success and the Alliance successfully broke the Begnion's natural advantage of the Ribahn River.
That was a testament to two things; one, the ferocity and tenacity of the Laguz forces, and the second, the extreme intelligence of the tactician of the Greil Mercenaries.
Soren had planned the entire confrontation out of his head and delivered a fortuitous result to the Laguz forces. For the Branded, however, that did not warrant any sort of celebration. In fact, that meant that he would have to further formulate strategies in order to maintain the Laguz momentum in the face of the Begnion Central Army, undoubtedly one of, if not the most powerful forces on the continent.
Despite their capture of Castle Seliora, there had been no damage to their principal adversary. Not a single scratch. The sage sighed upon realizing this fact. If anything, the northern armies of the Begnion nobles were even more disorderly and incapacitated, but when fused with the Central Army, that potential advantage would prove to be nothing but an inconsequential factor.
"Soren!" someone said, snapping the magic user out of his thoughts for the slightest of seconds. Looking up, the dark-haired tactician found himself slightly surprised, albeit less tense, to see Ike approaching him.
"Ike," he returned. "How can I help you?"
"I wanted to let you know that we'll be having our next war meeting tomorrow at noon," the mercenary commander said.
"Thank you. I will make sure to have a plan formulated by then."
"Soren…did you eat anything?" Ike asked, curious. "You know food doesn't last long past all these Laguz and Ilyana."
"I have no need for such levels of consumption," the mage swerved, avoiding the topic while still indirectly answering the question and waving away any potential argument.
"...I'll make sure Oscar saves something for you. I will bring it to you later," the Beorc said, before taking a quick leave. With a somewhat irritated sigh, Soren made a beeline for his tent while he re-centered his focus about the upcoming battles with Begnion.
…Yes, the Central Army. The single greatest source of all of the problems for the Laguz Alliance at the moment. Without a doubt, they had retreated to Castle Gaddos to reunite and reassemble under General Zelgius's lead, which meant that there would be little to no demoralization on Begnion's part to take advantage of.
"...A peace treaty is the best way to advance," he eventually decided. Moving forward with any offensive would only yield great casualty to the Laguz Alliance, and with their limited arsenal against Begnion's elite forces, the chance of absolute victory would be slim to none. A frustrated sigh followed his most recent conclusion.
He was definitely going to petition Ike for a raise after this.
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A/N: Oof…Sorry for being away for so long… I PROMISE that this chapter was mostly done for quite a while, but responsibility and adulting is quite tiring (whoop, go figure). Again, I have no plans to cancel the story and actually wrote out MULTIPLE chapters (idk why I said multiple because so far it's just two) to make up for the ridiculous pause in uploads, so hopefully that'll be a catch-up.
But yeah, nice to be back! Hope y'all can catch up on this and I'll be back soon with more!
Blizzard, out!