Pain…So much pain…
Never had Morgan felt such a searing pain. Every fibre in her body burned and it felt as if someone had placed numerous heavy stones atop of her. She struggled to breathe. Everything was black.
Is this how it feels to die?
Yet something was amiss.
She could hear distant voices. Sounds of frantic shouting mixed with one calm commanding tone. The intensities of the pain would shift from time to time. Nothing was constant.
''She is coming to awareness. One more spell should do it. Noire if you would be so kindly.''
Morgan felt a jolt surge through her body and the familiar sight of a celling came into view. She was laying on a field bed inside a tent. It was night-time and the tent was illuminated by a few torches.
The heavy weight from her chest disappeared and she soon began to cough uncontrollably.
''See? I told you I could save her. Your cousin is alive again. Just as I promised.''
While it felt as if the world was spinning around her, Morgan turned with great difficulty her head towards the sound of the voice.
Before her stood Lady Tharja, her expression was calm and collected. Morgan's view was partially obscured by Noire who stood over Morgan's bed with a staff in her hand. Unlike her mother, Noire had a clearly distraught expression as if she had cried for hours on end.
''M-Morgan! Thank the Gods that you are alive!''
In response Morgan began to cough again. She could taste blood, but none came out. Nevertheless, it was painful and difficult to get the words out.
''N-Norie? Wha…What happened? H-How?''
Lady Tharja approached the bluenette. Initially disregarding the younger woman's question, the dark mage began examining the young Exalt with her eyes. Apparently satisfied with her patient's condition Tharja leaned back crossed her arms and bit her thumb before casually answering Morgan's inquiry.
''Noire got you out of that barrier as soon as she could reach it. Fortunately, she is well versed with breaking such spells and she does share blood with the medium. Making it a small matter to cross over the barrier as soon as it was safe and then drag you out.''
Tharja made some hand gestures in the air and mumbling a few incantations. Again, Morgan felt a jolt curse through her body. It was unpleasant but she quickly recovered and felt little pain afterwards.
''I on the other hand happened to be nearby with an elixir, and the knowhow to bring you back from the brink of death. You are welcome…''
As she tried to process this information, Morgan's thoughts quickly turned towards another point of concern.
''Th-the battle! F-father?!''
''Is gone, the King teleported away as soon as he got his hands on the Emblem. Those of his soldiers, who were able, fled from the battle soon after, and are currently retreating towards the capitol. The barrier however remained in place.''
Morgan was about to ask the dark mage about something else of importance, but another presence that was out of her field of view made himself known and beat her to it.
''Severa? Where is my Severa? You have yet to answer me this!''
It was her cousin Owain. Lady Tharja cast a bored look at the direction of the younger man, Morgan had to rise her head a bit to see him. While he had suffered a few wounds from the battle, it was clear that they were only minor and bothered him little. He was still armed and armoured, indicating that not much time has passed since the battle's conclusion.
''I believe that the King took her with him. I'm however unsure of the details…''
Lady Tharja cast a glance at Morgan. The bluenette quickly figured out that the dark mage would allow her to explain the situation. Owain turned his gaze towards her.
''Morgan? Forgive me for being so rash, it gladdens my heart that you're back in the lands of the living, but please tell me…What happened in there? Is Severa alright?''
Morgan hesitated.
The easy way was to just tell Owain the truth, but that could ruin her sister, not to mention the bonds of trust they had painstakingly build throughout the years. The fact that her father could somehow control his children would not be taken lightly, not to mention the fact that he was no mere follower of Grima, but the fell dragon himself in human form.
Again, Morgan struggled to get the words out.
''H-He was too strong…he cut me down a-and I lost consciousness. Severa was alive the last time I saw her.''
Lady Tharja chirped in.
''Most likely she still is, the king properly dragged her away to offer as a live sacrifice.''
Owain grabbed his sword.
''Then I shall see to it that he shall not succeed in his nefarious endeavour! Lady Tharja! Your services shall not go unrewarded! You have once again proven yourself true to my nation, but time is of the essence, and I require your aid again! Tell me has the king returned to his seat of power?''
''He has not. The plegian army that hides behind the capitol's walls are but a distraction. The king and a small entourage of guards have retreated to Origin Peak. A small island west of Plegia.''
Owain turned towards Morgan. She could not recall him ever having such a serious expression. Any habits of his usual dramatics were gone.
''Morgan…Sire. Please grant me leave to lead a detachment to that island. I ask not for my own glory, but to save Severa…your sister. I beg of you please.''
The young Exalt tried to speak, but suddenly felt as if something was constricting her throat. The words refused to leave her mouth.
She began to cough uncontrollably.
''I'm sure that your Exalt would gladly give her permission. I suggest that you take a detachment of Pegasus riders and head for the coastal village of Remu. Your Valmanese allies should be camped there. Ask for some their ships and men. I'm confident that they would oblige given who is hiding on Origin Peak.''
Owain seemed to consider Lady Tharja's suggestion for a moment before silently agreeing to it. He looked at Morgan for a final confirmation.
Morgan could feel something forcing her to nod. She was unable to speak.
Satisfied, Owain bowed and immediately left the tent, leaving the ladies alone. Tharja waited for moment, starring carefully at tent's flaps before she mumbled.
''Sil-Entium…''
Morgan recognised the spell. It was meant to isolate sound in a confined space. Perfect for one who wishes for privacy…or to commit murder silently.
''Poor fool…For his own sake I pray that he never sees her again. There is no escape from Grima once his corruption has set, but I'm sure you'll see it for yourself soon enough…''
The older mage turned her gaze towards the bluenette. She seemed bemused.
''He was surprisingly easy to lure away. So eager to save his beloved that he forgot the task that he was given by his uncle. Namely to watch you…Now I have you all for myself.''
The dark mage began to giggle.
Morgan became alarmed, she now understood why she couldn't speak earlier and why her body moved on its own.
She had been hexed by the dark mage! Of course, she had! Morgan cursed herself for not reacting as soon as she saw Tharja. That dark mage had always been loyal to her father, and now she came to finish the job. Desperately the bluenette began looking around for something that might help her escape. She spotted Falchion resting on a table at the far end of the tent, but it was too far away to be of any help. She looked at Noire, but her half-sister gave no indication of helping her. Instead Noire just stood there staring nervously at her mother, as her giggle began to evolve into a manically laughter.
''Heheheh…Oh…you have nothing to fear from me, girl! If I wanted you dead, I would have just left you in that red bubble. Ah…but your fear is precious to look at! But not to worry I'm on your side, I could have abandoned the battle as soon as the tide began to turn against us, and certainly not surrendering myself to the Ylisseans.''
Tharja then stopped laughing and assumed her usual calm demeanour.
''I did however need you stay quiet for a while to send that oaf away, so that we might talk in private. No need for alarm, my hex was meant to assist you with getting some air, but it can also be used to constrict the airflow and control some small movements around your throat.''
Tharja then made Morgan nod again to demonstrate it, much to the dark mage's amusement. She then noticed Morgan's panicked stare at her daughter.
''Ah…you're worried about Noire? You have nothing to fear there either. I have seen to it that she well protected against any influences that is not my own from the day she left my side.''
Noire meekly smiled at this but remained quiet as her mother continued to speak.
''As for you, your exalted blood and Naga's blessing put you well over the risk of him ever getting full control of you. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of his other broods…''
Lady Tharja made an annoyed tsk sound and bit her thumb once again.
''Infuriating really, I had hoped that you would be successful with killing him, but I never expected that you would confront him with only that red head accompanying you.''
Morgan was confused by this sudden revelation. Immediately she tried to speak and found that she had regained her voice again.
''Y-you wanted him dead? I-I don't understand. I though you worshiped him?''
Morgan realised that she had hit a nerve, as something resembling fury appeared in the dark mage's eyes.
''I. Do. Not. Worship. That. Worm! He is the reason that my beloved is gone from this world and now have the audacity to prance around in HIS BODY! Defiling it! Destroying it!''
''Beloved? You loved…''
''I loved Robin the tactician of Ylisse. My beloved, my eternal sun…There is not a day that goes by where I do not miss him.''
Lady Tharja began to shake, and Morgan could spot tears forming around the older woman's eyes.
''Yet for the sake of my revenge, I had to swallow my anger, I had to play the part of a devoted servant. I bore his child and offered him counsel. All for the sake of this day.''
''Mother?''
Noire approached her mother and placed a hand on her shoulder. Tharja quickly grabbed it and turned towards her daughter.
''Oh…Noire...I'm so sorry for my mistreatment of you. I did all those horrible things to you to supress your magical abilities. I did not want him to see you as a potential asset. I-If he did then he would have taken you into the guard and then…''
Tharja took a few big breaths and then once again composed herself before turning back towards Morgan. The momentarily vulnerability was quickly buried behind her usual uncaring stare, yet her hand lingered for some time on her daughter's before letting go.
Morgan was shocked at what she just witnessed but could not help but feel a surge of anger within her.
''I-if you always knew…If you have always been his enemy. Why did you not warn us? Warn my grandfather? WARN ANYONE?!''
Tharja was unimpressed by the bluenette's angry outburst.
''And risk tipping him off? You would not understand anyway young as you were. And I did somehow warn your grandsire. Remember my visit all those years ago? While it was done with Grima's blessings I used the opportunity to warn your grandsire. I worded it as a threat, so that anyone eavesdropping would just dismiss it as a simple provocation born from our nations natural hate for one another. But your grandsire was crafty enough to understand it's true message; that a war was coming and that the awakening of Grima was nigh.''
Tharja continued.
''As for my plan. I needed Grima to expose himself. To keep him confident that his plan was going according to his will. He would never leave himself in the open unless the Fire Emblem was completed and in YOUR hands. And here is where my deception comes to play. From the day you were born I convinced him that he would have total control over you when the time came. That it would be no issue of making you do his bidding. I even put some hexes on you to reinforce the illusion of control. For all his power, the fell dragon is quite clueless on matters he deems to be beneath him.''
The dark mage's expression then changed to something resembling annoyance.
''It was a simple plan really…I advised him to erect that barrier to isolate you. We knew that you would figure a rash way in once he began to bombard your forces. And as soon as you were alone, you would cut him down. It should had been manageable with the heirlooms in your possession, but...''
Morgan thoughts drifted back to Severa. She needed to find a way to save her from Grima's control, yet there was a more urgent matter that needed her attention now.
''But…now he has all the pieces he needs to regain his body, right? How long do we have to prevent the ritual of awakening?''
For the first time Morgan could swear that Tharja gave her a look that was not laced with distain or indifference.
''Hmm…you really are Robin's daughter…You catch on quick girl. Yes, we are all now in grave danger. The ritual takes less than a day to complete. The awakening of the fell dragon would mark the ending of the world as we know it.''
Morgan tried to rise, but only managed get up in a sitting position (with Noire's help). Her wounds made it unbearable to move and she was in no state of leaving her bed. Tharja continued to speak.
''Yet better that it happens now then latter. For the fell dragon is an immortal, he would rise again and again for the power of Naga can only put him to slumber. However, by creating you, he has just handed us the key to his own destruction.''
''I-I'm not sure what you mean…''
''In you the blood of the Exalts and Grima runs strong. Only you're able to wield the Falchion and channel the power of the fell dragons in the same time. Only by your hand alone can we bring a definite end to this recurring evil.''
Morgan starred down at her hands. She felt overwhelmed and frustrated. It seems that her life was destined to be manipulated and used by everyone with power.
Surprisingly, comfort came from the dark mage, who spoke with a soft tone.
''…I know that life has not been fair to you Morgan. I can understand your hesitation…your frustration, I can see it in you. It's not much but know that I now offer you a choice. You can choose to confront your father again or you can just walk away. Neither me nor Noire will stop you.''
Indeed, it was not much of a choice at all, but the bluenette nonetheless appreciated the gesture.
''I'll fight him…but how? I'm in no state to lift any sword and it would be too long before we can marshal all our forces on that Island.''
Tharja smiled at this.
''With that I can be of assistance. I can bring your body back to the peak of your health, but I warn you the state would only be temporary. My blood magic gives and it takes away, but it should be sufficient for you to end this. As for transportation…''
Lady Tharja proceeded to turn around away from Morgan and precured a handful of white powder from her satchel. With it she drew a magical circle on the ground before mumbling a long line of incantations. The circle then lit up with a blue sorcerous light.
''This teleportation circle was originally meant for me. It will take you directly to Origin Peak and more precisely the ziggurat on that Island. The fell dragon resides at the top of that building, however my spell would only take you half of the way of the steps. You'll need to be quick for he has placed a lot of men down at the bottom of the ziggurat. If they knew of your presence, they would rush to the top to kill you.''
Noire, who had remained quiet for most of the time, burst in on their conversation.
''Mother! You can't mean to send Morgan alone?! I know there are limits with such a spell, but please let me go with her!''
''Wish that I could Noire, but as I said the spell was only meant for me. It can only bring one person and it's a one-time use. I can't create another one as it would require someone placing another marker at the location before coming back here to cast it again. And we are running out of time.''
Once again Tharja focus changed back to the bluenette.
''Well? Shall we procced?''
Morgan took a deep breath.
''Do it, cast your spells, mend my body, and send me on my way…''
''Hmph…It's more like curses, but we're well past details now, aren't we?''
I'm back! I hope that you all had a good new year ^^
The last player of the field has been revealed and now we will be moving towards conclusion of this story. All is not yet lost.
As for answering a few inquiries and reviews.
Will I make a sequel? Sorry I won't be making a direct sequel as this story would conclude in a very permanent manner, but I promise that it won't be a bleak ending.
The story seems off as there are little character interactions. Yes, I'm aware that things do tends to go a bit directly. I'm still working on including more enjoyable filler in stories, but it's a struggle I will be working more on if I ever decides to continue writing. Thanks for the critique ^^
Will there be a point of view from Robin himself? Not a point of view, but since it has been requested a lot, I will add him interacting with Morgan at some point ^^
I thank you all for reading and for commenting, and for following my story so far. ^^