Chapter 22: Red Tide
Axe and sword clashed, their sound equal to thunder. Desperation fueled Chrom's strikes, while a grim, ceaseless determination backed Walhart. Overhead, darkened clouds tried to blot out the moonlight, and slivers of rain began to fall. Walhart ignored the change in weather, intent on cutting Chrom to pieces.
Their strikes carved a circle in the air and formed a fighting ring, the crew of the ship always staying outside. There wasn't any geering or taunts like with the pirates; the Valmese were made of sterner, more disciplined stuff. Instead they watched the fight with cold eyes, not daring to intrude on Walhart's battle.
Chrom shifted his feet, breathing through clenched teeth. He parried Walhart's next strike, and skipped backwards; staying just within reach of Robin, so no one would try to strike at her, or move to capture her.
Robin slumped to the deck, completely spent from her magic. And still the notes from her spells rang through him, setting his teeth on edge. Even though Robin had gone silent; the winds still shrieked, and he heard a song on the edge of the gale. It almost seemed more important than the battle-
The axe nearly took his arm, before Chrom scrambled to the side. His skin stung from the near miss, dragging his head back into the present.
'What's going on… am I going mad?'
Chrom grit his teeth against his thought, and against the attacks raining down on him. He parried the axe strikes, each blow shaking his arms so hard he thought they'd fall off. Walhart was trying to break him… and he was half worried the man would succeed.
"You make a valiant stand boy, but how long do you think you can last?" Walhart growled. "Another minute perhaps? How much longer until you lay beside that sea witch of yours?"
The axe clashed with Falchion, and Chrom's feet slipped against the sodden deck. Inch by inch he was losing traction, and the axe slipped close to his neck-
There was a change in the sound, the winds and waves shifting. They yanked at the ship, and the deck pitched forward, taking Walhart with it. Chrom scurried across the deck, bringing his sword up and keeping his guard and balance intact.
The same couldn't be said for Walhart. He'd collapsed to his knees, and had to fight his way back to his feet. His red armor screamed from the flurry of motion, the sound making Chrom wince.
Once he was standing, the warlord blinked water and brine out of his eyes, staring at Chrom.
"How did you keep your feet?"
'Because I can tell.' He realized with a thrum. He could see the pulse in the currents, tell when the next surge of wave was coming. Walhart was blind to everything, focused only on gutting Chrom. Walhart proved that when he snapped forward and brought his battle axe down with a vicious swing.
Chrom let himself get pushed back, biding his time. He saw the momentary glimmer of confidence in Walhart's eyes that this would be a sure victory.
Then the wave slammed into their side. Spray exploded over the gunwales and water splashed across the deck to yank at the crew, all while the ship pitched against the force. Chrom surged forward with the roll of the ship, Walhart lurching backwards. When they slammed shoulder to shoulder, Walhart crashed into the deck with a rattle. Chrom brought Falchion around to point at Walhart's throat. The warlord stared at the blade, disbelieving.
'And now you can stop everything right here. If you can just finish him.' Chrom told himself, steeling his arms to slice, and make that last cut into the warlord's throat-
"I think not, princeling." He flinched at the voice and tried to turn. But his motions were too slow. A point slammed into his skin, right between his ribs. His flesh screamed before giving way with a splash of blood.
It was like he'd suddenly been submerged. His head swam, and something built up in his throat, coming out in a wet and sticky cough onto his glove. The fabric turned red when Chrom drew his hand away from his mouth, and he tasted blood on his tongue.
"You let your guard down." Gangrel laughed in his ear, followed by a hard wrench as he yanked a knife out of Chrom's back. He thought he heard someone screaming his name, Robin maybe, as he collapsed.
Gangrel stood above him, leering down with a mocking grin fixed on his face.
"Wh…" His lungs burned. "Why are you here-?"
"Please don't kill yourself in asking questions, little princeling. That would defeat the point of taking you alive." Gangrel cut him off. "But as to why I'm here… Well, a witch on my crew had a choice bit of advice for me. Reading fortunes, and telling me to sail with Walhart for a few moons."
For good measure, he kicked Falchion out of Chrom's grasp, leaving it to skid across the floor of the ship and rest at Walhart's feet.
"And now… I wonder what sort of bait you'll make, for your Exalt. Perhaps I should bleed you a little first. That was my mistake last time with your bratling sister; being too gentle with your family."
Chrom bit back a gasp when a knife flashed into Gangrel's hand, and drew a line across his side. Blood welled from the cut, running warm over his skin before mingling with the splash and spray. Gangrel laughed as Chrom thrashed against the waterlogged deck-
The saltwater brushed against his wounds, burning… but with each touch from the waves, his breath came a little easier and less blood flecked. He could tense his back without blacking out from the pain, as the sea soaked into his wounds. Maybe he could-
Gangrel snapped a pair of manacles around his wrists, with a dark chuckle.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid you've already played that little trick. And I'm not interested in repeats." His grin was all teeth. "Oh, my seer dropped a few hints on why you've been pulling off such feats. But Tide Touched or not, you'll have a hard time of it with your hands bound. And perhaps with a few more cuts-"
"Enough, Gangrel. You've done your task… And count yourself fortunate that he isn't dead." Walhart growled, stilling the man before he could bleed Chrom anymore. Gangrel stepped back from Chrom, shedding that bloodthirsty grin for a sullen look.
"I don't see how much he'll fulfill your purpose, your grace." Chrom didn't miss the snarl in Gangrel's words. The pirate king bristled under Walhart's authority.
"For the same reason I sent you off to capture an Exalt in the first place. We'll learn what we can about the Fire Emblem. Doubtless they know something."
'That's what he wants? The treasure of Ylisse?' He wanted to scream out that he didn't know anything about it-
"…And if he doesn't provide anything? You'll allow me take care of him?"
"Bloodlust makes you more of a mad dog than I'd normally tolerate. But yes; however, that is only after we've gotten all we can from him." Walhart turned his back on Chrom, leaving his own men to drag him none too gently to his feet. "Take the Red Tide back to port. And let those on the fortress and prison island know, we have a few new bodies to warm the cells."
-o-o-o-
'No-' Her thoughts were feeble, like she was the one being bled instead.
Robin shivered from her place on the deck. She wanted to scream out Chrom's name, to surge back to her feet and do SOMETHING to drive back Gangrel. But the only thing she could manage was a broken, painful moan. It mingled with a sob in her throat as she watched the crew close on Chrom.
Whether it was trauma or bloodloss, his eyes were glazing over and blinking more slowly.
'Don't die-' she begged him. 'Keep your eyes open!'
The thoughts she directed towards her limbs were far less kind, or pleading. But they wouldn't listen to her… And her own eyelids were growing heavy. Her curses were blurring together, and losing their bite. Fatigue weighed on her head, and kept her pinned to the deck.
'Don't give up-'
She tried to call up a spell; something that would bite into Gangrel and Walhart… But instead, her fingers gave a weak spark. The weak spell drew Walhart's eyes, and he scowled at her.
"A noble effort… But a foolish one. You've burned through too much of your energy, sea witch."
'I'm not-' she bristled at the title, at the thought of sharing anything in common with Aversera. Walhart wasn't impressed by her grimace.
"We'll have things to question you about as well. Few mages can command the winds like that." Overhead, the sky gave a threatening rumble, and Robin flinched from the sound. "And it seems the storm decided to feed on your magic. But I have to wonder at your sacrifice; do you truly think it was worth anything?"
"I…" Robin tried to rasp out something, but her tongue wouldn't work. Her vision was blurring, and her eyes kept drifting to Chrom. The Conquerer noticed that.
"...We'll need to stabilize the both of you, it seems. I don't intend for either of you to die, without giving me answers."
Robin couldn't even manage defiance to that. Her thoughts wanted to seep out of her head, leak through the deck, and run into the sea. And soon enough, they did just that.
-o-o-o-
A shiver moved through Morgan, spreading down his back and making each scale on his tail quiver.
'What…? What happened?'
His thoughts slowly lurched into motion. Darkness shrouded his eyes, due to some sort of covering placed over his face. With his sight gone, Morgan had to rely on his other senses.
The flow of the currents was broken up by something, the usual rush of water blocked from completely reaching him. Like they'd moved into the lee of a mountain. Or buildings.
'It's a city. You're getting paraded through a city.' He heard a murmur of voices as he was pulled along. Dozens of words drifted by his ears, all of them sounding uneasy. The amount of voices made his skin prickle, as well as being able to only hear them instead of seeing anything.
Lucina gave a painful groan from somewhere nearby; it seemed she was subject to the same treatment as him. Taloned hands were fixed around his shoulders, and rope bit into his wrists.
"Hh-" was all that got out of his mouth, when he tried to ask what was going on, or why this was being done to him. Bound, gagged, and blindfolded. Being lead who knew where-
Scales brushed at his arm, and Morgan jolted from the reminder. There was only one thing that could be carrying him and his sister-
'Mer. We were fighting Mer!' And they'd captured him. Hazy, blood tinged memories flooded into him; and they weren't just of his capture, and the strange forced swim. Instead he was rushed with memories of fighting Mer in some distant and flooded place. Of being torn to shreds by them, before waking up and meeting Lucina.
Panic made Morgan writhe against his bonds. In retaliation talons pierced his skin, and the ropes yanked more insistently at him. He didn't listen to them, throwing his head back to try and gather song, something to call magic and strike at whatever held him-
Instead, something at his throat burned. He felt a wrap of fabric at his throat turn into a blazing ember of pain, scalding his skin when he tried to sing. When he opened his mouth to scream, he realized a gag was wrapped around his face as well, and trying to choke out the last of her breath. The memories of fighting all fled from that, as did his focus and awareness; he blacked out from the rush of pain.
"…Should stay bound up, and keep the silk wrapped around him. That's my recommendation. He was fighting us all through the journey across the city, even with the wards on him. There's fight left in the boy." Morgan came to, an echo of voices drawing his focus. One of them was male, and spoke in the gruff tones of a soldier. He swore that for a moment, he heard something like admiration in the man's voice.
"Thanks, Mustafa sir!" Came a chipper voice; one with an almost unsettling laugh behind it. "We'll keep the advice in mind… though to be honest I almost want to let this kid go; see what sort of damage he can really do! Nya ha!"
A groan greeted the speaker, as Mustafa answered. "…I'd appreciate it if you didn't, considering how much trouble it took to capture these trespassers in the first place. Please, try to follow the orders; I'd prefer not to see what happens to you, if you disobey."
"Well, you DID say please… ok, ok, I guess I can take over and see them delivered. Ah- hopefully before they finish waking all the way up. Hey Tharj, wanna gimme hand?"
"If it shuts you up then yes." Came a female voice, steeped in sarcasm and a dour tone. "We don't have much of a choice, if we want to get back in the favors of his high surliness. And I don't want him sending me out into storm wracked seas again."
Hands rested on him, this time without scratching lines in his skin. He was being guided and tugged, and his head reeled from the motion.
Morgan's focus cut out again, but he had a vague impression of drifting upwards. With the motion, the warmth of the water seemed sapped out, replaced with an odd, arcane chill… and with it came a strange, headache inducing hum that went bone deep.
-o-o-o-
Something pressed in on her ears, almost like physical pressure. Lucina groaned, shaking her head, but that did nothing to dislodge the presence.
There was a hum building around her, mixed with a strange growl. Some creature of the deep was stirring, snarling in her ears… and sounded hungry. Nearby Morgan gave a pained whine.
"Well… they're certainly receptive to Grima's voice. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing." Came a soft voice, followed by Lucina sinking free from someone's grip, until she came to rest against a tiled floor.
Something was torn from her eyes, mouth, and throat. Her senses sprang back into life, flooding her. The scream in her head faded against that, but didn't vanish entirely.
Blue and violet tile lined the floor underneath her. When she tried to shift (and realized she was still bound) streams of bubbles released from the tiles and twined around columns ringing the area. Open sea stared back at them, framed by cold lined pillars. The little chamber they were in was the only bit of structure around, as the ground dropped into a sharp slope. Their surroundings were decorated with sharp edges formed from claws and bones, tipped with metal that glowed with golden fire.
Beyond that the hill plunged downwards into a black and yawning abyss. The wane light that reached the sea floor gave up trying to pierce the depths. Something was outlined against it, a dark shape with a tail churning bubbles in front of the abyss. Lucina swore that a touch of the ink clung to the Mer's skin and scales, with how dark everything was.
The Mer twisted through the water, angling towards them. His scales were a purple so deep it was almost black, his tail lined with fins, spines and patterning that wouldn't look out of place on a lionfish. And his features…
Lucina tried to flinch away, though her bonds wouldn't let her. The Mer's eyes were a brilliant, burning red. More red coated his hands, shed fresh from a body. A dagger in his hands, gilded and ceremonial, showed how he'd gained that blood. Lucina's stomach gave a slow turn, and she thought that beyond the figure, near the lip of the abyss, she saw a lifeless form tumbling into the shadows.
'A sacrifice,' her thoughts provided. 'Or a prisoner. And who knows what that makes you.'
"Lord Validar," intoned one of the Mer, placing a hand on Lucina's bonds and yanking her upright.
"You have good reason for disturbing my ceremonies, I hope." The blood ran in clouds off his arms, the seawater already draining it away. Lucina remembered the scarlet edge her own scales carried thanks to Gules. She prayed that she stayed in the temple's shadow, where the glimmer wouldn't be as visible.
The Mer's eyes passed over her, cold and calculating like a shark sizing up a wounded fish.
"Prisoners? From one of the rebel groups? Finally slipping up enough to be made an example of…?" A hint of eagerness warmed his voice, and in the process made her blood go cold.
"Intruders, captured near one of the lighthouses under Mustafa's watch." The female voice continued with a mumbled tone, and Lucina received the impression of downcast eyes. "What their alliances are, we don't know yet; though whatever they ally with, it has taught them how to fight. Mustafa says she had to be subdued by force… excess force from the sounds of it. I figure that's intriguing on its own."
"Quite true…"
Validar swam closer to Lucina, one of his fingers hooking under her chin to bring her gaze up. The blood still clinging to him made his touch slimy. She fought back a shudder from the contact, and his attention. "Quite the enigma then. So, child…"
Lucina felt herself bristle at the condescending tone. She wanted to yank her head away, but felt the ropes bite at her wrists again. Instead she held perfectly still, and met Validar's red eyes. Those eyes seemed to bore into her, searching for something.
"What brings you into my realm? You don't appear to be one of my subjects." He drew his hands away, now that he held her sight.
"I- we were traveling through, nothing more." Lucina whispered. "We didn't intend to trespass on your lands-"
"…Is that so? Even though I've been carving out my territory for years, and that lighthouse has been under my bloodline's claim for generations? Yet you somehow don't know even that?"
She'd already stumbled; Lucina fought to hold her gaze even with his. He'd already found one point of weakness, she didn't want to show him another by dropping her eyes.
"We… aren't from around here? And we're not with rebels or anything, we were just traveling by ourselves!" Morgan's voice cut in. Validar's red gaze swept from Lucina to Morgan, and in the corner of her eyes she caught her brother wincing away. "We've just been-"
"Quite busy and nomadic, from the sounds of it." Validar cut him off. "Traveling between places, and slipping under my nets." His fins slowly pushed him away from the two.
"That's right," Lucina fought to keep her voice steady. "We've kept to ourselves for months…"
And she didn't even know that such a society existed underwater, until now. That Mer could build cities, field armies, and enact bloody rituals. She looked again to Validar's bloody hands, and noticed the extra rings and bracelets of gold coating his arms; regalia that seemed almost royal, when he wore it.
"What business of yours brought you to my kingdom then?"
"I-I didn't know we were the guests of a king." Lucina tried, not flinching when he turned his gaze on her. "I apologize for my lapse in manners, in that case."
That sounded properly formal, she hoped. And might distract him-
"But your ignorance still doesn't tell me what your business is here." Validar didn't pause for their answer, switching approaches as he swam towards Morgan. "You know, I've heard reports of two children matching your description; siblings from the sound of it…"
While he hovered over Morgan, he continued to watch Lucina.
"There has to be more than a few nomads in the sea, correct?" Lucina risked a guess.
"Yes, some of them displaced through conflict, sad to say. But not many of them possess blue hair such as yours. That trait runs rare, even considering how tied our kind is to the water." As if turning traitor, a few strands of Lucina's hair floated across her face.
"I understand you, or someone like you, was seen near a distant northern lighthouse. One near the more barbarian selections of land dwellers… though that is not much of a distinction, considering their kind." Validar's voice took on a coaxing note. "And those passages can be treacherous, even to Mer. My own people have lost lives there. So I feel some concern, over Mer straying to such a hostile place."
'Why were you there?' His voice demanded.
"We… were following a ship?" Morgan piped up, trying to divert Validar's questions again.
"A ship." Validar's tone was dangerously flat. She saw the whip chord muscles on his body and tail all tense, a brief flicker of rage tracing across his face. She hissed a warning to Morgan, that they were treading on a dangerous topic. "And what were you planning to do with that ship?"
"W-we found it… interesting, is all. And wanted to see what would happen to it."
Not a full lie, Lucina knew. Maybe that would be enough to satisfy this man… though she was unsure when their two handlers released Morgan and Lucina, slowly backing away with soft tail strokes that barely disturbed the waters.
"...You didn't sink that ship?" Validar growled. "You didn't raise a hand against those intruders?"
"We… Couldn't do something like that, with just the two of us." Morgan was lying through his teeth now, and Lucina hoped it was convincing. The truth was, the idea of attacking a ship made Lucina's stomach twist. Especially striking out at THAT ship.
"Point is, we didn't mean to trespass. W-we can leave soon, too. If you'll just let us go." Morgan finished. Validar drew a breath through his teeth as he listened to Morgan, eyes never straying from the two.
"Indeed…" Validar gave a slow nod. Turning to her in the same motion, his eyes roved her tail and the blue scales. Lucina tried not to squirm under his gaze, while trying to return his nod; maybe he'd gotten all the information he needed. Maybe-
"This is all quite tragic then." Validar placed a hand on Lucina's head in a gentle pat. The motion half patronizing. That made her grit her teeth, but she accepted if it would only get them free. "Yes, most tragic-!"
Validar surged forward, his hand turning into a fist in Lucina's hair. His other hand snapped around her shoulder, talons digging into flesh. She couldn't even scream, before he yanked her forward.
"Do you think me a fool? A BLIND fool!?" He snapped, Lucina crashing to the floor from the force of his pull. The tile was unforgiving, slapping her across the face and cracking against her ribs.
Her vision spun and blurred from the pain. Before she could think of swimming back up, the palm of Validar's hand crashed into her cheek, pinning her to the tiles. His other hand scraped over her tail. Her scales screamed like they were getting yanked off one at a time.
Lucina wanted to screw her eyes shut and shrink from the attack. Instead her eyes went to her tail, and where Validar's talons had come to a stop, hooked into the muscle. Even though she still lay in the shadow of the chamber, the red lining her scales glowed. The crimson was brighter than fresh blood, brighter than any fire.
"You thought that I'd miss the power you've hidden away in your scales? I know this glow." He hissed into her ear, and he twisted his talons in a harsh, rough circle. A scream fought its way out of Lucina's throat, going hoarse as it stretched out and died away into a ragged sob. He was drawing more than blood from her flesh. Flecks of ember red drifted off her scales, and gathered in his palm.
"The moment I saw you, I knew what you hold… And I will be taking it now. You are in my kingdom, invading my shrines and strongholds… it is mine. By. Right." Validar snarled the last. A painful drone filled her ears, a discordant spell pushing its way into her tail. In response, flecks of glowing magic lifted up from her flesh, dancing like motes in the water.
He was pulling the stone from her scales, one wrenching twist of the talons at a time.
Distantly she saw their handlers flinching away from the violence. The dark haired girl looked alarmed by it, the white haired boy staring in shock.
Morgan did more than stare. He wrenched himself forward with a ragged scream of his own.
"STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" Then he slammed into Validar, shoulder first. The claws wrenched away from the impact, and Lucina could have sobbed from relief.
Morgan didn't pause in his rush. His hands were still bound, so he slammed his head into Validar's nose. The king gave a choked, pained noise; half surprised, and half outraged at Morgan's actions. Morgan's bound hands tried to go for the dagger-
Validar gave it to Morgan, courtesy of slamming the pommel into his ribs. The gills on Morgan's neck flared, and his breath left in a pained rush. The blow drove him away from Validar, and Morgan hung slack in the water.
Even though Morgan had gone still, Validar wasn't finished. He slashed with the dagger and his talons, racking through Morgan's fins.
Morgan went rigid from the blows and fell to the ground, his tail trailing limply behind him. The fins had gone ragged and bled in clouds. His tail tried to thrash, only for the fins to move in a broken, useless pulse.
'Crippled.' She realized with a wrench in her heart, and somehow that hurt worse than Validar's spell. 'He's just crippled my brother-!'
And she couldn't do anything. Her own tail felt like it had been rent asunder… Though her scales hadn't lost the scarlet gleam. Validar hadn't yanked the gemstone from her.
"…Damned child." Validar spat. The remnants of his spell still crackled along his arms, the magic seeping off into the water. "Both of you,"
He snapped to the two handlers. "Take them, and leave them to rot in the cells. I'll summon them, once I've gathered enough energy for a second attempt."
He looked down his nose at Lucina.
"You've only stalled your fate. I will have that artifact you hold in your scales." Lucina's throat was too dry and raw to talk back. But she managed a glare. She never broke it as the two Mer gathered her and Morgan up. Her eyes blazed at the ruler, even as the Mer pulled her and Morgan off to whatever prison Validar had for them.