Blood, Oil, and Steel

by Acardia

You never know what might happen on a Monday. Sometimes every single minor inconvenience occurs within a couple of minutes of you waking up. Other times...well, I certainly wasn't to be sent here of all places. With the Ylissean sun above my head, what will happen to me? Currently rated at T, it might change in the future.

9. Chapter 7: Grass, Snow, and Eagles

Chapter 7

Grass, Snow, and Bright Golden Eagles

A silent chamber greets him as Konstantine enters the hallowed hollow of the Elven Sun Goddess. His perfect memories remind him of days long since past, where such a sight would have been impossible to see. Days, before the Great Failure, bygone days of glory where the Elves reigned supreme, their words law. Days before they failed to prevent the sky from cracking open, and before the subsequent fall from grace forced them to give the crown of the worlds to the sons and daughters of the Great Dragon.

Konstantine sighs. He was once a mortal, as much as that word applies to elves who could live millennia without magic or science, and perhaps he would have been in awe of this place, millions of years ago. The little child who would become something akin to a god, living an insular life in the Ever-burning Unburnable Forest of Ice.

Still, it was not like Heisla to not have people to greet him on the way in. The sun must be generous, she once said, and she always stuck to her word.

Perhaps…she already knew the issue at hand, and was in the midst of preparing to solve it? No, that wasn't like the golden-haired girl either. She let her favourite sword be trapped in the depths of hell for nearly a millennia before even realising that it was lost. If Argentius or whoever's leading the demons after the purge that the dragons enacted a couple of centuries back lost any of the weapons of judgement, they would be all over it within an hour of it being lost, at the very most.

Konstantine halts suddenly as a hooded figure suddenly appears in front of him.

"Name," A deep, ancient voice with the gurgling of deep currents and the quiet sound of screaming souls emanates from where the face on the hood should be.

"Konstii Ebyn vaan Koigszaite, Master Librarian of the Bladesingers," Konstantine quietly and quickly answers.

"Your purpose here?"

"I have an audience with your sister, Lord Albacana," Konstantine answers calmly.

The hooded figure sighs. Not a moment after, the figure turns into a swirling mass of pitch-black water, which should have been illuminated by the pillars of light in the chamber, but refuses to let any of the bright orange glow into itself.

Out of this vortex of water steps a heavily armoured elf, taller than Konstantine by nearly a full metre, clad head to toe in thick but small metal plates that shine with an eerie cobalt colour. He has an incredibly…fishy motif. Perhaps the only thing not fish or ocean related is his weapon, a Bec-de-Corbin instead of a more cliche trident.

"You saw through it quite easily, Konstii," The ancient god chuckles. Even in this form, there is a deep power within the words that he speaks, as if losing your focus around him would have you sucked into his maw.

"More the process of elimination than anything, Lord Albacana," Konstantine rubs the back of his neck. "There aren't many Aelfin left, and you're the only one who leaves their domain with any regularity."

"And you were sure that it was an Aelfin that was standing before you?" Albacana's turquoise-black eyes sparkle a little with curiosity. "As you say, there are not many of us left. It could have been something else entirely."

"Fine, you got me," Konstantine puts his hands up in the air. "The Colossi Core. I felt the Colossi core and matched it to the one in the Head Librarian's database. There, I told the truth. Are you happy now?"

"I was never upset," The old god hums a little. "My little sister is currently in her private chambers…I am unsure if she wants to meet you there or if she has forgotten about another one of her appointments. Do you mind if I go and check?"

"Of course not. It would be most improper of me to interrupt Lady Heilsa if she's doing something important," Konstantine smiles diplomatically.

"This is something important, isn't it?" Albacana sighs.

"It is…" Konstantine confirms.

"Wait here. I'll drag her out by the hair if I have to," Albacana snaps his fingers and he vanishes into motes of black-gold light.

"You don't have to do that. I'm sure she'll come out by herself," Konstantine sighs, his voice not reaching the old god's ears.

After waiting for what feels like hours, Konstantine gets a little bored. He quickly creates a magic circle and slows down time in an extremely localised area of space right around him, so time passes more quickly for him.

After a couple more minutes in a sped-up state, he finally sees the sun goddess stepping out into the main chamber.

"Konstii!" The golden-haired girl grins wildly as she spots the blonde man. "I haven't seen you in ages! How are you doing?"

"Ah, hello Lady Heilsa. I have been doing…alright, I suppose. Went on an adventure that I was not expecting to go on, but that's life as an immortal. How have you been?"

"Bored! I haven't left this blasted temple in millions of years!" The tall girl huffs and crosses her arms over her non-existent chest. "It's massive, I know, but after a while, you see all of it!"

"Well, unfortunately, I would love to make small talk, but I must get to the point, and rather quickly. A massive fleet just jumped way too close to Utheria for their liking, and they're pulling their forces back along the Via Immaculatus, which means I have to deal with it," Konstantine rubs his head. "By the progenitor's name, we can't catch a break this millennium. You know what exactly I'm here for, right?"

"Yes…" Heilsa sighs. "The heroes you've trained."

"They've disappeared. All of them. All one hundred and eighty," Konstantine bites his lip. "Granted, most of them aren't very powerful, but—"

"The ones that can break the fabric of reality, much like us," Heilsa answers for him. "I know. I am a goddess, you know? I'm not entirely useless, unlike my niece."

Konstantine has to stop himself from pointing out that the niece that she's referring to was currently fighting on the front lines, instead of lazing around in a palace.

"Nevertheless, one of these heroes has Dawnbringer in their possession. Sure, it is a fragment and only very recently had been awakened, but it is the genuine article, and should they decide to awaken it further, could draw the physical weapon to them," Konstantine responds. "Worst of all, I have no idea where they've gone. Considering you have a direct link to—"

"Once Dawn contacts me, I will know. Don't worry about it too much, Konstii," The goddess smiles.

Konstantine bites his lip.

"R—Right…but…no, it will be fine…" The old elf, not that you could tell by looking at him, sighs. "In that case…I brought some cakes. Can I try to convince you to leave this damned building again?"

"You can definitely try!" Heilsa giggles.

---

I wake up. My throat is dry. Of course it is. It's always fucking dry. It's always fucking dry in the morning.

Why am I so annoyed this early in the morning, you may ask?

Squalk [Good morning, master]

I swear to the gods, why do they all call me master? Why can't you call me something normal for once?

Oh right, I should explain what is—

Qualk-lak-lak [How are you doing this morning?]

Oh, cut it out!

Right, the bird. Bird of prey…fucking hell.

So, I decided to screw around and make random stuff, as you do, after giving up on organising the last bag, the bag with valuables in them, and decided, hey, it'll be fun to make a homunculus. I'll make an eagle since it not only looks cool, has really good spotting abilities, is fast, and has flyby, but it also fits with the whole Rome theme.

Then I realised that I would have to actually own a sentient bird.

Fuck me and my mistakes.

Sqa—

"Alright, alright! I'm up! I'm up!" I interrupt. "Gods forbid you leave me alone for more than five minutes, or communicate telepathically like everyone else does!"

I groan as I sit up in my way-to-soft bed and glare at the metal bird that is currently sitting on my nightstand, looking very golden. The best way to describe this artificial life form is to imagine an immaculate and photo-realistic statue of an eagle and then realising that it's genuinely an eagle made from gold.

How the fuck did I make this when my sculptures usually look something between horrible and 'eh, I can see it'? I have no idea!

I roll off of the bed and my feet hit tarp, rather than stained wooden flooring. Oh, right, we're marching.

Ah, I should probably explain what's been going on the past week or so. Apparently, the council had a bit of a tiff over what exactly they wanted to do, so it took them a while to shoo us off to Ferox. Or rather, Emmeryn told us, I think the council is still indecisive. Anyhow, preparing for the march to Ferox took a week, and today is the first day we're back on the road. Once again, the games skip over the travel and travel preparation time.

Though, I guess I helped out a little there. I managed to inform Stahl of the correct departure date instead of Vaike screwing up and forgetting. Also, I have multiple spare axes so the blonde haired berserker shouldn't have to worry about stuff like that.

Why do I have a bed and nightstand even though we're on the road and taking something like that would be wildly inconvenient and time consuming? My friend, I have a talking sword, is a tent that comes with its own furniture really that hard to make?

Turns out? Yes, it is. This is actually a pocket hole, and all the furniture in here is in the hole that I've placed on the bottom of the tent. When I pack up the hole, everything goes with it. Genius, I know.

I get dressed drowsily. I haven't had my morning tea yet, so I'm fumbling around a little bit trying to get all the bits and bobs of my armour attached properly. Gods damn it, where the fuck is that strap! Oop, here it is.

You might be wondering what I was doing last night in order to get this tired. The answer is maintenance. Yes, maintenance—the stuff you do to machines to make sure they don't break down due to natural stress on their moving components. Yes, Randy's mana filter got clogged. No, I don't have a replacement yet. Yes, I'm trying to make a new one, are those all the questions you have?

Hopping out of the hole is a little harder than it was yesterday when I first used it, but that's probably due to my current inability to see straight. Man, I need my tea.

Thankfully, my alchemist's jug has a gallon of piping hot tea already ready so I pour some into a canteen and get ready to start the day. Six sips in and I'm already feeling as peppy as I am usually.

Oh right, I should probably call out Vespi—er, Vespacian—from the hole before I pack it up.

"Hey, Vespi. Come on up, I'm packing up the hole," I grunt as I take another sip of the aromatic tea.

[Of course.]

"Now you decide to use telepathy, huh? You were just trying to wake me up," I grumble.

[That is correct, master. Are you not the one who says that waking up early in the morning is vitally important for any soldier?]

"Yeah, come up and stop being such a smartass," I sigh, feeling more energy flow into my system as my ADD receptors become blocked by the caffeine in the tea.

Moments later, Vespi flies out of the black hole in the floor and lands on a wooden perch that I built for him a few days earlier. Sitting on that perch, the dude looks like something right out of a painting. Seriously, even his voice fits his stature: it's a silky smooth middle-aged male servant's voice with a slight hint of an English accent.

[What is causing you so much pain this morning, master?]

"Lack of sleep, really," I sigh. I've given up on getting them to stop calling me master at this point. "I wasn't expecting Randy's maintenance to take so long. The fucking piston was jammed and I didn't notice until after I had taken the entire subassembly apart…I feel so stupid sometimes."

[Are you sure that is not because you are stupid?]

"Good joke, Vespi, you got me laughing real hard here," I roll my eyes. Why can't I have a normal sentient object for once? Dawnbringer is a religious fanatic, Randy is better than the Rimworld Storyteller at being extremely random, Vespacian is a smartass, and I haven't even bothered to take Nepenthe out yet! Ugh, just thinking of that vile weapon makes me wanna puke.

[Nevertheless, you still have chores to take care of, no?]

"Yeah yeah, go bother Lissa or something and get off my ass," I wave him off. "I have enough stuff to deal with and since I'm stupid enough to break the laws of physics and make what's practically a perpetual motion when I created you I don't actually have to deal with maintaining you."

[Breaking the laws of physics is usually something that smart people do.]

"Well, make up your damn mind then! Am I stupid or smart?" I grumble as I bottom out the canteen of tea, only to refill it. Come on, I need more caffeine than this!

[You have ordered me to vacate the premises and to, and I quote, 'bother Lissa or something'. I shall do this now.]

And he leaves. Great. No seriously, I've been wanting to get his golden ass out of my hair for a while now. Thank you for your sacrifice, Lissa.

I finish my routine by brushing my teeth and washing my face. I would normally brush it after I eat breakfast, but since meals are communal and I wake up extremely early when compared to the rest of my sheep-herding peers it's going to be a long while until I can eat, and I'd rather not have bad breath until then.

I exit the tent, which is a different one from the two I used before. After I cleaned out another one of the many bags of holding that I have, I found more tents. Weird, I know, but honestly, I'm rather appreciative of the level of preparedness that Terentius always strives to achieve. Instead of a rather dinky little tent that can barely fit a sleeping bag, I have a tent that could comfortably fit ten people. Of course, that's a rather large tent for a single person to sleep in, so I went for a small tent, one that could fit around four people. It gave me enough space to have furnishings and other such items without being too much bigger than everyone else's tents.

I stretch and let out a yawn as I step outside. The temperature here is a bit chillier than Ylisstol, but not by much. The capital is probably somewhere in the upper 20's, low 30's, which to anyone from Britain is heat-stroke inducing, but I think 15 degrees need long pants so who's the real sucker here. Here, it's around twenty or so degrees. I'm not that worried about the cold right now. I'm more worried about the temperature once we get to the northern parts of Ylisse, and then on to Ferox. I'm not sure if Ferox is a frozen wasteland or not, but even if it's not then it's still going to be quite cold.

Unlike some other unprepared Shepherds, looking straight at you Lissa, I have an abundance of winter clothes. And summer clothes. And desert clothes. And—you get the picture, even if a portal opens up, swallowing us and depositing everyone into the feywild, I'm pretty sure I have enough anti-fey clothing for everyone.

In my bag right now are a pair of mammoth-fur pants, an extremely heavy down coat rated for the Arctic, two scarfs, three different pairs of gloves of differing thickness and friction, and an ushanka. Hey, don't make fun of the ushanka, it's a damn good winter hat. I dare you to find a better one. You can't.

All of that clothing has been moved from 'deep storage' in a [Bag of Holding] to my normal bag in preparation for the colder temperatures up north. I reckon I'm going to need it in about two weeks or so once we reach northern Frigia—er, it's hard to explain where Frigia is without a map…It's the northernmost subdivision of Ylisse, it's the only subdivision that borders Regna Ferox. It's also ruled by Marie of Frigia, who I learned has a niece named Cordelia. Maybe you've heard of that red-headed pegasus knight, I don't know.

Gods, I knew that all of the Ylissean Shepherds were important people, but it's a different thing entirely to realise just how much of the upper crust of Ylissean society that just being in the Shepherds grants you access to. Let's look at everyone within the Shepherds right now, shall we? Maribelle's father is the Duke of Themis, a massive subdivision within Ylisse; Kellam's father is the Baron of Yagenveele, a major trading city in the east; Rickten's father is the Count Palatine of the Archanean Palatinate, a collection of counties and baronies De Jure under under direct rule under the Crown but due to the extremely decentralised nature of the Ylissean state are De Facto rule by the Count Palatine; Sumia's mother is the Count of Masaria, a country within the Margrave of Frigia; Sully's father is the Knight-Duke of Tyradus—er, Pyrathi, linguistic drift over the past few millennia has changed the name of the old nation; and last but definitely not least Miriel's late mother was the Duchess of Gordontis, though due to the duchy's Agnatic-Cognatic Primogeniture succession Miriel was not able to inherit the Duchy, even though she was the firstborn child of the late Duchess.

All in all, that's the rulers of four out of the seven regions of Ylisse not ruled directly by Ylisstol who I have a direct connection, and that's not including the fact that it wouldn't be too hard for me to get an audience with the Exalt herself through Chrom or Lissa.

Honestly, I'm a bit concerned here. While this might be normal for Terentius, I am not used to having this many important connections, no scratch that, important connections at all! I mean I see Chrom as just a normal dude, perhaps not a friend yet, but definitely not as the Heir Apparent of a nation and future Exalt! Seriously, the cognitive dissonance is killing me!

Pushing all those thoughts to the side, I mentally list out the things I need to do this morning. Menial stuff, really. Make some alchemical oil, finish fixing up Randy's actuators, start cold-proofing Vespacian, and empty out all the alchemical jugs. Not…a massive list, but items number two and three are going to take an as-of-yet unknown amount of time. I'll probably do one and four first, those two are going to take around an hour combined, and looking at my chronometer I have around an hour and a half before Lissa wakes up and breakfast preparations begin. Looks like I'll have to do my mechanical tinkering this afternoon.

I grab all the necessary equipment and get to pressing alchemical oils out of any biological waste that I have lying around. The machine itself looks suspiciously like a blender, but instead of a transparent material holder, it has an entirely metal, and thus opaque, container. It also doesn't need any electrical power, instead being powered by an arcane crystal with enough mana to last a couple of centuries of constant usage, so no messy wires.

I chuck a couple of chunks of unusable gristle and offal into the container bit, close the lid, and press the big red glowing button. The machine then proceeds to hum happily, slowly becoming warm to the touch. Unlike a blender, there aren't any horridly loud sounds, so I can sit right next to it without my ears becoming deaf after a few moments.

I smile. Terentius's love for machines is flowing into me, and I feel quite happy watching this little thing work—

"Up early this morning, are we Terence?"

"Gah!"

I yelp despite myself at the sudden interruption to the silent routine up to now. I turn around faster than I have ever turned around before and find my nose millimetres away from a certain wary man's face.

"Oh, it's you," I sigh, the tension escaping my body. "I could say the same to you, Sir Frederick."

"I am a knight of the Exalted family, it is our duty to make sure that they are properly taken care of," The brown-haired knight huffs. "It is customary for us to wake earlier than everyone else. Imagine my surprise when I saw you here, evidently awake before me."

"It's already seven, Frederick, it's not early at all," I sigh. "Although, is it really so strange that I am awake right now? The sun is shining rather brightly, and wasting daylight is not something I want to do."

"Be that as it may, I have never seen you up this early,"

"That's because I usually stuck to the tent," I explain as I realise that the machine had finished mulching the innards of whatever animal I just threw in there while I was conversing with Frederick. "I've realised how bad of a decision that was recent; the smell of alchemical oil being created will absolutely destroy your appetite."

"What is it that you're doing right now, anyway?" Frederick frowns as I get out a rather large glass vial and pop open the spout of the machine.

An expected hiss comes from the spout, filling the air with a putrid smell as the waste gases vent out into the air.

"I'm making alchemical oil," I give Frederick a raised eyebrow as I pour the amber-tinted translucent liquid into the large vial. The oil itself isn't doesn't have an odour, but the inside of the oil presser certainly has a horrid smell that I would rather avoid. Thankfully, the various smells dissipate quickly in the cool morning air.

"I see..what do you intend to do with the oil?" Frederick keeps asking as I start to pack everything up.

"Eh…probably process into something else," I shrug. "It's more useful as an input resource rather than a consumable. This batch will probably be turned into IP-160—er, a thermally stable lubricant with a low freezing point. We are going to a rather cold place and IP-124 will freeze solid at such temperatures."

"I…don't understand what that means, but I can see that you have finished doing so," Frederick frowns slightly as I stand up and pat my pants of dust. "What are you going to do now?"

"Do I have to tell you everything I'm going to do this morning?" I mutter quietly to myself.

"Pardon?" Nice, it looks like Frederick didn't hear me.

"Nothing," I sigh. "I'm going to empty out all of my alchemy jugs. If you want to stand and watch that, be my guest. But I'm guessing…that you have better things to do than stare at me emptying out ceramic jugs."

"That is true…" Frederick sighs and then proceeds to turn and leave.

Huh, weird. Why was he…nevermind, it's probably nothing.

Shrugging the questions away, I head back into my tent to process the insane amount of alchemy jugs that need to be emptied today. I've managed to make enough acid to process explosives starting tomorrow, so we finally can have some fun!

Speaking of people having fun, where'd Vespasian…go? Eh, he's probably dicking around somewhere outside. I'll leave him to his eagle fun.

---

Pain.

A lot of it.

I look down to see a lance firmly lodged in my abdomen. Incredibly unusual. Sure, not unexpected, perhaps, but certainly less than ideal. Oh, it's not going to kill me, don't worry about that. I've gotten hit with much worse for far longer and survived from that. This is but a minor wound, but…

A more pressing question is where I am and what caused this wound.

I blink rapidly as my eyes refocus on the world around me. Good, I can see. An important thing to make sure I am still able to do.

Looking around, I see blood, probably my own, grass, packed dirt and…stone walls. I'm surrounded by stone walls and blood. Immediately, the pieces fall into place. I'm in a fort, probably fighting risen considering the lack of bodies around me.

Seeing no immediate threat, I take a deep breath. Good, the lance impacted me below the diaphragm. Now, that means it's completely ruined my digestive tract, which would usually mean death in a few moments due to bleeding, but I'm not normal, and neither are my abilities.

I wince in pain as I grip the shaft of the lance, the contours and textures of the wood sharp and clear in my adrenaline-filled mind. Biting the inside of my cheek so the pain would go somewhere, I pull out the lance from my stomach.

Oh, gods, that fucking hurts.

Not unexpected, but that doesn't reduce the amount of blood that just flowed into my mouth, coating my taste buds in that metallic aftertaste that you get with fresh blood. Shit, I need to patch myself up, that is a lot of blood.

A quick [Cure Wounds] spell closes the rather large gap in my abdomen and the bite mark on the inside of my cheek. I'm tired as hell, but at the very least I'm not in danger of bleeding out. A sizable improvement, great success.

"Good…now to find…literally anything else," I mutter to myself. I'm not sure…how on earth I managed to get here but…well, I certainly am here now. Yeah, I know I'm not on Earth, go ahead and laugh at me. I certainly will be after I figure out how to not die.

I check around the fort, but I don't see anyone. I find signs of combat, sure, they're everywhere: scorched areas of earth and stone walls that are in the shape of one of my [Fire Bolts], throwing axes embedded in trees, arrows stuck in the dirt, and the occasional gash from a Wind tome. I find what looks to be a piece of a broken rapier as well. Uh, Chrom, how did this break already? I put it in my backpack so I can repair it later. [Mending] is such a useful little spell, isn't it?

I walk around this small fort but still find nobody. I can hear something going on outside, but…not anyone doing anything. That's really unsettling. Hearing something and knowing it's there, but not seeing it. Ugh. It's even midday and my body is still reacting to horror elements. I get the 'Flesh is Weak' crowd, I really would like to have a microchip strapped to my brain to keep away the all-too-human sensation of fear during stressful situations.

I round a corner and find the first clue to where I am. The fort is at the end of a bridge over a river…

Ah, we're on that chapter, are we now? Not…sure why I got stabbed by a lance here, but eh. There's not—

A flash of purple catches my eye.

My eyes quickly return to the spot where the brilliant purple sticks out like a sore thumb. That's…

Oh…shit.

I quickly dash over to where Robin is currently lying on the ground. My breathing picks up, each breath coming out faster and faster as I get closer and closer.

It's hard to tell how badly hurt she is. She's turned over with her dorsal—backside—facing upwards, and most of her body is covered with that coat. Her head and hair are pristine, with no blood whatsoever. That's a good sign, but I haven't checked her face yet, and the damage could be to her body rather than her head.

I gingerly put my hand on her neck, checking for a pulse. She's still warm, which is a good sign…oh, there's a pulse. It's rather weak, but that means I don't have to revive her and can instead just heal her. Good to know, since [Revivify] has a time limit, even if Dawnblade can increase it.

My little screwdriver whirls up as I prepare to cast another [Cure Wounds] spell, this time on Robin. I turn her over so that she's lying on her back rather than her stomach so I can get a better look at the damage before casting the spell.

Oh, shit. That's a big gash. Looks like she wasn't able to dodge a claymore or some other large cutting weapon swung at her and it ripped out an entire half of her stomach area. I think those are her intestines slowly seeping out of her body cavity and onto the ground. Let's…get those back in before we patch her up…

Robin groans and mumbles something as I gently coax the intestines back into her body cavity. Now, DON'T DO THIS IN REALITY, I have access to something called spells that take care of things like internal bleeding and infections. If you're in a situation where you see someone whose abdominal organs are spilling out, try and stop the bleeding rather than putting the organs back in. Make the person comfortable and cover the bowels with a non-sticking sterile dressing and fucking call your local EMS. Let me repeat, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FORCEFULLY STUFF SOMEONE'S INTESTINES BACK INTO THEM.

Now, thankfully, I don't need to force anything back into place as the gash is rather large. Her…I think that's the small intestine…goes back into her abdominal cavity rather easily. A quick spell later and her stomach is left as good as new. Only the massive rip in her clothing remained, a reminder of what I just saw.

Great. I'm being desensitised to gore now. Though, that's probably not Terentius's fault, studying medicine will do that to you.

Robin groans again, her eyelids fluttering slightly. Her pulse also has gotten stronger, though I'm not sure why that is. I believe [Cure Wounds] recovers lost blood, but I'm not sure how much and where it's being introduced in the body.

"You responded well to the situation I threw you into, child of man," I almost cast a spell as I whirl around to face the voice that suddenly pierce into my mind.

Ah, it's Naga. Fucking scared me, that did.

"Oh…" I breathe a sigh of relief as tension leaves my body. "Hello, Naga…"

"You are much less happy to see me this time," She chuckles.

"Well, you did just basically drop me into a nightmare," I sigh as I rub Robin's shoulder. She groans in pain, but I can already see the colour returning to her face. It's good to know that she wasn't really in any real danger, even if I managed to heal her. "You know, next time, could you warn me before dumping me into a vision? It would help with actually gaining information from these damned things."

"You will react differently if I did that,"

"That's…the point?" I tilt my head in confusion. "I want to get as much information out of these damn visions as possible. It's not every day that you're able to try things with little to no consequence. I need to know what I can do and why things occur."

Naga bites her lip and frowns.

"Unfortunately," The venerable dragon sighs. "I am unable to give you prior warning to any visions you may have. You will know when I arrive."

I stand there for a couple of moments, thinking about what to do next. After a lengthy silence, I sit down with a massive sigh and start twiddling with my [All-Purpose Tool]. Odd, there's Greek lettering here…

"Well," I decide to sit down next to where Robin is currently laying on the floor. "Please enlighten me on what exactly this vision is for, Lady Naga."

"I never said that I disliked it when you referred to me in a less formal manner," The tall manakete sighs with a slight smile.

"Alright then, you big lizard, please get to the point," I sigh. Now, I probably could have done without the insult, but my mind was still being pumped with an unwelcome amount of stress hormones and the blood in question was flowing like a river's rapids into my brain. It took most of my focus to not fall into a coma.

"Big lizard?" Naga raises her eyebrows at that strange name. "Not…untrue, perhaps, but I am dead, you know? Would I not be the ghost of a big lizard?"

"Please just get to the point. I'm really struggling here," I wheeze with a wince of pain. Something is definitely not right with my chest. While Naga starts to talk, I ready up a spell of [Lesser Restoration].

"If you wish. As you can see, neither you nor the Plegian girl—whose true identity I am sure you already know—do not survive the next battle without sustaining heavy injuries," Naga continues as the [All-Purpose Tool] turns into a syringe with some sort of medicinal fluid inside which I promptly inject into my body.

Oh gods, that feels weird.

I'm not sure how best to describe it, but it feels like something has been forcibly evicted from my body. Not painlessly, mind you, the effect is gradual and incredibly painful, but the areas that have been 'purified' or 'restored' feel quite good. As the wave travels through my body, I shudder both from the scorching pain and from the relief granted. A true purification through fire, I believe. I wonder how the spell from Dawnblade feels…I'll have to try it out sometime.

"And as you can see, those injuries will cause damage to your bodies that will take time, or in your case, otherworldly magic, to treat," Naga continues as she watches me writhe in pain and relief as I am barely able to use my shaking arms to keep my soft-as-jello body from collapsing altogether. "This is something that Chrom will notice, and will force the two of you to sit out the next battle at the Longfort."

I blink despite the pain.

"Hold on…Robin isn't participating? He's forcing Robin to sit out? The only person who's keeping this army together, the only person with a modicum of strategic thought?" I almost laugh at the unthinkable premise that Naga just put forward.

While you could complete Awakening without Robin on the field, it's generally not advised since Robin is the strongest unit, at least before you include Tiki-infused Morgan into the picture. Plus, unlike the game, there is no player around to give orders if you force Robin to stay at camp, which basically means game over. Chrom is not of tactically sound mind.

"That is exactly why we cannot let that happen," Naga responds with a smile as my pain recedes somewhat. I jump slightly. Did this dragon just—

"Indeed I can," The green-haired manakete—er, a ghost of a manakete—responds. "This is all in your mind, remember? I am showing you this, and so I am privy to the device that makes these images and sounds possible. Of course, your mind is locked tight and I cannot see things I normally can when someone is exposed to my power, but your surface-level thoughts I can see."

"That's…unsettling," I sigh. "But getting back on point, you're telling me that Robin cannot be badly injured during this battle, correct?"

"No, the Plegian girl and yourself must not be injured badly," Naga shakes her head. "The battle at the Longfort will be incredibly dangerous for your band of heroes-to-be, and calmer heads must prevail during it."

"And you're saying I'm one of those calm heads that need to prevail?" I roll my eyes. "Please. I am as impulsive, if not more so, than Jugen or Amette. If you want a cool head, go find wherever Signus went."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Farseer," The dragon in front of me chuckles. "There are many who look to you, even now, as a source of reason."

"Then they are rather wrong," I shake my head. "I'd much rather depend on Robin's intellect than my own. She is a much better tactician and thinker than I am."

"Oh? Why would that be the case when you have so many wondrous inventions right next to you?" Naga asks a simple question.

"It's precisely because of these machines that I believe myself to be worse than Robin," I sigh. "I am weak, thus I create things to make me feel strong. Take away my items, my machines, my spells, and what does that leave you with? It leaves you with a man who is confused, afraid and lost. You asked before who I was before, but that question is getting harder and harder to answer."

I look up and stare at Naga in her brilliant emerald eyes.

"I don't know who I am, and with each passing second, I know less and less about myself. Who am I, really? Am I an amalgamation of all who came before me? Am I an imposter in the body of an otherwise brilliant man?"

I take a deep breath and look back down.

"I don't know. I really, really don't know. I don't know who I am. I don't know where I need to go. I don't know what I should do, where I should do things, or when I should do things. The best answer I can give right now is that I am lost. I believe that is the best answer you're going to get for a long time."

"Then don't give me that answer. I never asked for your answer now, did I?" Naga smiles. "Furthermore, what does Robin have that you do not? Why is she still such a brilliant person when she is in an arguably worst state."

I snort.

"Naga, the amnesia helped her as a person, not harmed her. Very quickly, she will become one of the most beloved members of the shepherds, within and without our small band of soon-to-be heroes. Her bonds allowed her to save the future in multiple timelines, and now you're saying that she's in a weaker position than me? Please."

"But she is not that person yet," Naga counters quietly. "She has not made many friends within the shepherds. You and perhaps Sumia are the only people she trusts."

That causes me to take a step back, mentally.

"Wait…really? Not even Chrom?" I ask. "I would have assumed that they would have hit it off…"

"If you mean they became close, then yes, they did," Naga continues before I can piece together my thoughts. "But she does not consider Chrom an equal. She sees him as an unassailable leader, someone who she must serve to repay the debt of being rescued. You, on the other hand, she sees as a genuine friend. Someone she can rely on."

I bite my lip. This…was definitely not what I wanted.

"I get it," I sigh. "I'll try my best, O' Holy Naga. Please let me out of this vision. I know enough now…"

"Of course. Please stop calling O' Holy Naga, however," Naga smiles and then frowns as the world around me slowly dissolves into motes of white light.

I turn towards Robin's unmoving yet very much alive form on the ground. She looks so…innocent here, so unprepared for the trials and tribulations ahead.

"Don't worry Robin…I'll be here to help you whenever you need it. I believe in you," I mutter with a smile as she too disappears into white light. I know she'll never hear it, but it still feels good to say. This is Robin and Chrom's story, after all. I'm here to help them as best as I can. That…is enough for now.

Soon, the light show ends and I am thrust back into my bed roll in my pocket hole in my magical tent. I can see the beginning of morning's light lazily drifting into the tent. I'd say it's around 6 or 7 am, so I'm awake early once again.

I prepare to get up and do my morning routine, but an ear-splitting scream suddenly crashes into my ear. Ah fuck, what just happened?

---

(Robin)

Nightmare. This was a new word for me. I've…never experienced anything like this before, so I did not know what to call it before today. I am still unsure if what I saw today when I slept was a nightmare, but it was…incredibly unnerving.

I don't remember how it started. It's weird because I obviously saw something beforehand since I remember being absolutely distraught. Lissa assures me this is normal and Terence explained that human brains don't remember everything that happens in a dream, which nightmares technically are.

I remember being in a dark, cold room, tears streaming down my face as a deep masculine voice that I've never heard in my life chuckles into my ears. Looking back, I am a little confused about what exactly I was so distraught about, but at the moment, I was inconsolable.

"Come on, little human. That was enough to break you this much?" The voice continues to cackle.

"Shut up! That couldn't have been true! He's not dead! He's still here!" I roar back, wet liquid staining my face. I must have looked like a wreck, an inconsolable child yelling at something that nobody could see.

The voice seemed to think so too and it's hollow yet eldritch—another word I learned today—laughter seemed to get louder, blocking out my own thoughts. I turned my head and saw a triplet of haunting eyes on the wall and screamed.

"No! No! No more! Please, no more!"

"You said that this was not real, little human. Why are you so scared of seeing a mere illusion?" The voice cackled, taunting me and making me question my own thoughts.

"P—Please…no more…I can't…I can't stand it if you…showed me…" I choked out.

"Oh, little human. I won't show you anything. This time around, I'll let you experience it!" The voice laughed louder than I expected and I shivered as I felt my body being stretched and compressed as my vision gained colour once again. Without warning, however, my vision turns black, and the voice grunts in frustration as if pushing against something.

I realise I am falling. Not very quickly, but gravity has released its grip on me.

"H—Hey!" I hear a voice that I am not able to identify. I'm barely able to make out that one word before the rest of their sentence descends into unintelligible murmurs and whispers. It's as if all my senses were suddenly wrapped in some kind of plaster.

It takes a while for my senses to recover to the state where I can use them again. When I finally come back again, my vision is murky and my ears are still somewhat unable to comprehend the sounds around me. However, I can hear the voice again, and this time, I can make out who and what it's saying.

"Don't worry Robin…I'll be here to help you whenever you need it…" It's rather faint amidst the rumbles and murmuring that my ears are sending to my brain, but I can tell that it's Terence who's talking to me.

Very slowly, my vision and sense of touch clear up enough to realise exactly what's going on. I'm currently lying on some kind of stone ground with my head resting on top of Terence's lap. He's looking down at me with his head leaning forward.

"T—Terence? W…what?" I stutter out. Terence's grey irises are relieved when he hears my words, and a small smile erupts on his lips.

"Ah, Robin. You've woken up," He sighs. "You had me really worried there for a moment. It's been a while since I had to deal with disembowelment."

"D—Disembowelment?" I yelp a little, my hands reach down to touch my stomach. Lo and behold, a massive gash in my clothes, but my fingers only find smooth and undamaged skin underneath.

"Yup," Terence grins. "Don't worry, I've healed you right back up. But, ah…if you feel anything wrong with your abdomen tell me immediately. I did a rather sloppy job, and while the body is relatively good with sorting itself out, if you need a shot of Lesser Restoration don't be afraid to ask."

I nod my head. I'm not sure what exactly Terence means by that, but I nod along nonetheless.

"Where…where are we, Terence?" I blink as I look around to get a better sense of my surroundings. "I…don't remember even coming here…"

By doing so, I realise the exact position that I'm in right now, cradled in Terence's lap. While he seems rather oblivious to our current position, a slight heat erupts from my chest.

Argh, I shouldn't have asked Sumia for books when I was bored! Ribald Tales of the Faith War is messing with my mind too much! How do I scrub a book's scenes from my mind!?

I try my best to quietly take a couple of deep breaths in order to calm my thoughts and move away from that one scene with Prince Sharradon and—No! No! Stop thinking about that! Argh, this is something that voice is making me experience, what does this have anything to do with anything?

"You alright, Robin?" Terence tilts his head.

"Y—Yeah, I'm fine," I swallow before responding, forcing my breath to a more even tempo. "I'm…fine…"

"Come on, there are…" Terence suddenly frowns. "I think we—"

"Terence, what's wrong?" I blink.

He doesn't get to respond as the world around me swirls and combines into an indescribable colour. I'm suddenly back on my feet without anything else changing, and I hear two voices roaring at each other in the distance. Both are male, I recognize one as my previous tormentor, but I am unsure of the identity of the second.

"You cannot stop me! This human is mine!" The deep voice rages.

"Oh, piss off you unsuccessful scientific experiment! Humanity is not to be chained!" The second voice is a lot less deep, but it too holds a lot of power.

"Leave! This is not your world to play around with!"

"I know, and I will, but cut it out or else I'm going to mess you up,"

With a grunt from my tormentor, the second voice leaves.

"Tch…" The voice makes a noise of annoyance. "That bastard, thinking he can do whatever he pleases…well, I can at least show you this, since it technically already happened. Ghahahahhaha!"

Before I am even able to process what is happening, my vision blurs once again.

This time, when it clears back again, I'm standing in a field with Terence right in front of me, giving me a sad smile. The sky is covered in acrid black clouds that block out the sun and make the temperature chilly and unpleasant. The smell of deathly miasma permeates the air, filling my nose with putrid odours. Around us are broken weapons and scorch marks.

"H…Huh…?" I murmur. My body doesn't seem to want to respond to me.

Terence slowly walks up to me and says something that I cannot hear.

"I—It's me—e, Robin," My mouth chokes up and manages to get these words out. It continues to move, but no sound comes out.

Terence has walked so close to me that any further and our noses would touch. For some reason, my body seems to like that idea.

His face is racked with so many different emotions that it's hard to tell which one is dominant. Fear, guilt, worry, relief, and acceptance are all intermingling and interchanging, swirling around without any one emotion completely winning over the others. It's slightly distressing, all in all, to watch him go through these emotions without responding.

Terence says something that I cannot make out, but it makes my body stiffen.

"W—Why? Why?" I murmur as Robin grasps my hand and shakes his head.

I am not able to hear Terence's response. His hands feel warm, but there is also a toughness and stiffness to them. My mouth moves again, but I still cannot hear the sound that comes out. My lip is quivering after Terence opens his mouth to reply.

Suddenly, and without warning, I feel a pulse of magic from my hand. I look down and—

No. Please, NO!

A spike of thunderous energy appears in my hand, which has been guided to Terence's stomach. His armour provides little resistance to the same weapon that I saw kill Chrom right before I woke up, and it does more damage to him.

Stunned, I simply stand there as Terence's body slumps forward. He tries to whisper something into my ears, but the roaring blood makes me unable to hear what he says.

Time seems to slow down as my thoughts slowly begin to crumble onto themselves.

Why?

Why did I do this?

What caused me to do this?

Is this…real?

What is happening?

Does this mean I've killed Chrom too?

A hundred different thoughts swarm through my mind and tears sting at the corner of my eye, and soon, as Terence's blood starts to cool, rivers of hot liquid stream down my face, completely uncontrollable. I am unsure if I yelled or not, I was too far gone in my own thoughts to know.

"Do you see, little human? This is what awaits you in the future. Our most honourable farseer might be able to see the future, but he knows he cannot prevent what is to come," The voice mocks me for my weakness. "The truth is that you will kill him! He who has done so much for you! You will eventually bite not only the hand that feeds you but also the hand that comforts you! Ghahahahahaha! Of course, you know what you saw!"

"S…Stop it!"

"A little powerless here, are we?" The voice chuckles. "I'd best be going now. Stew with your thoughts, little human…"

I wake up screaming.

---

(Terence)

"Six of wands," I grunt as I slap down the card onto the tree stump that we're using as a game table. "Any takers?"

"Here, seven of swords," Kellam grunts as he plays the card in question. It must be slightly concerning for the others at the table to see an invisible card being played, but I can see Kellam right in front of me without any problems whatsoever.

"Gods damn, Kellam!" Case in point, Sully jumps a little as Kellam plays his card. "Ya scared me a little there!"

"He's been sitting next to you this entire game, Sully," I raise an eyebrow as I look at Sully, Stahl, and Chrom in that order, waiting to see if one of them will play anything else. "How do you notice now?"

"It's not about noticing, yah know?" Sully shrugs as she plays eight of cups. "He just…startled me, is all."

I click my tongue in annoyance. I have an eight that I really want to get rid of but lost that opportunity to Sully.

"I don't understand how you never seem to be startled by Kellam, Terence," Chrom sighs as he puts his cards down on the table, back facing upwards, of course. "Don't have anything, by the way."

"Ah! Then I shall take it. Nine of pentacles," Stahl puts down a card. "But yeah, Terence, it is rather strange…how come you're the only one who can see Kellam?"

"Why are you asking me that question?" I roll my eyes. "Ten of pentacles…It's not like I know why I seem to be able to notice Kellam more than anyone else here."

"High Priestess," Kellam shrugs. Oh, damn. We have a thing going on, but I guess Kellam doesn't have any other minor arcana cards. "I don't even know why everyone thinks I'm invisible, so I'm not much use here. And uh…sorry, Sully…"

The female knight in question grumbles as she sets her cards down. She doesn't have a single major arcana left after using it to stop me from winning earlier. Not that it matters, really. I'm two cards away from winning.

I should really explain what exactly we're playing, huh…it's a card game called 'Mikmak'. The rules are…quite strange. The deck that we're using are the minor arcana with the major arcana. If you have no idea what those are…I feel bad for you. You need to read more fantasy novels. If you actually believe these can actually predict the future, you need to read less fantasy novels.

Why tarot cards are here in Ylisse with little modification I have no answer.

Right, I should probably explain the rules of the game. Mikmak is a card game that…really has no equivalent that I can compare it with. It uses two sets of the 52 minor arcana as well as the 21 major arcana. This means that there are a total of 123 cards in play, though usually not all 123 will be used all at once.

The goal of the game is to draw five major arcana. The first one to have five major arcana in their hand wins. Everyone draws 7 cards and each turn someone places a card down which has a higher value than the last placed card. Draw a card afterwards. If you cannot play a card then your turn is skipped. Simple, right? Well, here is where the Go Fish and poker-esque aspects come in. There are 57 'sets' of cards, just like the 10 hands in poker. Once you get one of these sets, you are able to take a major arcana card from a person of your choosing if they have a card. Each major arcana also has an effect when played which means that having major arcana in your hand means you are agonising over using or not using them. All in all, quite a thought-provoking game.

A game that I am thoroughly winning despite a rather massive lead from Stahl. My hand is rather light on minor arcana cards but I am nowhere near any sets. That's painful…

"Hey, Terence," Chrom asks as he places down a two of pentacles. "Can I ask a quick question?"

"Hmmm? Sure," I shrug as I mentally keep track of the cards being played. Sure, it's not sportsmanlike to do so, but it's an effective strategy to win. Furthermore, Terentius is frighteningly good at keeping track of this kind of thing. I know every card in Chrom's hand except the card he just drew.

"Do you have anyone you like?"

That question blindsides me.

"Er…what's this about?" I raise an eyebrow as I play six of wands. I just drew four of swords, which means I just need another card with the sword suit in order to get Feroxi's Foot. "I hope you know that I am strictly heterosexual."

"Hmmm? Well, yeah, but—" Chrom raises an eyebrow at Stahl trying his best to control his giggling. "What's so funny, Stahl?"

"Pfft…" Stahl gets his laughter under control. "Captain, you might want to think about what you just said."

"What? I just wanted to ask if he liked anyone here. I know who all of you guys—" Chrom gestures to everyone except for Sully— "like, so I just wanted to see what kind of person that Terence likes."

"Hold on a minute, you know who I…prefer?" Sully changes her wording at the last moment.

"It's kind of obvious, isn't it?" Stahl chuckles. "Don't tell me you're trying to improve your cooking for anyone other than Vai—"

"Sh—Sh—Sh—Shut it!" Sully instinctively throws the closest heavy object at Stahl, which so happens to be a dried branch. "Not here, you idiot! The numbskull might hear us!"

In the firelight, it's a bit hard to tell what Sully's facial expression is, but I swear I can see some blushing there.

"Right…" I sigh. "Well, I haven't gotten the chance to meet many ladies in my time here in Ylisse. That kind of restricts my options."

"Oh? You seemed to be chummy with Sumia," Sully grabs onto my mutterings as a chance to distract everyone from her own embarrassment.

"I've met her for what, a week and a half," I shrug. "Not much time for anything meaningful to sprout there."

"Not a believer in love at first sight, huh," Stahl rubs his chin. "And you're looking in the wrong place, Sully. Robin is right there."

"Robin?" Chrom blinks. My stomach sinks a little as I notice the tactician in question noticing us calling her name and walking over. "Terence did say that he liked ladies."

"Captain," Kellam smirks dangerously as Robin gets into earshot. "Could you please elaborate as to what exactly you mean by that statement?"

"Well, Robin isn't the really the type of woman to really, you know, be into lady-like activities," Chrom doesn't notice the venom in Kellam's voice as Robin suddenly stops and turns her head terminator-like to stare at Chrom. Her facial expression is…dangerous.

"Oh? Is that what you think of me?" The malice in Robin's voice is unmistakable.

"Huh? Robin? When did—I mean—I didn't mean—not like that! That is to say, a "lady," per se…" Chrom tries and utterly fails to come up with a coherent response while under Robin's increasingly deadly stare. "Er... You know, how you fight and strategize, and... Not to say a lady can't fight, but... Gods, this is coming out all wrong."

"My goodness, Chrom. You're the scion of a noble family, aren't you? Didn't they teach you manners at your fancy schools growing up?" Robin snorts.

"To be completely fair to him," Sully adds with a smirk. "He spent more time attacking the maids with a wooden sword than actually attending the lessons that his mother wanted him to."

"Sully!"

"What? Did I lie?" The cavalier folds her arms and stares down Chrom until he relents.

"Pfft…" Stahl can't help himself.

"Seriously! This is just one big misunderstanding!—Robin, why are you picking up a rock?" Chrom's head swivels to stare at Robin, who has acquired a rather large chuck of what appears to be granite and is gripping it hard enough that her knuckles are going white.

"I think a sharp blow to the head might help fix your perception of people," The tactician hisses.

Oh, shit.

"Aaaaaand I'm leaving," Stahl abandons his boss to the great monster of a girl's wrath. Kellam solemnly nods as Robin drags the blue-haired scion of Naga away while Sully follows, wheezing and cackling.

"Well, that was certainly eventful," I deadpan.

"Do you like her, though?" Kellam chuckles.

"Robin? I prefer to not lose twenty years of lifespan, thank you very much,"

Kellam can't help but agree.

---

"Ow," I wince as I feel something impact the back of my head. It's been a while since Robin crashed our little card game. The fires have been extinguished and everyone is heading off to sleep. I am around half a metre away from my tent's entrance when I feel something smack me in the back of my neck. "The hell?"

I turn around and stare at the small stone pebble that's now appeared on the ground after bouncing away from my neck.

"What in the…" I mutter some lines that a random guard in a stealth game would say after you crawl towards them in a cardboard box. "This can't have been natural…"

Now, my gaze turns towards the darkness. Not seeing anything with my puny human eyes, I quickly take a pair of goggles that have [Darkvision] enchanted onto them and slip them over my eyes. All of a sudden, my vision is as bright as day, with the caveat that everything looks like a WW2-era movie.

Nothing catches my eye…there—!

I easily catch the next stone chucked at me with my left hand and whip my head to look at the spot where I just saw the stone come from…

Still can't see shit. Darkvision doesn't mean infrared; if I couldn't see it during the day I sure as hell can't see it now.

Without many other options, I chuck the rock back with some speed and start running at the bush where I think this person is hiding. A quick mental command to Vespasian later and the metal eagle is silently up in the air to make sure nobody can sneak up on me, and if need be, he is able to wake up the camp should I get ambushed, though I doubt that's going to happen.

I hear a thump followed by a rather feminine yelp as the rock makes contact with the bush. A yelp that I recognize…

I sigh. Really, Lucina? This is how you get my attention?

"Lucina, you absolute moron…" I mutter as I slow my speed and flash a little light at her. It's a tiny little flashlight used more for illuminating the inside of a machine than being used outside, but it's rather powerful in a straight line, and the mechanism that turns it on and off is rather quick, which makes it useful as a personal signalling light.

I'm not sure if Lucina understands what I've said with the little light, but at the very least she knows where I am and hopefully doesn't throw any rocks into the camp.

I also forget that dark vision goggles aren't naturally conditioned to reduce brightness when the ambient brightness goes up, which means I accidentally blind myself when I first turn on the light. I then take off the goggles while rubbing my eyes.

After a few moments, I reach the small dip in the land where Lucina is sitting, rubbing her shoulder.

"What possessed you to start throwing stones, Lucina?" I sigh as I slip into the small hole while the blue-haired princess yelps a little in surprise at my sudden presence. "

"O—Oh, hello, Uncle. Um…I was trying to get your attention without making too much noise…I didn't think you would throw the rocks back…" Lucina laughs nervously before slowly calming down.

"Well, I'm sure that I have something for that…" I rummage through the pouch of random stuff that I always have on me for exactly this reason and find exactly what I'm looking for, a pair of [Sending Stones].

Well, I say stones, but they're more mechanical than magical. Not sure about the exact details but anyone with enough training can make these, even if you're not a wizard. They look like two small brass plates the size of a palm with a rather inconspicuous black toggle on it. No points for guessing what the toggles do.

Handing one over to Lucina, I toggle the black switch.

This is a lot easier, no? I chuckle.

Lucina jumps and looks around wilding, before her face turns back towards me. It's hard to see exactly what her facial expression is due to the butterfly mask currently sitting on her face, but she seems shocked.

"W…What is this?"

"A little gadget that I made in my spare time. Really convenient, huh?" I chuckle.

"H…How do I use it?"

"See that little switch?"

"Yeah?"

"Flip it."

Lucina does what I tell her, but not in the way I expect. She flips the entire thing over and looks at me, expectantly.

"That…right, flip the sending stone back over," I try my best to not sigh. "Right, now hit the switch."

I realise a bit too late that Lucina is probably going to take that literally and I am proven correct when she smacks the black piece of hardened plaster. It still, well, flips the switch and the sending stone turns on.

…did I do something wrong? I can feel the confusion from Lucina's voice in my head and I can't stop myself from laughing.

Huh? Why is Uncle laughing all of a sudden? Wait, did I actually do something wrong?

"Uncle?"

"No, no, you did everything correctly. I meant for you to press the little switch on the bottom there so that the part going up would switch sides," I explain while trying not to laugh. "That's what flipping the switch means. And when I mean hit the switch, I mean to press it, not actually smack it with an open palm."

OH…um, I think it still works…Gods, this is embarrassing…

"Lucina, you know it's working right now, right?"

"Huh? Y—Yeah?"

"I can hear everything you just said."

Lucina blinks and then flips the switch back before putting her face behind her hands.

I give her a moment to process everything.

"Well, what did you need me here for?" I sigh after the embarrassing mood in the air dissipates somewhat. "Aren't you supposed to be in Ferox by now?"

Lucina bites her lip before shaking her head.

"I got…slightly held up in Ylisstol. I after you did."

"I see…will you have enough time to reach Ferox? You're trying to get to Western Ferox, right?" I ask, slightly worried. "That's a far longer journey than going from Ylisse to Eastern Ferox."

"Y…Yes, it is," Lucina nods. "However…I…"

Lucina starts to say something before sighing.

"Laurent…Laurent is in Ylisstol. I…hadn't…I didn't know that he had been there for three years…" Lucina's voice is shaky and full of emotion. I wouldn't be surprised if she started to tear up.

"Oh, so he made it out of the Pyrathi desert alright, huh?" I smile.

"Pyrathi?"

"Oh, right. I forgot about linguistic drift," I mutter. "I mean the Tyradian desert. Laurent managed to get out of the Tyradian desert."

"Er…yes…your prediction was spot on," Lucina nods. "He landed barely a day's walking distance from where you said he would land."

"…what?"

"Yeah! Laurent was so impressed! He said—"

"Hold on, I'm confused now," I bite my lip. "Unless I get another vision sometime in the future, I shouldn't know where Laurent ended up."

"Oh…"

"Well, good thing he got out," I chuckle. "Really hope he got the Goddess Staff on the way out, or at least know where the hell the damn thing is."

"He did! Laurent also said that you told him to not use or give it to anyone until the Valm War starts…"

"Ha! Now that's a good idea…but…well, I guess he wants me to figure that out…" I sigh. My mind immediately went to rescuing Emmeryn with the staff, but my future self sealed off that option quite quickly. "Oh, speaking of that, I should actually read that portion of the letter I sent to myself."

"That…portion?" Lucina blinks. "Wait, you haven't finished reading it yet? How busy are you?"

"It's less of the time I have to read the damn thing and rather I seemed to have written everything that could possibly go wrong and my own suggestions as to what to do in that specific case," I explain. "Of course, that's what I think is in here, since I haven't actually read them. The only part I have actually been able to read is this one."

I show her the heading of the absolutely massive 'letter' which immediately turned into a choose-your-own-adventure book instead of a short letter explaining things. Which, honestly, is fair, considering out of everyone, I am the most likely to fuck up and do something wrong. Great thinking ahead (or maybe thinking…behind?) ability, me!

"Oh my…how big is it?"

"It's over four hundred pages, most of which have been sealed off," I sigh. "Oi, yah big fucking arse, could you please show me what the hell you want to tell me when Laurent safely gets to Ylisstol?"

I blink.

"He did make it safely, right?"

With Lucina's nod, I stare back down at the first page which stubbornly doesn't move. However, when I attempt to move the first page, instead of sealing itself to the following page, it actually opens.

Wow.

I'm amazed.

I start reading off the rather long and lengthy section that appears next…

Wow, seriously, this is the first thing that happens from the list? You've made it to Ylisstol before literally anything else? I'm…not sure what I can even write, much less help you. Well, considering that this is the first thing that you've ever seen from me, I should probably explain things.

Hello! I am Septimus Terentius Aquilius Aurelius, though you should already know that. If you somehow are not Septimus Terentius Aquilius Aurelius, please put this down and give it to Septimus Terentius Aquilius Aurelius posthaste. It is incredibly important that you do so.

Anyhow, hey man. You're probably feeling incredibly confused. I know I was when I first unceremoniously dropped into Keeton—

Wait, Keeton?

"Lucina, what's Keeton?" I blink as I read that. If I'm guessing correctly, Keeton is—

"Huh? Keeton is the second largest city in Western Ferox, near the Feroxi border with Plegia," Lucina blinks.

Yeah, it's exactly what I thought…

"Lucina, did I happen to land—er, arrive—in Keeton in the past?" I ask, correcting myself midway through.

"Yes…? For that matter, why are you here right now, Uncle? You told all of us about your journey through Ferox, and how you met Basilio and M—Lady Olivia," Lucina frowns. It appears that she slipped up during her reply, though I wasn't able to catch what she was trying to say.

"Honestly? I'm not sure either. I'm guessing I never told you how exactly I got here, and I don't quite remember this time around," I sigh, turning back to read the many pages that are now appearing in the book in my hand. Lucina nods her head, confirming what I had already assumed.

—but know that everything is going to be relatively fine. I made it through alright, even if I lost a couple of body parts along the way, but hey, it's not like that's anything new either, yeah?

If you haven't already noticed, we're in Ylisse. Yes, that Ylisse, if you still have any reservations about where exactly and what exactly you've stumbled into. No, you can't go back, and honestly, how much do you even want to go back?

I'm assuming here that you have actually decided to stay since if you don't I really don't have any way to help you. In fact, I'll be doing my damned best to stop you.

Right, let's begin with what has actually happened.

I'm not going to tell you any pairings, though you can probably figure half of them out by this point—

I'm glad that future me thinks I'm decently intelligent, even if I'm not.

—I'm going to keep a rather close secret. Until they start getting married and popping out children like the human race is nearing extinction, which believe me, is going to happen. Birth control is not very good in this world, and you may have to start using Rue of all things to curb unwanted pregnancies. An early warning, if you will.

As for the major pieces of information that you need to know right now, it's that Laurent and Gerome should be arriving at Ylisstol within the next year—since you somehow managed to learn about Laurent being in Ylisstol despite not even actually going into the damned city—I'm sure this doesn't surprise you too much.

I was able to roughly triangulate the position of the 'Mirage Village' within what we know as the Pyrathi Desert, but it's been a while since Marth's time, and linguistic drift means that it's called the Tyradian Desert now. I'm not sure how close I was able to get to the actual location of the village, but considering that Laurent's in Ylisstol, I'm guessing I was either rather close or Laurent was able to do a better job.

Gerome…is a bit more difficult. I wasn't able to persuade him to look at things in a more optimistic mindset despite everything that the both of us have seen, but I was able to convince Minerva to disobey Gerome's orders and head off to Ylisstol. Minerva drags Gerome to Ylisstol and you can whip him into shape there. Worst case scenario, you'll have to conduct a manhunt for Gerome. In the best case scenario, Either way, he's going to be rather hard to work with.

The other children…I am unsure of when they will appear, and if I am sure when I am unsure where. Can't believe the uncertainty principle applies to yeeting children across the veil of time, but I guess it does. I'll give you what I know down below. Check-in with your Naga to see if she can feel when someone pops in since she can do that. Don't ask me how she does that, but she just can.

Mark and Morgan should be appearing near the temple of time as usual. I can't get an exact date, but they should be there by Illimus of 2612. Oh, right, I should probably tell you how time works here. I'll add an addendum later, sorry for the confusion. The temple of time itself is where Thebes should be. Ask around for the ruins of 'Old Tibis', that's what it's called now.

I have no idea when Cynthia is going to drop, but she is going to be on the island of Novis. Of course, linguistic drift has probably changed that name quite significantly too, but I wasn't actually able to get the name for it. Everyone who I asked just stared at me as if I had sprouted a couple of eye stalks. As we both know, Cynthia is going to have some problems differentiating between the Shepherds and the bandits, so I've told her not to join anyone that we're not a part of. Hopefully, this keeps her out of trouble, but considering her clumsiness and bad luck, I won't be surprised if she still does. I've given her Rufus's shield, so at the very least she doesn't die to an unlucky hit.

Kjelle…will drop in Ferox in the later months of 2612 right after the Valmese invasion. She will then proceed to march to Ylisstol to link up with Laurent and Gerome if all goes to plan. I'm not too worried about her, she has the necessary equipment to stave off exhaustion, hunger, and thirst, and she's probably going to use that to beeline it straight down to Ylisstol. The girl's tougher than old nails, I won't worry too much.

Severa's going to end up in Grust, which may pose some problems since she arrives before Kjelle but still during 2612. That means she's dropping in on rather Grimleal-infested territory, and unlike Yarne, is right next to a major settlement: Grust itself. It's called Ganree now, though some more isolated dialects of Grusian Plegian still call it some variation of Grusi. She's a tough girl, and I've also given her a rather large panic button in the form of a draconic statuette—yes, that one—so she should be fine. I'm more worried about Claymore doing more damage to the surrounding city and countryside. Be on the lookout for either Claymore or a massive hole in the ground.

Nah is going to be popping in around Keshiq in southeastern Ferox. No idea when, though all things considered, she should be there before the Valmese invasion. I don't have much else to say other than treat the girl well, alright? We practically raised her; her father and Nowi died quite early on.

Yarne is going to be in the western portion of mainland Plegia, in the region of Epuru. He's on an island, but that's all I can tell you. I can tell you the date, however, and that's going to be the ninth of Sixtus, 2612. If I've done my maths correctly, that's exactly a month after the second meeting with Validar on Carrion Island. Good luck with him, he's still as spineless as ever. Though…Panne might do the work for you there. You might have to peel her off of him…

Fabius…you haven't met him yet but you should have already met his mother…is…well, I won't spoil it now, but he should be coming with Mark and Morgan. Again, I'm not sure when or where, but he should be popping out. You'll realise who he is almost immediately, I'm sure. Just…be careful of his spells, they are absolutely nasty.

Alann is the last person who should be popping out in Archanea. He should be in Frigia, the northernmost province of Ylisse, in around 2611, which means you'll have to do a little searching. He's the son of Anna…which should prove exciting. He's also really damn charitable, so you might have to explain to Anna what welfare and philanthropy are to that loot goblin. Good luck~

Gods damn it me, you had to put that little '~' there…fuck you, man, I know I have to deal with that red-haired devil eventually. You didn't have to rub it into my gods damned face.

Everyone else is going to be in Valentia proper, which means by the time you get there, they would have been wandering for a while. So, I've told everyone to go to Valm Harbour so you should meet up with everyone. Say'ri will also be there and uh…yeah.

Right, the calendar system. Ylisse works on a similar 365-day calendar but with a different naming scheme and days per month.

Ylisstus - (January) 32 Days (33) Leap

Illimus - (February) 17 Days

Naguthus - (March) 33 Days

Tikus - (April) 32 Days

Marthus - (May) 33 Days

Sixtus - (June) 32 Days

Seventhus - (July) 32 Days

Aetus - (August) 32 Days

Nintus - (September) 32 Days

Tentus - (October) 32 Days

Keptus - (November) 17 Days

Jiltus - (December) 32 Days

Everything else is Reformed Augustian, so you should know everything you need to know.

Keep Lucina safe, alright? She's been through a lot, and she doesn't deserve any more trauma than what she's already gone through. She's a kind girl who needs someone there to support her. I have no doubt that she will be fine by herself, but she works best when someone's there with her.

Right, that's everything you should know. Ah, Marth's ass, why am I even doing this for? Why the hell would I learn that Laurent is in Ylisse before anything else? Gods damn it—

Wow, did I voice-record this? That would explain some of the more…esoteric aspects of this. Wait…if this was transcripted…

I go off of my hunch and press a word on the book which…

…Turns blue. Oh…fuck, the volume—!

"Keep Lucina safe, alright? She's been through a lot, and she doesn't deserve any more trauma than what she's already gone through. She's a kind girl who needs—" A rather loud voice shatters the quiet night air. I quickly slam the book shut, which stops the replay. I flip down my goggles before scanning the camp for any signs of activity. After a few moments of continued silence and still night air, I sigh deeply in relief

The voice gave me a rather large amount of whiplash. It sounds…so weird. It's the strangeness of hearing your own voice coming from a replay but combined with the uncanny valley effect. This…is me talking, but it is so definitely not me, which…

Yeah, an incredibly difficult feeling to describe.

"Fucking…" I grumble. "Sorry about that, Lucina. I didn't mean to…"

I tilt my head as I realise that the blue-haired girl has removed her mask and is sitting on the ground with her arms curled up around her knees and her chin between her legs. It's hard to tell from the darkness, but…

"That's how I sounded back then, huh?"

"Y—Yes…"

"Did I…are you alright?"

"I…I don't…know…" Lucina shakes her head and stares off into the distance.

"Do you want me to play it back again?" I offer, opening up the book again.

Lucina nods slightly, and I respond by tapping that paragraph again.

It's still loud as hell, but I think it feels quieter since I'm expecting it this time. Gods, that feels so weird! I know I shouldn't be thinking like this while Lucina is having a major emotional event, but I can't help but shudder as I hear my own voice from ten or so years in the future. Argh, that just vibrates in just the wrong way to shake my sternum.

Once the book falls silent once again, I take another glance at Lucina. She's closed her eyes and is slowly rocking side to side. Her lips are stretched in a slight smile, strained as it is.

"Lucina…"

"Uncle…hug me…" Lucina's voice is quiet and

I blink in surprise, but quickly wrap my arms around her thin shoulders and squeeze slightly.

I'm not sure how long we stay like this, but somehow…it feels right to do this.

---

(Lucina)

I…didn't want this to happen. I had promised myself and Uncle Terry that I'd stay strong. That I would keep looking forward and not look back…but…

It felt…strange…to see Uncle again. Moreover, he looks so young, so full of vigour and smiles. True smiles, not fake smiles with nothing but sadness and regret backing them up that he used to reassure the younger kids, but true smiles of happiness and promise. A light in his eyes that I was never able to see.

It feels so wrong and yet at the same time it feels so right. Every single habit that he had in the future reverberated and expanded upon.

That tilt of his head when he's confused is lifted more slowly and deliberately and without that sudden jerk back down to a more normal head position. His facial expressions are more expressive, the silent mask that would sometimes descend down onto his face completely missing.

His eyes would narrow every single time he was mad, but now his eyes narrow every time he's worried. Every time he needed to talk about something serious he would rub the back of his neck, but how he does that every time he seems unable to put his thoughts into words.

It's…as if I'm looking at Uncle Terry before everything bad happened, a hopeful man who acts more like a drowsy cousin rather than an exasperated uncle. It's so strange…it feels so wrong, and yet…

He looks so happy. A bit confused, but happy nonetheless.

I'm not sure what exactly to feel. Uncle feels like a natural progression of what he was like before, just adapted for a different time. A more…peaceful time.

I'm not sure how to act around him. He's much younger than he was back then for obvious reasons, and around the same age as I am…I think. It would feel awkward for me to act as if nothing had changed, and yet—

"Keep Lucina safe, alright? She's been through a lot, and she doesn't deserve any more trauma than what she's already gone through. She's a kind girl who needs—"

I flinch suddenly as a voice interrupts my thoughts. My throat goes to respond to the eerily familiar but it suddenly slams back shut. I'm…not where I think I am anymore. I'm…not in…the future…I'm not…

I pull my legs into myself and rest my head on my knees as I grip my legs. Emotions that I cannot describe or withstand fill my mind. A thousand words and feelings layer on top of each other until I am unsure of what I am feeling or what I want to say.

That voice…it feels so far away and so close at the same time. A voice that I want to hear no matter what, but I now know the lengths of horror needed to create the person who would make that voice. I look at Uncle's conflicted face. I've seen a side of Uncle that I never thought I would be able to see…

And for some reason, he gives off the same vibes that his future version would. I…I don't know how to feel. I don't know how to act! What am I supposed to do here? Someone…please…please…tell me what I should do.

You are such an idiot sometimes. What do you want to do?

I smile thinly as my mind dredges up memories of the time I've spent with my Uncle in the future…well, in my past but in the future in this much more wonderful world.

"Fucking…" I grumble. "Sorry about that, Lucina. I didn't mean to…"

Uncle's voice slowly quiets down mid-sentence as he seems to search for the correct words to say in this situation. I frown despite myself. Apologising when he really doesn't need to is a habit that not only stuck around but used to be even worse.

I rock slightly forwards and backwards, thinking of a response. Honestly, it was rather annoying, at least for me, when Uncle would apologise when he really had no purpose in doing so. It was one of his quirks that rubbed me the wrong way sometimes.

…On the other hand, it wouldn't feel like Uncle without this rather annoying hallmark of his speech.

In the end, I let it go.

"That's…how I sounded back then…huh?" Uncle's words are hesitant and heavy as if he tasted and checked every syllable in his sentence before he said it. It makes me uncomfortable—I'm not used to Uncle being this cautious around anyone or anything, really. The confidence that I knew from him is…there, in some bits and pieces, but definitely not to the same degree that his future version would have.

"Y—Yes," I didn't mean to stutter, but I accidentally bit my tongue while responding. I try to get another word in as I wince, but—

"Did I…are you alright?" Uncle's thoughts seem to go one way before he glances at me and his face stiffens. He immediately asks about my current state, which means I now have to respond. And I…don't know how to respond.

"I…I don't…know…" I decide to answer truthfully. Memories are rising to the surface, memories that I don't want to remember right now. Happy memories, sad memories, nostalgic memories—

A little girl smiles while sitting on a tree, looking down at a laughing man with another girl sitting on his shoulders.

"Faster! Faster!" The girl on the man's shoulders giggles. "Come on, Uncle! Faster!"

"Any faster and Stahl will yell at me!" The man chuckles but still complies.

"What is this about me?" The man in question suddenly appears.

"Ah! Daddy! Uncle Terry was giving me a…a…" The girl seems to have forgotten what words best describe her current situation.

"I think the word here is 'piggyback ride' darling," Uncle Stahl shakes his head. "Come on, Uncle Terence has work to do, we can't be bothering him right now."

"Really?" The brown-haired girl frowns.

"Really. I'll come and find you when I'm done, though," Uncle Terence shakes his head in exasperation.

…

The knife's edge slams into the man's cheek, eliciting only a quiet grunt from the man as the retaliatory strike incinerates the Risen's head and neck.

"Faster! Come on!" The man jerks his head back to stare at the girl, now much older, as he urges her to keep going.

"I—I'm coming, Uncle! W…Wait up!"

"You know we don't have much time. We need to get out now—urgh!" Another blade impacts the man, this time on his shoulder, cutting him off. "Fu—Fecking heck! Lucina, catch! I need both hands to deal with this horde!"

The man tosses a small green orb, which the blue-haired heiress catches with a yelp.

"Laurent, close up that gap! Noire, cover him!" He continues to order without missing a beat. "Cynthia, deal with that mage! We need to push, now!"

A huge column of fire accompanies the finishing of his orders.

"Everyone, go go go! Ready or not, we need to move, now!"

I snap myself out of my reminiscing before I get completely engrossed in it. Good thing too, since Uncle's question catches me off guard.

"Do you want me to play it back…again?" His words affect me in a way I cannot describe…

I nod slightly, and before long, the sound of shifting pages accompanies my favourite Uncle's soothing voice.

I want to cry.

I want to scream.

I want to rage at how the world has treated us—no, him in particular. Stripping away his happiness and forcing him to wear a mask that felt natural to the naive children that he cared for.

I want to cry.

What are you waiting for? Comfort her!

"Lucina…"

"Uncle…" I cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "Hug me."

After a pregnant pause where I worried if I had overstepped even Uncle Terry's exceptional boundaries, the warm embrace I receive right after swallows away all those fears and crumbles them into small motes of dust that scatter into the wind.

I'm unsure how long I spent in Uncle's embrace, but I know that I felt much better afterwards.

---

AN: Hello there! Acardia here! Baldur's Gate 3 is so good. You guys should all go and play it. Anyhow, this is the last chapter I have prewritten, so unless I can get Chapter 8 finished by next Sunday, the ETA for the next chapter is whenever the fuck I can finish it. It's already at 10 thousand words, so it probably won't take all too long.

A Thousand Burgundy ETA: 2 weeks. Finishing up. Hopefully, be done soon.

White Clouds, Lavender Storms ETA: 1-2 months. Sever author's block. Sorry...

Right, there are 7 reviews this time around. Thank you, guys, all so much!

holyshin: ...Fuck. Shit...fucking hell. Uh. That's a mistake...shit. See, I changed around some dates and shit and forgot to update it...god damn it. I'll fix it this week. Terence is 26, he joined the army at 15. Lucina is 16 and is actually older than Lissa. I'm going to have to find everything...ugh.

Guest(1): Thank you!

Guest(2): Thank you! Are you two the same person...?

kreeft123xxx: Thank you! I've been playing D&D since I was a wee lad so I was pining to include it in a story I wanted to write...hmmm...should I write a BG3 story?

Freekillm249: According to Terence: "I have no idea. I was checking the cookbook to make sure that Robin hadn't fucked up the proportions of the pudding again when a pot just caught fire. I would really, really, like to know what she did, so I can stop her the next time around..."

Hoped that answered your question. Onwards, to more questions! Now, if you meant the absolute decimation of the Ylissean Pegasus Knight Corps by trauma, then I have slightly bad news on that front. The start of the Ylissean-Plegian war...is going to be slightly different than Cannon. If you meant the inability of either Cordy or Phila to pull anyone, then I have much more hilarious news. Let's just say Cordelia pisses off the only person she shouldn't have in her attempt to recover from the greatest loss of her life. Yeah, let's leave it there. Grima is, in fact, chilling. Chilling while incredibly pissed, sure, but chilling nonetheless. Hey, reading fanfics in the metro will probably get you that response anyway.

Maxis the Mecenary: Cool! I've honestly always thought Gator tasted kinda weird, but not bad. I had it in Louisiana while visiting New Orleans once (in Layefette, I think), but it's been like three years since then.

Scoolio: More you shall have! Thanks, man!

Alright, that's it for this week...hopefully, I can finish by next week.

Valete, omnis!

Acardia out!