CHAPTER 11

When the mercenaries almost hit the point of Castle Gallia, they were stopped by Mordecai, who was smelling beorc weapons made of steel and iron right near an old fort known as Fort Tatana. There, Daien soldiers were occupying the area.

"Damn!" said Ike. "Looks like we are in for another battle."

"No worries for us." said Lethe. "Those Daein peepsters will surely taste the wrath of my claws… and my sharp cat teeth."

"You can turn into a cat?" asked Ike.

"Did you not see earlier?!" Lyre asked. "We are twins. We are laguz. We can transform into cats. PURE ORANGE CATS! " she later stated.

"Yeah. Were you hiding under a rock or something, human?" asked Lethe.

"Lethe!" Luganda shouted.

"Sorry…" Lethe apologized.

"Let's just focus on the battle." said Ike. He later wanted to speak to Mist and Rolf.

"Yes, Brother?" asked Mist.

"You must be careful on this battlefield, even on horseback." said Ike. "I know you want to join in on the battle, but some of these will get intense overtime." he stated. "Same goes for you, Rolf."

"We understand." Rolf said. "We'll try our best!"

"For Father's legacy and for the Greil Mercenaries!" Mist shouted. The battle later began.

Meanwhile, at the general's quarters, which was Fort Tatana, five people were being held by the Daein Army, one of which was a thunder mage named Ilyana. The other four people were a part of a merchant convoy. They were named Daniel, Jorge, Aimee, and Muston. Together with Ilyana, they were traveling across the western side of the continent to escape Daein troops. However, troops from Daein mistaken them to be soldiers and captured them for their own personal cause. When the Pegasus Knight Marcia, whom Ike met earlier, noticed that the general was keeping the five people hostage, she landed a critical blow on the general, killing him instantly. Ike and the rest of the company wondered what just happened.

"Hello, Ike." said Marcia after noticing Ike.

"You again?" Ike asked.

"You know her, Ike?" asked Titania.

"Yeah." Ike said. "Well, sort of. A while back, she was looking for a Dark Flier named Evelyn." he said. "Isn't that right, Marcia?" asked Ike to Marcia.

"Yup." Marcia said. "Don't forget I was looking for my brother, Makalov as well." said Marcia. "So… Here is the obligatory question: may I join your group?" she later asked.

"I… I… guess." Ike said. "...Sure, why not?"

"Yes!" Marcia exclaimed. "I'll get all the help I need! Oh, and by the way, rescue those five people right there, will you?" asked Marcia.

"Mordecai will help them." the tiger laguz Mordecai said. "Sorry… Mordecai is… not used to this language yet."

"Mordecai!" yelled Ike. "Focus on rescuing the people; we will wait here for you. Let me know if you need assistance."

"I… Mordecai could use assistance." said Mordecai. Ike then gave him assistance.

When the Greil Mercenaries and the Gallian Beast Tribe Laguz members arrived at Zarzi, Castle Gallia, King Caineghis, his shadow Giffca, and Skrimir, nephew of the king, were there to greet their people and the beorc of Crimea. Caineghis wondered why they were running late.

"We apologize, King Caineghis." said Mordecai. "Mor… I mean… I smelled the blood of beorc and the iron and steel of beorc weapons."

"I see." said Caineghis. "I fully understand." He later called out for the tiger laguz Kyza, ordering him and Lyre as well as Lethe, Luganda, and Mordecai to prepare rooms for the guests of his palace.

"Yes, my lord." Lethe said.

"We are on our way, sir!" Kyza said.

"Yes, sir!" Mordecai and Luganda said.

"Great." Caineghis said. "Now… where to begin… ah, Ike. Step forward. Come here, that is." Ike later stepped forward to the king. The king also ordered Titania and Soren as well as Elincia to stay as well. He also asked Titania what Ike knew about the beast kingdom of Gallia.

"Nothing." Titania answered. "He also does not recall living here."

"Then it's easy for me to explain where to start." Caineghis said. "Ike, you and Mist, your sister… were born here in Gallia. And I knew your father for a relatively long time. In fact, to get to the bottom of the point of your father's death, which I had already heard about, that was my roar echoing with a dragon's roar. But, the dragon was not a laguz. It was a wyvern and its rider of the Daein army." Caineghis explained.

"I see…" said Ike.

"But your father… he was a different beorc than the beorc I knew." Caineghis said as he closed hs eyes. "He was honest. Brave and true to his name. He reminded me of King Ramon and Lord Renning of Crimea. Oh ho! and you too, Titania!" he later said to Titania.

"So Mist and I were born here in Gallian borders?" asked Ike in confusion. "Now I am really confused.

"I felt like your parents were keeping a dark secret." Caineghis said. "I'm pretty sure someone was hunting them down. After your mother, Elena, was slain…. I… spoke with Greil, asking him if there was anything I could do to help him from being chased. Unfortunately, he was unable to speak to me. And when I heard he was returning to Gallia, I wanted to hear his tale again. But unfortunately, he was slain." Caineghis later said. He then asked Ike about the Black Knight, and if his identity was revealed.

"No." Ike answered. "But I can tell you what my father said before he met his fate and passed. He told me to 'stay with the king of Gallia, live here in peace, and forget about revenge'." Ike said as he quoted what his late father had said to him. "But as I see fit now… No!" Ike later exclaimed. "I can't live here in peace with all of this going on! I will–no… I MUST AVENGE MY FATHER! "

"I completely hear your words, Ike." said Caineghis. "Unfortunately as of right now, there is nothing I can do to help you in this brutal situation. But I'll do the best I can to aid you."

As Ike and Caineghis were talking, Ross and Samantha entered the room. Ross asked if Lorriane was alright and where she and the parents were.

"Caineghis… where exactly did you send the remaining family members of Ross and Samantha?" asked the shadow lion Giffca to His Majesty, King Caineghis.

"Your parents and your sister Lorriane…." spoke Caineghis. "The parents… did not make it sadly." Samantha was shocked and disappointed about her parents' death. Ross was angry, as he was wondering who killed them. Giffca answered, saying that a wyvern mage wielding a Bolganone tome set them ablaze. Samantha then asked about Lorriane, her and Ross' ten-year-old sister.

"Lorriane is with us, safe and sound." Skrimir said. "However, she is suffering from PTSD."

"What's PTSD? And what does it stand for?" asked Mist to her brother Ike.

"Not sure…" Ike answered.

"It stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." said Giffca. "It can be very hard to get over." He then gave Ross and Samantha the option to see Lorriane.

"We'll see her!" said Samantha. "Come on, Ross." she later said to Ross.

"OK." Ross said. They later went off to see Lorriane.

Back with King Ashnard, he thanked his Wyvern Knight Adrian and his Wyvern Mage Ignas for being involved in a secret task. Then, once Ignas offered his gratitude to the Mad King, Ashnard gave out his next task; however, they would be separate from the wyvern-mounted soldiers. Despite these tasks being separate, both were going to the 645-year-old Begnion Empire, one of the most powerful nations on the continent of Tellius.

"Adrian, I would like you and your soldiers to go to the north part of Begnion." said Ashnard.

"Of course, my king." said Adrian.

"Ignas, I would like you to go to Serenes Forest, home of the wretched heron sub-human clan." said Ashnard to Ignas.

"I'm on my way, King Ashnard!" said Ignas.

"Perfect!" said King Ashnard. "Now, to continue what I was doing." he later said.

Back with Ross and Samantha in Castle Gallia, they and their sister Lorriane were grieving over the death of their parents, feeling bad about how they were not there for them when they passed. When Ike told them it was time to go to Begnion, Ross, Samantha, and Lorriane all packed up their things and left with Ike. Lorraine then wanted to speak with Ike himself about joining the battlefield.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Ike.

"You're avenging your father, right?" asked Lorriane. "So, allow me to join the battlefront to avenge my parents with my older siblings."

"What do you know?" asked Ike.

"I know about staves and magic as well as knives." said Lorriane. "Sure, I may still be training with Thunder Magic, but still I can take out a dragon rider in one critical blow!" she later exclaimed. "I will avenge my parents with my siblings!"

"It's about time we head off to Begnion then." Ike said. "Mordecai, Lethe, Ranulf, you three with us?" asked Ike to the three laguz changelings of Gallia.

"Mordecai is with you, Ike!" said Mordecai.

"Yup!" Lethe said. "Besides, my sister and Kyza are staying. Luganda is also staying too for a bit to help her people."

"I see." said Ike.

"Then I guess we are off then." Titania later said.

"Let's go!" said Ranulf. And so, everyone was off to the Begnion Empire.