Chapter 17: Into the Darkness

Castle Altea, The Kingdom of Altea, Archanea

Arch. Year 609

Morning arrived quicker than Alm expected. It had been a few hours at most before warm sunlight began to stream into the bedroom window, drawing him out of his short slumber. Exhaustion clung to his eyes as he stirred, his muscles burned with every slight movement, but he forced himself to rise and meet the new day head on.

Such was the life of a soldier. A life he had become all too familiar with since the day he left Ram Village.

He slowly slid out of bed, careful not to wake Celica as he stretched out the soreness in his body and changed into his military uniform. After securing the clasps of his cape and the straps on his armor plate, he stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

"Good, you're awake."

Alm nearly jumped out of his boots. He pressed a hand against his chest, willing his heart rate to return to normal, then glanced over his shoulder. Byleth was watching him from across the hall, body slightly hunched and leaning on a windowsill for support.

"…Were you waiting for me?" Alm asked, a frown settling over his mouth. The circles under Byleth's eyes had grown darker since yesterday, while the rest of his skin seemed to have taken on a pallid hue. His irises had changed from pale green to blue, just like his hair.

Alm bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from commenting on it.

"Yes," Byleth said, slowly straightening his posture and motioning for Alm to follow him out of the castle's guest wing. "We need your help."

Alm's hand instinctively went to Falchion's pommel, ready to draw at a moment's notice. "What happened?"

"A lot," Byleth said. "Long story short, we've got a lead on where our 'Silent Dragon' might be hiding. Some place called the Dragon's Table in Dolhr."

"Really?" Alm's frown fell away. Finally, they were getting somewhere. "That's great news!"

Byleth's eyes narrowed on the ground. "Maybe."

"…You don't sound convinced."

Byleth grunted and shook his head. They passed by a row of tall windows, giving Alm a glimpse of the storm's aftermath. The moat had flooded over, deep puddles drowned the fields, washed-up fish flopped about in the mud where the water couldn't reach. The sky, however, had thankfully returned to normal, the sun warm and strong against the cloudless horizon.

"I have my reservations," Byleth said slowly, "but for now, at least, it seems like it's relatively safe. The Alteans scouted the borders of Dolhr after the storm ended—no invisible soldiers or monsters as far as they could see. It could be a different case at the Table itself, but with no enemy activity in the surrounding area…it's probably our best chance to finally get some answers. Maybe even find something that will give us an advantage in this fight."

"So…what's the problem?" Alm asked. "You said you need my help with something?"

Byleth nodded, pausing in front of a set of ornate double doors embellished in gold, propped open to reveal the castle's great hall. "We need a fast and secure way to get to the Dragon's Table, a route that will help us avoid anything hostile deeper into Dolhr's territory, but our best option is—"

"No!" Anna marched through the doors, throwing her hands up in the air as she passed them by. "No way!"

"…being difficult," Byleth finished.

"Anna, please wait!" Elice chased after the merchant, her skirts sweeping the marble floor behind her. Kris followed right on her heels. "Your aid would be invaluable to—"

"I mean no disrespect, Your Highness, but I know a bad investment when I see one. And trying to save a country that's already been destroyed? That's a bad investment of my time, money, and mental health."

"This isn't just about Altea, it's about saving everyone that's still—"

"Then what's in it for me?"

Elice's nose wrinkled, a rare indignation flashing across her face. "The chance to do the right thing—to protect our world and other worlds beyond it—should be reason enough to help."

"Spoken like the Hero-King himself." Anna clapped with an exaggerated flourish. "But wasn't it that naïve way of thinking that got him killed?"

Elice sucked in a sharp breath, fingers curling tightly around the fabric of her dress. Kris glowered at her, his arm reaching back to his broadsword as a warning, but she met the look with a defiant glare of her own.

"I'm getting out of here while it's still safe. I'm going to find my sisters, load as much of our merch as I can onto our ship, then get as far away from Archanea as possible." Anna slung a leather bag onto her back, her scowl slipping into a deep frown. "You all should do the same, before it's too late."

"Anna…" Alm stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you're scared…we all are. Only a fool wouldn't be scared in a situation like this."

Anna stiffened under his touch, but she didn't shrug him off. Instead, her gaze lowered to the floor, her teeth scraping at her bottom lip.

"But we can't give up now. If we do, all the people who have lost their lives in this fight will have died for nothing. It's up to us to finish what they couldn't, and to keep anyone else from meeting the same fate.

Anna bit back a bitter laugh. "You really think your ragtag group—of what, fifteen people?—stands any chance against this all-powerful dragon that can summon an army of thousands upon thousands of dead men?"

"Only if you can get us to the Dragon's Table before it makes its next move."

The shoulder beneath his fingers sagged as Anna released a hefty sigh. "You lot are some of the most stubbornly heroic people I've ever met, you know that?"

"I'll take that as a compliment," Alm said, cracking a grin. "And hey, we've made it this far already. You should know by now that we don't go down easy.

Anna turned to face them again, gently nudging away Alm's hand. "If…if I show you the way, and things go wrong…" Her finger fiddled with the strap of her bag. "I don't want your deaths on my conscience."

"I am the one sending them on this mission," Elice said, "and I am the one asking you to guide them. Should the unthinkable occur, the blame shall fall onto no one else but me." She took Anna's hands into her own. "Please, Anna. This could be our only chance to learn more about the source of their magic, our only chance to stop them from hurting anyone else. But to succeed, we need your help."

Anna muttered something incoherent to herself, but any further resistance she held seemed to melt under the pleading gaze of the princess.

"…I have a shop in the Wyvern's Dale," Anna started, "the same mountain range that holds the Dragon's Table. Many of the paths through the Dale are rife with barbarians and—as the name implies—wyverns, so my sisters and I had to find a way to safely travel to and from the shop without attracting their attention."

"If it's so dangerous, why set up a shop there?" Kris asked.

"Don't question my business practices!" Anna snapped. "Anyway, as I was saying, we found an opening in the crags on the shores of Dolhr that leads to a large network of caverns beneath the mountain range. After a little digging and construction, we were able to build our shop in a hidden corner of the Dale that's connected to both the caverns below and the mountains on the surface."

"I see…" Alm tapped his chin. "And I'm guessing your shop is pretty close to the Dragon's Table?"

"It's right outside one of the valleys that feeds into the Table's front entrance."

"Sounds like that's exactly what we need," Byleth said.

"Yeah, yeah…" Anna sighed, twirling a loose strand of red hair around her finger. "I'll show you the way to the shop—I need to go there eventually anyway to recover my weapon stash. But we'll need a boat to get across the strait, and there won't be any room for horses, so…"

Elice beamed and gave Anna's hands a light squeeze. "That's perfect! Thank you, Anna. Truly, Archanea will forever be in your debt."

"Sounds great and all…" Anna shrugged and pulled herself out of the princess's grip. "But I'm only going as far as the shop. After that, you're on your own."

"That's more than fair," Alm said. "I'll go wake the others so we can talk strategy and get moving."

"And we will prepare a boat for your departure." Elice turned to the knight at her side, her short-lived excitement falling off her face. "I apologize for asking so much of you lately, Kris, but do you think you could—"

"Consider it done, Your Highness." Kris dropped to one knee and bowed his head before the princess, his eyes briefly creasing in pain. "I will do whatever it takes to restore my honor as a royal knight. Nothing will ever make up for my failure to protect your brother, but I—"

"I will not hear you speak so ill of yourself, sir. You are one of the most dutiful knights Altea has ever known, and nothing less." A smile tugged at her lips. "Marth would say the same, I'm sure."

"…You're too kind, princess."

Kris rose to his feet and bowed his head one last time before taking off with Anna to find a suitable boat for their expedition. Alm and Byleth used that moment to take their leave as well, hurrying back to the guest wing.

There was no more time to waste. They had a dragon to find.

—

Alm crouched at the edge of the shoreline, drawing circles in the wet sand. Fifteen circles, one for each person traveling with them into the proverbial lion's den—or perhaps, more appropriately, the dragon's den—to simulate a variety of battle formations he might have to employ. A mix of warriors from Archanea, Valentia, and Fódlan, all counting on his leadership to get them through the day.

He squeezed a few grains between his thumb and forefinger, studying the messy diagrams closely. They had to be prepared for anything; he wasn't going to let anyone else suffer at the hands of the invisible army, not on his watch.

"Playing in the sand at a time like this?" Gray joked, standing over him. His head blocked out the sun and cast a shadow over Alm's makeshift battlefield. "Man, that king's life must be really messing with your head."

Alm chuckled and leaned back on his heels. "You're probably right."

"When am I not?"

"All the time," Tobin said. "Like, all the time."

"That's rich coming from you, Tobi-poo." Gray stretched out his arms, resting them behind his neck. "I'm not the one who likes to eat raw flour when I get the munchies on a mission."

"That was one time—"

"Come now, boys, now is not the time for squabbling." Clair bopped them both lightly on the head. "Our king and the Altean princess have entrusted us with tasks of the utmost importance. We mustn't lose focus."

"A thousand pardons, milady," Gray said, deepening his voice and putting on an exaggerated "highborn" accent. He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, earning a soft giggle from the pegasus rider. "Please, instruct this lowly peasant boy on how he may atone for this egregious breach of noble etiquette."

Clair smiled, slight and somewhat sad, then brushed her fingers along his cheek. "The boy can return to his fiancée safely in one piece, with all his friends at his side."

His playful persona faltered at her touch. "Clair…"

"That goes double for you, Alm," Clair said. "Our people will be awaiting the return of their brave king and queen with bated breaths, ready to heed the call to arms should the need arise. We will make sure of it."

"You can count on us." Tobin swung himself up onto his horse with a determined grin. "As soon as we're back to Zofia harbor, me and Conrad will ride straight to Sir Mycen—"

"And I to my brother!" Clair added.

"Right. Mycen and Clive will gather the troops at home, and we'll bring a strong force back to Castle Altea to bolster the defenses here while you scope out this special dragon place. Sound about right?"

"Sounds perfect," Alm said, pushing himself to his feet and wiping his hands clean of the sand. "And if all goes well, we'll—"

"Come on, let's get moving!" Anna slapped the side of a small Altean boat sitting on the shoreline, the vessel that would carry them to the nation of Dolhr. Most of their allies had already boarded—save for Petra, riding her wyvern, and Est, who would be staying behind to guard Elice and the castle—preparing to set sail while Alm and his friends said their farewells.

"Hurry up, before I change my mind!"

"Guess you guys better get going. It's rude to keep a lady waiting, y'know," Tobin said. He leaned down from his saddle, bumping fists with Gray and Alm before taking the reins. "Stay safe out there."

"You too, Tobin."

With one final salute, Tobin spurred his horse into a gallop, hooves kicking up sand as they rode farther and farther down the shoreline. Clair was quick to follow, blowing a kiss to Gray before taking to the sky; Conrad rode just beneath her flight path, waving to Celica, Boey, and Mae as he too departed for Valentia.

The latter, however, was too preoccupied with the staff in her hands to return the gesture.

"How the heck am I supposed to use this thing?" Mae poked Boey's cheek with the top of the staff and shouted, "Warp! Poof!", but nothing happened.

Boey batted it away from his face. "Stop doing that! You don't hit people to get staves to work, you dope."

"But that's no fun."

"They're fairly easy to use once you've tried it a few times," Merric said, handing out staves to the other mages. An important piece of their defensive strategy was a safe and quick evacuation should any danger arise at the Table. That meant Warp and Rescue magic were a must, but since none of the mages in their small group had an innate ability to cast teleportation spells…

They would have to adapt to the Archanean method of sorcery.

"All you have to do is direct the flow of your magic into your staff, rather than through your hands," Merric continued explaining. "It sometimes results in less powerful spells than what you can conjure using Valentian techniques, but it reduces the strain on your body. No need to worry about draining your health or your spiritual energy to cast magic."

"Fascinating…" Annette settled down on one of the wooden benches lining the inside of the boat, marveling at the staff in her possession. White magic danced between her fingers as she ran her hand over its length. The crystal nestled at the top began to pulsate with light.

"Just like that." Merric smiled with the warmth of a proud teacher. "Then to perform the warping spell, you just focus on your target and think about where you want them to go—"

"Like this?"

Panic filled Boey's face. "Mae, wait—"

Tendrils of light erupted beneath his feet, wrapping around his body like a hundred serpents until he disappeared from sight. A few seconds later, another flash lit up the sky beyond the shoreline and dropped a flailing Boey into the water below.

Mae pumped the staff above her head and cheered, "It works!"

"Mae!" Boey shot out of the water, white bangs plastered around his face and teeth bared. "I swear to Mila—"

"Hey, relax, Mr. Kill-Joy! I was just trying to warp you onto the boat."

"No you were not!"

"Was too!"

"Dear Naga, we're all gonna die," Anna groaned.

Celica ran a hand over her face, hiding the blush of her second-hand embarrassment. The other passengers exchanged a collection of laughs and eyerolls; Alm couldn't help but be among the former as he climbed aboard. A nice laugh before a mission was always good for morale (though perhaps not so good for Boey's clothes).

"We'll…um…" Merric rubbed the back of his head and gave his own awkward chuckle. "We'll practice on the way there."

—

As they neared the end of the strait, the first thing Alm noticed was the smell.

A stench of sulfur and smoke burned his nose and his lungs. They were surrounded by nothing but vast waters and a rocky coast—no sign of anything set aflame—yet breathing the air of Dolhr was like trying to swallow a handful of charred ashes.

The boat slid onto the shoreline, cutting through the black sands of the beach as it slowed to a stop. Sharp crags towered over their heads like axes raised above an executioner's block, awaiting the final command to drop.

Alm shivered despite the air's sweltering heat. He could see why Anna had been so adamant about avoiding this place. Truly, it was a land fit for the dragonkin and the dragonkin alone.

One by one, they climbed out of the boat in complete silence. The lighthearted atmosphere they had fostered in Altea and the ride to Dolhr quickly dissolved, replaced now by a tension nearly as thick as the burning air. Even Petra's wyvern—normally carrying itself with poise and power—seemed to be on edge, whining softly and curling up the end of its tail.

Falchion flashed with a small burst of golden light. Whether it was in response to the wyvern or… something more sinister waiting in the shadows, Alm couldn't say.

"The path is this way," Anna whispered, waving them over to a series of rocks propped against the base of the cliff. She pushed her body against one, rolling it through the sand until a large crack in the cliff became visible on the other side. The entrance to the caverns.

"We just have to follow the path through here," she continued, "then we'll reach my shop. It gets pretty dark in there, though, so if anyone has some kind of light…"

"I've got it."

Celica stepped into the darkness and snapped her fingers. Several small flames roared to life around her head, illuminating the tunnel ahead of them. The walls, the floor, the thick rocks protruding from the ceiling were all made of obsidian, smooth and warm to the touch.

Gray nudged Alm's side. "Exploring secret caves and dusty old dungeons…just like old times, eh?"

"I hope not," Alm drew Falchion to provide the group with an extra source of light as they navigated the caverns. "I'd like to avoid getting ambushed by bandits or monsters this time around. Dragons too, if we can help it."

"B-bandits and monsters?" Kana mumbled to himself, his dragonstone slightly trembling in his grip. "And mean dragons…"

"We don't have to worry about them here," Merric assured the boy. "In my experience, the bandits in Dolhr like to stick to the main roads, where they're more likely to find someone they can rob. And monsters are attracted to the sounds of fighting, so as long as we keep our heads low when we reach the surface, we should be just fine."

"I-I know, but…" Kana frowned at the glassy black rock overhead. "If our parents are up there somewhere…alone…"

"If they're even half as brave and tough as you and Sophie," Ashe said, patting his shoulder, "then they'll be okay too. Your friend told you as much, didn't she?"

"Yeah…"

Annette copied the gesture and added in a warm smile. "And when we find them, no one will be able to touch you, your parents, or anyone else!" The crystal at the end of her staff blinked to life as she summoned little wisps of white magic in her palm. "Not with our new magical toys to help us out, right, Professor?"

Byleth was too focused on his hand to answer. He turned his wrist this way and that, inspecting something that only he seemed to see. His eyebrows were set in a deep furrow…more expressive than Alm had ever seen from the stoic man.

"…Professor?"

Slowly, Byleth lifted his weary eyes to meet her gaze. "Sorry. Yes, I won't let anything happen."

"We won't let anything happen," she corrected, "together, as a team."

"…Right."

"Then you all better be on your guard." Anna took them around a sharp fork in the tunnel, nodding to a wooden ladder resting at the end of the path.

"We're here."

Alm craned his neck back. A hatch had been carved out of the black stone above them, the only barrier between them and whatever was waiting on the surface.

"Who wants to go first?" Anna asked.

Alm grabbed a rung before anyone else could volunteer. As a king, as a commander, it was his duty to lead his allies through the throes of danger with his head held high. No matter the threat, no matter the odds.

He returned Falchion to its sheath, bathing the air above him in darkness once more, and began to climb.

A heavy heat greeted him at the top, radiating through the ceiling like a furnace. It warmed his hand as he pressed against the hatch, and probably would have burned his skin if not for his thick gloves. Beads of sweat rolled off his chin and down his back. From the heat, from his nerves, from a combination of the two, who could say, but he couldn't afford to pay it any mind.

After all, he had a job to do.

Alm shoved the hatch open. Harsh sunlight struck his face and poured into the caverns below. Alm blinked as his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in lighting, climbing over the last few rungs of the ladder to push himself out of Anna's hidden passageway…

And when his vision returned to normal, his jaw slowly fell open.

Dozens of wyverns and Earth Dragons lay dead in the valley before him, bleeding into the earth.

Character Bios:

Nothing to report.

Next chapter: Falchion puts in some work.