Chapter 18: The Dragon's Table

The Wyvern's Dale, The Dolhr Empire, Archanea

Arch. Year 609

The Wyvern's Dale was quiet and devoid of life. No monsters prowling the valley, no winged beasts soaring overhead as its namesake had suggested, but most importantly, no sign of immediate danger. Just the barren trees of the mountains withering under the burning sun, and the scattered bodies of dragons and wyverns laying motionless atop a layer of blood-crusted dirt.

"…Mila have mercy…"

Celica lifted herself off the top of the ladder, a hand covering her mouth as her eyes swept the length of the valley. The rest poured out of the caverns shortly after and met the scene with a diverse range of reactions: some, like the kids, gasped and shielded themselves from the carnage; some, like Kris and Merric, stood frozen and aghast, mouths hanging open but no words passing through them; some, like Byleth and Felix, stared into the valley with a detached impassivity, their hands clenching around their weapons.

"What…what happened?" Kris asked, shaking himself out of his stupor.

"…Someone, or something, took care of the Earth Dragon threat for you." Byleth knelt by one of the fallen dragons. His finger traced the wound on its forehead, trailing down a red-stained path that ran over its snout and emptied onto the hard ground. Dried blood flaked off his glove and the dragon's scales.

"Looks like it was stabbed through its skull with a sword," he continued, glancing around to the other slain beasts. Most of the other creatures shared the same head injury. A handful of them had also suffered deep, uneven gashes along their underbellies, left by something with a jagged edge, while others had arrows protruding from their hides. What kind of weapons could break through a dragon's scales like that?

"They've been dead for a while. The blood's completely dry, but that could be due to the high temperatures here. I'd say it's been about a day, given the state of this one's injuries."

"That lines up with our encounter with the invisible army yesterday," Alm said. "Our group wasn't the only target, then."

Kris shook his head and released a frustrated sigh. "But that doesn't make any sense. The invisible soldiers, the Earth Dragons…they both seem to hate humanity. They should have been working together…"

"Perhaps their goals don't align as nicely as we thought," Merric suggested. Soft light sparkled in his palm as he waved his hand over another dragon's body, a frown pulling at his lips.

"U-um, shouldn't we still be really concerned?" Annette piped up with a slight quiver to her voice. "They're dead now too and they could…you know? Rise again and attack us?"

"I don't sense any remnants of that magic clinging to them." Merric lowered his hand, the light of his spell fading along with it. "And if the enemy had wanted to claim them, their bodies wouldn't be here right now. It seems like they just…left them here, with no desire to recruit them once the battle was over."

"I…I don't feel anything either…" Kana mumbled. "I usually feel really yucky when a lot of them are around, but now…" His chest and arms curled around his dragonstone. "I-it still feels yucky but for a…sad reason…"

Felix crossed his arms, bunching up his shoulders in a tight shrug. "Maybe this Silent Dragon doesn't want any competition, even in death."

"Doesn't explain why he's taking some of them alive." Byleth's weary eyes traveled a few bodies over, where Petra's mount was nudging the remains of another wyvern with its snout. Petra stroked the back of its neck as it snorted and whined, comforting it in a language Alm didn't understand.

"…Capturing a select few like Kana and your dragon princess, then slaughtering the rest without even bothering to take them like they do with humans…" Alm ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair, letting his fingers linger on his scalp as his thoughts trailed out. "What's the endgame here?"

"Well, I for one think our endgame should be getting out of here as fast as possible," Anna said. Her arms made a wide, dramatic gesture to the little shop sitting just beyond the cavern hatch. "I could use some help moving my stuff off my shelves. You've investigated this place enough, I'd say, and there's nothing left to—"

"We still need to go to the Table itself," Byleth said, slowly pushing off his knees and rising to his feet. "We were told to come here for a reason. We can't leave until we figure out why."

Anna huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face. "Maybe your mysterious friend just wanted to prove that you don't have to worry about the Earth Dragons anymore."

"She said we have to go to the Dragon's Table, then a canyon," Sophie said, "and somewhere in between we'll find our parents." Her hand tightened around Kana's, and they nodded to each other. "We…want to keep going. To find them, and find answers."

Anna tapped her foot, searching each of their faces for something—a hint of doubt? a sign that someone shared her resistance?—but whatever she was looking for, she didn't find it in any of them. They were too determined to turn back now.

"…I guess this is where we part ways then," she sighed, turning toward her shop in a sharp spin. "The Dragon's Table is close, right at the end of the valley. Once you've satisfied your curiosity, come back this way and use the passage to get back to Altea. I'll make sure there's a boat waiting for you on the beach."

"Thank you, Anna," Alm said, genuine and warm, "for everything you've done for us. We'll see you again soon, I'm sure of it."

Anna tossed her head over her shoulder, a playful smirk stretching over her face. "You better. You still need to fulfill your end of our little bargain, Your Majesty."

"Our…bargain?"

"The deal for the dragonstone." She stuck her thumb out to Kana then tapped it against her chin. "We agreed that if you helped me get to Archanea, I'd sell you a dragonstone. Sell, not give away for free. And I still haven't been paid."

To that, Alm had no words. She was seriously worried about money right now, when the fate of the world was at stake?

"So that means…" Anna jingled her coin pouch and threw him a wink, "you have to return in one piece so you can finally pay up. You know what they say, it's bad luck to die when you still owe the Anna Trading Empire money."

"…Not sure I've heard that one before." The baffled expression Alm wore faded as he realized what she was really trying to say. "But you don't have to worry. Next time we meet, I'll make sure the debt is paid in full."

Anna chuckled to herself as she fiddled with the lock on the shop's door. "Good. Because if you don't, me and my sisters will be coming to collect. And having a horde of pissed off Annas breathing down your neck—" the door clicked open, and Anna spun her key set around her finger "—never ends well for anyone."

Alm hadn't known Anna for very long, but after the short time they had spent traveling with her…he believed it.

Anna's shoulders slumped as her hand wrapped around the door handle. Her signature smile wilted as she turned to face them all one last time and, with the most sincerity Alm had ever felt from her, she said:

"Good luck."

She disappeared into the shop and slammed the door shut, leaving Alm and his allies alone in the silent valley…

Alone, with whatever lay in wait just beyond the trail of blood-stained beasts.

—

Just as Anna had promised, the journey into the far reaches of the Wyvern's Dale was not very far at all. Wisps of dead grass crunched beneath their feet along the way—anxiety shot up Alm's spine every time they passed the body of another dragon or wyvern, fearing the noise might somehow wake them from the throes of death—but before long, the grass turned to stone and the valley came to an abrupt end, dropping into a ravine several meters deep.

And on the other side, standing tall at the cliff's edge…was the Dragon's Table.

It was a massive structure, a temple of obsidian and black marble with spires that stabbed through the sky and blotted out the sun. Long, thick shadows fell over their heads and dipped into the ravine below, mingling with the darkness pooling in its depths. Only a thin bridge made of chipped rock connected the cliff sides together.

When Alm tried to peer over the edge, a breeze as hot as a dragon's breath blasted his face. He stumbled back, coughing and waving away the smoke filling his nose.

I guess that's one way to give a "warm" welcome, he joked silently.

"This is…" Kana gulped, peeking around his sister's shoulder. "This is where our parents are?"

Sophie licked her lips, chapped from the dry air, and nodded. There was a tremble in her knee that betrayed the brave face she was trying to put on for him. "That's what Azura said…"

"If they're inside, we'll find them," Alm said. "You two should stay out here while we investigate."

"What? But we can help!" Sophie protested, giving her lance a test swing to demonstrate her point.

"We don't know what's in there." Falchion again began to flash with golden light, earning a frown from its master. It had been doing that a lot ever since they had arrived in Dolhr…what was it reacting to? "For now, it will be safer for your brother to stay outside, at least until we can ensure the enemy hasn't left some kind of trap in there for him. So while we check it out, you'll be in charge of keeping him—"

"What is that?"

Kris was squinting at something in the distance. Alm tilted his head and did the same, trying to pinpoint where exactly the knight was looking…then he found it.

Two dark shapes lay before the Table's front gates, blending in with the black architecture. Two crumpled heaps, as still as death.

Two bodies. Two human bodies.

"Are those…people?" Kana's eyes slowly began to widen as the same terrifying thought struck them all at once. "No…no!"

The boy was already halfway across the bridge before Alm realized he had started running.

"Kana, wait!" Sophie chased after him, trying to catch his arm before he could make it to the other side. Alm and the others didn't have any other choice but to follow suit.

Kana still reached the end first, collapsing to one knee and sniffling as the bodies came into clearer view. An older man with long dark-gray hair and even grayer skin, the rest of his body hidden beneath a tattered cloak; a woman dressed in dark purples, matching the long locks of hair fanning around her head under a veiled miter.

Both dead, but both bearing no resemblance to either of the kids.

"I-it's not them…" Kana choked out as Sophie wrapped him up in a hug. "I thought…I thought…"

"I know, it's okay…" she whispered into his hair. "They're okay…"

Celica rested her hand on Alm's forearm, eyebrows drawn into a concerned line. "Then…who are these people?"

"Gharnef and Eremiya," Kris spat, disdain dripping off his tongue. "The Dark Pontifex and his lapdog, the head of an assassin group that abuses orphans and trains them into becoming killers, like our friend Katarina. They're the worst of the worst—the ones who killed Prince Marth." He drew his broadsword from his back and scowled, eyes darting wildly around the area. "We are not falling for another one of his tricks—"

"This isn't a trick." Merric nudged a black tome out of the old man's sharp fingers with his foot. The cover was completely singed, the pages falling out of its binding like dead leaves at autumn's end. "Imhullu, the source of Gharnef's magic…it's been destroyed. He's dead."

"So the ugly evil sorcerer isn't a problem anymore?" Gray asked, casually shrugging his shoulders. "Sounds like another win for us. Go team, I guess?"

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet." Merric picked up the tome by its rotting spine and inspected the burn marks, flinching back every so often like he expected the book to bite him. "Because the only thing that should be able to break through Imhullu's dark magic is—"

Boom!

An explosion of power from within the temple rocked the earth. Pure, azure magic split through the cracks of the walls, threading stitches of blinding light across the sky. Alm instinctively ducked, shoulder blades locking and sword at the ready…but as the tremors subsided and the light dissipated into little white sparks, it became clear that they hadn't been the target of the blast. Whatever was under attack, whatever was doing the attacking, they were all contained within the Dragon's Table.

"…Starlight," Merric finished with a grimace. He tossed the ruined dark tome into the ravine and drew a shaky breath. "If they've gotten their hands on that tome…and they're able to use it…"

"Then this just got a whole lot more dangerous," Kris muttered in agreement.

"Can you sense anything, Kana? That feeling you get when the invisible soldiers are around?" Alm asked. The boy glanced to the doorway, the tips of his pointed ears twitching, then answered with a meek nod.

"Can you tell how many?"

"Not a lot, I don't think…"

"Then we keep the plan going." Alm pointed to either side of the temple's entrance. "Mae, Boey, you wait here and have your staves ready. Annette, stay by the bridge with Sophie and Kana, but be ready to provide backup warping magic if we need a quicker exit." The three mages affirmed their orders with a yes, sir!; Mae added a lazy two-finger salute.

"The rest of us will go in and see what we can find. We're trying to avoid confrontation, so stick to the shadows and don't engage with any combatants unless forced to, especially whatever caused that blast. Everyone understood?"

"Loud and clear, boss man," Gray said, securing his brave sword in his grip. "Lead the way."

Alm nodded, moving to the temple's front gates. Once everyone was in position with their weapons and staves at the ready, they cracked open the thick black doors and, as quietly as they could, slipped inside.

Despite the Table's dark exterior, the inner sanctum was relatively well lit. Traces of torch light illuminated the purple tiling beneath their feet, guiding them through the temple's central hallway. A faint groaning sound echoed off the walls, growing louder and louder until they reached what appeared to be the main chamber.

Alm and the others crept toward the entrance. They kept to the walls as cover, held their breaths to keep from making any noise, and, with Alm's go-ahead, peered into the chamber.

Six flickering apparitions wreathed in crackling energy stood over the body of a dragon, watching it bleed out under a familiar portal of mist. Gashes similar to those that had been inflicted on its brethren marred every purple scale on its body. It gurgled and groaned at its assailants, weakly lifting its giant claws in one last act of defense.

An undead man with blue hair stepped forward and, without a shred of mercy, drove his sword straight through the dragon's skull. The creature twitched, then went limp…then never moved again.

As the man slid out the blood-stained blade, Alm's mouth went completely dry. The sword was nearly identical to his own. The other Falchion.

The Hero-King's Falchion.

Beside him, Alm could feel Merric clamp a hand over his mouth, trying desperately not to choke.

The invisible soldiers did not celebrate their victory. They simply walked away from the dragon and, with their mission complete, disappeared into the mist portal one-by-one.

The first: an archer dressed in furs, a thick, gray ponytail trailing behind his back.

The second: a sword-wielding cavalier, both rider and horse covered in severe burn scars.

The third: a short woman with dragon horns protruding from two tightly wrapped hair buns, the blood dripping off her axe matching the crimson cape flowing behind her.

The fourth: an imposing man hefting an even more imposing axe over his shoulder, mouth hidden behind a thick blue beard.

The fifth: a sage with flaxen spirals of hair framing her face, head adorned with a golden headdress and fingers wrapped around the spine of a glowing tome.

And the last: who Alm could only assume to be Prince Marth, wielding a blade so similar to the one in Alm's possession they even shared the same name.

But unlike the others, Marth's apparition did not step through the portal. Instead, he paused right in front of it, tilting his head down to the bloody Falchion in his hands. The blade began to flash with a golden light…

And Alm's sword flashed in unison with it, shining like a beacon from their hiding spot.

Oh no.

Alm lurched away from the entrance just as Marth whirled around in their direction. He wrapped his cape as quickly as he could around Falchion to smother the light, hoping with everything he had that the flickering Hero-King hadn't noticed their presence.

No one dared to move. A whole minute of silence and rapidly beating hearts passed, everyone stiff as they waited for Marth to come searching for them or to call back his other undead allies.

But even as the minutes ticked by, no one came for them.

Alm risked a peek around the corner and, to his surprise and relief, found the chamber empty. The dragon's corpse still remained, as did the portal of mist, but Marth and the rest of the invisible soldiers were gone.

Alm sagged and slid down the wall, allowing himself to breathe fully again. That had been close, way too close.

"Everyone…okay?" he asked between breaths.

"Never better…" Gray wiped a copious amount of sweat from his brow. "Can't say that about the dragon, but better him than us."

"Medeus," Merric spoke through clenched teeth. "Gharnef must have succeeded in reviving him again, but…" His gaze drifted over to the dead dragon. "I guess the being controlling the invisible soldiers wanted him to stay dead, so they used Marth to kill him. And gave Starlight to that blonde mage to make sure Gharnef couldn't interfere."

"Edelgard as well." Petra frowned at the ground and bit down on her lip, something akin to guilt crossing her face. "She was someone powerful in our world of Fódlan. It has been a long time from her death."

"And the man we encountered when all of this first started," Ashe added, plucking nervously at his bow string. "The mounted one with all those burns. The one who almost killed Ingrid."

Kris let out a frustrated groan. "They brought all those heavy hitters here so they could kill the Shadow Dragon? Just whose side are they on?"

"Only one way to find out," Byleth said, pointing to the mist portal.

"Wait, what?" Kris shared an incredulous look with Merric, then narrowed his eyes on Byleth. "They just killed one of the most powerful creatures in the world. You aren't actually suggesting we follow them through that thing, are you?"

"I am."

"What happened to taking every precaution on this mission?"

"We just need to trail them. See if we can find where their master is hiding, and where he's keeping his captives." Byleth shuffled into the chamber, stepping around the dragon and examining the swirling portal. "I have a feeling…this is what that woman wanted us to find. A place with answers."

"…I guess we've come this far already," Kris said through a long sigh. "Well, Your Majesty? What do we do?"

Everyone turned to Alm to hear his next orders, but a moment of hesitation gripped his chest. Part of him was more than willing to jump through the portal to get to these "answers," but the other part feared they had already pushed their luck too far. It had been dangerous just coming here at all, and after being nearly caught by the enemy again…was it really worth the risk?

Maybe, maybe not, but in his eyes, they didn't really have the luxury of choice. Their enemy was powerful and seemed to be growing stronger with every day that passed. If they wanted to beat them, they had to take advantage of any chance they came across.

Besides, it wouldn't be the first time he made the rash decision to jump through a portal like this. And that had worked out in the end, hadn't it?

"Grab our friends waiting outside," Alm said. "Let's see what's on the other side of this thing."

—

The other side, as it turned out, was strangely normal.

Birds fluttered overhead without a care in the world, the sun shone with a much gentler warmth than the one in Dolhr, lush trees peppered the horizon beyond. If Alm hadn't known any better, and if he hadn't been dripping wet from the portal's magic, this place would have seemed relatively peace—

"Halt, foul villains!"

A man wearing the strangest outfit Alm had ever seen—bright yellows, an exposed chest, and sandals—leaped from the bushes, his hand curled over his face.

"You infernal demons have trespassed on these lands for the last time! Prepare to face oblivion itself, for I am—huh?" The man lowered his hand and squinted at them. "You guys don't look dead."

"Um...we're not?" Alm said, making sure the kids were a safe distance away from the man. He didn't seem to be…all there. "And you're not dead either, I assume?"

"Of course not! Wow, I've never seen actual living people come out of the Dragon's Gate before, this is great!"

"…Right…" Alm glanced back to the others; they seemed to be just as baffled as he was. "I'm…not sure we ended up in the right place. We were trying to follow some 'foul villains' ourselves."

"Dead soldiers who get all glowy and transparent all the time?"

"Those are the ones." Alm smiled at him despite the odd behavior. This was a potential ally, after all. "Um, what was your name again?

"I'm O—Wait! What I mean to say is—" the man cleared his throat and struck his previous pose "—listen, and listen well! I am the sorcerer borne of darkness, blessed by the gods with unparalleled power! The world cowers at the very whisper of my name, for I am—"

"Cut the theatrics, Odin."

A woman in a gambeson jogged over and shoved the man aside. She flipped a red pigtail over her shoulder and glared at Alm's group. "What do you want? Make it quick—we've got enough of our own problems as it is."

"Come on, Selena, there's no need to be so rude." A cavalier in black armor rode over the ever-growing cast of strangers. His silver hair was swept into a curl above his forehead in a way that seemed to defy the laws of gravity. "Maybe they're here to help—"

"Papa?!"

Kana forced his way to the front line of their group, tears leaking down his face. "Papa, is that you?!"

"…Papa?" The man looked over the boy with a confused frown. Then, his eyes bulged. "Kana?! What are you—"

Kana tackled him off his horse's back before he could utter another word.

"Daddy!" Alm was pushed aside as Sophie sprinted over to join the hug, practically falling on top of her brother and the poor man. "Daddy, we've been looking everywhere for you!"

"S-Sophie?" The man sputtered, struggling to speak under their combined weight on his diaphragm. "How are you—why are you-what's going on?!"

"…I think…" Alm started slowly,

"I think we have a lot to talk about."

Character Bios:

Eremiya: Bishop

—A ruthless woman who takes advantage of homeless children, molding them into assassins to serve as puppets to Gharnef and his goal to revive the Shadow Dragon. Killed in 609, presumably by the invisible soldiers.

—Relations: Mother figure to Clarisse and Katarina (both deceased).

Holy moly, that was a roller coaster. A happy end to a chapter for once? Perish the thought :P

Spoiler warning going forward for all of Fire Emblem Fates, mainly from Conquest, Revelations, and the Hidden Truths story DLC. I will be referencing lore/events from each of those parts in the coming chapters. We've been dabbling in a fair amount of Fates lore already, but I thought I would put a definitive warning here now just in case.

Next chapter: A long awaited reunion.