The arena where the competition was to be held was nothing short of a marvel of engineering. The thing was absolutely massive. Larger than a small town being practically a city unto itself complete with special audience chambers for each khan. While the architecture spoke more to a philosophy of function over form, it also had a sort of beauty to it.
The arena itself was large. Large enough for Robin to flex his tactical prowess and even allowed for mounts. Tuning out the thunderous cheering, he immediately began to size up their opponents upon entering the arena.
"Several Feroxi soldiers," Robin noted, "They seem quite skilled by their mannerisms, but I'm more concerned about their leader. Listening to the rumors, the West Khan's champion is quite skilled."
"I'll take him," Chrom nodded, "What about the others?"
"I'd suggest handling them while you distract the champion so we can focus our efforts on him."
"Good. I'll keep him occupied long enough for you to join us then." Chrom unsheathed Falchion, "Remember, the people of Ylisse are counting on us. We won't let them down."
With a cheer, the Shepherds got into position behind their captain. Chrom could not help but smile at their loyalty. They would see this through yet. Marching forward, Chrom trusted them to keep him free to be able to duel this champion of theirs. He was proven correct when a fire spell forced one of the opposing fighters back.
"I hear you're quite skilled," Chrom declared as he approached the dark haired man.
"Hmph," The man grunted in response.
"Not one for words I see," Chrom readied Falchion, "Very well, our blades will do the talking."
The man was fast. Faster than Chrom. The prince managed a defense, but the man was already gone before he could retaliate. Frowning, Chrom went in for his own strike, but his opponent proved evasive.
If he could just land a blow, Chrom was confident he could win this, but that was easier said than done. In his frustration, Chrom cracked the stone floor of the arena, but he still failed to hit his target, instead taking several small cuts.
Fortunately, he did not have to hold out forever. Eventually, his Shepherds came to his aid having dealt with the rest of the West Feroxi force. The opposing champion found himself having to dodge spells, swords, lances and axes as his friends and allies had proven victorious in their own efforts.
To his credit, the champion weaved in and out of the hostile barrage with surprising success. That said, he was never really able to get an attack in after the full might of Chrom's team joined it. When it was just one or two, he managed a few attempts, but with all of them, he was forced to focus on evading.
In the end, it was actually Lucina who delivered the final blow. When he was distracted avoiding Robin, he was left with no time to prevent a quick bash from behind. While Lucina was still recovering her strength from what seemed like years of malnutrition, it was enough to push him onto his face and force him to yield.
"I…yield," The man grunted with several pointy weapons and magic energy directed at him.
Chrom sighed and slowly sheathed Falchion. He then offered the champion a hand, "That was well fought. You had me dead to rights."
The man looked at the hand carefully before accepting it and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet, "You aren't bad. You have potential, you just have to hone it."
"Hah, I'll keep that in mind. Tell me, what's your name?"
"Lon'qu."
"Well, Lon'qu, you did your people proud. Sorry about having to rough you up."
"Don't apologize. We were both here for a purpose. You fulfilled yours. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must report to the Khan."
"Right, I suppose we should do similarly. See you around."
"You performed marvelously," Flavia laughed as she greeted Chrom and his Shepherds, "It feels nice to finally hold full power again. Of course, as promised, you have your alliance. I've already sent out the order to prepare the troops. You'll have reinforcements within the moon."
"Thank you, Khan Flavia," Chrom gave a half bow, "My people thank you."
"Don't mention it. Now, I have a feast to prepare!"
"Oh! Did you hear that?" Lissa bounced as the Khan left, "A feast!"
"As fun as that sounds," Frederick replied in a monotone tone, "I believe the Exalt would like news of our success posthaste."
"He's right," Chrom nodded, "I want to let Em know as soon as possible. Sorry, Stahl."
"I'll manage," The viridian knight managed through his disappointment, "The realm comes first."
"Don't worry. Once everything stabilizes I'll host a feast of my own just for the Shepherds. You all deserve it, and it'd give us a chance to better get to know our new members. Sorry for dragging you along like this."
"Do not worry about such," Lucina shook her head, "And it's a noble goal."
"Indeed," Robin nodded, "You took us in. It's the least we can do."
"Heh, well, I'm honored for the loyalty all the same. Now, let's get ready to make the trip back to Ylisstol."
As they cleared out to prepare for the journey home, Chrom was stopped by a rather large man with an eyepatch. Chrom did not know who he was, but he stopped all the same.
"Sorry, have we met?"
"I'm the Khan you so rudely removed from power," The man gave Chrom just enough time to get uncomfortable before letting out a belly laugh, "Bah! You should have seen the look on your face."
"So you're not mad?"
"It's the Feroxi way," The Khan shrugged, "Your team won. No sense in getting upset about it. Name's Basillio by the way."
"Chrom," The prince smiled, "I'm glad there are no hard feelings. I had considered coming to you, but our needs were urgent and Flavia offered favorable terms."
"She's a shrewd one alright, but don't you worry, I plan to wrestle full control back soon enough. Enough of that though, let's talk business."
"Business?" Chrom raised a brow before wincing as the larger man slapped him on the back in what he thought was a show of camaraderie.
"Yes, I think you've met already." On cue, Lon'qu joined the men standing as stoic as ever.
"Ah, yes, Lon'qu. He was a fierce opponent."
"And he's yours. For now. Consider him West Ferox's contribution to your cause."
"You're certain?"
"Yes, yes, he's your man now. I want him to get out and live a little. Besides, I'm curious about these Shepherds of yours. I want to see if you guys are as tough as I think you might be."
"A spy then?"
"A liaison. He's yours to command like any other Shepherd. Just do try not to get him killed. He's got loads of potential, and I'd hate to see it wasted."
"And how about you?" Chrom asked the swordsman, "Do you have any objections?"
"He gives orders, I stab people. I think our roles are clear." Despite the finality of his words, the swordsman seemed a bit annoyed.
"Very well, we'd love to have him. I'm sure we could learn a lot from him."
"That's more like it!" Chrom winced from another blow to his shoulder, "And I'm sure he can stand to learn some things from you all."
"Like what?"
"Hey, Chrom-oh, hello there," Lissa smiled at Lon'qu dropping whatever she had come to talk to Chrom about, "You were really great out there I-"
"Back, woman!" Lon'qu barked as he took a hasty step away from the princess.
"Hey!" The blonde huffed, "What'd I do?"
This earned another belly laugh from Basillio and wince from Chrom as he smacked his shoulder again, "Let's just say Lon'qu here is a bit on edge around women."
"Is that why you assigned him to us?"
"Part of it. I also just want him to loosen up a bit. Remember, Lon'qu," Basillio started walking away from the group, "Don't be afraid to make some friends." With that, the West Khan laughed again as he left the group.
"Er," Chrom cleared his throat, "If you don't want to-"
"I'll be fine," Lon'qu cut the prince off, "Just…let me know when we leave."
"Alright," Chrom nodded.
"What a guy," Lissa whispered once Lon'qu left them.
"He certainly has an issue or two, but maybe Khan Basillio is right and this will be good for him. Oh, and, Lissa, can you take a look at my shoulder?"
"It's been a busy few days," Robin nearly collapsed on the floor as he and Lucina awaited the others in the main hall. They understandably had the least to pack, so they ended up there together leaning against the wall.
"It has been, but I don't really mind."
"How's your eye by the way?" Robin looked over to see if he could see any visible change, but there was not much of one if any from what he could see.
"Still sore and swollen. I've been unable to open it. Lissa is optimistic, but until I can open it, we can't really check for damage."
"I hope you'll pull through. You seem strong though, so hopefully you're hardy enough to pull through. How about your other recovery? You were…thin when we found you."
"Doing well, thank you," Lucina blushed, "Though I admit I don't want to take advantage of their generosity."
"Don't worry about that. You seriously could stand to get some meat on your bones."
"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. How about you? Remember anything?"
"Not yet," Robin furrowed his brow for just a moment, but it was long enough for Lucina to notice, "How about you?"
"Nothing. Though some things seem familiar, such as Sumia's cooking, but nothing as concrete as a memory."
"Give it time. That's something at least. When we get back, I'll see if I can find something in the records."
"Thanks," Lucina smiled tenderly, and for a moment Robin was at a loss for words. He was somewhat bailed out by the arrival of the other Shepherds, but even as they marched he made a mental note that she had a beautiful smile. Then he blinked realizing how he had just described it to himself. Shaking his head, he tried not to think about it.
After arriving back at the capital, Robin buried himself in books and musty old tomes. Mostly a combination of tactical manuals and old military records. He did learn one thing about himself, and that was that he had a tendency to lose himself in his studies.
He was not even sure what day it was when he received a guest. She sat down beside him, and he did not even realize she was watching him for several minutes until she cleared her throat.
"Oh!" Robin closed the manual, "Lucina, sorry. I didn't notice you there."
"So I can see," She giggled and Robin just found that…adorable, "Any luck with your research?"
"Hmm, none in regards to who we are. That said, there is a wealth of tactical knowledge here, though I've been making my own notes as well as I go. It really is fascinating stuff."
"You must really have been enamored with it. When's the last time you ate?"
"Uh, you know, I'm not sure," Robin bashfully rubbed his neck.
"Well, let's go get you something to eat, hmm?"
"I…suppose I could take a break."
"Wonderful. You can fill me in on what you read over lunch."
"That sounds nice."
As the two amnesiacs made their way through the castle, they were nearly run over by a troubled looking Phila.
"That's odd," Lucina noted.
"Hmm," Robin furrowed his brow as he looked after her before trying to keep the mood from getting dour, "Well, they'll let us know if it involves us. Let's go get that lunch."
"Right. I just hope it was nothing too serious."
The Chon'sin king panted as the rain pattered against his armor. The battle did not go his way. Walhart was crushing his forces like they were children armed with sticks. The proudest warriors he had ever seen, trampled as if they were farmhands with pitchforks.
The battle was lost. He knew that. The only sliver of hope he had was to kill Walhart. He was not a man for jokes, but even he almost laughed at the idea. Still, he had to try. Though, even with the tyrant gone, they would have to deal with his generals. Cervantes had caused no small amount of casualties to his western flank after all.
Walhart was not a hard man to find even in the chaos of battle. This was by design the king wagered. Still, Yen'fay gripped Amatsu as he prepared to challenge the Conqueror.
"Walhart! I challenge you to single combat!"
"Hahaha, is that so?" The man's booming voice called even as he dismounted his horse, "Very well. I never turn down a challenge. You, like others before you, may test your will against mine. Though, yours too shall be found wanting."
"You have not tested mine yet," The king scowled as Walhart lifted his great ax as if it were nothing.
"I like your courage at least. Let us see if you can back it up!"
Yen'fay attacked first. He had assumed Walhart in all that armor would be a slow target. He was mistaken. With his blood turning cold in horror, that mountain of metal deftly back stepped his strike with Wolf Berg already reared back to strike. He had no chance. He never did.
"Gah!" Yen'fay tried to dodge, but even with his reflexes he nearly lost his left arm. With the appendage going limp, he knew it was over.
Falling to his knees, he swallowed his pride, "I…yield."
"Hahahaha, impressive. Few actually survive a single blow. Perhaps you could be useful." The titan of a man walked up to him, rain still falling onto his crimson armor, "You may have come here from a distant land, but I respect strength. Pledge yourself and your kingdom to serve me and my cause. Then you shall live to usher in a new age alongside me.
"Refuse, and die."
"I…I pledge my service to you…my master."
"Good, good," Walhart raised his great ax and placed it onto Yen'fay's shoulder, "Rise, general. We should get that arm looked at. We have much to prepare for."
A/N: Two posts in one week?
If you're wandering, I thought it made sense for Lon'qu at this point to be better than Chrom.
Also, hey, Awakening Tiki got something!