Hey everyone, I'm back with another chapter! Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to review my story, follow, or favorite it! This is my longest chapter yet, perhaps fitting as it can be seen as the resolution to the first major part of this story. Huge thanks to everyone who has stuck around this long!
Idunn had never felt so free before. It was strange; she'd gone for so long at Zephiel's side never once worried about the fact that people had known she was a dragon. Even back then, it had been a closely guarded secret, one that aside from Zephiel and Jahn barely anyone had known about. Though many of Zephiel's soldiers knew that she was the reason the king was able to summon dragons to fight for him, most just thought of her as a dark mage of fearsome power (which she was,) rather than knowing the full truth. Of course, in the end, Zephiel would've revealed the truth to the world; dragons were meant to rule over the subjugated mankind, with her as their eternal empress, but Idunn had fled that dark timeline before Zephiel had been able to reach that point in his mad plans.
Now that she was adapting to a life of peace, it had felt as if being a dragon, and not just any dragon, but the Demon Dragon was a terrible sin.
Which is why it was such a relief to be able to share the truth with her benefactors, and they had embraced and accepted her all the same.
She owed so much to Roy and his family, and being able to repay the kindness they had shown her gave her a sense of fulfillment that till now she had never known.
The coming week would be an eventful one, she realized. Ninian was a beloved figure across the entire province, and though the truth had been kept from Roy for a very long time, countless people both in and out of the castle had been expecting and preparing for the death of their beloved marchioness.
And now, perhaps not today, but within the next few days Eliwood would likely announce to the castle that Ninian's life had been saved, and her 'disease' cured, once and for all. Idunn couldn't even begin to imagine how much of a stir such important news would cause across the province.
'I imagine that he'll tell only his closest retainers at first… Marcus, Lowen, and the like. But word will reach the servants soon enough, and they'll spread the news to everyone in town…' Oh dear…. Idunn was perfectly happy to give the people cause to celebrate, but the last thing she wanted was to be the center of everyone's attention! She was getting more comfortable talking with people, but Idunn knew that she was very much still a solitary person, and the poor woman wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle suddenly being the talk of the town.
At least Idunn was quite certain that Ninian of all people would understand why she wasn't too comfortable having so much attention come her way. Their situation was a unique one, and Idunn was very much hoping that once Ninian's health problems had been resolved she could enjoy a friendship with one of the only other dragons still left in Elibe.
That, and she hoped to find answers to a great many questions of her own. Like, if Roy knew the truth about what his mother was. Did the little prince of Pherae know the secret within his blood?
Idunn doubted it, but she'd also only known him for a few short weeks.
Softly padding along the stone floor, Idunn made her way to the door from behind which she could hear Eleanora and Roy's voices.
"May I come in?"
"Lady Idunn? I-Is everything alright?" Eleanora's concerned face appeared from behind the door.
"Yes, Lady Eleanora."
"I've told you before, you don't need to add 'lady' to my name. I'm far too old to still cling to such pomp and ceremony, least of all in my own home. And… well, you'd best come in."
Idunn heeded the other woman's words, following her into a warmly lit, cozy looking sitting room. Roy was seated on a large, thickly cushioned couch with an open book next to him. Idunn's heart sank at the conspicuous redness around the young boy's eyes, though she remained hopeful that her next words would bring both Roy and his grandmother relief.
"Roy, would you like to visit your mother? I'm sure she'd be very happy to see you." Roy perked up at those words, the red-haired boy rubbing at his eyes.
"Mama… mama wants to see me? But… she was so tired this morning that she said she might not be able to spend any time with me…"
"Don't worry, Roy. Ninian is feeling much better right now. I told you, didn't I? I was quite certain that I would be able to help her feel better, and it seems that I was right."
"Really?!" The smile on Roy's face lit up the room as if a second sun had appeared. Idunn gently patted the small heir on his back after he dashed into her and wrapped his little arms around her waist as tightly as he could.
"Roy, that's hardly appropriate! You can't just go around hugging people out of nowhere like that, and certainly not a lady like Idunn! Even if she is a friend of yours," Eleanora scolded, though without too much heat to her words. The greying woman glanced up at Idunn, as if expecting her to back her words up.
"No, it's quite alright. If he wants to hug me, he may." Idunn found that a more tactful way of saying that she simply liked being hugged.
Eleanora huffed and turned away, though with that distraction gone Idunn saw worry and fear creeping back onto the older-looking woman's face.
"Well, I think it's a habit he'll need to grow out of as he grows older. Roy is such a charming boy, but I shudder to think of what the other noble houses would think if Roy was to greet an Etrurian or Bernese heiress in such a manner." The former marchioness cleared her throat loudly, and turned back to Idunn.
"Moving on… Are you sure taking Roy to see Ninian right now is… is a good idea?"
'She must be worried that Roy will only grow more miserable if he sees his mother as weak as she was earlier... Fortunately, that shouldn't be an issue right now.' The concern of Roy's grandmother was certainly warranted, even if right now there was nothing to fear.
"You should go as well, Lady Eleanora. I'm certain that Eliwood and Ninian would wish for you to be present as well. I believe they will want to give you the good news in person."
"Good… news?" Idunn's brow furrowed at the confusion on Eleanora's face, before she recalled the obvious fact that she'd been overlooking.
'Oh, of course! Doubtless Eleanora has been worried sick as well, she's known Ninian for even longer than Roy has!' Idunn mentally berated herself for the fact that of course Eleanora had every reason to be distraught over her daughter-in-law's health declining over the years.
"Please, I can't explain too much right now. I believe it's more important that you go and see Ninian yourself, Lady Eleanora."
"I… very well. Roy, come along. Let's go and say hello to your mother." There was still much uncertainty on Eleanora's face, but either she trusted Idunn's words at face value, or she simply didn't want to question them in front of Roy.
Idunn watched as Eleanora led her grandson by the hand down the hall to Eliwood and Ninian's room. Idunn mentally elected to stay behind; right now, it was most fitting that Eliwood and Ninian share their joy with their immediate family members.
How would the duo; one young and one middle-aged, react to Ninian's sudden good health? It didn't take a healer to see that Ninian was in much better condition than she'd been an hour ago. When Idunn had left her, the marchioness's eyes had been alert, her mind alert, and her skin, a healthy pale rather than its former sickly hue.
Someone who had never seen Ninian in good health might have even thought that the healthy Ninian was a different woman entirely from her former ailing self! Idunn watched as Eleanora gently, nervously pushed the door to her son and daughter-in-law's bedchambers open, and then…
Idunn couldn't see purple-haired woman's face, but the shocked gasp, audible even from down the hall, and the way the former marchioness's hands flew up to cover her mouth were a sure sign that the woman had been completely stunned silent.
Roy's reaction was significantly louder.
"MAMA!" Idunn watched with contentment in her heart as Roy charged into his mother's waiting arms, who returned the tight embrace with all her might. Feeling that it was best to allow the royal family time to themselves, Idunn slipped away to give them their privacy.
As much as she wanted to stay and bask in the royal family's joy, she knew that she needed to move on to the next step in her quest to save Ninian, and pondering over the issue of her fellow dragon's lack of a dragonstone; and possibly experimenting with her own powers, would certainly go more smoothly if she conducted her research in private.
Idunn's mind continued to wander as her feet carried her back to her room. How much would Eliwood and Ninian tell Roy and Eleanora about her? Would she have to prepare for the reality that they might both soon learn that she was a dragon?
Come to think of it, did Eleanora even know the truth about her daughter-in-law?
That was something to think about. Idunn was reasonably certain that a select few of the royal family's trusted retainers, such as Marcus, knew the truth about Ninian. She couldn't think of a good reason for why the marquess would have kept his wife's true identity a secret from his own mother for so long, but the more she thought about it the less certain she was that Eleanora was in the know regarding Ninian's identity. The very same question extended to Roy as well. How much, if anything, did he know about his parents' secrets?
'Hmm… As much as I'd like answers, I have other things to focus on right now. I suppose I can ask Ninian or Eliwood directly later if I really need to,' Idunn reasoned to herself as she continued her stroll through the castle.
Feeling her dragonstone's reassuring weight in the pocket it was concealed in, Idunn steeled herself for the task ahead of herself. She would be wandering around in the dark, attempting to create a new dragonstone for Ninian, but she was determined to succeed in this last endeavor! It felt as if she only had to make one final push, one final effort, and her goal of saving the marchioness's life would be complete!
Some minutes later, Idunn sank into her favorite armchair in the solace of her own room. The day was not even half through, and yet so much had already happened! She felt strangely light, as if a great weight had been lifted from her.
The light streaming in through the window in her bedroom cast a strange glow in her room as it reflected off her dragonstone, which she was rolling in her hands.
So much rested on such a small object. Ninian didn't need Idunn's own dragonstone of course, but it did bring up another question.
'Can Ninian even use a new dragonstone, assuming I figure out how to create a new one?' It was a question that she needed an answer to, and very soon at that. A dragonstone reflected one's own soul; they weren't common rocks one could pick up off the ground and imbue with a bit of magic. What had Ninian told her? That the marchioness had shared a dragonstone with her brother, who was quite literally no longer in this world?
Idunn had never heard of dragons sharing a dragonstone, just like she'd never heard of a dragon losing their dragonstone. But that new information, while interesting, wasn't something that she had time to focus on right now.
'Wasting time pondering those questions would be putting the cart before the horse. I need to find out if I even can create a dragonstone before wondering about such things.'
Creating war dragons was something that up till now she had never put much thought into doing. It was an inherent part of her being, something that, as much as she loathed to think about, she had been created to do. That meant that what to anyone else would've required decades upon decades of research and vast reserves of quintessence to accomplish could be done by her in minutes. The process of creating a war dragon wasn't something Zephiel or anyone else had ever asked her about; the king had been more concerned with how often she could create them, rather than how she created them.
Though this was hardly a laughing matter, Idunn felt an odd tingle of mirth in her mind.
'Should there ever be anyone investigating this 'dark magic' of mine, they'd be quite disappointed with what they see.'
It wasn't like she was lying regarding that line of thought; Idunn recalled Pereth explaining the stigma that many wielders of elder magic, as he was so insistent on calling it, faced by those unfamiliar with the mysteries of elder magic. The commonfolk and those unattuned to elder magic seemed to believe that many, if not all scholars of elder magic were power-mad sorcerers, cackling witches, or mad fools who had made pacts with demons. The kind of people who made sacrifices of flesh and blood at altars and stole children away in the dead of night to use in their twisted rituals.
Well, Idunn had no need for any sort of ritual, and even less of a need for an altar to lay sacrifices upon. The carpeted floor in front of her would do just fine.
Normally, all it took was Idunn simply visualizing a new person simply phasing into existence. She didn't need to spend hours trying to visualize the complexities of the body, like the digestive system, the brain, or the skeleton. This magic had been ingrained in her so heavily that every fiber of its usage came as naturally as breathing. The new body- the war dragon- would simply appear in the space in front of her. They were, more or less, an extension of her will, just as she had been an extension of Tiamat's will during the Scouring, and 1000 years later Jahn and Zephiel's. There was no need to instruct the war dragons as to what their purpose or their duties were; their purpose was etched into their very beings.
That was another question that Idunn wished to learn an answer to. The war dragons were meant to be empty shells, soulless husks that followed commands and obeyed orders like automatons, but…
What if she tried creating… well, not 'war' dragons. Just plain 'dragons.'
'Would they still be empty husks? Or… would I be able to talk with them? To ask them about what dreams they hold, what desires they have, what food they like or don't like… Would they be people?' Idunn's mind began to wander at the possibilities, though she swiftly reminded herself that she had a much more pressing task to focus on.
With a huff, Idunn raised herself up out of her armchair. That wasn't a question that needed an answer at the moment, even if it was one that she would one day desperately like to see answered. More importantly… war dragon or not, creating more dragons at Pherae was not a smart idea.
Moving back to her original idea; the purpose for which she'd retreated to her room in the castle, Idunn needed to try creating a dragonstone without also creating an accompanying war dragon. Creating a war dragon and then killing it for it's dragonstone wasn't an option either; on top of the very idea repulsing Idunn on every level, she distinctly recalled that the war dragons' dragonstones would crumble to dust within minutes of their owners being destroyed.
Closing her eyes, Idunn focused on the mental image of the empty space on the carpeted floor in front of her.
'What an unusual feeling… I've never needed to think about creating something with quintessence before. It's almost humorous that the first instance of me doing so would be done to limit my power rather than to amplify it…'
Squeezing her eyes shut, Idunn tried to separate the images of a war dragon and a dragonstone, focusing until only the image of the dragonstone was present in her mind… Power swirled within her, and Idunn imagined it coalescing into a tangible form…
Opening her eyes, Idunn's heart sank.
Nothing.
No dragonstone. No war dragon either, at least. A sudden breeze rippled through her room, ruffling the fabric of her dress; perhaps the only physical evidence that she'd been gathering her power.
Why had the quintessence suddenly dissipated? She'd never failed to create something before.
'I just need to practice. This is… not something I have ever done. If I practice, if I keep trying… I will succeed. I must succeed!'
The next hour passed by in a blur for Idunn. To her relief, she found that creating new dragonstones purely from quintessence was not impossible for her. That didn't mean that the process was going smoothly, however.
"Rrrr… what am I doing wrong?!" Idunn grumbled, in a rare verbal display of negative emotion. It wasn't like her to be so emotive, but at the same time frustration was a very new emotion to her, and not one that she liked.
The remains of her latest attempt were currently crumbling into dust on the carpet in front of her. To her irritation, while creating war dragons was something she could do as easily as breathing, creating a dragonstone on its own was proving to be much more challenging. Progress was much slower than she would've liked, but at least she was making some small amount of progress.
Idunn sighed in irritation and sank back into her chair. Perhaps it was time for a short break; she could feel the beginnings of a headache forming, and she would likely perform better if she didn't feel as if she was forcing herself to continue soldiering on.
Perhaps now was the time to reflect on her progress. She'd learned firsthand that creating 'blank' dragonstones was doable; but they were fragile, brittle things. She had been so happy when the first stone had appeared before her roughly a half hour ago… only for her heart to sink when the bland, grey gem crumbled into a pile of dust mere minutes after its creation.
This brought her to the current stage of her project; she'd managed to create dragonstones without also bringing war dragons into the world, but it seemed that without an owner to, well, stabilize the dragonstone, the quintessence forming it would dissipate within minutes.
And on top of this issue, Idunn still wasn't sure if Ninian would be able to just pick up and use some newly-created dragonstone. She couldn't think of why the marchioness wouldn't be able to, but Idunn also didn't feel comfortable handing over one of these fragile creations.
As Idunn let her mind wander, trying to soothe the tension in her head, she saw something that she hadn't previously noted.
There was a rather conspicuous burn mark on the carpet in front of her, with several smaller scorched patches around it. It seemed that her experimenting had carried slightly more tangible leftovers than she'd realized.
Oops.
'I hope that carpet wasn't expensive…' Idunn winced, frowning at not catching her error earlier.
Idunn would have to apologize to the marquess later; she wouldn't have been bothered by the idea of accidentally damaging property belonging to Zephiel, but causing damage to Eliwood and Ninian's home, even as minor as this, was rather upsetting to her.
'Well… I can't un-burn the carpet… I'll just have to move on and try to be more vigilant with my work…' Idunn sighed. Her headache had mostly dissipated by now, and that meant that it was time to get back to work.
Progress continued slowly but steadily, and while Idunn was still having trouble getting any of the dragonstones she created to last more than a handful of minutes, they were growing more stable-looking. The first dragonstones she'd created had been bland and pale to the point of being translucent, while her latest creations were more of a flat, solid grey.
An epiphany struck Idunn. Rather than creating a 'blank' dragonstone, what if she could try to, well, meld a portion of Ninian's quintessence with her own? That would in theory allow Idunn to create a dragonstone that was already linked to Ninian's soul, so long as she was able to form the dragonstone primarily from the borrowed quintessence. That being said…
'I need to see Ninian again! But… I don't know if this idea is a good idea or a bad idea…'
Idunn was worried, and rightly so, that taking even the smallest amount of quintessence from Ninian could've had severe consequences. She had only just bolstered the marchioness's health a few hours ago, and it was for the most part her own quintessence supplanting Ninian's.
'I do not wish to find out the hard way if there will be negative repercussions if Ninian loses too much of her own quintessence while I am filling her with my own.' On one hand, Idunn wasn't sure that anything bad could happen in the first place, but on the other hand…
There was no proof that something bad wouldn't happen. This was entirely unknown territory for her, and she felt like she was struggling around in the dark! Still… Idunn felt like she was on the right track with her newest idea. She did need a way to link a new dragonstone to Ninian, but how?
It had been a few days since Idunn had practiced meditating, but she did so now, closing her eyes and stretching out her sixth sense.
Like this, she could feel the quintessence of every living soul in the castle. Marcus was still at the training grounds, Merlinus seemed to be bustling around the kitchens, and the royal family was still all together in Eliwood and Ninian's bedroom. Eleanora's quintessence signature, though not weak, didn't match up to vibrant signature of her son's, who as Ninian had noted was by far the strongest of the humans at Pherae. Ninian's signature was two-sided; no longer weak, but Idunn could recognize that rather than one single, strong presence it was made up of two parts, the marchioness's own natural life energy, and the life energy that Idunn had gifted to her. Her quintessence bled into Ninian's hinting that at some point there would be no distinction between the two halves, but for now Idunn could clearly see the difference in the marchioness's soul.
And then there was Roy; the presence of his life energy small, but not weak; a blend of both his mother and his father's aura coalesced into a single form, not a two-tone mixture like Ninian's but a true combination of his parents' essence.
Wait.
A new idea trickled into her mind, slowly taking shape into something more concrete. It wasn't an idea that she liked but it did seem safer than using what little of Ninian's quintessence there was available.
The blood of the dragonkin flowed in Roy's veins, perhaps not nearly as strong as his mothers, but it was there all the same, and that was likely more than enough to create a proper dragonstone for Ninian. She'd already told Idunn that previously, she'd shared a dragonstone with her brother.
Was the solution for Ninian to share a dragonstone with her son?
Idunn frowned. No, while the idea had sounded good at first, the more she thought about it, the worse the idea was. There were far too many reasons why that would have been a bad idea!
That left the option of going straight to Ninian herself, and hoping that utilizing Ninian's quintessence didn't drain the poor woman's energy entirely…
'I… I'm overthinking this. If all Ninian needs is a new dragonstone, then why… why don't I just go and speak to her directly? Maybe she'll have a better idea than I will about how to go about this.' Idunn honestly felt rather foolish for not considering that sooner. Brushing aside the last thoughts of what might have happened had she sought Roy out, Idunn closed her eyes, focusing on the quintessence of the other souls in the castle.
'I can still sense the royal family's quintessence; they're not all in the same place anymore. Eleanora is nearing the kitchens, Roy is in the castle library, and Ninian and Eliwood are on the ground floor…' Idunn wasn't familiar with the area that Eliwood and Ninian were in; it seemed to be a wing where several of his retainers and advisors had their private quarters.
By Idunn's best guess, the marquess and his wife were likely meeting with Eliwood's closest retainers, giving them the good news of Ninian's sudden resurgence of health.
Heading for the doorway, Idunn pocketed her dragonstone before departing her bedroom. If good news would soon be spreading regarding Ninian's health, she'd have to work twice as hard to make sure that everyone's hopes and wishes for the marchioness's survival came true!
That line of thinking in itself brought a new line of thought to Idunn; she was reasonably certain that some of the retainers were in the know regarding Pherae's greatest secret, but how much would Eliwood and Ninian tell the veterans serving Pherae regarding Ninian's savior?
Well… she'd cross that bridge once she came to it. Though she still desired to keep her true identity hidden, Idunn found that she didn't dislike the idea of someone like Marcus learning the truth about her.
'Well… that is a conversation that can wait till later. I shouldn't get sidetracked, not when I'm so close to accomplishing what I've spent the last few weeks working towards.'
Departing her room and making her way through the castle to where she could sense Ninian's quintessence, Idunn did her best to focus on only the task at hand. At least now… the burden on her heart, the fear of rejection and banishment, had been driven away. Eliwood and Ninian had accepted her, and the retainers of Pherae's royal family all echoed similar sentiments. True, Marcus, Merlinus, and the others were their own people, and as such would doubtless have their own thoughts and opinions on certain matters… but at the end of the day, each and every one of them shared the same values of their lord and lady.
As she walked, a thought struck Idunn.
'Oh… it may come as a surprise to Eliwood and Ninian if I show up unannounced. When I see them, it may be better to tell them that I simply asked for directions from one of the maids, instead of using my own abilities to track their locations…' The lavender-haired woman reasoned, realizing that just maybe it would be off-putting to learn that someone, even with good intentions, could identify where you were in your own home with a mere thought.
It was no trouble for Idunn to get assistance from one of the castle's many serving staff, and soon enough Idunn was approaching the office where Ninian and Eliwood were located.
Entering the hallway where the cluster of offices were located, Idunn padded down the hallway, knocking on the door that she knew Eliwood and Ninian were behind.
"Lord Eliwood? Lady Ninian? I was looking for you both, and one of the maids told me that this is where I would find you both. May I come in? There is something very important that I wish to speak with you both about; Ninian in particular?"
Idunn didn't have to wait more than a few seconds before Eliwood's voice replied, somewhat muted as the door was still closed.
"Oh, Lady Idunn? Of course, you can come in right away. Ninian and I were just speaking with some of our retainers. Merlinus just left his office a minute or two ago."
Now that she was officially welcome, and not intruding on what she hoped hadn't been a private conversation, Idunn pushed the door open and headed inside. The office, likely belonging to Merlinus or one of the other senior members of Pherae's court, was well-lit and neatly kept, without a single speck of dust on any surface. Pherae's marquess and marchioness were standing in the center of the large office, and Idunn saw that Ninian was properly dressed now, having traded her sleeping gown for a simple but elegant dress the same shade of cyan as her hair.
"Idunn? Is something the matter? I find myself wondering just what else would be so important that you would seek us out, considering the, *ahem* magnitude of the secrets you already shared with us," Eliwood stated, dropping the formalities now that the three of them were in private.
"Oh, it's nothing quite so dramatic… I don't believe anything I could tell either of you now could match up to what I shared with both of you earlier," Idunn wished that she wasn't outright lying to Eliwood and Ninian when she said that, but she doubted that either of the royal duo would react well if Idunn revealed that it had largely been her doing, unwilling as it may have been, that had caused mankind to nearly lose the war against the humans of antiquity.
"Then… what else have you come to share with us? I… I feel as if today has been a blessed dream… It's been so long since I've felt so… so healthy, so whole! I… I hope that I am not being greedy when I say that I hope you are coming to share more good news with us," Ninian said, smiling brightly at Idunn.
If anyone deserved to be greedy, it was Ninian. Someone who had suffered for so long, putting up with the pain and fear with no hope in sight, more than deserved the right to desire things for themselves!
"Yes, about that... I do believe that what I have to tell is good news. That being said… in addition to coming to share more good news with you both, I do need your help with something very important, Ninian."
"My help?" The marchioness's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Yes, there is… something that I need your opinion on." Idunn paused, not quite sure how to best ask the marchioness what was on her mind. In the end, it seemed that to be simple- albeit blunt- was the best course of action.
"I think I can create a new dragonstone for you, and should I be successful… it is likely that after some time to recover the quintessence that you lost during your years at Pherae, your recovery would be permanent."
Eliwood's surprise was visible, the lord's eyes widening and mouth opening slightly, but Ninian's surprise was far more noticeable.
"I-I… a new dragonstone? Is such a thing even possible?" Ninian breathed, having needed a moment to process Idunn's words before being able to make a proper response.
"Yes, such a thing is doable. And once my efforts succeed… I believe that you will no longer have to fear the, ah, toxicity of Elibe's air, as you put it." Not only that, but having a dragonstone would decisively solve the biggest threat to Ninian's health. Up till now, the marchioness's body and soul were unable to properly contain her own draconic life force. Like trying to store water in a bucket with a hole in the bottom, it didn't matter how much quintessence Idunn imbued Ninian with; the end result would always be that the poor woman's health would drain away as time went on.
That was why creating a new dragonstone was so important. The marchioness was still very weak from over a decade of living without her dragonstone, but with a new dragonstone to store what little remained of her life force, coupled with Idunn slowly, steadily aiding the other woman in replenishing what vitality had once been lost…
Ninian would have a genuine chance at making a recovery. And not a partial recovery, not a stopgap… but a full, complete recovery.
Ninian would truly be all better, as if her health had never declined in the first place! The road to recovery wouldn't be a short one, though. If all went well, it would likely be several months at least before she considered Ninian to be even close to the same level of vitality as a normal human. And from there… restoring Ninian to her full strength; a dragon whose vitality far outstripped that of the humans around her… it could be years before Ninian was back to her true strength.
But… the important thing now was that Ninian had the chance to recover at all! What had once been an impossible, unattainable dream to the cyan-haired woman was now very much an achievable goal!
Ninian's eyes began to water once again, one hand rising up to cover her mouth, while Eliwood gently supported his wife, drawing one arm around Ninian's shoulders protectively. The marchioness was able to get out a shaky reply, her emotional sniffles causing her words to waver.
"L-Lady Idunn… I don't know what to say… You're saving my life… I-I never once thought that… that there might come a time when I would be healthy again," The poor woman was barely able to get out a single sentence, spoken while dabbing at her moist eyes with a handkerchief.
Eliwood's response, while not tear-filled, nevertheless conveyed his heartfelt gratitude.
"Idunn… it's one thing to merely be able to give my family hope that my beloved Ninian would not meet such a cruel fate… but… to truly save her… I feel remiss in saying so, but… I fear that for the service you've done for Pherae; no, for the miracle you've bestowed upon my family… no treasure on all of Elibe would be great enough in value to reward you for your services!"
"P-please, I didn't heal Ninian because I wanted a reward! I-I just didn't want to see your family torn apart… to see Roy lose his mother so early in his life…" Idunn stuttered, feeling her cheeks heat up at the praise being heaped upon her.
"All the more reason that you deserve a lofty reward, Idunn! It's a rare day to meet someone as noble as you."
Idunn smiled at the marquesses words, though inwardly she felt a small twinge of guilt seep into her heart.
'I… I wonder if I would be so driven to save Roy's family were I not so burdened by the guilt over my misdeeds in the past…' Was she a liar? Was she so adamantly working to save Ninian because she was trying to put her own guilt to rest, rather than solely being driven because helping Roy's family was the right thing to do?
No! Idunn thrust those dark thoughts far aside. Even if she had been free of guilt, all it took was one thought, one image of the tiny, red-haired boy's happy, smiling face, to know that she would've repeated her actions in a heartbeat!
That was the decisive victory over the shadow of her own guilt, vanquishing her inner turmoil. Yes, she could say that doing this helped alleviate her own guilt- that wasn't a lie. And yes, Idunn was also finding that it felt good to use her powers to save lives rather than to end them… but there was another reason for why she was doing so much to help Ninian. The true reason for why she wanted to help Pherae's royal family was something pure and simple.
She just wanted to protect the smile Roy had given her when she'd first met him. To do her very best to make sure that the little boy who had offered her friendship, a home, and a life of peace and happiness never had a reason to cry.
Silence reigned in the office for another few moments, Ninian and Eliwood standing arm-in-arm with the marchioness affectionately resting her head on her husband's shoulder.
Having reached a lull in their conversation, Idunn felt that this was as good a place as any to address the specifics of why she'd come to Ninian.
"As I said earlier, I believe that I can create a new dragonstone for you. However, in my experiments earlier, I seem to be having trouble creating a dragonstone that lasts for more than a few minutes. All my attempts so far have ended in the stones crumbling to dust shortly after being created from my quintessence."
"I… see… That's quite problematic." Ninian spoke slowly, no doubt still trying to wrap her head around the very notion of someone just being able to make a new dragonstone.
"It is, but I believe that there are options to take to resolve this issue. I… need your quintessence. Yours or Roy's."
"Our quintessence? W-what?" Eliwood's eyes widened, and both he and Ninian shared a look with each other as something passed between the two of them.
"Y-yes, your quintessence. I don't think I need to borrow much, but… as I am quite inexperienced at creating dragonstones, I believe I will need a way to, well, link the stone to you. That way when it is created it will be your dragonstone, and not just some empty husk." Well, 'inexperienced' was a rather roundabout way of saying that she had only just started trying this today. But she didn't want to admit that to Eliwood and Ninian, not when she was trying to give them confidence that her efforts would succeed without a single hitch.
"I-I see… but why would you need Roy's quintessence?"
Hmm? Why was Ninian asking such a question? Surely it was obvious to her.
"Roy shares your blood, which means that in your place his quintessence might suffice for creating a dragonstone that is attuned to your soul. I'm still rather new to this, but I believe that borrowing a portion of your or Roy's quintessence is the only way that I can do that. Perhaps in the future when I am more skilled with my own powers, I will not need outside aid to complete such a process, but for now… this is the best I can manage."
Eliwood had an oddly pensive look on his face, while his wife looked strangely concerned. Idunn felt self-conscious all of a sudden. Oh dear, had she said something that she shouldn't have?
"What… what do you mean, you can use Roy's quintessence in place of mine? I… I didn't think that my, er, my family's heritage would've had a very strong presence at this point. Though I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised that you were able to sense the dragon blood flowing through my son's veins considering how easily you learned my true status. I… I find myself wondering if I would have been able to sense who you were when you first arrived at Pherae had I been healthier… and…"
The marchioness whispered something, a tiny voice on the breeze so soft Idunn couldn't even fully make out the words being said. The marchioness didn't speak any further, and it sounded like she hadn't intended for Idunn to hear her anyways, so Idunn focused on what she had heard.
"It's true that the draconic blood flowing through Roy is weaker than yours, Lady Ninian, but I can sense it in him just like I can sense it in you. Though I fear that because of that, I may need to use more of his quintessence than I would with yours."
"That won't happen," the marchioness stated abruptly, in an unusually sharp voice. Even though she'd only known her for a few weeks (and spoken to her in person only a few times during that,) Idunn got the impression that the marchioness was the kind of woman who rarely, if ever, raised her voice.
She didn't need to. The marchioness's words held an absolutely glacial chill to them, a stern command that Idunn would not have thought the smaller woman capable of… up till now.
"Then in that case, that leaves using your quintessence. Worry not, Lady Ninian, Lady Eliwood. I… I do not believe that borrowing the marchioness's quintessence will be harmful to her. Now that I think about it, this is less me borrowing so much as I'm linking my own quintessence with hers while forming the dragonstone.
"That… that makes sense, I suppose. And… I apologize for speaking so sharply, Idunn. I… I have had bad experiences with someone capable of manipulating quintessence, and… even for the briefest moment, my mind was drawn to the horrible image of Roy in a similar position."
"Well, with that, ah, misunderstanding cleared up, is there anything you need before you perform the, ah, the ritual?" Eliwood asked, looking up at Idunn.
"Oh, there's no ritual. I don't know what you were expecting, but I don't have a need for any sort of equipment or preparations. All I need is to link arms or make physical contact with Ninian in some other way, and I'll be ready to create the dragonstone for your wife."
"Oh? T-that's quite a bit simpler than I was expecting… I admit, when you said you were going to create a dragonstone for my wife, I was imagining a lengthy ceremony in a temple, or something similar."
"N-no, nothing like that! I most certainly don't need any sort of ceremony to accomplish this." Idunn stuttered, feeling rather relieved that she didn't in fact need to do anything so complex.
There was no need to wait any long, or speak further, it seemed. It was time to complete the goal she'd worked towards since arriving at Pherae.
"Then… o-oh!" Ninian started saying something, before her words cut off into a surprised squeak as Idunn grabbed the much smaller woman's hand.
"Are you ready, Ninian? This… I do not believe this will be painful, but please let me know right away if you start feeling unwell."
"A-alright, I will. And I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be. A part of me is still having trouble believing all this is happening… it hasn't even been a day, and you've already completely turned my life around!" Turning to look at her husband, who was staring at the draconic duo in rapt attention, Ninian drew in a deep breath before looking up into Idunn's eyes.
"I… I am ready, Lady Idunn. Please do whatever you need to do."
That was all she needed to hear. The disguised demon dragon only hoped that this wouldn't be painful… and that the quintessence transfusion she'd given Ninian earlier would prevent the poor woman's health from suffering as Idunn drew on it to supplement her own powers.
Idunn stretched out the hand not holding Ninian's, closing her eyes and focusing. She could see it in her mind's eye; a beautiful, shining gem. Something lustrous and radiant, as pure and beautiful as the marchioness's own soul.
She could feel Ninian's own presence next to her, a flickering candle next to the roaring bonfire that was her own quintessence. And yet, that little candle remained resolute, refusing to dwindle or diminish in even the slightest. As gently as she could, Idunn reached out with her magic and tugged on Ninian's presence.
"Oh!" Idunn heard her fellow dragonkin shift slightly, a startled noise escaping her lips as she felt Idunn's energy entwining with her own.
Taking great care not to allow more than a trickle of the other woman's quintessence to mix with her own- she didn't want to drain the poor woman, after all- Idunn focused as hard as she could on the mental image she'd formed of what Ninian's new dragonstone should look like.
Even though the windows were shut, a strange, warm breeze blew through the room, ruffling the fabric of her dress, rustling her long, lavender hair, before Idunn felt a sudden weight in her unoccupied hand.
A shocked gasp cut through the silence, prompting Idunn to open her eyes. When she saw the object in her hand that had prompted Ninian to exclaim in surprise, Idunn felt her own mouth falling open.
It was even more beautiful than she'd imagined it. There in the palm of her hand was a sparkling gemstone of pale blue, only a shade or two darker than the marchioness's cyan hair. It was flawless- there wasn't a single imperfection like with the frail, brittle stones she'd created earlier in her room. Idunn could sense it as surely as the sun rose each morning.
She'd done it.
She'd created a new dragonstone for Ninian.
Ninian sagged and then swayed on the spot before falling forward into Idunn's arms. Idunn caught the smaller woman instinctively, and Eliwood rushed forwards.
"Ninian?! Are you-"
"I-I'm fine, Eliwood… just… just a little tired." Ninian murmured sleepily. Idunn did her best to shift the woman in her arms so that she was no longer standing with Idunn's chin hovering over her head.
"Ah… there's no need for worried looks, Eliwood, Lady Idunn. Tired though I may feel, I… feel as if a great weight has been lifted off my body. As if… as if I was submerged underwater up till now, and the pressure on my chest has finally lifted. I feel… I feel like I can truly breathe again!"
"Ninian… I-I…" There were tears in Eliwood's eyes as Idunn gently passed the tired woman to her husband, and he gratefully accepted her with open arms. Idunn handed the cyan-haired woman the newly-created dragonstone, which the drowsy woman gratefully accepted.
"Eliwood, would you take me back to our bedroom? I think… I think I'd like to sleep for a while…" Ninian murmured as Eliwood scooped up the woman, holding her in his arms.
"Of course, my dear, if that's what you'd like." Eliwood headed for the door, Ninian in his arms, before turning back to look at Idunn.
"Lady Idunn… I…"
"You don't need to say anything, Lord Eliwood. Just put Ninian in bed, she should be more energetic after some rest." The marquess nodded, eyes misty, before departing.
Ninian would be fine. For the first time in a long time… Ninian's health was no longer in danger.
Idunn had truly, completely saved her fellow dragonkin. It wasn't something that was easily seeable to a human like Eliwood, but Idunn could clearly feel the link between Ninian and her new dragonstone. Like the second heart it was, it filled the marchioness with a vitality that up till now had been long gone. Finally, with the quintessence transfusions from Idunn, and the dragonstone to store her recovering power in… Ninian's health would improve as time passed, rather than continuing to decline as it had been. Ninian's life force had practically burnt away to its last embers, but with Idunn's aid the marchioness's death had been averted. Those embers, with her care, would once again be stoked into a crackling fire.
Idunn slumped back into a chair, sighing heavily. Ninian had mentioned feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her chest, and while Idunn couldn't compare to that feeling physically, she felt nonetheless as if a great burden had been lifted from her.
Of course, that didn't mean she could rest on her laurels so soon. While Ninian was no longer at risk of dying, that didn't mean her health would recover overnight. It had taken over a decade to bring the marchioness to this point, and even with Idunn's aid it would likely be several weeks before Ninian's quintessence matched that of her own son, who was a small child. Roy was in perfect health, but one couldn't compare the quintessence of a small child to that of a healthy adult.
Beyond that, it would likely be months, if not years before Ninian was anywhere close to her husband's level of vitality.
But… Idunn allowed the satisfaction of a job well done, a life saved to seep into her.
Ninian had those years now. Fate had been changed. Roy would grow up without having to suffer the heartbreak of his mother dying so early in his life!
This is my longest chapter yet, and there are also a lot of notes/things on my mind. I'll try to summarize them so that these notes don't turn into a chapter on their own.
First off...
I was very close to making the title of this chapter 'Sacred Stones' but decided against it at the last minute. It just felt a little too 'on the nose.'
The whole dragonstone issue is a weird one. The GBA games treated them as special, irreplaceable items that you only got one of for the whole game (in Fae and Myrrh's cases) but in other games like New Mystery of the Emblem, dragonstones are kind of interchangeable. It probably varies from person to person, but I prefer the idea that dragonstones are super special, 'reflection of the soul' artifacts that are nigh-impossible to replace.
Also, seeing as there's no in-game explanation for HOW Idunn creates war dragons, I went with my own approach. Yes, it really is that simple for her to create war dragons.
If anyone caught it during the chapter, yes, that was me name-dropping who/what I'm going with for the leader of the ancient dragonkin. Not sure if Tiamat's always been depicted as a dragon, but it happens enough in media for me to choose her name. She's been dead for 1000 years, and as such won't be referenced too often, but the topic of her will probably come up again in the future.
I WAS going to use Fafnir instead as the name for the leader of the ancient dragons, but then I looked it up and it turns out that FEH already has a character named Fafnir in Fire Emblem, so... eh. I don't want to reuse a name already used by a 'canon' character, even if they're only an FEH character.
'Tiamat' is also amusingly Titania's Japanese name, but that's not what she's localized as so I'm comfortable using the name here.
As to why Idunn knows the name? It's not super important, but I assume that the leader of the dragons would've told Idunn who they were. Or barring that, she overheard it from Jahn.
I hope the bit about Idunn reflecting on her motivation wasn't confusing. The point I was trying to make was that to Idunn, all three topics mentioned (her guilt, her desire to do good for its own sake, and her desire to make Roy happy) are play their own part in motivating her, rather than any one of them being her sole motivator.
I'm not sure if anyone was expecting the whole 'how Idunn creates a dragonstone' issue to be resolved so quickly, but frankly if she can create war dragons that have their own dragons I saw know reason for why she couldn't also just create dragonstones.
Also, for anyone wondering, Ninian IS very confused/questioning about what kind of dragon Idunn is. There just wasn't a good place to bring such a topic up in the chapter. Expect that particular conversation(s) to come up in the future. It will happen eventually.
Also... are Elibe's dragons naturally color-coded? Jahn is a fire dragon, has red hair, and wears red clothes. Ninian is an ice dragon, has cyan hair, and wore (in FE7) pale blue clothes. Not as sure about Fae and Idunn, but Idunn is a black/purple demon dragon and in-game wears a dark purple robe.
The thing that took the most time to edit in this chapter was me removing about 800 words revolving around Idunn thinking over the idea of avoiding Ninian and Eliwood and going to Roy to try and use his quintessence instead of Ninian's. This idea was scrapped because A) it was a dumb idea that would've caused needless strife/friction between Idunn and Ninian, and B) the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there was literally no reason for Idunn to avoid talking about the issue to Ninian.
Ninian's dragonstone basically looks like Fae's but is a lighter shade of blue.
And lastly, regarding Ninian's health.
She's back to being a level 1 NPC, the kind who would be a helpless green unit that you'd have to escort/protect in a fog of war map. But hey, that's better than being dead/dying.
Give her a few weeks and she'll be a regular level 1 dancer again! And she'll only get better from there!