Oh Boy! The Consequences of My Actions!
I am unsure of the consequences that I have brought to Ylisse
By going back in time, you have forever changed the flow of the river of time
But in this case, we can direct that change to make the world better
Do not try to make time stick to its original course, that only makes our jobs harder
Change is good, of course, but be careful
For even the best navigator is unaware of the currents swirling beneath their ship's hull
Be careful, Lucina
Your life is worth more than anything
Promise me you won't do anything rash
Please.
"Yeuch! The bugs are out! I hear them flying at me!" Lissa yelps as the air becomes cool from the sun slowly departing the evening sky. "They're coming to bite me and—Ack! I fink wen get in mi mueth! Ptwoo! Ptwoo!"
I must say, the nipping of no-see-ums and the constant whining and buzzing of mosquitoes and other bugs are both nostalgic and slightly unsettling at the same time. On the one hand, it's comforting to know that anywhere you go, insects and other small invertebrates will always be annoying little assholes. On the other hand, it's slightly disheartening to know that insects will always be annoying little assholes wherever you go.
One of the many reasons I absolutely hate camping. Bugs. Eugh. I refuse to camp in a place that has any form of sanguivorous invertebrate. Actually, scratch that, I refuse to camp anywhere with any form of Arthroplura. Even in cold climates that kill off most forms of insect life, there will always be that one wasp that manages to find you and sting you, because wasps are fucking bitches.
I swear to the gods, if I ever see a wasp in my house, I will burn the entire house to the ground. I even got a quick way to do it now.
"Come on, Lissa," Chrom chuckles. "Hardship helps build character. But you're right, the night is coming, and it's coming quite quickly. It'll be for the best if we find somewhere to sleep."
"We should also probably build a fire," I put in. "I'm not sure about you guys, but I prefer my dinner cooked and not raw."
"Yeah, and we should probably also get some food. I'm starving," Robin nods her head. A thin trail of drool traces her jaw, starting at the corner of her mouth and flowing to her chin.
You know, I made fun of Chrom for thinking that Female Robin was a dude, but now that I'm seeing her…I kinda see where he's coming from. Hell, if you look at her from any angle that isn't straight on, you wouldn't be able to tell that she was a she. Even from the front, it's quite difficult to tell. And she certainly doesn't help that by acting tomboyish.
Now, I certainly won't be going around acting as if Robin is a dude. That's just insensitive. Also, I'm kinda scared of her. Smart people are already scary enough, and being an outspoken one makes it even more frightening.
"That's…also true," Chrom nods his head. "Hey Lissa, you want to help me gather some firewood?"
"Tuu! Petuu! Eaugh! …I think I swallowed it…" The Princess in question mutters. "And I'll pass on the firewood, thanks! I've built enough character for one day!"
"I'll go with you, Chrom. Also, we don't need any kindling, just something that will keep a fire going will be enough," I smile slightly at the pouting princess.
"Don't tell me you're going to use your…metal thing—" Frederick starts, before being interrupted by Lissa.
"His name is Randy!"
"—I mean, you're not going to use Randy to set things on fire, right?" Frederick finishes with the ad-hoc correction.
I'm honestly quite surprised how quickly the others latched on to a name that I gave the rapscallion. Ok, I'm not too surprised about Lissa, but Robin as well. Aren't you like, twenty years old? I guess she really is a girl at heart, huh…
Anyhow, Lissa started to refer to my little Robo-buddy as 'Randy' basically right after I called him 'Randy Random', and Robin followed suit right after. I said as a joke, guys…
But I must say, Randy is a good name. It is very screamable, and considering he might fuck me over at any time if he feels like it, that's a good trait to have. At the very least, it'll make cursing easier for me. Imagine if I'd named it 'Anastasia' or something similar. Brrr…
"Of course not," I reply. "That's an easy way to set a forest fire. I have a spell that can burn a much smaller area. It'll also save us time collecting kindling."
Terentius has a memory of someone trying to set a campfire with a canister of Greek Fire.
…I dislike that sentence. I don't think this needs to be said, but it did not end well. I don't want to repeat that specific mistake but with napalm instead.
"That…would be helpful. Then, I shall go find something to eat. Terence, you go with Milord to acquire some firewood we will be able to use. Robin and Milady, please find us a ground to be able to make camp for tonight," Frederick commands.
And with that, we split up once again.
"Hey, Terence?" Chrom suddenly speaks up while we're out in the forest, gathering firewood.
"Y—urk—Yeah?" I respond with a grunt as I try to pick up what appears to be a rather light piece of dry wood, only to find it lodged under a rock.
"We…uh…didn't get to speak much earlier…so is now a good time?" He looks kind of nervous.
I wonder why…
"I mean, we're out here alone, off doing our own thing while the others have their tasks to complete," I huff as I finally get the stubborn piece of wood out from under the rock, only to find the log very much moist.
I roll my eyes in annoyance and toss the log to the ground.
"If there's a time to talk about something in private, now's the time. I literally can't think of a better time to do so. Plus, I'm getting really bored just picking up logs and shoving them in a pouch," I sigh as I pat my palms off the dirt and dust that log got on my hands. Inconsiderate piece of wood.
Speaking of pouches, I realised I have four bags of holding. Yeah, four. The backpack is one, and the three pouches on the exterior are also bags of holding. Yes, I am lugging around a literal ton of stuff. At least it's being stored on the astral plane, and only actually weighs sixty pounds. Or about twenty-seven and a fifth kilogram for all of us who aren't weird Americans.
Perhaps the worst part is that all of the bags already have stuff in them. Stuff that I don't remember putting in them! I've already pulled multiple articles of clothing, a few books, and even a full-on canister of hydrogen peroxide while looking for my waterskin.
And yes, I know it was attached to the side of my backpack and not inside the damn thing. I realise that now. You don't have to keep pointing that out to me.
"Yeah…that's fair," Chrom nods his head while he calmly extracts another log from somewhere and shoves it into one of the pouches. I hear a scraping sound, but I ignore it. Whatever it is, it hasn't exploded yet, so it's unimportant.
"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" I ask with some confusion.
"I just…well, I guess I wanted to thank you,"
"Didn't you already do that?" I blink at him. "You thanked me when we departed from Southtown, remember?"
"Well, I did…but I don't think I said enough," Chrom sighs.
I stare at him while I pick up another log. And then drop it. Because it's wet. I swear, if another log turns out to be wet after I pick it up despite being very much dry when I first see it, I'm just going to cast a fire bolt on it and let it dry out that way. Wait a minute! I have the All-Purpose Tool! I can just cast Prestidigitation to dry the wood out!
"I mean, we woke you up, accused you of being a spy, then practically dragged you to Southtown, and there you fought valiantly against the bandits, even taking an axe to the shoulder for my sister. And even still, you didn't complain, you didn't lash out, and you didn't say anything," Chrom continues as I pull out my All-Purpose Tool.
The Wondrous Item whirls to life, and it turns from a screwdriver to something more akin to a Harry Potter wand. A quick tap on the log in my hand and it becomes as dry as the sands of the Sahara.
"Well, isn't that what any reasonable person would do? I saw a tragedy happen, and I tried to stop it. Wouldn't anyone try to do that? Lives are still lives, after all. I can't just ignore those who are in danger," I shrug as I put the now-dry log in a pouch. "Plus, I'm not from Ylisse. What am I going to do, just leave? With no connections, no knowledge of the place before me, and no way to contact home? I prefer doing things by myself, but that idea just seems dumb."
"You know, I think just leaving would be a reasonable reaction to many people," Chrom chuckles slightly. "Cool tool, by the way. Where'd you get it?"
"I made it. I'm an artificer and an engineer. This is what I used to do for a living," I shrug. Or rather, I think it's Terentius who did it instead. I was going to say I had no idea where I got it, but I guess this body knows more about the stuff strapped to its back than I do.
"You made it?" Chrom's eyeballs seem to be in danger of popping out of his head. "I take back what I was going to say! You definitely would have made it alone!"
"What do you mean?"
"I've never seen anyone who could do that before!" Chrom seems…excited, almost? "I was going to say that you had a reason to join us because there was a chance that you wouldn't be able to find a job, but if you can make that…"
"Well, if you say so," I shrug. "I don't know too much about the working climate here, though. Still, there's nothing for you to thank me for."
"No, there still is," Chrom frowns. "You saved my sister's life. You took an axe to the head for her."
"I'm sure you, Robin, and Frederick would have handled it just fine," I shrug.
"I…wouldn't be so sure. Frederick didn't come back until much later, and neither I nor Robin can deal with mages as well as you can," Chrom shakes his head.
"Really? You, I understand, but even Robin?" I blink in surprise. Did this Robin choose their flaw to be Resistance? If so…well, I hope Resistance scales with Constitution, because I might have to fill the role of an anti-mage unit until we get someone with good Res growths.
"Yeah…you weren't there because you had taken an axe to the shoulder, but there was still a mage you hadn't burned to death yet. He hit Robin with a thunder spell, and it nearly knocked her out. From what I hear, you took an Elthunder to the face and basically got a light headache. We really couldn't have done it without you," Chrom explains.
"That was an Elthunder?" My voice cracks a little out of sheer shock. I did not know that I took that high might of a spell to the face and didn't even flinch.
"Well, you burned that man further than Grima's domain so we weren't sure what exactly he threw at you, but Robin reckons from what Lissa told us that it was an Elthunder," Chrom grunts as he lifts another log and puts it into my bag. "So yeah, don't think too poorly of yourself. We would have been massacred without you being present."
I stay silent as I mull over Chrom's words.
"Hey…I know this might sound a bit premature, but…would you like to work for the shepherds?" Chrom asks out of nowhere. "You mentioned that you had no connections and didn't have a job here in Ylisse, so, if you want to, you could come to work with us."
I blink in surprise. I did not expect that offer to drop so soon. Then again, I'm pretty sure Robin's going to get her offer soon as well.
"Chrom, are you seriously recruiting right now? And trying to get someone you've just met?" I roll my eyes a little. Hey, I can't help myself! It's so easy to poke at Chrom!
"I mean—"
"Don't worry about it. It makes sense to want to acquire talented personnel as soon as possible," I chuckle and slap him on the shoulder. "Are you sure about me, though? I might not be expensive, but to get the most out of me, it takes quite a bit of coin to make magical items, you know?"
"Definitely," Chrom nods his head. "People like you don't come around often, and if you'd join, I'd be extremely grateful."
"I mean, I don't have anything else to do…I don't even know where the hell I am. The only reason I know what Ylisse even is is because of a vision of Frederick being paranoid," I smile at him. "Sure, I'll join the Shepherds."
Chrom beams at first but then winces.
"Speaking of Frederick…I'm sorry about him. He's overprotective to a fault. I've been trying to get him to stop, but it hasn't been working. Know that not everyone in the Shepherds is as unwelcoming as he," Chrom says with a hint of steel in his voice.
"Hmmm? I don't mind too much," I shrug. "If I was in the same situation as he was I'd probably do the same thing. Considering, you know…"
I gesture towards Chrom's right shoulder where Naga's brand is still visible in the dimming twilight.
"Wait…how do you—"
"The Exalt has that symbol on her forehead. I saw a vision of her walking around a large city and someone called her 'Exalt Emmeryn'. I just…kinda assumed?" I panic.
Fuck fuck fuck not again—
"Oh, that makes sense," Chrom nods to himself.
"So, you do work for the Exalt?"
"Er—something like that," Chrom chuckles slightly.
Yes! Nice save Terence! Suspicion successfully deflected!
"It's getting pretty dark. I think we should start heading back now. Not much sunlight left to navigate, and I don't have any spells prepared to help with that," I suggest after looking up at the sky.
"Yeah," Chrom agrees. "We have plenty of firewood, and I don't know about you but I'm starving! Hopefully, Frederick's caught something good today."
"Come on, Lissa," Chrom sighs between bites of his food. "It's just bear meat. It's just like any other type of meat."
We're currently sitting around the campfire (which was made in record time thanks to yours truly) enjoying our meal. Or rather, Chrom and Robin are. I'm over here trying to sort through my stuff and try to find that Alchemist's Jug that I know for a fact is in one of these goddamn bags of holding! I just want Soy Sauce damn it! Fredrick and Lissa, as per usual, don't like bear meat.
Wonder why Frederick bagged us a bear even if he can't eat it.
"Yeah, but meat isn't supposed to smell like old boots!" Lissa cries out indignantly. "Actually, I take that back, old boots smell better than this!"
While this argument is happening, I manage to figure out patterns for my stuff! I like patterns, they help me sort this confusing world into neat little boxes that I can actually understand.
The main backpack has survival necessities like extra clothing, food and water creating magical items, heaters, coolers, raincoats, extra shoes, boots, a set of Brigandine armour that looks really nice, and stuff like that. Two of the smaller pouches contain books and only books. I've pulled out a treatise on the mating practices of horses, an orthopaedic diagnostic guide, and a light novel. Of course, I have no idea if they're completely full of books, but considering the magic in the two bags is already starting to fray at the edges, I'm sure there's like 800 pounds of stuff in these two bags and I don't want to dump that much stuff into the ground for simple curiosity. Not yet, at least. The other pouch is engineering tools and materials. This is the one that's the most dangerous since it has hypergolic fluids in containers right next to each other. Yay! It also has books in it but isn't entirely books.
As Lissa is complaining to Chrom, I pull out one of the four alchemy jugs. Why do I have four? I dunno. I have all three colours of alchemy jugs along with this fourth one. Unlike the others, it's less of a jug and more of a round ceramic sphere with seven cylinders with stoppers sticking out of it.
Thankfully, the stoppers have labels on them so I know what's going on.
Oh! Garūm! Wait, is this alchemist's jug just condiments? Wow…
…but you don't see me complaining!
Popping open the stopper with the spout that says 'Garūm' on it, I pour some of the fermented fish sauce that we Romans love out into a small little saucer that I take from a flatware kit. Actual silver, I think. The plates are really heavy.
"Right, Robin? We're messing with the food chain by doing this!" My mind manages to return to the conversation just in time for Lissa to turn to the white-haired tactician, only for the person in question to slowly and reluctantly look up from a particularly juicy bear rib.
"Hmmm? Mmmm… Hmhmmm…" Robin doesn't even bother responding in words, but only through muffled grunts and murmurs as she absolutely devours that rib. Damn, I don't even think I could eat that fast!
"Gods…I guess someone would enjoy just about anything if they haven't eaten for days…" Lissa sighs. "What about you, Terence? You haven't touched your portion—what is that?"
"Hmmm? This?" I gesture to the tiny saucer of Garūm.
"Yeah, that! And why do you have an entire dining set with you?" Lissa nods her head.
"Well, this is Garūm, a type of fish sauce that we Romans like to use as a condiment. And, yes, I bring silver and flatware everywhere I go. I have a backpack that can store as much stuff as I want it to, and I refuse to eat off of my lap," I roll my eyes.
"Fish…sauce? How do you turn a fish into a sauce?" Lissa blinks at me in confusion.
"Oh, you ferment it," I shrug as I dip some bear into the Garūm and put it in my mouth. Oh, that's good. Not sure if it's coming from the Garūm or the bear, but man that tastes good. I have no idea what Lissa's talking about with the bear. Sure, it's a bit gamey, but I've had Gator (don't ask) and that wasn't too bad. It tasted like gamey chicken. Meanwhile, this tastes like deer but, well, gamier.
Then again, anything with Garūm is bound to taste good, so…
"Wait, you're eating rotten fish?"
"Well, it's rotten in the same way that cheese is spoilt milk and wine is the juice of bad grapes," I roll my eyes. "Rotting isn't the same as fermentation. It's similar, but not the same."
I take another bite of the bear. Oh, gods, that's good.
"Ugh…you're just making this worse…" Lissa humphs.
"Come on, just eat it, Lissa," Chrom sighs. "Meat is meat. Plus, we don't have anything else to eat."
"I concur with Milord," Frederick nods sagely. "Every experience makes us stronger, Milady. Even the ones we don't enjoy."
"Really? Then why don't I see YOU eating, Frederick?" Lissa huffs.
"Er—I had…I had a big lunch! Yeah! That's it, I had a large lunch, and I'm not hungry!" Frederick nods to himself.
While this very humorous conversation is going on, I am enjoying my plate of bear meat. Seriously, It's good. I'm not saying you should go out and hunt bears to eat them, there are much better meats out there. But compared to hardtack? Oh man, you bet my ass that I'll be taking bear meat any day of the week.
"Hey, Terence?" I blink at Lissa when she breaks me out of my trance-like state. Hey! The bear is just that good!
"Hmmm?" I swallow the chunk of bear meat in my mouth before responding. "What do you need, Lissa?"
"Well, you were talking about always being prepared…do you have…anything to eat in that massive backpack of yours?" Lissa looks at me with pleading eyes. Huh…she must really be hungry to be asking me for food.
Well, I know I have around about a month's worth of rations in my backpack…
Don't ask why. Just don't.
"I do, but you might not like what's in there…" I sigh. I'm pretty sure it's Buccellatum, Laridum, and Posca. Laridum is pork fat with oil, Buccellatum is dry hardtack, and Posca is sour wine or vinegar mixed with water, salt, and herbs. Considering that Lissa won't even eat bear meat, I don't think she'll be able to handle such foods.
There are also some pastries…somewhere in my bag. No idea where they've gone, but since I've found Laridum and Posca, I'm going to give Laridum and Posca.
"Well, it can't be worse than what we're eating right now, right?" Lissa huffs.
"Lissa! We can't be asking Terence for food!" Chrom admonishes his sister.
"Don't worry about that. I don't think she can even eat what I have," I chuckle. "Lissa, I have a month's worth of dry bread, pig fat, and vinegar. If you can eat that, I would gladly give you half a day's ration."
That shuts her up very quickly.
"Why do you even have pig fat…?" Chrom mutters to himself. I don't think He meant for me to hear his mumblings, but I do.
"Oh, it's high in energy and doesn't spoil very easily. Again, this is supposed to be emergency food. It's been there for half a year, I think," I shrug. I've also canned it to prevent spoilage. Hmmm…if it's in the astral plane, can it even spoil? I'll have to do some experiments later.
Lissa gags a little. I think she's starting to regret asking me for food.
"Maniacs! MANIACS, I say!" Lissa announces. "Why can't we have any NORMAL food?"
This causes Chrom and I to laugh. Even Robin joins in, but she quickly goes back to polishing up her food.
"You don't want any, Frederick?" I glance at the Great Knight.
"I do not need your food, Terence," He's still a bit suspicious of me, I think.
"Alright. Don't blame me if your stomach has a hole in it tomorrow morning," I shrug.
Chrom, Robin, and I enjoy our meal while the five of us make conversation. It's…peaceful, a calm before the storm that would come later…
"Why does she get a tent!"
"Because I asked?"
"Well, I also asked, but I didn't get one! And you! Why do you only have one spare tent?"
"Technically, you didn't ask for it. You just walked up and claimed it for yourself,"
"Ugh! That's because Terence needs to share! Sharing is caring, right?"
"Yes, but I asked and you didn't so Terence is sharing with me!"
"But that's unfair! I'm younger than you!"
"So you agree that you're a child, right?"
"I—ugh! You MEANIE!"
I swear to the gods, they're like children. CHILDREN!
Alright, maybe some context would be helpful for you guys.
Inside my oversized backpack (I still don't know how I manage to carry the damn thing around without falling over. I guess that 16 strength really went into my legs and back, huh…) are a pair of tents.
These tents are, of course, magical, wondrous, even, items. They will make the best tent for the climate that you are in. For example, should we be camping in a place with frequent rains, the tent will be waterproof. It makes camping so much better, as now you don't have to worry about the elements coming in and soiling your experience. Still doesn't make camping a leisurely activity in any sense of the word. At least the bugs are retreating away after I sprayed some repellant.
The only issue is that the tents are for one person only, and are actually made to be as small as possible while still being comfortable in order to be able to be placed in awkward places. A cave on a side of a mountain, for example.
Aw great, I'm getting Terentius's memories of crossing the Alps as flashbacks now. Seriously? Right now?
Thankfully, the moment passes and we return to the argument that is currently ongoing and pounding a spike into my tired brain. See, when Lissa learned that I had an extra tent, she went and tried to get it for herself. Chrom, obviously, stopped her from doing so. That left the spare tent open, and when Robin asked to use it, I said yes. Seeing this, Lissa threw a fit.
And yeah, that basically catches you up to the argument that's happening right now. I've opted to stay out of it, and Lissa has been constantly trying to drag me back into it.
"He has a tent because he brought one. And he didn't just bring a tent, either," Chrom sighs, gesturing to the massive pile of stuff that I've placed on the ground. "We could have very easily bought a tent on the way here."
"Yeah, but then I'd have to carry it!" Lissa whines.
"Terence carried his tent and all of the stuff in his backpack! You didn't want to carry a tent, you don't get to use a tent!" Chrom insists. He's really putting his foot down right now.
"Then why does Robin get to have a tent?" Lissa points at the white-haired tactician in question, who is currently trying to figure out how the magical tent works with…less than ideal results.
I groan as Robin tries pulling on the side of the small canvas cube with no response. There's a small tab on the top you're supposed to—oh, gods' sake…
Convinced that she's going to hurt herself, or at the very least burn through what little sanity I have left after listening to the argument between Lissa and her for the past fifteen minutes, I walk over to where Robin's sitting in order to aid her with deploying the tent.
"Firstly, she asked instead of announcing that she would be taking the tent," Chrom facepalms. "Secondly, she literally couldn't have gotten a tent even if she wanted to. She has amnesia, remember?"
Lissa doesn't take this well and goes on another rant that I manage to tune out.
"Robin?" I take a seat next to Robin on the ground.
"This little—Oh, Terence…" Robin jumps a little after she realises that I've sat down next to her. "I can't…seem to…argh! Why'd you make it so hard to open!"
Robin throws the small canvas cube on the ground in frustration. I wince slightly as I can feel the magic pulse in anger at being treated so roughly.
"Firstly, don't try to open it on your lap," I sigh, walking over to pick up the magical tent. The moment my skin touches the shimmering canvas cube, I feel a small jolt of recognition from the magical item as if it knows me, and the runes and spell matrixes bound within the object stop flaring up in anger and calm down to a more steady pulse.
I swear, magical items are conscious or at the very least they have a similar ability to think when compared to some animals like birds or reptiles. Would also explain why Falchion is so picky, but I haven't had a chance to touch it yet, so I'm not sure if it's even a magical item.
"If you do that when it opens it'll open in your palms, and you'll most likely find yourself lying face up on the ground with a tent on your chest," I continue, placing the magical tent upright on the ground. "Secondly, there's a small tab here. The canvas is a part of the tent; you're not supposed to cut through it. Not that you can, as your bronze sword can attest to."
Magical items are resistant to scratches and other such damage. The enchantments in the material prevent degradation and prefer to have the object that it's imbued within stay the same, which is why it makes things such as weapons so durable.
Robin nods her head as I grab the small tab at the top of the cube.
"You're supposed to do—this!" I pull the tab and move back a couple of metres as quickly as possible. With a loud 'pop' that frightens Lissa enough for her to scream a little, a crimson tent springs into existence. There's even a 'ROMA' on the door flap and a 'LEGIO VI' on the back. Nice!
I honestly think I prefer this one better.
My main tent is purple and has a Khi-Rho on it. If you wanted to represent the empire, why didn't you put 'SPQR' on it instead? Would have made more sense than the Khi-Rho, which was Constantine's symbol for Christian Rome, at which point it was already a crumbling mess. I know, it was in use way before Constantine co-oped for Christianity, but still! SPQR is objectively cooler than the Khi-Rho.
"And there we are! One tent for one person!" I grin at Robin while gesturing towards the crimson tent.
"Thanks…I had no idea how to open the tent…" Robin nods in thanks. "Now, if you don't mind…I think I'll go sleep. Today was…really tiring, and I want some shuteye before we have to march…yawn…tomorrow. G'night…"
I give Robin a thumbs up, to which she smiles slightly, and Robin enters the tent. I count three seconds before I hear a 'thump' coming from within the tent.
Wow, I didn't know she was that tired. She probably fell face-first into the tent and just started to nap away. I suppose exerting yourself this much would do that to anyone.
"Hey Frederick, I'm going to tuck myself in as well," I yawn to the Great Knight. The brown-haired man nods before returning to watching over the two Ylissean Royals bickering over tents.
It's certainly not helping this migraine that's started to form in the back of my head. Aurgh, that smarts. I really hope this isn't some backlash from that Elthunder spell from earlier. That would really suck.
Opening the flap of my tent, I see my absolutely massive backpack tucked neatly into a corner. Rolling my eyes, I search for something to help with the migraine. It's getting quite bad. I'm starting to see spots in my vision, and I doubt that's a good thing. Usually, spots in your vision mean bad things, and I'm not sure what at the current moment.
Look, you try diagnosing a person while it feels like Hercules himself is driving a red-hot iron stake into the back of your skull. It's not very easy.
It's also hard to see your entire body from the perspective of your two eyes. For example, I can't see my face, so if I'm extremely pale right now, that's not something I can pick up.
This is most definitely the first time that this has happened, and Terentius can back me up on this. Can't find a single instance of this happening in the past. Ok, I can, but the cause of that is quite apparent. A retinal migraine after getting smacked in the face with a ballista bolt is the least of your worries.
"Son of a bitch," I groan as I ruffle through multiple kits, each with a different name and use. None of them has any migraine medication, so I sit in front of my massive bag with a frown on my face and an ever-increasing headache in my mind.
…
How the hell are Chrom and Lissa still arguing? It's been like fifteen minutes!
Grumbling some choice words from under my breath, I walk outside again.
"Chrom! Lissa! Would you please shut up!" I yell as loudly as I possibly can, the headache-causing each syllable to reverberate through my skull and making my vision shaky. Gods alive, I am I really going to die to a headache?
The part of my brain that's gone to pre-med screams in my face that I'm an idiot, and honestly, I deserve that. No thinking I'm going to die until after I see a doctor. Wait, are there even doctors in Ylisse? Fuck. This might not be good.
"T—Terence?" Chrom blinks in surprise, my voice shaking him out of his very heated argument with his younger sister. "I didn't—"
Now, this might have been a dumb idea. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, this was a dumb idea.
"Lissa! You wanted a tent?"
"Er—Yes?"
"Here, have mine! I can't sleep if you two keep screaming at the top of your lungs and making my headache into a head pain," I half groan, half yell. I doubt think I can yell anymore. Just the couple of words earlier almost caused my knees to go out.
Damn, what is wrong with me today?
"Wait, really!" Lissa jumps up with a sparkle in her eyes. "I can?"
"If that's what it'll take for you to stop talking. And also take a look at my headache tomorrow morning. I'm going to sleep," I mutter angrily. Today has been very taxing, brainpower-wise, and this migraine is not helping things.
"Um…do you want that headache checked out right now?" Lissa frowns.
"I think I'll be fine. I'm probably just not used to the air," I sigh. It's a blatant lie, yes, but I just need people to get out of my hair so I can fucking sleep.
I go back into my tent to grab a bed roll, move about five metres away from the tent, unroll it, and lie down.
I think I fall asleep before I hit the small pillow that is included in the bedroll.
"Hey. Hey!" When I wake up, all I can hear is Chrom's insistent voice banging through my mind. What's up? Oh, it's probably his premonition that the Risen are coming. Not too much to worry about.
"Terence!" His voice is getting sterner and sterner. There's a bite of steel in his tone, and I'm not sure I like that. "If you don't wake up right now, I'm going to have to poke you."
That causes me to open my eyes.
It's the middle of the night, and not much has changed. The stars have moved slightly, but that's mostly it. The trees are still the same, the sounds and noises are the same, and the temperature's…a little cooler, maybe by a couple of degrees at most. I have no idea how Chrom knew that something bad is going to happen, but to me, it all feels normal.
"What do you need?" I groan as my head slowly readjusts to being awake and active again. "It's the middle of the night…"
"I know you told Lissa that you had a bad headache, but there are no other people I can ask this of," Chrom winces.
Huh. Right, I did have a headache earlier. Why is it gone already? That's…strange. Too strange. I haven't even slept for that long, and my migraine is already gone? It just doesn't add up.
Oh right, I kinda have to reply to Chrom.
"What do you need me to do?" I yawn. I might not have a headache, but I certainly am sleepy.
"Well…this might sound incredibly strange…but uh…do you have any sort of light source I could borrow? I need to use the bathroom and it's really dark out at the moment, but I don't want to light a fire," He asks with a pleading face. He has to go that bad, huh?
I was going to tell him I didn't have anything, but then I realised that I could just make a small magic item with a couple of metres of light and give that to him.
I squint a little in the low light conditions, looking for a rock or a pebble, while Chrom stands over me looking very confused. I manage to find a small stone around the size of a person's palm. Holding it in my palm, however, I realise I have no idea what I'm doing.
Chrom seems to notice this too.
"Hey, Terence, if you don't have anything, I can just go…" He winces a little for some reason.
"Hold on, I'm trying to remember how to do this thing correctly…" I mumble as I turn the stone in my palms a couple of times. If it could, I know the rock would be looking at me with a disappointed expression. I just know it.
I tap the stone a couple of times before a bit of inspiration strikes me. When I cast Scorching Ray earlier, there had been those rune-like things, and on every single magical item I own, there is this small web of arcane letters that surround the object. I think if I manage to create that same matrix onto this rock, and then adjust it to create light, I would be doing the tinkering ability correctly.
Turns out, that was exactly it. I'm not sure how I managed to write by just using my hand to circle around the stone a couple of times, but it worked. This sort of translucent crimson web of strings came out of my pointer finger in a similar fashion to how webs come out of a spider and wrapped around the small rock. After the entire thing was coated in the webs, the colour of the magical threads changed from red to blue-green, and then the rock started to give off a somewhat bright white glow. It has the power of a flashlight, but not much more.
I hand the rock over to Chrom.
"Is that alright?" I ask him with a raised eyebrow.
"I…how did you do that?" Chrom asks incredulously, his need to use the bathroom forgotten.
"A little bit of artificer magic," I shrug. Honestly, I don't know how I did that either. I'm sure Terentius knows, but that knowledge doesn't quite transfer completely and I don't want to know every little detail of how this works.
Hmmm…I wonder if Terentius wrote how these things worked in his journal. Perhaps I should have a look when I get to Ylisstol. Yeah, that's probably a good idea.
"Well, that's really useful," Chrom nods his head. "How long does it last?"
"Forever?" I ask again with a raised eyebrow. Man, doing that is fun. "It's artificer magic, not wizard magic. So long as I don't make more than five of these kinds of objects, it won't ever stop shining. Or I die. Yeah, if I die, it'll stop shining light."
That extra bit of information only seems to make Chrom more interested in my Magical Tinkering items.
"Wait, you can make up to five of these things? Can you make other things? Like…maybe you could…change the colour of an object? Or maybe clean something up? Oh! Did you clean dry the log from earlier with the same spell?" Chrom seems to be bursting with curiosity. Huh, so Lissa's…child-like behaviour is more of a Lowell thing rather than a Lissa thing. I can't believe that Chrom would act like Lissa when he was a child but…
I mean, we all come from somewhere, right?
"The log-drying was a spell, Prestidigitation, which is able to clean up most things. It's a wonderful little spell that has a lot of utility in life. As for what my Magical Tinkering can do," I shrug. "It can make objects that give off light, I can encode messages in an object, change the odour of an object, or make a small static image. That's it. Also, Chrom, didn't you have to use the restroom? Your face is getting paler by the second."
With that, Chrom blinks at me and then grimaces. That's a painful expression if I've ever seen one.
"That's right, I do. I'll see you in a bit. Do you want the rock back?" Chrom winces. His speaking is a lot more strained, now that I've reminded him of his situation.
"Yeah, so I can remove the effect. Just go already, you dolt," I roll my eyes. Chrom is a bit too nice for his own good sometimes. At least here it'll get his trousers soiled, instead of getting him killed.
With that, Chrom runs off into the woods. I stare at the blue-white light that my rock is emitting until it disappears into the undergrowth.
I shrug and yawn. It's way too early for me to not sleep, and I know what's going to happen in a couple of hours, so I want to catch some shut eye before shit hits the fan.
It's a lot harder for me to sleep this time around. Maybe I've had enough rest already? Or perhaps I was just that tired earlier. I mean, for me today would have been utterly exhausting. All that running, fighting, and walking would have made my 21st-century body collapse on the spot.
But this is Terentius's body, and he has insane stamina. So why is he so tired?
…
Oh shit, what?
I start to notice something wrong with the ground. It feels like I'm on a train or something. Why is the ground shaking? The ground doesn't shake, right?
Oh shit, right. Before Risen start falling from the sky, the ground splits into pieces. That's probably happening right now.
With that sudden realisation, I leap to my feet. I haven't taken off my armour since that would take somewhere between fifteen minutes to half an hour, and I was too tired to spend that much time doing something that wouldn't even impact my quality of sleep that much. This all means that I'm still in my (slightly damp) studded leather armour.
Good, I don't need to worry about wearing any armour.
I look around. Chrom isn't back from the bathroom yet, which makes me a bit worried. The sky is still midnight blue and decidedly not filled with giant portals spewing out the re-living dead, so at least he isn't dead because he got ambushed by a Risen.
However, I can see small stones and a layer of dust form on the ground's surface from all the shaking. That's…not good, I think. I've never lived through an earthquake, so I'm unsure what to expect.
Though earthquakes usually don't expose the mantle of the planet for you to fall into, so I suppose this isn't an earthquake.
Still, all of that thinking hasn't made it any easier to decide on a plan of action. What should I do?
Well, in doubt, do what other characters have already done before. In this case, do what Chrom did! Wake people up.
Though, I think I should wake Lissa up last. She's…not the best at fighting, and when the Risen do start popping out of the sky and falling like some kind of sickening rain, I'd rather have Robin to protect me instead of having to protect Lissa.
Yeah, that's probably the best course of action.
I walk over to my spare tent. The crimson fabric is hard to make out in the darkness, but it gets easier when I notice just how purple my primary tent is. Now, I have nothing against the colour. Byzantine Purple is a very nice colour. What I do have against it is just how eye-catching the colour makes my tent! It sticks out like a white crow!
So…uh…do I knock? How the fuck do I announce my presence when there's nothing to knock on? Do I just…enter? But that is a woman's tent…You know what, I'll just go wake up Frederick…
But Frederick probably thinks I'm trying to distract him while either Robin or someone else does something to either Chrom or Lissa. Urgh. Don't like the sound of that.
You know what? I'll just go inside. There will be a life-or-death situation in a moment, and I'd rather get punched in the face by an ally than have my throat slit by an undead.
"Robin!" I half-whisper, half-yell as I burst into the tent. "Are you awake?"
No answer. There's not enough light for me to see anything of note. The only thing I notice is a bundle of blankets on the ground with a rather humanoid-shaped lump in the middle. I'm guessing that I haven't woken her up yet.
"Robin! Hey, Robin! Wake up!" I continue to yell at the prone form on the ground but said form does not even budge. "Oh, fuck's sake. Just wake up! It's actually something serious!"
I shake my head in annoyance. Sure, I'm hard to wake up, but nobody should be able to handle someone screaming at the top of their lungs half a metre away, right?
Well apparently, the answer is no, some people can still stay asleep under those kinds of circumstances. In particular, a person named Robin.
Fun.
Well, if screaming doesn't work, let's work our way up the escalation ladder, shall we? Let's see…Prestidigitation can create any sound, and it can be of any volume, so let's try that. The only limitation of the spell is its range, but ten feet is enough for what I need. For those of you who don't know how to use American 'freedom' units, ten feet is around a metre.
Yeah, that's probably the best play here. I'm going to yell myself hoarse if I keep trying to use my organic throat.
Hmmm…the machine is really better here. I guess the Mechanicum, er—Adeptus Mechanicus—no, the Machine Cult? Man, why does Warhammer have to be so complicated? Anyhow, the machine-worshipping religion has a point. The flesh really is weak sometimes.
I leave the tent to go back to where I had left my backpack. It doesn't take long for me to locate the absolutely massive leather and fabric bag. I grab the slightly glowing screwdriver from the side and rush back into the crimson tent.
Robin's still not awake. Why am I not surprised?
This time, however, instead of yelling, I simply point the All-Purpose Tool forward and let it do its thing. The screwdriver tip breaks into two halves and a rather concerningly speaker-looking apparatus emerges from within the tool.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the spell sound-wise, but what I am sure about is I was not expecting the song sung by Caesar's legions during his triumph.
This…is problematic. For those of you who don't know, military men are very very crass. And during Caesar's triumph…said soldiers sang songs that wouldn't be very appropriate for my current situation.
Though it's funny to hear people sing about how Caesar got subegit'd by Nicomedes. It's even funnier since the most accurate translation of that word into English is ploughed. Take from that what you will.
Thankfully, I don't think anyone can understand Latin. If they could, I would have no doubt they would be very concerned about my choice of music.
As the music drones on, I realise that the tent's fabric has started to glow. Row upon row of text encase the inside of the tent, each letter glowing with a faint, silver light. This bathes the inside of the tent in this near aethereal glow. It isn't very bright, however; I'm barely able to make out where the blankets that Robin's using start and where the pillow stops.
I raise my eyebrow at this. I knew these tents were enchanted, but this doesn't seem to be any enchantment that I know about.
Weirder still, the letters are all in Greek, rather than Latin. Why does this matter if Terentius can read and understand both?
Well, everything else is Latin. From the small engraved enchantments on the bags of holding that allow it access to the astral plane to the swirling mass of bright scarlet letters when I cast a spell, they're all written in Latin. So, seeing Greek here is incredibly strange.
I didn't enchant this tent in Greek, and neither did Terentius.
Incredibly odd. Well, at least it's an enchantment that stops the sounds inside from leaving the tent. That's…useful. The other tent also has this enchantment, but again, it's enchanted in Latin, not Greek.
Hell, Terentius is sure that this tent was originally enchanted in Latin. Even more strange.
A tremor in the ground makes me remember why I'm doing this in the first place. Right, an earthquake is about to happen, and then a bunch of the living dead are going to fall out of the sky, followed by a blue-haired sixteen-year-old not-quite Bishonen.
I should probably hurry this up, yeah?
Anyhow, even blaring triumphal music at the high possible volume into Robin's tent isn't enough to wake her up. Looks like we're going up another rung on the ladder…
And by that I mean I gave up on trying to wake her up using non-physical means and just decided to grab her shoulders and shake as hard as I could.
I stop the spell that's currently causing the inside of this tent to be awash with the sounds of Caesar's legionaries. The All-Purpose Tool retracts itself into being a simple metal hand screwdriver with a soft whirling noise as the sounds subside. As the tent quiets down, the lines of silver letters also stop shimmering, plunging the tent back into darkness. The only flicker of light comes from the flame-orange text shimmering from the All-Purpose Tool.
It's not even enough to light up the entire tool.
Great. I have to find Robin while basically blind. Look, I lived in a large city, alright? Night and Day are practically the same to me; the lights are very bright where I used to live. I'm not used to finding things in the dark!
I grope around the bottom of the tent, trying to find something to anchor my position relative to Robin's. Thankfully, I find her foot, rather than a more intimate spot, and with a couple more guesses, I'm able to find her shoulders.
"Robin? Are you awake?" I sigh again. "Please wake up. I don't want to shake you awake, but it's kind of urgent."
She doesn't respond. Great.
I gently grab her shoulders and shake her a bit, calling out her name all the while.
It was at this point when I re-remembered that I had a sixteen in strength. Considering how much her head wobbled on her neck, I'm a bit concerned about how hard I shook her.
Turns out? I can shake really damn hard.
Around four seconds in, Robin's amber eyes shoot open, their pupils staring straight past my eyes and into my very soul.
I stop shaking her.
"Good, you're awak—" I try to say, but suddenly Robin's face scrunches up into a mask of fright, astonishment, and realisation.
And then she screams.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Oh, gods. My eardrums! My eardrums! How the hell are siege cannons less loud than a human being? Alright, I take it back, sometimes the flesh is stronger than the machine, alright? Could you please stop screaming, Robin?
It's loud enough that the Greek writing's back again. Holy shit woman, how much can you scream? Well, at least it's good for the battlefield; I doubt I can miss this even if a cavalry charge is running at me.
Gods know that we needed that in Africa, with the amount of Numidian Cavalry around.
"Gods, Robin, calm down!" I hiss desperately. "I just wanted you to wake up, not give me a rendition of my cousin's singing!"
That, finally, gets her to stop.
"Ah…huh…huh…" She pants a little, her amber eyes darting around in the darkening innards of the tent. She must be so confused right now. "T—Terence? Is that you?"
"Yup, it's me," I sigh. "I need you to get ready."
Those six words cause Robin's gaze to harden considerably. Or at least that was I assume happens when I notice her facial features move. It's hard to tell since the inside of the tent is decidedly incredibly dark.
"A…vision?" She looks at me questioningly. At this point, I've let go of her shoulders, and she's sitting up by herself, even if everything under her stomach is covered by a rather thick blanket. Huh. It's not that cold outside, why are you using that thick of a blanket? That was for climbing the Alps, not a casual stroll through what's basically Central Park.
"Well, you can say that," I shrug. I hope that shrug came through. It is rather dark. "All hell is about to break loose in a moment."
"What do you mean?"
"Feel the ground. I'm not sure what Ylisse is like, but I'm fairly certain that the ground doesn't just continuously shudder like that," I gesture to the floor of the tent.
"What do you mean by—" Robin suddenly stops mid-sentence. I'm guessing she just felt the ground. "Is the ground shaking?"
"It would appear so," I deadpan. "And if my vision is correct, the very earth is going to start splitting apart. I'd much rather everyone be awake when that happens. Plus, and this is going to sound rather apocalyptic, but the re-living dead are going to start falling out of the sky right afterwards, followed by a blue-haired swordsman."
"Yeah, that sounds like something you want everyone to be awake for," Robin nods. "Where's everyone else?"
"Chrom was already awake when I woke up, he's using the bathroom, Frederick's most likely already awake and was only faking being asleep, and I wanted to wake Lissa last," I supply.
"Right. And you woke me up first why?"
"What would Frederick think if he saw me going into Lissa's tent…at all?" I respond with a slight glare.
"Yeah…that's fair," Robin nods her head slightly. "He would have killed you."
"Yup. And plus, I was counting on you being more accepting of being woken up in the middle of the night. Miss Lissa seems like the kind of person who would throw a small fit if you interrupted her sleep," I supply.
"Well, you got that right," Robin sighs. "Usually, I would mind a lot, but your visions have been on point. I can catch up with my sleep later."
"Alright. I'd rather you go wake up Miss Lissa. At the very least, Frederick isn't going to accuse me of trying to sexually assault her," I nod.
"Right. Also, Miss Lissa?" Robin gives me a questioning look.
"If I'm correct about this, it'll be better for me to get my practice in," I shrug. Lissa is royalty, after all. I'm going to be expected to act like that around her. Chrom too, though it's much harder to see him as anyone with a royal rank. He acts like a knight more than a prince.
Though I suppose that would make sense. Emmeryn's older than him by a fair margin, and she cannot wield Falchion. I suppose Chrom's thought he would simply be the man running around beating the shit out of any do-badders while Emmeryn would be handling the more Exalt-y stuff.
So…he's an unprepared second pick? Where have I heard this before? Ah, yes, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, known originally as Gaius Octavius and known by later historians as Octavianus, and his inability to groom a successor that would stay alive long enough to inherit the Empire, causing the Roman Empire to pass to a thoroughly mediocre Tiberius, and the whole Claudian fiasco that followed after him. Man, if Agrippa had just stayed alive, the whole debacle with Nero could have been avoided, and probably the entirety of the Year of the Four Emperors.
What was all of that Roman history for? Well, I'm honestly scared for what Ylisse might devolve into after Chrom ascends to being the Exalt. He wasn't trained to rule, and he certainly isn't ready for it. And yet, Chrom will be Exalt in a year or so. Not sure how the timeline for Awakening goes.
Well, hopefully, his wife is better on the administrative front. Best-case scenario, Chrom marries either Maribelle or Robin. Worst-case scenario, Chrom marries Sully. Why Sully? Because I physically cannot see her sit down at a table with a pen/quill and administrate.
"What for?" Robin's voice snaps me out of my thoughts of the future.
"Well, we'll see when we get there. That vision should be far off, and I'm not sure of its validity. Plus, it's certainly not as impactful as what's going to happen," I half-lie. In all honestly, I just want to see Robin's face once she realises that Chrom is technically first-in-line for the Haildom of Ylisse, and Lissa second.
"That's…true," Robin nods. "We'd better get ready. Do you know where the earth is going to crack?"
"I'm…not quite certain, but it shouldn't be near here. That is, unless that specific crack goes a lot further than what I was shown," I frown. "Nevertheless, I'd bring your tome and your sword. Things are going to get pretty heated right after."
Robin nods.
"Right. I didn't have time to take anything off last night, so I'm as ready as ever," She replies enthusiastically.
"Alright then," I nod. "Let's get going…?"
I raise my eyes slightly as Robin suddenly falls silent and unmoving.
"Er—Robin? You alright there?" I ask, my hand halfway to the tent flap.
Huh. Odd.
"H—Hey, Terence?" Is Robin's timid reaction. "You…didn't see anything, right?"
What's she going on about now? The vision? Oh, wait, it's her sleeping form or something. Probably just noticed that she's got bedhead or something similar.
Oh gods, am I going to have bedhead? Back home, I never really did my hair; I've got one of those types of hair that will always stay the same no matter how you toss or turn it around.
"Robin, this tent has magic on it that will darken it when someone's in it," I roll my eyes, even though I know that she can't see me do it. "I can barely see my hands in front of me, I can't see you even if I tried."
"Right…Right…" Robin keeps saying right for a while for some reason. Seriously girl, what's wrong?
"You know what. I'm going to leave the—"
"Don't you DARE open that door! I mean tent flap!" Robin suddenly shouts.
"Er—why? I need to get out somehow, and I don't have any items on me that can cast Misty Step," I reply with a tone of voice that has confusion dripping from it.
"Oh…Uh…I…actually don't know…" Robin mutters something to herself.
"Seriously though, what's wrong?" I raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Is there something I need to do?"
"Um…could you…turn around?" Robin as something shuffles the blankets, making the sound of fabric rustling.
"Sure?" I turn around to face the front of the tent again. "I don't see the reason you need me to—"
Ow?
Something smacks me in the back of my head, and everything goes black.
You know, I'm getting a bit tired of waking up to the sound of Chrom talking to me. I know it's only been three times, but it's weird that every time that I've woken up recently, it's to Chrom's voice.
It's just strange, you know.
I open my eyes, and see the three Shepherds (four? Does Robin count yet?) standing over my prone form.
"And he's awake. What a bad time to fall," The blue-haired prince chuckles.
"Excuse me?" I cough a little. "Fall?"
"Yup! Robin said you tripped on a Fig while trying to leave her tent," Lissa grins. "It's really funny, you know? That such a big and strong person would trip over a fruit!"
"Y—Yeah," Robin nods with a slight gulp. "That's…That's what happened."
I sit up with a groan. The ground's shaking has only gotten worse.
Great. I've lost precious time because I tripped over a fucking fig. Why does Robin keep those around anyway?
"Still…I can't believe you noticed the ground shaking before I did," Chrom chuckles slightly as I get to my feet. The back of my head is still a little sore, and I can feel something wet there. It's probably sweat or something, I dunno.
"You felt it too?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Well, yeah. Kind of hard to notice when the leaves are shaking," Chrom shrugs. "Robin's told me you saw the ground split apart?"
"Yeah…" I sigh. "I saw you and Lissa running away from a massive gash in the earth with lava spewing out. Not the best vision I've had; it was very blurry."
"Well, it was probably a good idea to tell us regardless," Chrom nods his head. "I'd much rather be prepared for something that won't happen than ignore it and have it happen."
"Milord, has it not crossed your mind that this person could be lying? About seeing the future, about everything?" Frederick points out while shooting me a glare that can pierce through a couple of metres of concrete.
"Then explain why the ground is shaking, Frederick," Chrom frowns and crosses his hands across his chest. "This isn't Old Tiebes, earthquakes shouldn't be happening."
"Er—Old Tiebes? Where's that?" I blink. Something's tickling me in the back of my mind. I should know where this is, damn it!
"Northwest Feroxi," Lissa supplies. "I heard there's some really old ruins over there, and that there's old and ancient treasure there! But yeah, apparently something's wrong with the ground over there that causes a lot of earthquakes to happen."
Oh! Thebes! That's what they're talking about!
Huh, the pronunciation of the place didn't change much. Usually place names change a lot more over time and through the changing of the people who live there. For example, the city of Byzantium was renamed Constantinople, and then once again renamed Istanbul. Then again, Rome has stayed Rome since its inception, so there's that. Thebes into Tiebes isn't that much of a difference. It's like how Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium was shorted and Germanicised to Cologne, or rather Köln. Hmmm…or would Aurelianum to Orléans be a better example? It is much closer in pronunciation, as Cologne dropped a rather large portion of its name.
I realise I've been staring off into the distance while I contemplated the nature of language change, and I frown as I realise that the shaking's only getting worse.
"Hey, Chrom?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think we should move?" I ask. "The shaking's getting pretty bad. I wouldn't be surprised if something bad happens here too."
"You do have a point. Right, can you unpack your tents? I don't want your stuff getting damaged by the earthquake," Chrom nods.
"Right, I should do that," I agree. Ah, shit. That's probably a good idea. "Those tents took ages to enchant. I'll have a fit if they break."
I have this sudden urge to get these tents back into my backpack. My thumbs are getting a bit twiddly as I walk over to the crimson tent. My heartbeat is increasing, which isn't concerning at all, right? Yeah no, I'm getting nervous. My body really wants to unpack these tents.
Huh.
Terentius must have spent a long time on these tents; he usually isn't this gung-ho about protecting his stuff. Everything can be remade, except time is his motto. These tents must be the one exception to that rule or something.
"Wait!" Robin suddenly calls out as I'm mid-stride. I turn back to look at her with a face that was supposed to only have confusion on it but probably had a bit of desperation in it. "W—What happens to the stuff in the tent once you've unpacked it?"
"The stuff that wasn't enchanted with the tent simply falls out of it," I explain with a frown. The blankets and pillows were already in the tent when it was enchanted so they'll stay in the tent. Anything else will fall out.
That's…strange. Why would Robin ask a question like that? Even more strange is her sudden change in expression. She looks…a bit mortified?
"Robin?" I sigh. "Did you leave anything in the tent?"
"Er—yes, yes I did," She nods shamefully. "I left some…um…personal fatigues."
"Clothes, huh? Well, go get them. I'll be working on Lissa's tent," I shrug. That is the spare tent, after all. It was less time-consuming to make. And plus, I like my personal tent much more than my spare one.
What…
No, I don't! The red one looks better! It's not gaudy!
Never mind all of that. I walk over to the purple tent and find the string attached to the bottom of the tent.
"Hey, Lissa! You didn't leave anything in your tent, right?" I call out, just in case Lissa's left something embarrassing in there that she doesn't want anyone to see.
"Nope! I got all my stuff out before!" She calls back cheerfully. Good.
I pull on the string as hard as I can, and with a loud ptoof sound and a small flash of light, the tent returns to being a simple burgundy square of fabric that's slightly too heavy for a thick piece of cloth.
"Alright," I shake my head as I stuff that piece of fabric into one of the pockets in my trousers. I'll put it back in my backpack later. "You done getting your stuff out of the tent, Robin?"
"Yep!" The white-haired tactician smiles back. "You can go and pack it up too!"
I walk over and do the same thing with the crimson spare tent. When it packs up back into a square piece of cloth, it's noticeably heavier and bigger than the purple tent.
Huh. Terentius did spend less time on it. Curious.
After that, I walk over to where my backpack is. I don't want my tents getting damaged in the upcoming battle, and the backpack offers much more protection than my pants and studded leather armour.
I should consider wearing that suit of brigandine in actual combat. It feels more protective anyway.
As I'm opening up the backpack, I feel a weird rumbling under my feet. It's probably nothing, so I ignore it.
"Alright!" I smile as I clip the straps keeping my backpack close back together. "That's that."
I put on the backpack and turn around to look at the rest of the Shepherds, who oddly have gone quiet.
"Terence? D—Don't…move…" Lissa stutters with her eyes wide.
"Why?" I raise an eyebrow.
Then, suddenly, I feel the ground beneath me shudder as if it has become a liquid, affected by the wind and the spin of the planet. A growling sound, not too dissimilar from a starving beast echoes through the small clearing.
This…is not good. At least it answered my question.
I look at the ground. The dirt is already splitting apart from the shuddering and the shaking, but it seems stable enough. There are some patches of ground that aren't filled with as many cracks, and due to the hairline nature of the fractures, these pockets of relative stability look like small, smooth warts on the surface of the ground.
Well, if we're using that analogy, I'm going to be popping some warts.
Despite Lissa's warning and suggestion, I decide to move. The nearest patch of stability is right next to where I'm standing, and—
The ground suddenly leaps up beneath my feet. I'm tossed skyward, my vision quickly turning from a dark brow to a midnight blue filled with winking spots of white. I feel my body go weightless as my senses are screaming about my orientation. A violent shuddering is felt even in the air as the earth screams a deep, resonant sound. More concerningly, the sound that it makes is not too dissimilar to the sound of a glacier breaking apart.
Well, crap.
I think I just got thrown into the air.
Hopefully, the fall isn't bad enough to kill me.
I see the world around me blur as I fall.
And, for the third time today, the world goes black.
Gods damn it!
Oh…my head hurts. It's like a piercing pain right through the top of my head. I don't want to open my eyes, but something forces me to. An urge… an instinct, perhaps. The pain is sharp and everpresent, not like the dull and unbearable pain of breaking something. It's the pain of something cutting and pushing through, rather than the pain of a sudden, blunt force.
Maybe that's why I force my eyes open. The pain isn't right for what I just experienced.
And now that I think about it, why is it that my head and only my head hurts? I should have landed on the ground, and usually, you don't just land right on the top of your head when that happens.
When I do finally open my eyes, I'm bathed with the sight of a grey stone…floor? Wall? Ceiling? All six sides around me are made of the same light grey marble brick laid upon each other. It's trippy, that's what it is.
Honestly? It looks like that one room that Jorje forgot to apply the bitmap to when he wanted me to playtest one of his projects. It's very confusing to look at.
Thankfully, it isn't long before a green spark springs into existence, bright, but not drowning out the soft grey-white glow that emanates from the rock.
It does give perspective, though. I'm already standing up, and that's the wall I'm staring at. Hey, I'm weightless at the moment! I can't tell directions!
From that bright verdant spark, emerges a shape. At first, it's hard to tell what exactly it is, but as it gets larger and larger, the bright white shape gets more and more humanoid—
And feminine. Wow, those are some very large…uh…mammary glands. Yeah, let's call them that.
As the shape reaches around one-and-a-quarter times my height, more colours start to appear. Long threads of green hair start descending down her head, the white of her skin becomes less pale and more…well, skin coloured, and thankfully clothing starts to appear as well.
It's when her eyes of bright emerald and elf-like ears sweep back behind her head that I realise who this is.
And I really, really, don't like what this implies.
"Hello, Farseer," The Goddess of Mount Prism smiles slightly at me, sending shivers down my spine. "Usually, I would introduce myself for you are not of this world, but I do not need to do that, do I?"
"Farseer…?" I mutter quietly before I realise I should probably respond. "Y—Yes, Dia Naga . I have heard of you before, and you, of course, need no introduction."
Man, it looks like all my years of roleplay really are paying massive dividends. It's really just improv but in front of friends.
"A nickname you gave yourself in the future," Naga replies with a slight rolling of her shoulders. Or rather, I see the top of her shoulders move. I am staring intently at her face to not have to look at…well, everything below her neck. I get that she's a Manakete, and probably doesn't really have a concept of clothes, but please cover your body! Half of your breasts are hanging out in the open, and there's not much preventing a stiff breeze from blowing that…whatever that is off!
"Truly?" I focus on her statement to not think about other things. "I did not expect myself to be so… self-aggrandising."
"You, perhaps not," Naga agrees with a slight frown. "But the children of the future are a lot more loose with their praises."
Ah. That's…a rather odd statement. Wait, Naga can—
"Furthermore," The divine dragon continues. "While not many of this world's sons of man can understand your language, I was taught it by…a person who lives far, far away. I object to you calling me a god. You know as much as I do that I am not divine."
Damn, Naga broke my previous line of thought with that. Let's switch to this track and see where it takes us; we can come back to the future thing later.
"So would Diva Naga be better?" I ask. "You are not a god, yes, but you are still strong enough and carry enough weight in the mortal world to be considered one."
Naga actually shrugs this time.
"I care not for what the sons of man call me. So long as you understand the limits of my power, I may be called anything the sons of man wish to call me," Is her response.
Fair enough.
"Now, you must be incredibly confused about your current situation," Naga continues, not letting me formulate my thoughts.
"Y—Yeah," I nod my head in agreement. "I was going to ask that after my reply to your introduction, but I kinda got sidetracked. So…what happened? Did I die? Is this some kind of purgatory?"
"In a sense…you did," Naga frowns a little. "For a version of you has. But know that what you have seen is a vision, a possibility that might occur."
"Hold on a minute," I hold out my hand to pause Naga's explanation. "I…can't actually see the future. See—"
"I know that, Farseer," Naga chuckles lightly. "I know of your world, even if it is through a rather whimsical source. However, I am powerful enough to grant powers."
"And you've granted me the power to see the future?" I blink rapidly.
"Precisely. I hope it did not hurt too much," Naga nods.
"…Why?"
"Because it is imperative that Grima is defeated. The sons of humanity have created something that will destroy them, and only by defeating it can humanity survive," Naga explains. "But you…you are not of this world. The effect that you have is unknown, unknowable. Will you bring ruin? Or will you drag Humanity into a new age? I trust my future self that you love humanity, maybe even as much as I do. I believe by allowing you to see the future, you will allow your impact to be positive, rather than negative."
"Huh…" I scratch my chin in thought.
That's…a fair point. I do know a lot of things about how Humanity will develop, and considering that I can actually make it happen with my newfound artificer powers, it would make sense that I will have a massive impact on the world. Naga's world, for that matter.
It makes sense, in a way. The path to hell is paved with good intentions, so if you show the traveller a map, they're less likely to go down it. At least, that's what I think Naga's trying to tell me. I'm kinda bad at picking up hints. Dense as a pile of compacted bricks, Frederick used to say.
My Frederick, not Frederick the Wary, that is. One is a lot friendlier than the other. The other one has brown hair.
"So you're telling me to be careful with my powers? Don't disrupt things too much?" I ask to make sure.
"That is correct. Know that I am trusting you with a very powerful ability, and I can take it back at any time. Do not break my trust," The divine dragon confirms.
Great. Just…great.
"And one final question," Naga smiles slightly. "Who are you?"
That stumps me. What is Naga trying to ask?
"I'm sorry, but what is that supposed to mean? I can't answer a question I don't know know what the intended answer is," I supply.
"I am asking you if you know who you are,"
"Well, I think I do. I'm…me, right?" I blink in confusion. Who else can I be?
"Yes, but who are you?" Naga responds.
"I'm…still confused,"
"You are many things," Naga starts.
"You are a Huaxia, a civilised people who dress grandly and have a long and prosperous history, yet you have left the home you love so in order to live and study in a faraway peninsula among strangers. A completely ordinary human being, acting like a normal man, living among normal men."
"Yet, you are also a man out of time, one of Scipio Africanus's legionaries who joined him in his quest to defeat Carthage, a veteran of Hispania and Africa, a man who witnessed first-hand the defeat of Hannibal by the very tactic he used at Cannae. A young Equitae of the Terentii Gens who learned the principles of Engineering in order to build bridges and roads in order to aid the army."
"Yet still, you are a son of Vulcan, bound to the god of the forge and creation by a sacred pact. A retired soldier at the age of twenty-four, you dove into the depths of hell itself to retrieve a set of artefacts that Konstantine von Konigstätte needed in order to seal the rotting hole in reality that was the Neusengappe. An Artificer of some prowess, you travelled with other beings that time had left orphaned."
She gives me a look.
"Is that not correct?" Naga stares intently into my eyes.
Ah, shit. I'm guessing the first description is actually me, me, instead of Terentius. The second is Terentius's backstory, and the last one is Terentius after the campaign we played.
How the hell does Naga know all of this?
"So I ask you again, Farseer. Who are you?"
I blink at the sudden question.
"Well…it is hard to say. Is it fine if I do not have an answer?" I reply timidly. I'm still trying to figure my current situation out at this point, I don't have the answer to this very philosophical question.
Thankfully, Naga smiles at this.
"I did not expect you to have an answer. It is a hard thing to decide who you want to be. I am sorry for putting you on the spot like that," Naga smiles. "So, farseer, remember to decide who you want to be."
"Whether that be Terence, the normal man; Septimus Terentius Aquilius Aurelius, Magister Tormentus of Legio Sixtus; or Terentius Aquilius Aurelius, Scourge of the Seventh Circle of Hell…" Naga's voice slowly fades as the world that I am in slowly fades to white.
As the confines of the world finally shatter, Naga sighs deeply. As the grey stone dissipates back into an unhealthy black, the aethereal white light is scattered by the oncoming abyss, leaving only Naga's own quiet green glow to shine in the murk.
It doesn't take long, however, before the silence is shattered by Naga's voice.
"Aydrian. Was that what you wanted?" Naga's voice is tired and annoyed, yet still has multiple pounds of respect wrapped in with the unpleasant tones.
A spark not too dissimilar to the spark that she appeared from moments earlier springs into existence from the black murk. The sudden flare gives off a bright green-blue instead of Naga's verdant green.
Within moments, a tall, slender man with a vibrant shade of dark-blue hair that resembles a certain Crown Prince of Hoshido's hairstyle appears from that spark. Unlike Naga's lack of clothing, this man is wearing a crimson suit of futuristic power armour that completely covers his body from the connection between his head and the neck all the way down to the soles of his feet.
He has a stern expression on his face, and his eyes are staring off into the murky distance.
"Aydrian. Are you talking with someone else again?" Naga sighs.
It takes some time before the tall man responds.
"Of course I am. It's been a busy month, and it doesn't seem to be getting easier on my mind, however juiced up on divinity and magic it is," Aydrian rolls his crimson eyes at the Divine Dragon. "And to answer your question, yes that was basically it."
"Your brother isn't going to like this plan once he finds out," Naga points out sternly.
"What he doesn't know can't hurt him," Aydrian sighs, his shoulders moving down to compliment his tired state. "Plus, this is for his own good. Stabilising this world means fewer resources need to be diverted to make sure the Hordes don't get into the Emblematic Worlds. The more men to defend the Utherian realms with, the better."
"And so you chose this plan to accomplish that? Not your best play, O' Innocent One," Naga folds her hands across her chest.
"Hey, it's not all bad. Sure, I got around multiple rules by using souls and not taking the actual body. And look, his soul didn't immediately split into three horrendously misshapen masses," Aydrian shrugs.
"That shouldn't be a risk you should take. Even if you are immortal, you should not play god like that," Naga admonishes the long-haired man.
"You say that, and yet you turn a blind to my brother's creations?" Aydrian raises an eyebrow.
"Your brother split himself into pieces. His experimentations hurt no one but himself," Naga spits. "Your little test could have ended with three souls shattered for no other purpose other than to satisfy your curiosity."
"And yet it still worked. My people—nay, my brother—has created such an advanced society that the merging, destruction, and even creation of a soul is well documented—its processes observable and repeatable. There was no experimentation occurring here, Naga," Aydrian's eyebrows collide above his nose. "My only curiosity was how he would react to the situation he was thrust into. We are not mad scientists watching rats behind a glass screen. If you knew, you would think Brother a masochist for the things he has done to himself in pursuit of knowledge."
"You still threw an innocent bystander into this mess. Do not try to clean your hands of that,"
"One. One innocent bystander. Once the strings of destiny have been realigned, and if he chooses to, I shall send him back,"
"And if he dies?"
"What's one life among hundreds of trillions?"
"Would you give your life for your cause?"
"Gladly. I already have many times over. Say it doesn't count because of my immortality, but it still hurts to get smacked by a planet-sized spacecraft," Aydrian folds his arms over his chest.
Naga opens her mouth to respond, but Aydrian holds up a hand to stop her. He shakes his head with a sad expression on his face.
After a few moments, Aydrian's gaze returns to focus on Naga. His face has stiffened, a hard face of a veteran of a thousand wars knowing that he must return to his duty.
"Sorry to cut this philosophical discussion short, Naga, but I must go. Yan Zishi's fleet got massacred in the Dargonna Pass and Utheria needs to deal with the aftermath now," Aydrian sighs.
"How bad is it?" Naga blinks, all of her earlier anonymity towards Aydrian dissipating into smoke.
"Bad enough that the Utherian Home Fleet is being mobilized to deal with it, and I'm supposed to be at the head of it. I need to leave now. Update me if anything happens, and deny complying with me if Brother finds out,"
With that, the blue-haired man disappears into the murky blackness.
AN: Hello there! Acardia here!
To all of us who are living in the northern hemisphere, I wish you all a good summer. For everyone who is living in the southern hemisphere, I wish you a wonderful winter.
Unfortunately, Writer's Block has hit me rather hard this week. Good thing I've still got a couple more chapters of this Fic in the Wings, huh? Can't say that for WCLS, so that fic is dying somewhat. Sorry...
Anyhow, I think I might make up for that with longer replies to reviews, at least to those that are a bit more thought-provoking.
[Addenum] Freekillm249: I completely forgot the part where you asked me about the cast! I'm sorry for not answering in the previous chapter. Right, since I'm forcing myself to write a longer reply, let's look at everyone you mentioned by name and a couple of others that I wanted to talk about due to either personal issues I have with their character or their portrayal in other fics. Oh, minor spoilers up ahead!
Tharja: Tharja's primary problem in my humble opinion is the lack of viable directions to take her character without polluting what makes Tharja, well, Tharja. Fire Emblem's supporting characters are usually relatively unproblematic story-wise, as they often could be replaced with generic stand-ins without too many issues. This is why Fire Emblem likes to give little quirks to its characters that encapsulate what the 'gimmick' of the character is: Stahl eats a lot, Libra looks like a woman, and Owain is a Chuunyi. (Side note: this is why I like Three House's characters so much. They all have so much going on in each of their stories and are more than a personality gimmick. With a couple—2—exceptions).
Unfortunately for Tharja, her 'gimmick' as it is, is that she's a Yandere...an obsessive near maniacal lover/romantic partner. This means her entire personality is defined by her relationship with Robin and any major deviation from this truth makes that interpretation of her character unfaithful to the source material. This poses a problem for anyone not focusing on romantic subplots as her entire personality and character focus on her unstoppable pursuit of Robin. Her supports don't help any with this, as most of her supports reveal more about the other person than they do about Tharja. Problematic. The only thing that we learn about her character-wise is that she likes to keep up appearances and that she's actually quite a softy. Good to know, but not any direct character conflicts there.
This means I could do one of two things: change Tharja's character and introduce internal or external conflict where none existed before, or I could simply write her as a static character, which, one, I'm trying to avoid doing, and two, makes me feel really bad because Tharja is a really interesting character as she is a Plegian, and a former Grimleal at that.
Right now, I am not sure what exactly I want to do for Tharja's character arc. I want my characters to feel alive and living people, which means they must change as the story moves along. Tharja in her current state is either too stable to change or necessitates a complete refocus on what I write for at least a couple of chapters, which at this point means a least fifty thousand words devoted to a minor character that has little to no impact on the actual story or the primary characters' arcs. Honestly, I'd love to hear your feedback on her since I'm honestly stuck not knowing what the hell to do with her. I still want her in the story because it just doesn't feel right without her, and I actually have plans with Noire, which means Tharja needs to stick around.
Stahl: Oh boy...the glutton. The hardworking, lovable, a bit craven, glutton. Thankfully he's not as high-profile as Tharja is which means I can focus on him less. I can go a couple chapters without mentioning him and nothing feels wrong, but if Tharja isn't at least implicitly in Robin's tent it just feels wrong. Personally, I'm trying to write him as a 'mellow friend of a friend'. Since he doesn't fall within the "First Circle of Friends" of Chrom, Robin, or Terence, he won't be getting too much screen time, but he will still have a character arc and you will still see him change through the fic. Everyone affects each other, after all, and since he is good friends with Kellam who is a "First Circle Friend" of Terence.
Kellam: My favourite non-MC non-Lord male character of Awakening! No, I'm serious, I really like Kellam. He's getting a lot of screen time. Most of it is going to be about (spoilers) helping him become more sociable and more integrated with the rest of the Shepherds, as well as sorting out his whole invisibility thing. Don't worry too much about his appearances, he's going to be here a lot.
Maribelle: Now here's a problem child, much like Tharja. I just don't know where the hell I'm supposed to take her, especially since the people she interacts with the most are Lissa and Rickten, who don't challenge her worldview too much. My only idea at the current moment is to have her be too clingy with Lissa as the Princess embarks along her coming-of-age arc with (spoilers) Lon'qu. The only problem is 1 I'm not sure enough about her character for her to fit there since I hated her and basically didn't watch any of her supports and 2 Chrom already fills that role. Help.
Nowi: What. The. Hell. Am. I. Supposed. To. Do. Here.
Tiki: As much as I love RobinxTiki, that ship is usually locked to M!Robin and I don't intend on doing Yuri here. That's Anna's job. And no, I'm not going to be pairing these two up as much as that one fan support fucking rocks. Personally, I'm leaning heavily on the 'leave her out of the story' but the Robin/Tiki shipper in me just won't let it go.
Literally all of the future children except for Lucina, Severa, and Inigo: There was so much potential here, but how are the children MORE one-dimensional than their parents? Like seriously, only Lucina is developed all too much, and I only included Severa and Inigo in the list since Fates expanded on them a lot more, and they have more going on. Like seriously, what am I supposed to do with Kjelle? I'm made sweeping changes to the characters of the second generation, so I'm sorry there. It was the only way I could stay sane. Nah's literally a joke; her entire character is that she hates her name. (Of course, not the only thing she has, but it's close enough. She's basically Nowi's foil, and Nowi already is kinda bland)
I hope that answered your question better.
Louie Yang: Don't worry. I'll leave the MC development at the beginning and end of each chapter, just skip those if you don't enjoy reading those parts. As for including more MC characters, I will only include them as either flashbacks or extras at the end of chapters. They won't have any plot relevance. But I must say, Terence isn't a SI. I actually disagree with a lot of his future actions. Sure I wrote him as an OC and MC for this fic, but I never intended for him to be an author insert. He's a character in his own right, detached from who I am and what I would like to do. He's supposed to explore the world and story of Awakening from a lens that we are more familiar with. I dislike it when fantasy just assumes everything is the same as our world, and I really like to explore more mundane aspects of a world since I come from the Worldbuilding side of the pond, which is why I chose someone like Terence to be the MC. If you want to know who the actual SI of me is, it's Heinrich in A Thousand Burgundy Flowers. Sorry for going off on a rant. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Echonic: Thank you! Both for the feedback and the words of encouragement! I guess the 30k chapter is a go? Sirwritesalot is going to hate me for making him edit it though.
DondoIsHereAgain: Thanks! I will try my best to maintain the quality so far. Keep reviewing, you don't know how much it helps me!
Tomato95200: Well, here's another 13k words to explain where it's going. Have fun! (Also is it "to-MAY-toe' or "to-MAH-oe"? Genuinely curious how many people here speak with an American accent and how many speak with a British one)
Bombproofcargo: Cool pfp my guy. Thanks for all the support! Also is it weird that somehow everyone who reads my fics somehow also has the EXACT same taste in fiction as I do? Perhaps less Warhammer but man it seems like everyone here likes the FATE franchise in some way. Are we all just degenerates here? If I make Okita and Tohsaka jokes here will everyone get them? Also, everyone who plays FGO please pray for me I have 200 rolls saved up for the Morgan Banner in two weeks, may RNJesus smile on us all.
That's about all for this week! Valete, omnis! Acardia out!