Chapter 10 – Under Siege

As the dust settled, a gaping hole was now present on the wall, with debris lying all around it. The pegasi rose back out of the canyon shortly after. The passengers quickly dismounted and brandished their weapons. The pegasi riders, for their part, were quick to leave the area, their route to follow seemingly being another.

"This is it, everyone," the armor-clad woman said. "Charge!"

So they did, rushing towards the opening.

"What was that?" Alear suddenly turned.

Ivy frowned, as she also looked in the same direction he did.

"Whatever it was, it must've been very loud to reach us here," she said.

There was a flash of light, and Emblem Marth materialized.

"It sounded like an explosion," he said. "We could be under attack."

The Emblem's sudden appearance startled Ivy.

He's been here all this time!? She thought.

She quickly glanced down to Alear's hands where, indeed, he had been wearing Marth's ring all along. She then shook her head and glanced back up.

Never mind that, there's more pressing matters right now!

The princess was getting a very bad feeling about this.

"Under attack? Could it be more Corrupted?" Alear asked, looking a bit wary.

Marth closed his eyes, as if concentrating. He frowned, before opening them back up.

"It's worse than that," he replied. "I can feel it. Fell essence. A Fell Dragon is right here, in the castle!"

"What!?"

This shocked the both of them.

"S-Sombron is here!?" Alear cried out. "But I thought that-"

"No," Ivy suddenly interrupted.

Both young men turned to her, who was now all very serious-like.

"It's not Sombron," she continued. "It must be his daughter, Veyle."

"Veyle… To think she would still be alive," Marth mused.

He frowned.

"And aiding Sombron."

"Be as it may, her presence here means she's after the rings," Ivy said.

"Then we must stop her!" Alear exclaimed as he clenched a fist. "We have to tell the others, and protect the rings!"

"Right," Ivy nodded. "Although surely Queen Lumera must already be aware, if she sensed the fell essence as well. Either way, we must do what we can to assist."

"In that case-"

Alear removed the Ring of the Hero-King from his hand, before offering it to Ivy.

"Here. It will be faster than returning to your room to retrieve your tome."

Ivy was stunned.

"Will it be alright?" She asked, glancing between him and Marth.

"It's fine," Alear gave a reassuring smile. "I do have Mother's sword, remember?"

There was a flash of light, and Libération appeared in his other hand to prove his point.

"I am willing to part with Alear should the situation calls for it," Marth said. "And don't worry if you have no expertise with the sword. We Emblems are meant to be used by anyone."

Ivy glanced at them both again, before nodding.

"Very well. Then I humbly accept the ring," she said as she took it, before promptly sliding it up her finger.

The princess could immediately feel the ring's power as soon it was in place. It was enough to widen her eyes as she gazed at it, amazed. However, it was no time to gawk. They would leave the balcony right afterwards.

The infiltrators encountered little resistance. What few people they came across scurried out of their path. Those that happened to be guards were quickly dealt with, as they were vastly outnumbered. In no time, they reached their planned destination: The bridge leading to the Ring Vault.

They were greeted to quite the sight. A couple of the pillars supporting the ceiling over the bridge looked damaged or had actually been destroyed. Several pieces of debris lied about, forcing anyone to snake their way around them to get through. In the distant, the view of the Ring Vault itself was obscured by heavy dust clouds, from which several flashes were seen within.

"What's going on?" One of them asked.

The armor-clad woman frowned.

"Lady Veyle must be locked in fierce battle," she said.

Just then, a beam of dark purple energy suddenly shot past out the doorway. It came out angled, resulting in it crashing against a pillar, causing an explosion. The impacted area was blown off, falling off past the bridge into the ravine below. The intruders flinched at the spectacle, some even taking cover away from the doorway.

"Yes, no doubt about it," the woman nodded. "The Divine Dragon Monarch must've found out somehow."

This made most of them start to panic.

"What!? So we've been found!?"

"Oh no, then we won't be taking the rings!"

"What if Lady Veyle is defeated? What then!?"

"We can't possibly take on Queen Lumera ourselves should Lady Veyle fail!"

"Do we turn back!?"

This irritated the woman.

"Quiet, you all!" She called out, glaring at them.

This was enough to make them stop.

"We must put our faith that Lady Veyle shall succeed. The fact she even is in the vault means we can still get the rings. We did not come this far only to give up!"

Her little speech seemed to lift up their spirits, as they visibly calmed down.

"Then what shall we do in the meantime, Lady Abyme?" One asked.

The woman, Abyme, went pensive for a moment, before nodding.

"For now, we'll make sure to hold the bridge," she replied. "We'll stop anyone from trying to interfere… and be ready to do so ourselves, in case Lady Veyle does look to be in trouble."

"Even if it means fighting a Divine Dragon?" One asked.

"It's a risk we must take," Abyme said. "Though hopefully, if it comes down to that, we'll have been reinforced by then. Surely we can overwhelm her with numbers."

The group exchanged looks. Some still looking worried, though others were now more confident.

"But what if we get attacked before that happens?" Someone else asked.

At this Abyme smirked.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," she said. "Lady Veyle did say she got that taken care of."

Alear, Ivy, and Marth hurried across the castle hallways. They had not advanced far when-

"Ahhh!" A sudden cry echoed.

Their eyes widened in surprise.

"We must hurry!" Alear called out.

The other two nodded and they hastened the pace. Rounding up a corner, they came across the scene. To their further surprise, they saw a small group of what were unmistakably Corrupted. They had their weapons drawn, as they edged closer from both sides to a girl, who had her back to the wall as she clutched tightly a staff in her hands. Ivy's eyes widened in recognition.

She's the cleric from before!

"H-hey you! Leave her alone!" Alear called out as he lunged forward.

His shout alerted the Corrupted to his presence, which allowed the one nearest him to turn around and parry the blow. The others had likewise stopped, but only briefly. Most switched their target, but at least one went back to focus on the girl.

"The Divine One can't defeat them all fast enough," Ivy said.

"Quick, use my power!" Marth turned to face her.

The princess closed her eyes and brought her hands together, as she began to concentrate. Being the first time she was to Engage, she felt some slight trepidation.

It should not be much different from drawing out a tome or staff's power, she hoped.

Fortunately, that would indeed be the case as she felt the rush of power coursing into her. In a flash of light, Marth was gone and she was now Engaged.

Immediately after, Ivy rushed towards the Corrupted, rapier in hand. Alear was handling himself fine, but there were still Corrupted between him and the girl. Ivy flew around them, heading towards the one still aiming for the girl. It did not had time to react or even take notice of her approach before being stabbed.

"Raaargh!" It growled in pain as it staggered.

Ivy gave it no time to recover. She lunged again, and the second stab would prove fatal as the Corrupted dropped to the floor before dissolving. The princess stared at the spot in slight awe.

My body… It was like it moved on its own, she thought, glancing down at herself.

That was my doing, Your Highness, she heard Marth say. For those without the expertise, we Emblems help guide their movements.

I see, Ivy nodded in understanding.

Not that it made the experience any less surreal. In any case, things weren't over just yet. She turned around and helped Alear finish off the remaining Corrupted, which they did in short order. The girl stepped away from the fighting, but did not fled the scene; instead paying close attention as it unfolded, her staff at the ready. Although, in the end it was not needed; the Corrupted were quickly deal with. Once done, Ivy suddenly felt the emblem's energy leaving her as she shifted back to normal. Whether because time ran out or Marth himself ended it prematurely, the result was the time.

"You saved me," the girl finally spoke.

Ivy turned to face her. The girl was staring back at her, with a look that seemed to be a mix of surprise… and gratitude.

"Are you alright?" Ivy asked her.

"Y-yes, I am," the young cleric nodded.

"That's good to hear," Alear commented, sounding relieved.

The girl did a small double take, as she quickly turned to face him.

"Ah, D-Divine One! It's a ho-honor," she curtsied.

Alear then glanced at Ivy, who was frowning.

"There's no doubt about it," the latter said. "Veyle is using the Corrupted as a distraction."

"D-did you say Corrupted!?" The cleric turned back to face her, as panic returned to her face. "The servants of the Fell Dragon, here in Lythos!?"

"Unfortunately, that's correct," Ivy answered. "And I doubt those were the only ones."

At this Emblem Marth materialized again, to the girl's astonishment.

"Oh my, an Emblem…" she whispered, almost breathlessly.

"The Fell essence is permeating all over the castle," Marth said. "I can't tell how many are there, but there are indeed more."

The cleric glanced downwards, clutching her staff tightly and close to herself.

"I-it can't be," she muttered. "I thought that was over a thousand years ago…"

She seemed on the verge of hyperventilating, worrying the others.

"D-don't worry, we'll get rid of the Corrupted!" Alear was quick to tell the cleric before turning to the other two. "Isn't that right?"

Ivy and Marth exchanged glances, looking unsure.

"As much as the Corrupted concern me," Ivy begun, "do remember the Vault Ring must be our priority, Divine One."

"I know, but we can't let the Corrupted run amok, either," Alear protested.

"The guards can take care of them," Ivy pointed out. "They must long already be alerted of the danger."

"I must agree with her, Alear," Marth said. "All will be for naught if Veyle escapes with the rings."

Hearing this, the cleric's head snapped back up with a gasp.

"The Emblem Rings are-"

Then to their surprise, her expression suddenly turned serious.

"Yes, we must prevent that from happening! I have only read about the time of the Fell Dragon, and it always scared me. I always thanked the fact it was old history. If there's anything I can do to prevent history from repeating, then I-"

She straightened out, holding her staff parallel to her.

"I will do all I can!"

Her sudden assertiveness aside, it was clear at this point to Alear that he was outnumbered. He sighed. Regardless of what they did, it had to be done now.

"Alright, we'll head for the Ring Vault," he said in the end.

I do hope the guards can fight the Corrupted on their own.

He looked back at the cleric.

"You can come with us, then. Just stay close, uh…"

"My name is Lupe," the cleric said.

"Lupe, right," Alear nodded. "If we encounter more Corrupted, we will take care of them."

"And I can take care of you in return," Lupe said with a small wave of her staff.

"A sound plan," Ivy said.

With that, they took off.

The now quartet rushed through the corridors, in the direction of the Ring Vault. To their fortune, no more Corrupted showed up. Then, as they passed by another junction…

"Divine One!"

They all turned at the source of this new voice. Rushing towards them were the stewards. They too were clad in their nightclothes, though Vander at least had some pieces of armor as well.

"Oh, thank goodness, we finally found you," Framme cried out.

"We were worried when we didn't saw you in your room," Clanne said.

"Divine One, you must know. The castle is under attack," Vander added.

"Yes, we already had the misfortune of encountering the Corrupted," Ivy replied.

The stewards had a small double take.

"What? There's also Corrupted!?" Clanne asked.

Now it was Alear and company's turn to be confounded.

"You mean to say there's actual people attacking as well?" Alear said.

"They must be Elusian," Lupe was quick to say.

"W-well, we don't know yet, but-" Vander said, sparing a worried glance at the princess.

"In light of the circumstances, I cannot disagree," Ivy simply said. "What matters is that they must be stopped."

"Anyway, we heard they blew up one of the walls!" Framme informed.

"Yes, that's how they got inside," Clanne added.

"Have they reached the Ring Vault?" Marth asked.

"We don't know," Vander replied. "But if what you said about there being Corrupted as well is true, then they must be taking advantage of that."

"What shall we do, Divine One?" Clanne asked.

Alear went pensive.

"We have to stop them, but we need to get as much help we can afford," he decided.

Alear then glanced at the twins.

"Clanne, Framme."

They both straightened out and stood at attention as he called them out.

"Alert as many guards as you can," Alear told them. "Tell them to head for the Ring Vault once they're done fighting the Corrupted. If you must, help them out if needed."

That should help deal with them faster, he thought.

"Understood?"

"Yes, Divine One!" The twins chorused in unison.

"Um, will it be fine if they go on their own?" Lupe asked, worried.

"Don't worry, we won't fail!" Clanne declared.

"Yeah, we're the Stewards of the Dragon," Framme nodded. "Those Corrupted will be no match for us!"

"Just avoid making a repeat of what happened at the grasslands," Vander said sternly.

"Don't worry, Sir Vander, we won't," Clanne replied.

"Come on, Clanne, let's go!" Framme exclaimed.

With that, they both left, heading back in the direction they came from.

"Now then, let's be on our way as well," Alear said to the others.

"Raaargh!"

"Hyaaaa!"

The main courtyard contained the largest concentration of Corrupted. A few guards were here as well trying to fight them off. They had formed a line around the main castle entrance, intending to not let them through. However, they were outnumbered and the Corrupted being relentless in their assaults, and as a result were slowly being pushed back.

"It's no use!" One of them cried out. "We need to fall back and barricade the doors!"

"If we do that, then they'll just head in elsewhere!" Another called back. "We need to keep them distracted until reinforcements arrive."

"But we might not have enough time!" A third said.

"Then we'll make more time!" The second guard declared, as he impaled a Corrupted with his spear.

The fight continued, with the guards managing to hold on. That is, until-

"Aaagh!"

One of the Corrupted landed a hit, sending a guard tumbling down.

"No!"

"Quick, someone help him!"

The Corrupted would prevent that, however. The man, on the floor, saw the Corrupted attacking him now above him, readying its weapon. His weapon lied out of reach, and there was no time to get away. Resigning to his fate, the guard braced himself.

"Raaargh!"

Only for the Corrupted to flinch, an arrow now lodged on its head. It turned around, just in time for a passing horse to speed past him… as its rider impaled the Corrupted with his lance. This caught the attention of Lythian and Corrupted alike.

"Huh!?"

"Who the-!?"

"Did reinforcements arrived!?"

The rider was a young man, dressed in fine clothing. He was not alone, for he carried a passenger. A young lady in equally fine clothing, but with a bow in her hands instead. They had come in from the main gate, which was currently open, and from which another horse was rushing through. Its rider was another young man, clad in more clothing with some pieces of armor instead, and without a passenger. He was quick to jump off the horse, brandishing an axe as he did. He quickly reached for the closest Corrupted and slashed.

The fallen guard quickly stood back up and retrieved his weapon. Just in time as his savior stopped his horse near him. The young lady was quick to jump off, readying an arrow as she did. She had barely touched the ground when she released the arrow at the nearest Corrupted.

"Are you alright?" The young man asked to the guard.

"Y-yes," the latter nodded.

"Good. Then let's take care of these foes!"

With that, the young man commanded his horse to move again, rushing towards another Corrupted, lance at the ready.

Alear's group had arrived at the doorway leading to the Ring Vault. They remained next to the opening, peering into the state of things at the bridge.

"There they are," Alear said.

They could see the soldiers, roaming about. Some pegasi flew about, outside the bridge area itself. The fact they left the soldiers alone was a clear indication they were with them. They likewise took note of the state of the bridge, as well as the dust cloud with light flashes inside the Ring Vault itself.

"There's no doubt about it, Queen Lumera must be inside," Vander said.

"So the Queen is fighting against a… F-Fell Dragon?" Lupe asked, visibly scared and clutching her staff again.

"Yes, even if it's not Sombron himself," Ivy replied.

"At least it means the rings are still in the vault," Marth said. "However, we don't know for how long this will keep up."

"I trust Queen Lumera shall emerge triumphant," Vander nodded with confidence.

He then frowned.

"However, I wonder why the Elusians are on the bridge, instead of joining the fight."

"They likely know better than to interfere," Marth said. "From all the dust, the battle must be fierce enough that they'd be in danger if they do."

"They must also be waiting for it to end," Ivy added. "Even if Queen Lumera is the winner, she'd be left too exhausted for further battle."

"Then we must do something!" Lupe cried out. "We have to get into the vault!"

"I doubt the Elusians would let us," Alear said. "Not without a fight, anyway."

Ivy frowned.

That's right, they wouldn't let anyone through, she thought. However-

"There is another way," she said.

A plan was beginning to form in her mind. Everyone turned to face her.

"Another way?" Alear asked. "What else can we do?"

Ivy steeled herself, knowing the effect her next words would have.

I cannot hesitate, she thought. It should not have escalated this far, but there's still time to reverse this. I have to do what I must.

"I shall speak with them."

Author's Note: I apologize it took long to get this done. I won't deny that it was in part over the matter of using OC's. Fire Emblem games already have big casts as it is, but there would still be situations that would require interactions with made-up characters for any given fanfic. How often and how much should I flesh them out? That is a question even now still has me stumped. So it took me a while to decide if to have the cleric stay or not. She'd have gone with the twins and not return in that case, though as with her appearance in the previous chapter it wouldn't mean she'd be gone from the story for good just yet.

Regardless, one thing I am certain of is that for those I feel the need to give them names (like Lupe), is that I will follow Elyos' naming conventions. It might not look like it in English, but Lythos does seem have a theme as well. Wine. Be it types of wine, grapes, or even wineries. Like how Vander may be derived from the Vin Doré wine due to his Japanese name being Vandore, or how Lumiere, Lumera's Japanese name, is also the name of a prominent Japanese winery. I don't know if it's actually the case, though considering every other country do have themes, why would they be the exception? Even the Four Hounds have a theme. If true, then it's the one that least survived localization, that's for sure. So be as it may, I'm going to go with Wine being indeed Lythos naming theme. So, how does Lupe fit in this? Well, Lupe is short for Guadalupe. The Guadalupe Valley of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico is not only a prominent wine-making location, but is part of the country's most productive region to boot. As a Mexican, I won't deny it's my bias showing to use such a name/reference first, heh.