Chapter III: Chance Meetings
Chrom, Fredrick, Lissa, and Ragna made their way into the castle's throne room. They saw the Exalt was already waiting for them. Standing beside her was Phila, one of her military advisors and closest friends. Said advisor seemed to have her eyes set on Ragna in particular, ready to act should the new enigmatic man try anything reckless.
"Welcome home," the Exalt said to Chrom and Lissa with that warm smile Ragna had seen in the square. He crossed his arms and waited on their conversation, figuring they'd address him when it was time. "I'm glad you made it back safely."
"It's good to be home, Emmeryn," Chrom said to his older sister. "Sad to say, we've witnessed our fair share of trials these past few days."
"You're speaking of the bandits?" Despite Emmeryn's calming voice, Ragna could clearly see the worry in the Exalts eyes and her genuine concern for her people.
"Those guys weren't even the worst of it for once," Lissa elaborated. "We also came across these weird zombie things."
"It seems you've encountered them too," Phila noted. "We've had signs of them appearing all throughout Ylisse. We're suppressing them as best as we're able, but without a proper strategy as of yet we were about to host a council meeting to discuss our options moving forward."
"Sounds good, I'll make a point to attend so I can present my own findings," Chrom promised, turning to make his way out of the throne room and participate in said meeting.
"Just a moment, Chrom," the Exalt said to her younger brother, causing the prince to noticeably pause. "Who is your new companion? The one waiting so patiently to speak."
"Oh sorry, didn't mean to forget you… especially after we dragged you here." Ragna shrugged; didn't make any difference to him.
"Call me Ragna. Just sorta got caught up in all of this." Both Fredrick and Phila narrowed their eyes; even if she didn't expect it, those who stood before Lady Emmeryn should address the Exalt with only the greatest of courtesies. This random traveler was acting on the very borderline of familiarity. Was he trying to be this disrespectful?
"A pleasure to meet you Ragna," Emmeryn said. "I hope that my brother and Fredrick managed to keep you safe on your journey to Ylisstol."
"And Lissa; she healed us," the Reaper reminded.
"Oh yes, I meant no disrespect," Emmeryn said, turning apologetically to her youngest sibling. She was far from offended, mostly just happy to be receiving a healthy helping of credit.
"About that," Chrom began, scratching the back of his head. "In all honesty, he was the one who had kept all of us safe. If it hadn't been for Ragna and his combat ability, none of us would be standing here right now."
"Truly?" Emmeryn asked shocked. Lissa nodded her head in confirmation while Frederick remained passive and silent. "Thank you, Ragna. You've helped saved the life of my younger siblings and aided my people. That is something I will never forget."
"Eh, no problem."
'No Problem?' Fredrick internally repeated to himself. Ragna could be asking for anything that the kingdom could offer right now; gold, status, supplies, yet he regarded this as any other event? 'This man is becoming stranger and stranger the more I see of him.' "A moment please, your Grace."
"Yes, Fredrick?" Emmeryn regarded the Knight.
"Milady. While Ragna here has performed a great deed, he has only identified himself as a traveler and nothing more. He remains an enigma to all of us and I am still speculative of his true intentions. It was also revealed that he may have some ties to the corpse-like creatures we encountered in the woods. He may be a great asset as of right now, but what's to stop him from becoming our greatest threat?"
"Fredrick!" Chrom exclaimed. Ragna gave a groan as things were ever so slowly returning to the norm for him.
"And do you still trust in this man Chrom and Lissa, in spite of what Fredrick says?" Emmeryn asked, though not unkindly.
"Ragna fought to save Ylissian lives without a second thought. Mysterious as his origins may be, I believe that he's to be trusted. He earned that much after saving Southtown and staying by our side!"
"Yeah, he may he scary, but he's with us!" Lissa supported.
Scary? …Eh, I've been called worse. Also, it's not untrue,' Ragna admitted, though that's not all he was considering. 'Maybe…'
Emmeryn smiled. "Then I will put my faith in him as well, but thank you for your concern, Fredrick. We may need your trademark wariness in the coming days."
"Milady."
Emmeryn looked towards the man in question. "If you do not mind, I would like to talk with you further, Ragna. Perhaps after the meeting? I'll admit I'm interested in our newest Shepherd."
"Actually, Ragna's not a proper Shepherd," Chrom informed. "He-"
"-Just joined," Ragna interrupted. "And I'll take that invitation to talk later."
"What? I thought you said you couldn't make any promises," Chrom reminded.
"Well, I just did. You got me on your side to get things under control; me and my sword."
"And your tactics," Chrom added, smirking now that Ragna had committed himself to the cause. "We're actually in need of a field tactician."
"Fine, but I'll need some books to help me get started. Everything I know about tactics is only secondhand knowledge and in the moment decisions."
"I'll ask if we have anything in the library later," Chrom assured him. "Right now, I should be heading for that meeting." As Chrom, Phila, Fredrick, and Emmeryn made their way to the throne room, Lissa grabbed Ragna's arm.
"Come on, there's somewhere I need to show you!" she said playfully as she proceeded to drag the newest Shepherd off.
"HEY! I'm coming! You don't have to drag me!"
Chrom laughed at the scene; a man who could take out an entire battalion of an unknown threat with ease was still getting dragged around by a woman who was almost half his size. Ragna was quite a strange individual... he'd fit in great with the rest of the Shepherds.
Later
"Here we are! Welcome to the Shepherd's Garrison!"
Ragna looked around. It hadn't taken them long to get here; he could still see the palace in the distance. The Garrison had several rooms including a storeroom, several living quarters, a meeting room, and a large training yard. He was currently in the training yard with Lissa, watching as Sully dueled a well-built blonde-haired man wielding an axe.
"LISSA!" the two heard from behind. Ragna saw a woman with blonde curls and a parasol in her hand approach them. He couldn't explain it, but somehow this woman reminded him of the Rabbit.
"Hey Maribelle!" Lissa said cheerfully. "What's got you in such a rush?"
"You do!" she shouted. "I just heard from Sully about the ordeal you went through! I almost fainted after hearing how you were forced to survive against those filthy creatures!"
"Hey, it wasn't that bad, we had Ragna here with us."
"He's who I was talking about!"
'Not off to a good start, this one.'
"And look who finally managed to drag their ass here," Sully said, while wiping her sweaty brow with a cloth. "I was wondering how long you'd be held up."
"I told you already that I didn't have plans of join," the Reaper reminded.
"I knew better; you've that whole tough bastard on the outside softie on the inside thing written all over yer mug," she laughed, making Maribelle scowl with her choice of words.
"So, this is the guy you told Teach about!" the blonde-haired man Sully had been dueling said. "Name's Vaike, but everyone calls me Teach!"
"I don't."
"No way in hell!"
"How barbaric!"
"Just met you."
"Aw, come on! Give me a little slack," Vaike said looking depressed, but not for too long. "Anyways, glad to meetcha Ragna!"
"Ditto," Ragna said with a small grin. "Is there anyone else here?"
"Yeah, a few people. Stahl, Sumia, Miriel, and..." Vaike looked around and scratched his head in confusion. "That's odd, I'm pretty sure Kellam was around here somewhere."
"You mean that giant suit of armor behind you?" Ragna asked a little concerned.
"Huh? WOAH! WHAT THE HELL!" Vaike said as he finally noticed. "Kellam where… how?"
"Uhh... Hi?" Kellam said unsurely.
"He's been standing there since you came over..." Ragna was now concerned; Vaike would have been one thing, but he noticed the same look of surprise in everyone else's eyes. 'They're not trying to be mean... are they really just that dense?'
"Ragna... you can see me?" Kellam asked.
"You're almost as tall as I am, wearing a giant suit of armor, and you don't exactly take light steps; how the hell could I NOT know that you're there?"
"Well, you're the first person to see him without having to try!" Lissa exclaimed. "The rest of us try to keep our eyes on him, but it's just not possible!"
Ragna shook his head. "I don't understand you people."
"Heh, blunt, but honest at least." Ragna turned to the source of the voice and saw a man with brown hair in a cowlick. He was walking towards them with a woman with crimson hair and a pointy hat carrying a red tome and another woman with a winged clip in her hair while she was wearing some form of armor with the same design. "I'm Stahl; another knight of the Shepard's, this is our mage Miriel, and this is Sumia."
"A satisfying first chance of meeting you Ragna." Miriel greeted
"Hi there Ragna," Sumia welcomed
"Nice to meet all of you," Ragna said in return. 'In terms of strange speakers, Miriel doesn't even break my top five. At least she isn't trying to be cryptic… I think.'
"So Chrom's in a meeting right now?" Sumia asked.
"Yeah, about a threat we encountered on the way here," Ragna answered.
"He should be back soon Sumia," Lissa assured her. "Just as soon as the meetings over."
"Luckily it was a short meeting," they all heard Chrom say from behind and their commander walked in with Fredrick close behind. "It's been decided that we're going to be needing more help if we're going to be combating the threats of both bandits and now of our new opponents, now called The Risen. Since we have too few troops to spread in a large radius, we're heading north to Regna Ferox tomorrow to plea our case their Kahn ruler. This is a simple peacekeeping mission, no need to come if you don't want to."
In the end Vaike, Sumia, Sully, Virion (who just showed up randomly), Kellam, Stahl, and Miriel decided to come. Add that to the original four and you had a pretty decently sized traveling party.
"I'm afraid I need to stay behind," Maribelle said. "My father said he'd need my assistance in the courts about our cities trade route. Do be careful and take care of Lissa… or else."
"Don't worry Maribelle," Chrom assured. "Lissa will be safe, I don't expect things to be too dangerous on the roads... By the way Ragna, shouldn't you be heading back to the palace?"
"Yeah, but I'm going to need someone to show me around. Couldn't get a proper lay of the lands being dragged around like that."
"I was actually on my way to the palace, I can assist you if you wish," Maribelle offered.
"Thanks."
From there, the two silently made their way to the palace with Ragna traveling on foot with Maribelle on her pony. Currently, it was the afternoon. Ragna was resolved to say as little to this girl as he could; her poise, her expression, and even her way of addressing others reminded him about someone he'd rather think less of… hopefully it was only surface level.
"So tell me Ragna, what business do you have in the royal palace?"
"Someone wanted to talk with me," Ragna said unyieldingly.
Maribelle gave a small laugh. "Someone wanted to meet you IN the palace? That seems unlikely, but I shall take your word for it. Who are you meeting?"
"Emmeryn," Ragna said bluntly. The look of shock in the noble's eyes was apparent. "She said something about wanting to meet the newest addition to the Shepherd's... but I have no ideas for her real reasons."
"Perhaps she is hoping to properly thank you for saving South Town and escorting her beloved siblings safely back to the capital. That's no small feat mind you."
"Maybe," Ragna said as they approached the castle. "But I don't want her to feel like she owes me anything. I was just there at the right place and the right time, simple as that."
"Most men, women, and nobles would give an arm for an opportunity such as this, and you say you want nothing for it? Not even to be commemorated for it? Ragna, just who are you?"
"Since I'm in the Shepherds now, call me their Black Sheep."
"…A little on the nose, don't you think?"
"Just a bit."
Phila was standing at the castle gates wait for them with a small group of maids. "Welcome, Lady Maribelle. I see you've met one of our new topics of interest. Miranda, take Lady Maribelle to her room, Scarlet, take her horse to the stables, I'll escort Ragna myself."
The maids nodded as they left with Maribelle. Ragna meanwhile followed closely behind Phila. As they walked, she decided to inform him of one of her personal policies. "I don't care how strong Chrom claims that you are. The moment you draw your blade is the moment you seal your fate."
Ragna shrugged, far from impressed. "If it's that much of a problem, why not take it from me?"
"Because Emmeryn has decided to trust you. I'm only reminding you so that you know what to expect from our guards." The two were now standing in front of a stained mahogany door. "Your grace, I've brought Ragna with me."
The door opened revealing Emmeryn with her warm smile. "Phila, how many times have I insisted that you call me by my name and not my title?"
"Enough times, but I will continue to do what's proper. I will leave you two here." She gave Ragna one final 'I'm watching you' look before leaving. Ragna disregarded it and walked inside. He saw that there was a small fresh brew of tea, a few crumpets, and a white tome. Emmeryn shut the door, sat down at the table, and gestured for him to sit as well, which he did.
"What was it you wanted to talk to me about in private?" he asked, getting straight to the point.
"It's about your new position in the Shepherds... and about Chrom. Your position may seem straight forward with your immediate knowledge of tactics; give the troops orders, have the Shepherds carry them out, and fight when you need to... But that's not the type of tactician that I'm looking for."
"Then what are you looking for?"
"A man who's capable of leading others to do impossible. Someone who not only knows how to take life, but more importantly how to save it. I want you to be able to see any mission with the loss of even one of your own as a failure, no matter what it accomplishes. I want you to always be the one to find the other way."
"Done," Ragna said without bravado.
Emmeryn looked surprised as she started pouring tea. "I'm sorry?"
"I don't want to lose anyone either... I know the feeling of losing the people important to you all too well." Images flashed in his mind, reminding him of when he lost the sister at the church as a child, when Lambda had died in his arms atop Kagutsuchi, and most recently when Celica had faded. "I swear, no one's going to die on my watch, I'd rather fight off an entire army myself."
Emmeryn nodded before handing a cup of tea to Ragna. The Reaper nodded thanks as he took the cup and took a small sip. The tea was good, almost better than Rachel's personal brew (he'd stolen some from the Vampire when she wasn't looking), but his mind readily went to the next topic at hand. "What did you want to talk about Chrom for?"
Emmeryn gave a soft sigh. "I love my brother, but he can be very headstrong at times. He believes that most problems are to be solved at the end of his blade, not through peaceful means. I know I've asked too much of you already, but I want you to be his voice of reason. Tell him when to avoid fighting and causing further conflicts."
"I'll do what I can," Ragna promised. 'Of course, if this had been me from two years ago, Chrom would be my voice of reason.' "Was there anything else you wished to speak with me about?"
Emmeryn nodded. "I have a small gift for you, it may help you on your journey." She handed Ragna the book on the table, the Reaper examined the cover and summarized it was a sort of spell grimoire. "This is a tome that I carried when I began learning magic some time ago. Inside you'll find basic and novice spells from all three schools of elements."
Ragna nodded as he put the tome on his belt and finished his tea. "Thank you, Emmeryn."
Emmeryn smiled. "Perhaps you could convince Phila to address me the same way?"
Ragna smirked. "I doubt she'd listen if every noble in Ylisse asked her; most people think that I'm being rude by calling you what you want."
"And yet you don't care. You'd make a terrible politician."
"You don't my help for my politics," the Reaper smirked.
"No… I want you help because I need you to do the right thing."
Support Rank C Obtained with Emmeryn
After tea
The sun was beginning to set as he made his way back towards the Garrison. It would be an odd feeling having somewhere more permanent to return to at the end of the day… even if he was already leaving the next morning. He hadn't made it far before a painful surge ran through his arm.
"GAH! What's-!?" That was before he sensed them. 'Those things from the woods; Chrom said they're called the Risen now... There are about ten of them about two miles out from the capital, but they seem pretty weak... How can I sense something that far away without focusing? Maybe because of those shadows I absorbed?'
Ragna decided that the WHY wasn't important right now; what was important was finishing the Risen before they caused any harm. 'I could let Chrom know...but how could I tell him that I detected them? Fredrick already doesn't trust me since I'm connected to them.' He sighed to himself before he began running towards the capitals outskirts. 'I'll just handle this one on my own.'
It didn't take him long to arrive, he was on a ledge with a fair amount of bushes and other vegetation on it for cover while the Risen were a short drop below. Before he could leap down to engage them, this time it was his eye pulsed that gave a painful pulse. Even from far away he could now make out the Risen's numbers, what they were equipped with, even their general strength.
'How am I getting these abilities? Does it have something to do with the shadows I get after slaying these things or just being near them? …Whatever,' he thought as he jumped over the edge, drawing the Aramasa in midair.
He immediately eliminated an axe wielding risen on his way down. He grabbed his fallen prey's weapon and threw it at another Risen, embedding the weapon in its chest. Two down, no problem.
Ragna spun to dodge as a soldier class Risen lunged at him with its lance. After avoiding the attack with ease, he grabbed the lance with his free arm before slashing the Risen with his swordand turning it into shadow food for his BlazBlue. He then repositioned the lance before impaling two risen through with it.
The remaining five risen rushed at him from the front, but those number meant nothing to him. "Try this one on for size! Death Spike!" The signature black beast head emerged from the ground and impacted the Risen, destroying all of them with ease. When the explosion of darkness settled, Ragna's arm did the rest of the work absorbing their shadows and leaving Ragna with an oddly full feeling… though his stomach itself felt famished having only had Emmeryn's tea recently.
"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" a feminine voice called out.
Ragna could barely believe his eyes at first. A pegasus?He never thought he'd encounter something like that... ever. The mythical beast landed in front of him and its helmeted rider dismounted, carrying a steel lance. She observed the weapons laying on the ground before turning her attention back to Ragna himself.
"Who are you?"
'Might as well go along with this.' "Call me Ragna."
"And these weapons?"
"Risen; those creatures going around, that's what they're called now."
"I see..." the woman considered. "And you were able to take them all out by yourself?"
"I had the element of surprise."
"And who are you with?"
"The Shepherds; just joined."
"Really? Then you won't mind telling me their members."
"All right; Chrom's the leader, Fredrick, Sully and Stahl are knights, Miriel is a mage, not sure what Maribelle or Sumia are, Lissa is their healer, Vaike uses an axe, and no one notices Kellam despite the armor."
The knight seemed shocked. 'If he knows who Kellam is he has to be a Shepherd.' She removed her helmet, revealing long scarlet hair. "I'm Cordelia, an officer of Ylisse's Pegasus Knight. Sorry for mistrusting you."
"It's fine, I'd be suspicious if I were in your shoes," Ragna assured her. "So what are we going to do with these weapons?"
"I'll take them back to headquarters, maybe we can get an idea of how their getting these weapons if we try and examine them."
"Whatever, I need to be heading back anyways," Ragna said as he started making his belated return to the Shepherd barracks.
"Just a moment, Ragna. I heard a rumor that Prince Chrom found a new field tactician... is it you?"
"Seems that way; not sure what he's expecting from me. More of a frontlines fighter myself."
"Regardless of where you place yourself on the battlefield, I need you to promise me something. Sumia and I have been friends for years. Do whatever else you need to, but I need her and Chrom to make it out of our conflicts alive. Promise me that ensure they don't fall."
Ragna scoffed. "You people just don't get it. I may have just met the Shepherd's, but there's no way in hell I'm letting any of them die. I've gone through that crap enough times already."
Cordelia sighed. "You know that's not going to be possible. All of the greatest tacticians of any nation always had to lose someone through either miscalculation or needed sacrifice. It's almost like an unwritten rule in war."
Ragna looked at her, dead in the eye. "In that case, I'll be first one to break it. I don't give a shit what war has to say about it."
Cordelia stared at the man in awe. How could someone claim that and look so serious, did Ragna know what he was saying? "Are you actually saying you can save everyone?"
"I made a promise to someone, I intend to keep it." Ragna was silent for a moment before adding, "I could use your help."
"You want me to join the Shepherds?"
"We're going to need a Pegasus Knight if we're going to be prepared for whatever comes our way. And I can tell you're skilled enough."
"You can? How?"
"Your posture, the way you landed and dismounted with ease, even the way you hold your lance. There's a lot to notice."
"Really?" Cordelia asked simply before thrusting her blade forward, leaving only a hair between the point and Ragna. Ragna didn't even react. "Apparently you can't see everything."
"I didn't react because I didn't need to."
Cordelia was about to wave it off as sheer bravado, but that was before she looked into his eyes. He wasn't being coy, and his breathing hadn't even skipped a note; he was telling the truth. She took the lance point away from Ragna. "Very well, I accept your offer for the position. I'll inform Phila and rendezvous with the rest of the Shepherd's before you leave tomorrow."
"Sounds good, glad to have you on the team. Just… save the stab tests for the Risen, alright?" He added that last part with a grin.
Cordelia allowed herself a brief laugh, showing she wasn't all seriousness and gloom. "If you insist. I'll see you tomorrow, Ragna."
"See ya then, and thanks for the cleanup," the Reaper said before running off.
'I'll be doing my duty of course… but that's not all,' she allowed herself to consider once the Reaper had left. 'If… this position gets me closer to Prince Chrom, perhaps I'll finally get him to notice me… maybe I should give that book another read tonight, just to be safe.'
Author's Note: I don't own Fire Emblem or BlazBlue.
Well, now Ragna is officially a Shepherd. This chapter was still used to set the stage, but I also introduced a few characters ahead of their regular meeting time. Ragna and Cordelia haven't hit C rank yet. I'll always make an announcement whenever something like that happens.
Thus the shipping war raged on, neither side willing to give in to the others demands. I don't think these pairing ideas will ever stop. I will promise this to all of you, whoever I don't have Ragna marry(again IF he marries), I'll be sure to include them in an S rank support conversation in a bonus section.
Post Edit Reviews
Kazama the Shell Bullet: Thankfully as I go back and address this review, the shipping war has more or less been settled already.
Zash101: Over 35 chapters ahead… I think you may have already read this.
Wolfman360: More shipping requests.
Ted: That is a popular angle I've noticed.
Guest: Could be interesting.
Cloud Narukami: Hmmmm
Warrior of the Six Blades: Yeah, Ragna should get the occasional ribbing where appropriate.
Lacelotquantas0079: Ah, the old poll.
The Unplanner: Going back now, I'll be drastically changing an upcoming chapter to make her more involved with the plot… a lot of those changes coming up soon.
Mark the Mark: Oh boy, across species and time, eh?
See you guys next editing update! Ciao!