A Reaper's Awakening

by Storm VII

After being thrown into the cauldron, Ragna the Bloodedge finds himself in Ylisse where he meets Chrom, Fredrick, and Lissa. What does fate have in store for the Grim Reaper? Why was he thrown into a conflict with Plegia, which he knows next to nothing about? Ragna x Harem

26. The Great Northern Wall

Chapter XXVI: The Great Northern Wall

The trio of Henry, Tiki, and the Black Knight continued their journey into Regna Ferox after having just taken out another group of Risen. Ever since they'd accepted the Manakete into their group the Risen had been coming after the three relentlessly. This did not concern the Black Knight whose main goal was still to destroy any Risen that he came across, if fact this made things easier if he didn't need to hunt the creatures down himself… that and it kept the bloodthirsty dark mage satisfied for a time.

As the three had traveled, Tiki herself did not engage in the conflicts with the Risen. She was not incapable of defending herself entirely, even at present, but she allowed her travelling companions to fight on her behalf. This gave her time to study the enigmatic Black Knight; even if his actions told her that he was no enemy of hers she still couldn't ignore the feeling of darkness that had been present when she'd barely peered through the helmets gaps. All she could gain was that he was a powerful warrior that fought with an unconventional style that she had never seen put to use, despite her long centuries of seeing other warriors in battle.

"It's starting to get cold," Henry said mildly as the group stopped for a break. "We're still in the desert, but I think it's safe to say that it won't be long before we start seeing snow."

"Meaning we're almost to the Longfort," the Black Knight noted as he looked into the sky and saw that it was only midafternoon. "We should call it a day here then; this might be our last chance to sleep anywhere that isn't covered in snow." He turned his helm to face Tiki, who didn't seem to shudder under his gaze. "That a problem?"

"So long as we make it to Ylisstol safely I'll leave the details of the journey to you," the Manakete told him. "Though what do you intend to do when we reach the border? I doubt the troops there won't let us simply pass by if we're traveling from Plegia."

"Leave that to me, I happen to know how to handle Feroxi warriors better than most," he assured her. "Henry, how much food do we have left?"

"Enough to get us through the night at least," Henry told him as he looked at the group's rations bag. "I don't think there are any towns nearby so we'll have to make a stop at one of the villages after we pass the border or do some hunting… just don't kill any wolves or crows, kay?"

"If you insist," Knight told him as he sat in the sand.

"Do you two often travel like this?" Tiki asked, deciding to engage in some friendly conversation to get to know her two traveling companions better.

"Nya ha ha! For the few days that I've known him!" their dark mage cackled. "But yeah, Knight sticks to the wilderness and never heads into a town if he doesn't need to. In fact, he even decided to hide himself when a merchant's caravan was passing by. Really secretive this one."

"Unlike you who can only give me a few minutes of silence at best," the Black Knight grumbled. "This idiot just came out of nowhere and refused to leave me alone 'cause he wanted to slaughter some Risen."

"I just didn't want to let you have all the fun big guy!" Henry laughed as his crows cawed at the armored enigma.

"...Let's just eat," the knight grunted. "I'll take the first shift tonight; I need the both of you rested in case things go wrong tomorrow."

"Are you expecting them to?" Tiki had to ask.

"...Let's just say with my type of luck I wouldn't be surprised," he admitted, further intriguing Tiki on the mysteries of her guide. "By the way kid, you're going to have to say goodbye to those crows of yours soon. I don't think they'll do that well in the snow."

"I figured," Henry said, though he actually seemed to be a little sad. "Ah well, I'll see them again soon, CAWS-"

"Please don't…"

"Birds of a feather flock forever! Nya ha ha!" At Henry's joking and the Black Knight's groan, Tiki left out the smallest of giggles. She'd forgotten what it was like to travel with a group of people like this. It brought her back to the days she'd spent with the hero king.

Meanwhile Plegia

"Lissa, would you please take your nose out of that book for just a moment?" Maribelle asked the princess and her best friend.

The two were currently enjoying a small tea party with just the two of them, something that hadn't happened in quite some time. With the war finally over Maribelle had thought she'd have plenty an opportunity for the two friends to catch up with each other, but responsibilities to helping her father and rebuilding the damages caused by the war had taken up a large portion of the time. She'd finally found a good chance to take a break, but had discovered Lissa nose deep the same book she was reading now.

"Sorry Maribelle," the princess told her friend sheepishly. "I guess I've just been focusing on finishing this a lot lately."

"I can clearly see that, but I believe that there's a better time and a better place to read a story," Maribelle told her friend. "What's makes that book of yours so interesting anyways?"

"W-well," Lissa began nervously as her mind began to race. "I-It's just a really really interesting book, there's a lot of… of action and-!"

"Lissa, if you don't wish to tell me I won't ask, but you can stop acting like I've caught in the act of something heinous… unless it's that Make Him Fall For You In A Fortnight, then I demand to know who saw fit to give you such a book."

"It's nothing like that," Lissa said with a blush as she remembered seeing Cordelia telling Elphelt about the book and letting the runaway bride borrow it. "It's actually a spell tome…"

"A spell tome, as in attack magic?" the young noble questioned her friend. "I may not think it's necessary since we are at peace, but as long as it can be used to ensure your safety I'll support your efforts."

"Really?" Lissa asked with a smile. "Well that's a relief to hear!"

"Honestly Lissa, why on earth would I have a problem with you learning magic from Robin?"

"Well… I'm not learning from Robin," the princess admitted nervously. "I'm actually learning from… Aversa."

"...I see," Maribelle said eventually. Though Aversa had joined the Shepherd's some time ago, she had yet to really connect with any of their members. That stood especially true for Maribelle given their history, anytime the two had seen each other, they normally reached silent agreement to walk the other way to not get close to the other. "So… how are your lessons then?"

"I think they're going pretty good, I'm starting to get the hang of a basic wind spell," Lissa told her. "I kinda wanted to try Dark magic, but she kept telling me that I wouldn't have the aptitude for it."

'She's at least denying her training in the darker arts,' Maribelle thought, Aversa's refusal giving her a little comfort. "Were you planning on seeing her for more lessons after this?"

"Yeah, I was," Lissa admitted.

"Excellent, in that case I believe I'll be joining the two of you," Maribelle said with her usual victorious smile causing Lissa to grow nervous. "After all, I too have been considering a bit of study into the magical arts."

"Okay?" Lissa said unsurely.

The two finished up their tea shortly after that, a bit too quickly for the nervous Princess's tastes. Reluctantly, Lissa led her friend to an empty set of chambers on the castle's second floor which were occasionally used for mage's duels. In Ylisse's past elemental spells played a much more prominent role in their society; many members of nobility became mages, their armies had many more spell casting units, and of course it played an important role in certain politics. Whenever the current ruling Exalt saw a conflict that would prefer not to have a say in, the debate was often handled by a magic duel between mages. As such, Ylisse's castle had several such chamber's that would be used to hold these duels, this was where the two found Aversa waiting for Lissa with a series of tomes under her arms.

"I wasn't expecting you to bring a friend princess," the former Plegian Dark Flyer said as she looked at the unannounced guest. "Maribelle…"

"Aversa…" the noble woman returned with a well-tempered tone. "Lissa tells me that you've been teaching her magic."

"Only the elemental types, we're working with wind spells currently." Aversa may have sounded and appeared casual when she'd spoken, but in truth she wasn't dropping her guard for an instance. "Why? Did you think I was trying to convert your innocent little princess to the realm of witchcraft and hexes?"

"I doubt even the vilest of the Grimleal's influence could corrupt her, my Lissa is far too pure of heart to fall for those dark arts." So blinded by her beaming pride was Maribelle that she didn't notice Aversa rolling her eyes in annoyance. "But she tells me that you're not teaching her anything of the sort. I'm a bit curious to see what you curriculum entails."

"Let's leave the song and dance there, I know full well how you feel about this and the distrust you have for me," Aversa said to the young noble. "I hate wasting time; endlessly apologizing to you won't take away the damage we inflicted to your city and neither will your continued hatred."

Lissa was beginning to grow nervous as a harsh silence fell over the two. The princess had known that she hadn't had much of a choice when Maribelle had decided to follow along, but the tension in the room was getting too heated for even what she'd imagined. Her mind racing, the princess tried whatever strategy came to mind right then.

"M-Maybe Maribelle can join us from now on?" she suggested, getting quizzical looks from both women. "I-I mean you did say that you wanted to try out magic, right? It'd help if I could have someone else to help me with the work as we go."

"That… seems to be the best option," Aversa admitted as she turned to the other blonde. "I suppose this way you won't have to worry about me teaching the princess anything heinous."

"And I suppose with time I might begin to grow used to you," Maribelle agreed with something of a smirk. "Who knows? Perhaps we may actually find ourselves warming up to each other."

"I wouldn't count on that, I'm a rather hard person to warm up to and I have an even harder time warming up to others," Aversa said darkly. Her thoughts then drifted to the man from her past that for all of his faults she still remembered quite fondly. His usual pitiless attitude towards her, his occasional snarky comments, and those few times from what seemed like just yesterday when he comforted her in secret. "...And people that manage to never last that long…"

"I'm sorry?" Maribelle questioned.

"It's nothing," Aversa dismissed before she opened her spell tome. "Well ladies, I suppose it's time we started our lesson…"

-Meanwhile: Ylisse Castle's Treasure Vault-

Emmeryn was silent as she stood alone in her castle's treasure room. Aside from the Fire Emblem and Falchion which were almost always carried by members of the royal family, all of Ylisse's great treasures were kept here. Her late father's old sword was here and was regularly polished by only the most trusted of servants. The was the spear the ended a destructive revolution from over a hundred years back, a tome containing the original pages of the first theories of magic, and a bow said to house the soul of the fifth Exalt. However, Emmeryn wasn't interested in any of the treasures that came from her family, she was interested in two other treasures; the blood stained coat and sword that rested off in the corner.

"I hear you visit this place often," her brother said calmly as he walked into the room. "How are you doing?"

"Not perfect, but I've been through far worse," she told Chrom. "I just come here from time to time to remind myself."

"Emm, we both know that Ragna wouldn't want you to do this. Rest if you still need to, but what's done is done… I eventually forgave myself; you need to do the same."

"Easier said than done Chrom, but you misunderstand my meaning. Ragna's sacrifice and those of the Pegasus knights is what managed to save my life, I owe it to them to make my life as meaningful as possible… That's why I am going to be attending the next council meeting."

"A-Are you certain?" Chrom asked his sister nervously. "It's the first full scale one since the war ended and you've been out of the smaller meetings between the nobles for some time."

"I'm aware, but the sooner I return to my duties the easier it will be for me and those I have responsibilities toward. I will need your help though."

"Not a problem," Chrom assured her. "Robin and I will help get you up to speed with everything that's happened before the meeting."

"I'm glad I can always count on the two of you," the Exalt said with her well known soft smile. "I've never been one for gossip, but our dear little sister's told me that your time with Robin hasn't been all business."

"Th-there's some truth to that," the prince admitted with a harsh blush. "We're thinking about pursuing a more… romantic relationship… Are you against it?"

"Not in the slightest," Emmeryn told him calmly. "I'm glad that you finally found a special someone in life." Chrom let out a sigh of relief; though Emmeryn was his sister she had needed to act like his mother for much of his early life which lead him to look up to her with family authority even to this day. "Not to mention I think her calm manner of thinking will be perfect to managing your hotheadedness."

"Hey!" Chrom exclaimed while Emmeryn gave a dignified giggle. Rolling his eyes, the prince's gaze once more fell on his late friend's sword and coat. "...It's a little hard to look at Ragna's belonging when they're covered in his own blood, do you think we can repair them?"

"We can certainly try," Emmeryn told him with a soft smile. "I think we owe that much to him…"

The Next Morning -The LongFort-

A freshly recruited Feroxi soldier shivered as he stood along his lookout post at the Plegian end of the Longfort. Ever since he'd joined the army of Regna Ferox he'd always dreamed of fighting in glorious battle, hunting monsters, saving maidens, and even managing to defeat Kahn Basilio in a duel. All he'd really done since joining was stand here and keep a look out for the Plegians that were trying to attack the wall. Since he'd only recently finished his training, he'd been stationed here right after the war had ended and had yet to see a single attack.

"Damn this is dull," he muttered to himself as he clutched his spear. "If something exciting doesn't happen soon I'm going to go insane."

He'd just finished the words when he finally caught a glimpse of a small group of travelers. Peering off into the distance, he was able to make out that there were three of them; one in a cloak, another in dark mage robes, and the third in heavy armor black as midnight.

"The Black Knight…" he said in awe as he saw the three continue to approach. Finally managing to snap out of his thoughts, he headed to the rooftop entrance to the fort and called down into the whole. "Commander! I think you're going to want to see this!"

Within a few minutes, Commander Escald was on the roof. He was a middle aged man who rarely shaved so that his face wouldn't grow frostbitten as easily. He wore light armor and wielded a spear that had been given to him by Basilio when he'd been given his post. Looking out over the side of the wall, his eyes found the Black Knight and his traveling companions.

"I didn't think he was the type to travel with anyone," the commander said. "Private, head down and tell the others to ready themselves. Don't be quick to attack, but await my signal should he try anything. Understood?"

"Sir!" the private said with a salute as he headed down into the fort. Escald continued to stare out and observe the Black Knight, trying to guess why the traveler was trying to get into Regna Ferox.

Down below the Black Knight and his companions made their way ever closer to the LongFort. The enigmatic armored figure leaving deep prints in the ground as he walked, his enchanted armor slayer sheathed and strapped to his side while his red and black cape fluttered in the soft breeze behind him.

"Well, I can see where it gets the name," Henry said as he looked at the LongFort. "So… are we gonna blow it up? Please say yes."

"Don't be ridiculous, we're just going to pass through and that will be the end of it," the Knight told him.

"It's not gonna be that easy big guy," the dark mage told him. "A big, mysterious, and well-armed figure is just gonna walk into Regna Ferox through the front door? I hope whatever plan you've got works, cause that sure ain't doing the trick."

"I believe he's aware of that," Tiki interjected. "...At the very least I think he is…"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," the Black Knight said sarcastically as they made their way to the closed gate that would lead them into the kingdom. "Doesn't look like they're in a hurry to let us through."

"BLACK KNIGHT!" a powerful voice called from up on the wall. "I am Commander Peter Escald of the Regna Ferox LongFort Army! I demand to know why you desire passage into our kingdom!"

'Here goes nothing… Damn I hate politics…' the knight thought to himself. "I'm trying to make my way into Ylisse!" he called up the wall. "The situation at the other border is already tense! Besides, I already wiped out most of the Risen in Plegia!"

"So you admit to seek passage into Ylisse!" Escald called once more from the top of the Fort. "Why so!?"

"This woman has an important message for the Royal family! I'm just trying to get her to the Ylisse-Ferox side of the border!"

"And the dark mage! What about him!?" Peter demanded.

"...No clue! You can keep him here if you want! You'd be doing me a favor!" the knight shouted.

"Hey! I take offense to that!" Henry shouted from down below.

'I'd be surprised if you didn't.' "Look, if it's all the same to you, can I just beat you in a fight a go through? I don't want to spend any more time in the snow than I have to."

Escald seemed to ponder over that request. On one hand he didn't have any specific orders to keep the Black Knight out of Regna Ferox, but if the mysterious warrior attacked any of the towns it'd be on his own head. The Knight was. However. told to be bringing an end to Risen and outlaws alike, so it was quite the crossroad. And if the rumors about his prowess proved to be true...

"That won't be necessary," Escald finally decided, surprising the party. "Given my authority you're free to pass, but I will first send a messenger to the capital to bring news of your arrival. I'm putting my trust in you Black Knight, don't make me regret it."

"...And the others?" the Black Knight questioned as he looked to his two companions.

"Also free to travel through," the commander assured him. "Though keep an eye on them. If anything wrong happens on their account it will be on both our heads."

"You don't need to remind me," the Black Knight said as he crossed his armored hands and waited while Escald headed into the LongFort. "...Well that was anti-climactic."

"If you're so disappointed we can still blast our way through," Henry offered as he gently patted his spell tome.

"Not interested," the Black Knight told him bluntly before turning to Tiki. "You going to be alright in that cloak? It gets pretty cold here."

"I assure you; a little snow is nothing new to me," the Manakete told him. "I've traveled through much harsher conditions and managed to survive quite nicely, even during a war."

"So long as you're sure…" A low groan was heard as the massive iron gate was lifted revealing an open passage into the warrior kingdom. Letting out a deep breath, the knight in black took a hesitant first few steps in the kingdom, snow crunching beneath his armored boots as he did so. "...It beats the desert at least."

Author's Note CONTAINS IMPORTANT MESSAGES MOVING FORWARD

Hey guys, short chapter and not a lot happened, but that's going to be changing next time around.

Okay, so people seem to be pretty confused about the pairing types after the survey I did last time, so I'm going to try this again. I want you to vote with what kind of Ragna pairing you want moving forward, but do it with your comments. Here's how this is going to work:

types of pairings: single, multi-harem, mega-harem (every girl)

2. The one that gets the most comments wins, no exceptions.

3. I will still do Omake's for characters that don't get S-ranks

4. To avoid spamming, just make a short summary for why you think this type of pairing fits the story. Doesn't have to be long or even include specific characters, but it'll give me a few ideas of what to do moving forward.

Alright, now this might be bad news for you, but who's to say really? You've probably noticed that my stories have been getting shorter chapters lately and there have been longer breaks between updates. That's partially because I've had several head colds, but most of my ideas have been going towards one of my other stories: Rebirth of Azure.

For those of you that don't know, that story is one of my newer works that only has two chapters out. Instead of putting Ragna into a preset world like Fire Emblem, SAO, or Soul Eater I'm putting him into a new Dark Age Fantasy world that I created with new rules and some of my own characters. Reviews have been pretty good with most people seeming to like it while others say it's not their cup of tea.

Now the reason I bring this up is because I'm going to be trying a bit of a schedule change these next few months. Now Rebirth of Azure will also be updated every other time so the upcoming order will look something like this.

A Reaper's Awakening (This Update)

Rebirth of Azure (Next Update)

Azure Throne (3rd Update)

A Reaper's Awakening

Rebirth of Azure

A Reaper's Soul

A Reaper's Awakening

Rebirth of Azure

A Reaper's Game

I'm hoping that this will work out and I'll have more time to develop ideas for stories that I don't already have planned out. If you don't care for Rebirth of Azure I apologize in advance. Alright, time for the Omake, better make this a good one.

Cravings

"Last thing I want is a mystery to solve, but I guess I don't have a choice," Ragna muttered to himself as he walked around the camp's path. "Still can't decide if Lissa blackmailing me by threatening to tell Chrom about my extra training is really out of character or horribly in character for her… Anyways according to the Princess, Gaius, and Stahl someone's been raiding their sweets stashes. Gaius is asking me, so he's out as a suspect… I guess my next lead in candy lovers would have to be Nowi."

Ragna continued his walk until he came to the young Manakete's tent. "Even if she isn't responsible, something tells me whoever is would be a lot less eager to steal candy when there's a dragon looking for 'em." Hearing rustling and some eager chewing coming from inside Ragna didn't bother announcing his presence before charging into the tent. "Aha! Caught-! …you."

He'd been expecting a dragon, he got a squirrel. "R-Ragna!" Makoto shouted at him with a deep blush on her face. "W-wait a second, this isn't MY tent! Hehehehehehe…. So uh… what brings you here?"

"I've was sent to look for a little candy thief and something tells me I found them," the Reaper told her, his eye narrowed in a harsh glare.

"W-what kind proof do you have that it's me?" At Makoto's question, Ragna glanced down to both of her hands inside a small satchel on the ground that was quite clearly labeled 'Nowi's Candy'.

"Outside. Now." His harsh tone left no room for argument, and Makoto realized this as she sighed before following him outside the tent. Walking with the accused for a moment, Ragna waited until they were in a more private spot in the woods before turning to the Beastkin. "This really isn't a good week for you Nanaya; first you get me to give you half the gold I've got saved up with a waterworks show, and now you're sneaking into the other's tents to steal candy."

"If I could control myself I wouldn't have done it I swear," Makoto said as she tried to brush off some of the candy crumbs that were on her cheeks. "It's just… It's been so long since I've had an amazing Walnut Candy like that!"

"Walnut Candy?" Ragna repeated. "You just wanted that type of candy?"

"If any of you had taken a moment to look through, you'd have seen that was the only type I was stealing," she told him while putting her hands on her hips in a deep pout.

"And when you took my gold you were just looking to buy as many of those things as you could," the Reaper guessed with a sigh. "Look, normally I couldn't care less about this, but you got into the Shepherd's cause I told them you were a decent fighter. The least you could do is stay out of trouble for the both of us."

"I know, I know… I feel bad about it, honest I do, it's just sometimes my Beastkin instincts sort of take over, you know?"

"Is it really the instinct's fault or it your guns blazing persona?" Ragna questioned with a sigh before reaching inside his jacket and tossing a small satchel from inside to Makoto. "Here."

Curious, Makoto looked inside and saw that she'd just been given thirteen of the treats she was desiring. "You had some of these too?"

"Yeah, had," Ragna grumbled. "I understand you love these things, but try to get those cravings under control, alright?"

"You got it! After these I'm going cold turkey" Makoto exclaimed before stuffing the candies into her mouth and chewing with gusto.

"...Those things might last longer if you actually took some time to enjoy them," the Reaper reminded, before a massive roar was heard a short distance away.

"Wh-what the heck was that?" the squirrel Beastkin demanded, the fur on her tail standing up in spikes.

"If I had to guess, that was Nowi finding out someone took her candy," Ragna explained nonchalantly. Makoto slowly tried to crawl away, but Ragna's hand shot out and grabbed her by the tail. "Nope, you're running away from this."

"You want me to talk to a dragon!?" Makoto screamed at the top of her lungs. "I can't do that! She'll barbeque me then eat me alive!"

"Shoulda thought about that before you decided to steal from her," the Reaper said without mercy as he dragged Makoto back towards the encampment while she desperately clawed at the ground to escape. "There's always hell to pay Makoto, this is just one of the few time where I'm not the guy that pays it."

Support Rank C Obtained with Makoto Nanaya

Well that's the chapter guys! Ciao!