I was often told in the coming days of the Divine Dragon, Naga. Her power was shown in two great gifts she bestowed upon man; the Falchion, one of her fangs; and the Fire Emblem, one of her scales. Both are treasured artifacts of Ylisse and represent their relationship with Naga's chosen; the Exalt. She was predominantly represented in old Archanean texts as a massive unblinking eye.

So I found it strange that it was such a marvelous spectacle that bestowed those strangers unto us that night.

Slow to think and respond, but impossibly quick once they'd decided a target. They lumbered along on unsteady limbs, held their tools limply, and lolled their heads when they weren't focused. That same creature would stiffen their limp body and assume the pose of an experienced fighter the moment they saw you. They would drive their weapons with the force of an animal.

They never uttered a word, only hateful sounds from deep in their hollowed throats.

And no, I'm not talking about drunkards.

I'm talking about the creatures we found that night; hardly a gift from Naga. The person accompanying them however...

Chrom's sleep had grown restless. What at first promised to be a pleasant night under the stars with his newfound companion became ominous and disconcerting.

Surely it couldn't be Robin who made me uneasy, he reasoned.

Chrom rolled over to face the warmth of the faded fire. His sword, the Falchion, glinted modestly in the moonlight, hardly standing out against the dim clearing. Beyond those two rested Robin, who slept quite comfortably against the bare earth.

He wanted to help Robin from the moment he saw him incapacitated on the ground, even though not a day ago his personal mission was to attack any Plegian on sight. Even if he was Plegian, Robin was different. He was reserved, modest, and fought bravely. Of course if Frederick's suspicions were true, and he were some sort of spy, then he'd been playing to Chrom's weaknesses this whole time in an attempt to lower his guard.

Yet there Robin lay, completely unarmed, weapons laid out in the open and out of reach. Something didn't add up. It must be the bandits... their king doesn't excuse them, he orders them to fight us. I can't let any of this get to me...

Chrom willed himself to relax, but sleep would not come to him. He rolled over multiple times and couldn't find comfort. The great outdoors normally gave him such a great sense of peace, but today something was different. He felt exposed to some uncaring fate coming his way. His eyes caught a glint of light, and he turned to see his sword, still shimmering in the moonlight. ...What was that?

"...Chrom?" A quiet voice rose up next to him. "Are you up?" Chrom hadn't realized it, but he had risen to one arm.

"...Yeah... sorry." Chrom stood up carefully and examined the campsite. The dead fire soundlessly sent tiny trails of smoke into the air. The wind rustled through the trees. And yet... "Something's amiss," Chrom thought out loud. He heard Lissa drowsily force herself upright.

"Define 'something'," she said with a yawn. Chrom looked at Robin for a moment. The silver-haired man slept soundly, chest rising and falling rhythmically. He did however turn over in his sleep once shortly after Lissa asked her question. Chrom shook his head.

"I don't know, and I can't sleep. I'm going for a walk. I need to think," He said as he started out of the clearing. He had nearly started back on the trail they entered on before he heard Lissa quietly but hastily trot over to him.

"Not alone, you're not!" she protested through grit teeth, voice harsh in a whisper. Chrom smiled at his little sister. He was about to take another step forward when he hesitated.

He looked back at Robin, Frederick, and his sword sticking from the Earth. He quickly drew back and carefully removed the blade from its earthen scabbard. He sheathed it to his side and walked back to Lissa.

"Let's go, quietly. Don't want to wake them."

Even as they quietly slipped away, Chrom's sense of foreboding followed him and Lissa. He caught himself casting a look behind his shoulder once before the path to camp had become shrouded by trees behind him. It was a strange feeling, as if the Naga herself had cast her gaze upon him, and refused to look away.

"What's gotten you all worked up?" Lissa asked. "Don't tell me Frederick's getting to you."

"Okay, I won't," Chrom said briskly as he rubbed his eyes wearily. "It's something else... everything's felt off since we left Southtown."

"Yeah, I noticed. You were a bit of a grump up until the prospect of food came along," Lissa hopped to a nearby log and walked across, holding her staff like a balancing pole. "Okay, if it's not Frederick, then is it the Plegians?"

"It's not that either... augh!" Chrom ran his fingers through his hair. "It's something else. I don't know, maybe I'm just tired."

The two came to a clearing which offered a clear view of the moon. Chrom gazed up as Lissa leaned against her staff and waited intently for her brother to continue.

"Lissa?"

"Yeah?"

"...How do you think Emmeryn would've handled Robin?" Chrom finally asked.

"So that's what this is about!" Lissa nearly shouted as she pointed. She eased off of her staff. "You coulda just told me or Frederick that something was bugging you."

"And give Frederick cause for alarm? You know how he is," Chrom said. "No, and I was hoping I'd forget about it by the time we got to Ylisstol."

"And that's your problem!" Lissa said, brow furrowed. "You always wait for the last second before asking someone for help! You know it's easier on all of us if you 'trouble' someone sooner rather than later!" Chrom sighed and stepped away, holding his brow. "Ah! Sorry, I don't mean to.. erm..." Lissa folded her arms behind her back, staff neatly coming up behind her head, as she stopped to think. "What would Emm do... well... She'd prolly have carried Robin all the way to Ylisstol before even asking his opinion." Chrom managed a laugh.

"Probably," he said. "...I didn't want to leave him there, and after the talent showed..." Chrom paused again before feeling the hilt of his blade, kneading the leather straps. "Do you think... I should ask him to be a Shepherd?"

"You mean you haven't already decided?" Lissa asked.

"I can't just dump that responsibility on him!" Chrom replied. " 'I found you, and you're homeless. And you can fight? I will now make you a part of my little army.' " Chrom seethed even as the mock conversation left his mouth. "I feel like I'd take advantage of him."

"Okay then, don't," Lissa said. "Ride it out; take him to Ylisstol, let's meet the other Shepherds, see if he has any idea where he's going. If he really has nothing, then offer him! It'd feel natural, and I'm sure he'd appreciate the perks. Free lodging and all that."

Chrom quietly considered what his sister said. "...I guess that'll do for now."

Chrom didn't say anything for a while. He continued to feel the blade in his scabbard.

"Feel any better?" Lissa asked.

"Yeah, actually. We should head back to camp before..." Chrom froze. His eyes darted around as his sister waited behind him.

"Before... what?" She asked. "...Chrom? This is a really lame time to space out. I just finished giving you some of my real good advice too-"

"Shush!" Chrom walked paused and held his finger up. Lissa's eyes flashed indignantly, but she obeyed her brother. There was another pause.

"Chrom, I don't hear anything," Lissa whispered. Chrom surveyed the area.

"Neither do I... No birds, no wind, no insects... what on-" His ears finally caught a sound besides themselves; a soft rumbling in the distance. Lissa heard it too and inched closer to her brother.

"Ch-Chrom?" The instant the words left her mouth, the earth trembled. The two siblings held to each other as the valley was taken by the tremor, dust flying from the ground and trees shaking violently. The two knelt to the ground as the tremors reached their peak, Lissa crying out as she clenched Chrom's armor.

Slowly, the tremors stopped. Lissa peaked carefully from behind Chrom. Leaves fell lazily to the ground beneath.

"What... was that?" she asked. Chrom shook his head.

"Back to camp, now. This may call for a night time trek back to Ylisstol." Chrom fully expected another complaint from his little sister, but she timidly nodded her assent. They rose to their feet and started back towards camp.

And then the tremors struck again.

Robin had decided something not too long ago. No matter how much he liked Frederick - or wanted to anyway - Frederick did not like him. The knight had committed himself to his suspicions, in spite of everything Robin did to appear less threatening. From Robin's perspective, he had already taken multiple steps to not show anything other than passivity. He never drew his sword, he never asked Chrom and Lissa anything, and he tried to be helpful at camp. Still the Knight regarded him with underplayed resignation.

Of course, Robin reasoned, he was going about it from the wrong angle. Chrom himself was fine with him, and was graciously escorting him back to Ylisstol where could hopefully sort things out. If Chrom trusted him, why was he fighting for the knight's approval? Perhaps his innate love for tactics presented this as a challenge for him to overcome.

If the way Frederick hovered behind him with his axe at the ready was anything to go by, he had not overcome that challenge. Maybe Frederick's right; I do my best thinking when my life's in danger. Robin carefully moved his head to the side to get a better glimpse at Frederick. The knight was busy trading off between scanning the woods and glaring down on Robin. How could he still suspect me? I couldn't plan something like this out! Wait, right. He thinks I do my best when my life's in danger. As long as he's suspicious of me, my life is always in danger in his mind. Great.

"Still no sign, Sir Robin," Frederick grumbled. "And you're sure you had nothing to do with this?" Robin turned to face the knight, finally allowing himself a moment of frustration.

"I didn't do anything!" Getting emotional isn't the best way to look innocent right now... whatever, I've had it with this glorified butler. "W-What do you expect of me? I may be good at tactics but I'm not some Grandmaster Tactician for gods' sake! How could I walk away with your lords as you slept, knifed them in the trees, and just gone back to bed like nothing happened?"

For a moment, the knight said nothing. Then his eyes focused on something in the distance, and Frederick's expression hardened. He pointed forward, and Robin followed his gaze. There not ten feet away, covered by a bramble of leaves, was a small dark pool that glinted crimson in the moonlight. Blood. Robin felt a pit in his stomach, and rather ashamedly, the first person he feared for was himself.

Blast. If that's them I'm dead. For an instant he considered the possibility that something terrible actually had happened to the two siblings, and it horrified him. The first two people he met; incredibly gracious and caring for total strangers, now lay possibly dead or dying in the bushes. And Frederick would not be pleased if this were true.

"Forward!" Frederick growled. Gods why me? Robin obeyed, but at the same time his mind was working, trying to plan a possible getaway if things went south. Maybe I do a tactical retreat, find my bearings, and figure out what to do next. I make some distance and find a way to overpower the knight; he'd have to listen to me if I manage to humble him. ...Yeah that's going to happen.

He was a walking tangle of nerves as he approached the bushes. The blood itself wasn't what disturbed him, but the prospect of Chrom dead after hardly knowing him for a day. Robin knelt down, his thin trousers pushing against the earth. He carefully reached out for the bush. The iron smell of life filled his nostrils, and the light of Frederick's axe reflected off the leaves in front of him. Steeling himself, he pulled the brambles apart.

Robin froze, and then his shoulders relaxed; a long sigh exited his chest.

"What is it? What did you find?" Frederick started forward, axe lowered, and pushed Robin aside. "What could possibly - Augh!" Frederick jumped back. Robin let out a tired laugh.

"Relax, it's just Chrom's bear." The dead creature's eyes were shut, but its mouth was caught in a vicious snarl; yellow fangs bared. It carried a grievous wound behind its front leg; a wide gash that cut down to its heart. Chrom had managed to kill this beast in a single blow, and made off with a good slab of its shoulder for their meal.

"Just a dead bear?" Frederick remarked with a scoff. "Just a dead bear indeed...!" He nonchalantly relaxed his weapon and straightened out his armor's collar. He was trying to appear relaxed, but he was obviously in distress. His face was pale and beads of sweat had formed on his forehead from merely gazing upon the animal. "Abominable beast... one less creature for our fellow countrymen to worry about."

"It's just a dead bear, Frederick," Robin said. "It's not a fell beast or anything."

"Well it might as well be!" Frederick snapped, causing Robin to flinch. Well, somebody's got a grudge against these things. None of my concern of course... "These creatures are hardly fit to roam the plains of our beautiful country! They hardly contribute to anything sans the brutal killing of sheep, and horses, and countrymen... If it were up to me I'd lead a group of our finest knights and eradicate the creatures once and... Robin what are you doing?"

While the knight ranted, Robin had once again torn several sheets from his tome; their pages blank from having the magical runes burnt off of them. He readied his sword and aimed for the creature's shoulder.

"Saving resources!" he said proudly as he focused his blade. "Can't let all this meat go to waste, and Chrom did say he was leaving it for someone else to carry - might as well be me." Frederick observed and let out a sigh.

"Be quick," he relented. "I want to continue locating my lords as soon as possible. And after that strange rumbling..."

"Then perhaps you could go look for them and let me go back to bed..." Robin whispered under his breath. If the knight wanted to worry, then he would let him worry. At least he'd relented on his case for now, and in his defense those tremors from earlier were a good case for locating the two as soon as possible. He'd nearly forgotten about them shortly after waking up.

However a chill swept over Robin right before he could plant his blade.

Follow the Branded... Kill the Branded...

"Yes?" Frederick asked, his voice cold. "You had some valuable input for me?"

Follow the Branded...! Kill the Branded...!

Robin stared into space as a terrible cold crawled throughout his body. A distant murmuring of voices pierced his eardrums. He felt sweat pour from his temple.

"..Sir Robin?"

Follow and kill... Follow and kill!

Robin dropped his blade, eliciting a surprised grunt form the knight. He held his head to stop the insane pounding that had ensued.

Our duty to kill... our duty to kill...

The voices grew louder; an inane combination of screaming and primal shouts. They spoke no words but their intention was clear.

Our duty to kill the Branded...

...is your duty too!

"Sir Robin, are you ill?" Frederick clutched Robin's shoulder with an iron grip and shook him. "If you intend to faint, I should locate Lissa and..."

Robin gave no response from the shaking, but let loose one sound from his lips.

"...Run..."

Robin had hardly finished speaking when the earth beneath them screamed. A thunderous quake struck the earth as the tremors returned. Robin fell face-first on the ground, narrowly avoiding the bear's blood. He heard Frederick collapse nearby. He heard the ground beneath him split open like a bone. He dared to look up and watched as an entire acre of ground was bordered off by fissures. Red glowed from the cracks in the earth. In the next instant... the space in front trembled once more as a sheet of dust spewed into the air, separating the dead creature and Robin's blade from the two

With a jolt Robin shot to his feet. For an instant, he considered running forward to retrieve his blade, but the smoke was thick and blasted with warm air. Frederick had already steadied himself. "Back to camp!" he shouted. "We have to-" With a crack, the path backwards started to give way. The smoke trail from the campfire disappeared behind a wall of ash and dust.

"Blast it all, run!"

Lissa was tossed to the ground with a shout, Chrom falling to his knees soon after. Chrom attempted to steady himself and crawl for his sister. He looked ahead and stared in horror as far in the distance, one after the other, trees fell to the ground. Cracks and fissures formed in the falling tree's wake; a path of destruction that lead straight to them.. He gripped Lissa's shoulder and pulled her to her feet.

"Run! I mean it, go!" With a shove he sent Lissa on her way, himself pealing after her. They ran instinctively, running diagonal from the noise. They narrowly sidestepped the path of toppling trees in their dash. Lissa's stumbled in her pace as she slowed to a stop. "No! Keep moving!"

"C-Chrom!"

A red glow rose from the trail of fissures next to them. A great wall of fire burst forth like the breath of a dragon, casting its red glow skyward. Small pieces of burning rock cast down below from the wall of flames, hurtling into trees and striking the ground. Lissa shrieked and shrank backwards, shielding her face from the heat. Chrom grabbed his sister's arm and pulled her away once more; turning a hard ninety degree angle before continuing their dash.

Chrom spotted a sharp drop in the distance, but it lead to a clear path in the opposite direction of the chaos. "There's a drop- keep running when you land, I'll catch you!" Chrom ran ahead and leaped, landing less than a story below. He paused to catch his sister as she jumped, and with a grunt he had easily caught and set her on the ground. The two continued running as the sounds of the fire and fissures grew fainter and fainter.

The calm of the clearing they found betrayed the rampant chaos in the distance. It had not been five minutes ago when the forest had been eerily still. Now the night sky was tinged orange as flames licked at the forest. No birds sailed from their nests to escape the chaos; there was no life in sight.

Chrom and Lissa finally stopped to catch their breath. Lissa leaned on her staff for support as her chest heaved with exhaustion.

"I guess that's... the worst of it..." She gasped. "But... why would that happen? I've never heard of an earthquake like this before..." Chrom let out a heavy sigh as he righted himself against a boulder.

"No ordinary quake I'm sure..." he breathed. "I'm sure of it... Naga was sending me an omen... thank the gods we weren't at camp. I'm positive we'd be sixty feet under if this quake happened as we slept..." Lissa's head shot up as panic filled her eyes.

"The camp!" She cried. "Robin and Frederick! And Gwendolyn!" She turned to her brother. "You don't think they..."

"They'd be remiss to stay behind after the first tremors.. I'm sure they're fine..." Chrom said quickly. "Now it'll just be a matter of regrouping with them... If we could find a way to signal them..."

The two stood in silence for a few minutes, both no doubt trying not to imagine what horrible fate awaited their two companions had they been swallowed by the quake. Chrom instinctively gripped the shaft of his blade, squeezing the worn leather as he pondered. His sister tugged at his arm once more.

"Chrom..."

"Lissa, I'm scared too but I'm trying to think-"

His sister pointed at the sky, her eyes wide.

"What?"

"Chrom... what is that thing?!" She nearly wailed as she shrank back. Chrom winced as a flash of light, nearly bright as day, struck the clearing. He turned to where his sister pointed, and at the mass of stars in the sky.

Only they weren't stars. Stars were stationary. These masses of particles twirled together to make a shape. They shone brilliantly, and with a final flash assumed a strange formation. The flash overpowered the orange tint of fire and carnage of the forest. In fact, the fire seemed to be extinguished as a chilling wave swept the forest.

Several silver scales formed a horizontal line in the sky. A circling of runes surrounded it. Chrom could make out symbols from Ylisse's history lining the circumference, and inside that circle was a series of scrawlings in an ancient tongue.

I've seen those words before... Those are the words of Naga, the same verse inscribed on the Emblem...!

The scales parted upwards, forming two opposing arches as they split. In the middle rested a giant glowing body like the moon. The body shimmered like a blue liquid, and in the center was a long, slit vertical pupil. It shone brightly and terribly, nearly forcing Chrom to avert his gaze.

Is this the work of the Divine Dragon?

Robin and Frederick observed in dumbstruck wonder. In their flight from the fire and quaking, they spotted a second body in the night sky materialize over the trees. It looked like an aquamarine gem, but it towered above them for several stories. Its center was split by a dark shape like the iris of a beast.

It was as if the eye of a grand dragon had appeared to behold them in their plight. Robin cast his gaze to the surrounding area. Where once had been a circle of orange and flames, with the appearance of this large eye in the center of this chaos -the eye of the storm if one would- the fires had been put out; silenced by the eye's brilliance... and a second chill that swept over them, much like the first. This time however Frederick seemed to feel it too. The knight dropped to his knees trembling.

"N-Naga..." He breathed.

Chrom and Lissa studied the object for what seemed like forever. The eye stayed there, shimmering. Chrom noticed several black streaks appear from the pupil. They bled outward and towards the surface. He gripped Lissa and took a step backward. A glint caught his eye. He looked down to his blade and drew it from its sheath. Its blade shimmered in the dim light, as if an invisible moon had cast its glow upon it.

"...What on earth..."

The black shapes broke the surface of the rippling apparition, sprouting forward. An ugly hiss of groans and growls pierced the two's ears as several shapes dropped from the eye. Chrom felt his pulse quicken. He held his blade ready.

He saw several humanoid shapes appear in the pool. They made a hissing screech as they wormed from the veil, as if their very entrance pained them. Their bodies rippled forth from the pool and they were deposited to the ground below.

Chrom wasn't sure how much stock he put in tales of human-shaped monsters, but then he never expected to find himself in the wilderness faced with the literal Eye of Naga in the sky. He had a thought to call out to them, but he thought better. Still gripping his sister, he carefully inched backwards, back towards the trees. Lissa silently followed suit.

The two moved carefully, watching the figures rise to their feet; they only saw two. Chrom could make out armor haphazardly adorning them, and then he saw they carried weapons. Dull, burnt weapons, vaguely resembling axes, without an ounce of shine to them.

Obviously armed and dangerous... Chrom thought. But all I have to do is quietly move Lissa far enough away and...

Lissa stepped on a branch and froze. The dry, burnt twig seemed to crack with the force of a bone. Chrom seethed as the two turned to face him. Four red dots glared from the shadows.

"Lissa, stand back..." Chrom drew his shining blade, and Lissa conferred. The figures drew forward. "H-Halt!" Chrom called. "This is your only warning!"

His warning was responded with a groaning gasp from one of the two creatures. They drew closer into the clearing, their ashen bodies struck by the light of the eye. Their faces were bony masks attached to their face. Red eyes glistened forth from behind them.

"Guh...Graaaa..." A fit of black mist exited every orifice on its face as it cried out. Chrom decided then and there that these things needed to be killed.

The thought had barely left his mind when the two charged at surprising speed. Their swollen limbs didn't seem to make for good dashing, but they ran at nearly breakneck speeds. Chrom grunted and ran to meet one, shimmering blade trailing behind him.

The beast growled as he grew closer. It rose its blade to beat Chrom to the ground, slowly and lazily despite its initial speed.

Chrom held out his blade and swiped it as he past, clawing its side open. He broke his pace and paused, waiting to hear the creature fall to the earthen floor; no sound came to his ears. He slowly turned his head. The creature turned to look back at Chrom; bones and joints popping as its face turned a complete 180 degrees to meet him.

Chrom let out a shout and sliced again, lopping off the creature's arm in the process. It still moved forward, murderous eyes blazing towards him. What manner of fell creature-?! The creature lunged forward as if to pounce him like an animal, but Chrom drew back. With a sweeping motion of his leg, he had kicked the creature off balance and down on its face. With a grunt he drove Falchion down into its back, pulling it further down for good measure.

The creature finally let out a dying rasp as its body lay still. Black mist poured from its wounds as its skin and bones began to dissipate.

Chrom stared hard at the disintegrating creature. He nearly brought his hand up to pinch his face. Surely this was some sort of nightmare? Perhaps Lissa had a point about eating Bear for dinner...

"Chrom! Help!" Lissa's voice interrupted his thoughts. Oh right, Lissa!

Lissa had her back against a rock as the second creature cornered her. It growled as it raised its weapon to strike her. Lissa cried out and swung out her staff, neatly catching it in the jaw. It recoiled and paused its swing. It slowly turned back to face her; eyes blazing.

The girl's eyes went wide with terror as she shrank back, calling for her brother once more. Chrom called after her as he ran. His legs worked like he'd never ran before, but he could already see his window closing. He cried out once more, and then the forest flashed again. Chrom managed a glance over his shoulder and watched as the eye shone once more.

Its iris trembled and grew as its colors brightened. One more shape appeared within the pool, and Chrom realized it wasn't shaped like the others. It was still humanoid and yet...

With a resounding crash, the eye disappeared, dissipating into shining particles. The forest went dark, and Chrom could only barely make out the shapes moving in the clearing.

A new shape appeared next to him. With a thud, a dark shape dropped to the earth in front of him. It dashed forward, and Chrom caught the glint of steel as it drew a blade. Does it mean to attack her too?! Chrom willed his limbs to carry him farther, but he knew he'd never catch up in time.

Lissa let out one last cry as the creature prepared to bring down its axe. She pathetically held out her staff to block its attack. Chrom tensed himself, preparing to hear the sound of Lissa's staff breaking. Instead, the sound of steel striking ringed out.

Chrom broke his pace and stared. The new figure from before now held their own blade out, catching the creature's axe and sparing Lissa. The Eye was gone and the forest was dark, but Chrom could make out dark hair, and a dark cloak draped around the figure's shoulders, but their face was obscured.

A strange new voice let out a gasp and cried out.

"Help!" it called out.

"R-right!" Chrom drew his shining blade and dashed forward, growling as he prepared a mighty swing with the Falchion. The creature raised its head at his approach, and the figure took its chance.

They bashed forward with their sword, breaking away from the axe. In a single motion, the figure brought out its blade - just as Chrom landed his swing - and sliced the creature in the opposite direction.

The forest was still.

With a moan, the creature fell in two; its torso neatly divided from the rest of its body. It moved no more.

Chrom immediately ran to Lissa's side and held her close. He felt her trembling, and her heart raced has her body rested against his. Her eyes however were fixated on the strange new person.

He wore a dark cloak, complementing his short dark hair, and wore a leather scabbard where he sheathed his silver sword. Chrom cleared his throat.

"Quite the... entrance..." he managed. The figure turned and looked to them. His face was blocked by a strange mask with several horizontal slits for vision; giving the impression of a severed visor from a knight's helmet. "Now then, who exactly are you?" Chrom asked. The figure regarded them solemnly. His expression was impossible to tell. "...What's your name?" He asked again.

"...You..." The figure's voice was scratchy and quiet. "...You may call me..."

"Milord!" A booming voice echoed in the distance. The three turned at the sound of Frederick's approach, followed closely behind by Robin.