Chapter 8: The Berserker and Valourous Roland           Chapter 10: Victory or Death

 

This chapter should be a bit shorter. Whoops. Anyway, Renee decided to make an appearance, even though I was saving her for the AU sequel. And I would like to draw a picture of her and Ceniro sometimes, looking tactically badass if such a thing is possible. Again for this chapter I really have to thank You Will Know Our Names, because I was meandering around the battlefield for a long time until I had to take a break to drive somewhere and I put that song on repeat for like 10 times and by the time I got home again I KNEW HOW TO WRITE THE BATTLE it was great. So it doesn’t totally suck. A lot of the things in it, I came up with the first time, just they weren’t connected in any sort of way.

 

Chapter 9: Sands of Time

 

The army marched mechanically back to Castle Ostia over the next day. Though Lyn and Hector and, to some extent, Ceniro, tried to keep up a good face for everyone’s sake, the news of Ninian’s death had passed quickly through the army. Many of them were downcast, some even despairing, though they tried to stay strong for each other like the good people they were.

They had buried Ninian just inside the cave, laying her down on the remains of Eliwood’s cloak and covering her with stones.

Eliwood moved as if in a dream, barely responding to anyone except Hector and Marcus. He didn’t eat all day. Nils was even worse off, curled in a corner of Merlinus’s cart, staring blankly at nothing. Though Ceniro heard some people wondering if he could turn into a dragon as well, Florina, who had also become close to Ninian, rode escort for the cart, and no one bothered him.

The great walls of the fortress city of Ostia appeared before them in the late afternoon. Ceniro was glad to see them; they were familiar to him, though he hadn’t seen them since his late teens.

Hector remembered as they were approaching the main gate. The group had to make their way through increasingly heavy traffic, but most people were aware enough to make way for the lords and ladies and their assorted knightly and mercenary retinue. “Hey, you’re not completely clueless about this place, eh?”

“Yes,” Ceniro said. “I know my way around well enough, at least the main roads. I lived in residence at the university for the first year, and then at Lord Garlant’s estate.”

“In town or out of town?”

“Both, depending on the season,” Ceniro said. “I wonder if I’ll see anyone I know.”

“Probably,” Hector said. “We do tend to hire graduates of the Academy, you know.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Ceniro said. “Though… I’d prefer not to see most of them, you know…”

Hector looked back at him and frowned. “I don’t know. Why not?”

“Eh… a lot of them didn’t like me.”

“Why not? Because you’re a shimpy little guy who doesn’t look like he should be anywhere near combat?” Hector smiled a little to let him know he was only teasing.

Lyn punched his arm. “Hey, there are plenty of people like that in this army. I weigh a lot less than he does.”

“Yeah, but you have speed,” Hector said. “And your sword’s very strong. Give Ceniro a sword, and he couldn’t slice a steak if you gave him a fork too.”

Ceniro coughed. “Actually, it was because I was a wierd little rude peasant boy… and because I was better than most of them could ever hope to be, even if they weren’t coasting on their titles and wealth.”

Hector laughed out loud. “I think you might be my favourite.”

Ceniro looked confused. “Favourite what?”

“Favourite weird little rude peasant boy. You speak truth. You remember Erik, from Laus? You aptly described him and most of the rest of my class. I never saw you, though. Why not?”

“I’m at least a year younger than you…”

“But I heard you were ahead of your class?”

“And how much did you really meet with Lord Garlant, anyway?”

Hector crossed his arms. “That’s true, I always thought he was pretty boring.”

“I knew of you, but I never really saw you, either… not that I was interested at that point…”

“Just thought I was another dumb-ass lordling, huh?” Hector nodded ruefully. “I kind of was, too. It’s good that we met under other circumstances.”

“What do you mean, ‘was’?” Lyn asked, and Hector scowled. “And besides, Ostia is a really big place. I’ve never seen a city so large…”

“You should see Aquleia,” Ceniro said enthusiastically. “It’s as large, if not larger, and very beautiful.”

“And Ostia isn’t,” Hector conceded. “That’s not its fault, though. With all the petty squabbling Lycian lords do, it needs to be this way.”

“It’s very grand, certainly,” Lyn said. “I remember you said that Bern Castle was more unassailable, but… I wouldn’t want to attack this place, either, even if Ceniro were guiding me.”

“Thanks,” Hector said.

“One moment,” Ceniro said, and called the pegasus and wyvern riders. “You don’t have to pass through the city with us. Go on ahead over top to the keep and let them know we’re coming.”

Fiora saluted. “At once, sir.”

They passed under the main gate, making the slow ascent to the main keep.

“The first thing we should do is talk to my brother again,” Hector said. “Partly to let him know the outcome of our trip, although… I don’t like him worrying about things – me – that he can’t control anyway…”

“And the other is so that he doesn’t scold you like last time, right?” Lyn teased.

“…Maybe…”

By the time they arrived there, the Ostians had thrown out the welcome wagon. “Lord Hector!” cried the soldiers at the gate, and their call was taken up by others. The pegasi and wyverns were already being taken care of, though Heath hovered near his Hyperion – and Vaida certainly wasn’t going anywhere without Umbriel.

One captain came to Hector and saluted. “Lord Hector! We’re pleased to see you home alive and well!”

“Where’s my brother?” Hector demanded.

“Ah… he’s left for a conference in Etruria. He’s scheduled to return in two week’s time,” the captain said. Ceniro wondered if the hesitation meant he’d forgotten such important information, or if perhaps Hector was right to worry about his brother.

“…Etruria? That’s too bad,” Hector said after a pause, and Ceniro wondered if Hector was thinking the same things as he was. “Anyway, go and prepare rooms for our companions. They need rest.”

“Right away, my lord.”

“Ceniro here will let you know about special arrangements.”

“Oh, right, yes, I will,” Ceniro said. Special arrangements were definitely needed for Eliwood and Nils. He’d get Nils settled himself… and make sure no one disturbed either of them. Soldiers and servants were passing by, apparently making things ready inside for their group. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“There is no inconvenience, sir,” said the captain. “Castle Ostia has few visitors right now. Only tell me what your people need.”

“Right, right.” He did, but at the end felt he needed to apologize again. “I’m sorry, I don’t know Castle Ostia very well…”

“That’s because you’re a brat from Santaruz,” said a girl behind him, and Ceniro turned only to get slapped in the face.

Ceniro wobbled, completely taken off guard by the sudden attack. When he regained his balance, he looked up to see a young woman with long grey hair, shaking her hand as if she had stung it from hitting him so hard. “Good, now that’s out of my system…” She smiled at him with pale green eyes as if nothing was wrong. “Hello, Ceniro. What are you doing here, and with Lord Hector of all people?”

“…Renee?” Ceniro mumbled, holding his cheek.

Lyn stepped defensively in front of him. “Who are you, and why in Father Sky’s name did you hit him!?”

It was Renee’s turn to look surprised. “Ceniro, who is this?”

“Ah, that’s… Lady Lyn of Caelin,” Ceniro said sheepishly, and saw everything click together for the young woman.

She pointed dramatically at him. “You! You did that! That thing!”

“Yes…?” Ceniro asked warily.

“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Lyn demanded, her posture no longer as hostile as it had been, but still alert and defensive.

“Sorry,” Ceniro said. “Lyn, this is… an old classmate, Renee, one of the few who didn’t hate me. Renee, this is… um…”

Lyn folded her arms. “Are you a former girlfriend of his or something?”

Renee twirled some hair around her finger, her own stance becoming guarded. “Well, no. It wasn’t like that. But you still didn’t have to stand me up for graduation, you jerk!”

“Renee, that was… like… three years ago!”

“Two years ago! Don’t you understand what that’s like? I was so humiliated…”

Suddenly, Ceniro began to laugh wheezily. It was so ridiculous. “Renee… There’s bigger things in the world right now.”

“Still…” she pouted.

“Your friend is… somewhat…” Lyn began.

“She’s really nice,” Ceniro hastened to assure her, before the two women started off any more on the wrong foot. “And she hasn’t been running around half the world for the last few months, chasing shadows and things…”

Renee’s eyes brightened. “So you have stories!”

“Er… yes. More interesting ones than the ones I used to tell you, anyway.”

“And you are of course the famous Lady Lyndis we all heard about last year,” Renee said to Lyn. “I’m so pleased to meet you! Of all the places in the world, I didn’t think to hear Ceniro’s name connected with something so dramatic. He’s usually so quiet, you know?”

“I do know,” Lyn said, not quite softening all the way, though trying to.

Renee’s eyes twinkled knowingly. “Well, I might not have been your girlfriend during your workaholic days, but I think the position’s been filled, hmm?”

Ceniro coughed. “Yes. Yes, it has.”

She squealed and threw her arms around him. “I’m so happy for you! And with a beautiful noblewoman, too! Aren’t you afraid of her sword?”

“No…? It’s part of her, like you and your spear.”

“Pssh, I wouldn’t use my spear in real battle. But she looks like she’d rather fight than dress up.”

“That’s very true,” Lyn and Ceniro said at the same time.

“Anyway, I should let you go. Come see me after dinner! I’ll be in the officer’s wing. Tell me all your stories!” She turned with a wave and ran off to the walls.

“She seems… nice,” Lyn said cautiously.

“She is nice,” Ceniro said. “She helped me get through university. I won’t tell her the whole story, I think. But I can tell her some parts.”

Lyn finally smiled at him. “I trust your discretion.” Then she looked around. “Hey! What are you all looking at?” People had stopped to stare, and now began to move along again.

Ceniro began to blush, and then an elbow leaned on his shoulder. “Well, well, well, Ceniro the shy tactician’s gettin’ it on with the ladiiiieeeees,” Sain drawled, and Ceniro coughed a laugh. Lyn rolled her eyes.

“She’s just an old friend,” Ceniro tried to say.

“Old friends don’t slap you when they see you again.” Sain thought about that for a moment. “Actually, I guess they do, never mind.”

“What, has Kent slapped you?”

“Well… he’s punched me, certainly.”

“You deserved it,” Kent said, approaching with Fiora, Wil, and Florina in his wake. “I specifically told you that you could spend time with whatever lady-friend you were chasing that week after training was done.”

“But General Wallace already beat me up for slacking that day…”

Kent ignored him. “Lady Lyndis, the mounts have been settled. If Ceniro could point us in the way of our temporary quarters so we may also be settled…”

“Yes, you and your lady-friend?” Sain asked, winking at Fiora, who looked embarrassed. Ceniro glanced down and suddenly saw that Kent and Fiora were surreptitiously holding hands. He turned away to hide his wide smile.

“R-right,” he said. “The Caelin soldiers are on the third level on the right side. Since Florina is currently with Caelin, I asked her sisters be in the same area as well…”

“Th-thank you very much,” Florina said. “Who is going to be near Nils? He’s still with Merlinus right now…”

“I am,” Ceniro said. “I’m glad you were looking after him this last little while. But you need some time to rest, yourself, too.”

“You know who would be good at looking after him?” Lyn said. “Hawkeye. He seemed close to both of them, more than you would expect. I think he has a daughter, someone told me? I know it’s a bit late, but put him next to Nils. You need to rest most of all of us.”

“I’ll do that,” Ceniro promised. “But come on, Lyn, I don’t even fight…”

“We should probably change that,” she said, leading him into the castle towards where the nobles were being housed.

“No thanks,” he said.

Matthew met them in the hall. His usual cheerful smile was only a little forced. “Ah, Ceniro, Lady Lyn, just the people I was hoping to see! Lord Hector asks that you come by his chambers after you have eaten so you can do all your special secret planning to stop the end of the world and such.”

“Thanks, Matthew,” Lyn said, patting his shoulder. “Have a good evening.”

“My lady is too kind,” Matthew replied, inclining his head and letting them pass.

 

When they joined Hector in his room, Athos was with him.

“Good, you’re here,” Hector said. “Graybeard, you know something, don’t you? Tell me! What are we supposed to do now?”

“A moment, lad… Yes, I suppose you’ve a right to know…” Athos paused to collect his thoughts, folding his hands inside his voluminous sleeves. “I first met Nergal some 500 years ago, wandering the Nabata wasteland. Like me, his only drive was the search for truth in this world. We were equals in power and knowledge, and we became fast friends. We believed we could solve the mysteries of the world. We truly believed…” The Archsage’s voice faded into regretful obscurity.

“What happened?” Lyn asked, sitting crosslegged on the floor near Athos’s feet.

“A disagreement,” Athos said, rousing himself. “A disagreement, made at the height of our quest. One day, as I charted the mysteries of Nabata, I came across the most amazing village… It was unbelievable, but in that place, humans and dragons lived together in cooperation.”

“Dragons and humans? Are you telling me they could live together in peace?” Hector asked, amazed.

“At first, I doubted what my own eyes showed me. But yes, the village truly did exist.”

“That’s wonderful!” Lyn said.

“The dragons that I beheld there… They were both similar to and different from the dragons I had fought hundreds of years before…”

They all turned as they heard the door shut.

Eliwood stood at the door, his face still pale, his eyes shadowed and weary. But his blue eyes were beginning to revive from the colourless stare they had had all day. He looked around at all of them and their apprehension.

After a moment, Hector indicated an empty chair next to him, and Eliwood came to join him. “Go on, please.”

“…As you wish,” said Athos after a brief pause. “They had refused to fight humans in the war, and instead, they retreated to this wasteland. They desired nothing but to remain hidden from the outside. Nergal and I crafted a barrier and created an oasis for them. Upon their invitation, we lived there with them. Our life there… It was calm and satisfying. At some point, the village became known as Arcadia, a place of perfect peace for travelers gone astray.”

“So, not the place where we met you, right?” Lyn asked.

“No, that was another place… The dragons’ libraries were a dream come true to us. We studied their language and history with unbridled passion. A century, then two… Time passed in an eye’s blink. And yet, slowly, our thoughts turned down different paths.”

“In what way?” she asked.

“I wanted to share the dragons’ wisdom with others. My hope was for our earthly paradise to spread outward.”

“And Nergal?” Hector asked grimly.

“Ah, Nergal… He took the dragons’ knowledge… He learned the art of stealing the essence from living creatures and turning it into power. It was terrible. When we discovered what he was doing, the elders and I tried to persuade him to stop. But the power bewitched him, and he was deaf to our pleas. He started with small creatures and grew ever more confident. Then, he began draining the quintessence of humans. The villagers and I joined forces and… defeated him. Or so we thought, but…”

“A psychopath,” Eliwood muttered with heat.

“After he was banished from Arcadia, Nergal fled to Bern. He increased his power slowly to avoid our eye. Using quintessence, he made his puppets, the morphs. They’re bewitching in form, with intellects beyond human. I’m sure you’ve laid eyes on them yourselves. Jet black hair, pale complexion, and blood-red lips… Their most striking features are their glittering gold eyes…”

Lyn’s eyes widened, but before she could say anything, someone knocked politely but urgently on the door. Athos paused, and Hector turned to the door. “What?”

The door opened, and a soldier’s helmet appeared. “Lord Hector! W-we’re under attack! An unknown group has breached the castle walls!”

“What!?” Hector jumped to his feet. “When? How? How did they get in without being noticed?”

“Just now! They… they just appeared out of nowhere! The guards on the walls have been annihilated!”

“Blast it,” Hector growled. “Castle Ostia is famed far and wide as being impregnable… If it’s been breached so easily, can we save it!?”

“It’s Nergal,” Athos said. “He must have opened some kind of portal inside the castle.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured that out, old man. Ceniro! We need you! We need a plan! Get our forces moving, we have experience fighting morphs!”

“On it,” Ceniro said, already working with the farseer.

“Blast… That arrogant… No matter what, I’ll not let the castle fall while my brother’s away!!” Hector grabbed the Wolf Beil and stormed from the room.

“Hang on, I’m going with you!” Lyn said, running after him. Eliwood followed silently.

“Eliwood…”

“My horse is here,” Eliwood said quietly. “I will fight too.”

“Eliwood?”

“I need to fight, Ceniro. I need… catharsis.”

“I understand. I’ll have Marcus intercept you.”

“Ceniro, I’m going to the throne room,” Hector said. “It must be secured first. Can you see the area?”

“Yes,” Ceniro said. “I’ll gather our forces to you. The enemy appears to have left the outer walls and are now heading there as well through the main south entrance.”

“Understood,” Hector said.

“Eliwood!” Lyn cried.

“…What?”

“Don’t overexert yourself.”

Eliwood was quiet for a moment. “I’m fine,” he said. “I’m not that weak.”

“Tell all the soldiers!” Hector said, apparently to an Ostian captain, not Ceniro. “Take your posts, and don’t move. All we can do is hold on until reinforcements arrive. Hold your positions! My friends’ forces are backing us up, so take heart!”

Ceniro checked to make sure Hawkeye was with Nils, then turned to Athos. “What will you do, sir?”

“I will not be taking part,” Athos said. “I fear to bring more destruction than the puppets attacking do.”

Ceniro blinked. “Even with a basic Fire spell?”

“Even so. Go, your friends need you. If you need me, this castle cannot be saved.”

Ceniro nodded. “I understand. Um. I’ll see you later. Sir.” He turn and ran off in the direction that Hector had gone, feeling somewhat stupid.

He knew he was getting close when he began hearing barbed insults from an alto voice and a bass voice. “Well maybe if your thrice-unwashed lizard wasn’t blocking the corridor, I could hasten to protect my Lady Lyndis!” Definitely General Wallace.

“And maybe the little teapot needs to take a back-seat to obviously superior strength and skill!” Vaida retorted, though as far as Ceniro could tell, both were making good time to the throne room.

“Excuse me,” Ceniro said. “Tactician here.”

“Well, you certainly don’t get to go first!” Vaida snapped. “You’re squishy! Although maybe I should definitely let you go first then…”

“You will not let Sir Ceniro go into danger!” Wallace barked. “Sir Ceniro, stay close to me, and I will take you to Lady Lyndis.”

“Right,” Ceniro said. He suddenly realized that he hadn’t really spoken to Wallace since he had become reinvolved with Lyn, and wondered if Wallace would do or say anything about it.

“Though if you ever break her heart, I will not hesitate to throw you to the wolves myself!” Wallace finished. Well, there it was. “But I trust you, lad. Come! Let us carve a path through… well, there are no enemies at the moment, only this useless hunk of dragon meat.”

“Come on, Umbriel, eat his eyes,” Vaida mockingly encouraged her wyvern.

They came out into the more open part of Ostia’s Great Hall, and Vaida had space to take off. “Finally,” both she and Wallace grumbled at the same time.

In fact, the entire army was assembling in good order, all heading towards the high dais where Marquess Ostia’s throne was set. Hector was standing in front of it, Lyn was jogging in place beside him to warm up, and a crowd of both Ostian soldiers and their own forces was gathered around them. The ranks parted enough to let Ceniro through.

When he got to the top, where he could oversee the entire Great Hall, there was a clatter of horses from the right and the horse-mounted knights appeared, with Eliwood at their head.

Eliwood seemed to have cast off at least some of his dispair in the time it had taken him to prepare for combat. He was wearing a little more armour than usual, and in his hand was a lance. He was not carrying Durandal, but neither was Hector carrying Armads. Ceniro thought back to what Erk had said about collateral damage and wondered if that was the reason.

They could sort it out later. For now, Eliwood joined Hector and Lyn, his head high and his blue eyes steady.

“Good timing,” Hector said to him, and nodded at the door. Black shadows were scurrying in. The Ostian soldiers shifted uneasily. “Hey! Stay where you are. Trust our tactician.”

“Beg your pardon, sir, but which one is our tactician?”

Hector blinked, confused. “Um… this one?” He pointed at Ceniro.

“Aww, but what about me?” Renee appeared from behind a soldier. “I’m the tactician of this garrison!”

“Well… just… figure it out between yourselves. But Ceniro’s in charge, got it?”

“…Yes, Lord Hector.”

Was he qualified to be in charge?

He shook himself. Of course he was. Just because he had uncertain associations with this place… and because tragedy had befallen them yesterday… None of that meant he had lost any of his skill.

So why did he feel so unsure?

Say something, he said to himself. Act, and results will follow. Something Lord Garlant used to say a lot. “Renee. Let’s get a shield wall up to defend our mages and archers from those archers. Fiora, keep the flyers back! Pent, Erk, Nino, we can use some Elfire out in front while the formation falls into place! Geitz, Dart, Guy, give them cover! Hecter, Oswin, Wallace, join the ranks!” The heavily armoured men would help bolster the regular Ostian infantry, which were being ordered into place by Renee. She knew her forces, undoubtedly, but he knew his forces and he would be giving a poor thanks to Hector by letting even one of his soldiers fall – even if he wasn’t commanding them directly.

He consulted the farseer. “Eliwood, there appears to be a concentration of shaman over on our left. You’ll lead a charge against them with the mounted knights. Isadora! Take Lucius with you! Lowen, take Serra! Protect them, but give them the space they need to blast the shaman!” He turned to Renee. “That should take care of the next five minutes. Any ideas?”

Renee paused to stare at him. “I can see why Lord Hector likes you. What is that thing? Tell me later. Er, I was thinking of sending out some troops to protect the treasures of the hall, in that alcove there.”

“Right,” Ceniro said. He gave quick orders, and soon things were arrayed to his liking, in a formation that danced the line between offense and defense. He knew Renee would rather concentrate on defense, but one of his goals was to eliminate the morphs as quickly as ever he could. With that in mind, he sent the pegasi and wyverns to the right to flank the enemy, despite the danger from the many archers. He trusted their skill.

He trusted his own skill.

Slowly, they began to push the morphs back. Though Bartre and Serra quickly found that the enemy archers’ arrows were not only long, strong, and sharp, but also poisoned, there were beginning to be fewer of them – at least not so close to the throne.

At least they were easy to identify. Between their black robes and pale skin, they stood out among the brightly-armoured Ostians, knights, and mercenaries, and that was without their nearly-glowing golden eyes and streaming, raven hair. And their last, very interesting feature of turning to dust when they were killed.

Ceniro himself moved up with the front lines. It was risky, certainly, but he was behind the lords, and he and Renee had decided to split their duties that way – he was in the thick of things, and she oversaw from the top, though he had essentially the same view through the farseer.

Elfire was doing less damage than he had hoped, although he was seeing now that the morphs had many shamans with them as well as archers. A few other soldiers, but he would have to try extra hard to keep the slow, heavy Ostian knights out of the fight, despite all the good they were doing with their shields.

He would need to send the pegasus sisters to clear out some of the magic, and even the wyverns, who he trusted would be fast enough to get past the dark magic and win over their natural weakness to magic.

“Wil!” Florina shrieked, and Ceniro turned to see the optimistic archer fall backwards, an arrow in his side. Florina’s pegasus clattered to the stone floor beside him, out of formation.

“Pent, Louise!, defend them! Matthew, Legault, guard Pent and Louise! Canas, help Wil.”

“Wil!” Florina cried, holding him. “Hold on, we’ll save you! You have to hold on… I didn’t… tell you…”

“Don’t cry, Miss Florina,” said Canas said, appearing over her shoulder. “He will live. Let me just…”

“Florina!” Farina cried. “Get back here! There’s a druid we need to Triangle on!”

“It’s all right,” Ceniro said. “Jaffar is on it. Florina, help Canas get Wil to the back. That was too close.”

“Why didn’t you move?” Florina asked the archer, who was opening his eyes.

He smiled weakly. “Rebecca was behind me… Lowen would skewer me if anything happened to her…”

“True, but it didn’t have to result in a casualty,” Ceniro told him, and the archer gave him a ‘what-are-you-gonna-do’ shrug.

The morphs were taking advantage of the confusion in the centre of the line to remount an offensive, and things were getting thick. In a moment Ceniro himself would have to pull back or give up on giving orders to defend himself, neither options ones that he liked. But… Matthew was now in danger, far too far forward, and Hector was too far away to cover him. “Raven! Harken-!”

Both swordsmen acknowledged him without disengaging from their current opponants, but Ceniro had to duck as he found himself suddenly exposed to archers. He had to get things back on track, but for that he needed a space to get Raven, Harken, and Guy into the gap that he was currently smack in the middle of…

“Ostian knights! Forward!” cried Renee’s voice, and the welcome orange of the heavy infantry swept in front of him from the left. “Don’t forget about us, Cen!”

“Thanks,” he called breathlessly, climbing back up to her. “Eliwood, bring your group back – it’s time to push to the leader. Hector, Lyn, Rath, you’ll be in that group too.”

“Ostian knights, give them cover! We are the shield and they are the spear!” Renee said, lifting her own spear aloft.

“Does that help?” Ceniro asked.

“Sure does,” Renee said. “You haven’t changed at all, have you!? Of course you would formulate a plan that near-collapses with the loss of a single archer!”

“He’s not a single archer, his name is Wil, and he’s highly competent,” Ceniro said.

“And his girlfriend breaking formation for him? She could have been shot down, and she very nearly was! You have too many girls in your army.”

He actually hadn’t thought about that hardly at all, but he had a ready comeback for that. “You’re a girl, aren’t you?” Although, now that he counted, the men outnumbered the women at least two to one in his army.

“I’m a woman, there’s a difference. I’m not saying you should pull people like that wyvern lady out of combat, she’d take your head off. It’s the others I’m worried about, especially those little green-haired girls.”

“They’re fine, I have them protected, they can take care of themselves-”

“Even when they get upset? They’re not old enough to know how to deal with this kind of situation! Emotions are important to keep down in the thick of combat!”

“To people who fight with their heart, which is most people, emotion is very important especially in the heat of combat! They insisted, and I won’t turn them down. Besides, look at the casualty rate on both sides!”

“That’s true,” Renee grudgingly admitted. “We haven’t lost anyone at all yet, and they’re missing half their force. I can see why we lost our sentries… but I can also see why we’re winning now.”

“Then let’s save the rest of this academic discussion for later,” Ceniro said. “Here comes my spearhead.”

“Ceniro, you do know there’s a swordmaster with a katana up there, right?”

“I know. Eliwood?”

Eliwood came up to him, looking much more like himself, though still grim. “Your orders?”

“When I give the signal, you are going to charge the enemy leader. Halfway there, though, there’s a swordmaster approaching. He’s yours and Lyn’s. I recommend charging with the lance to distract him and then letting Lyn strike from your shadow.”

“I like that idea,” Lyn said. “Can I ride with you partway, Eliwood?”

He extended a hand to her and she sprang up behind him.

“You do know how to ride,” she said approvingly.

“Hmm? Oh, yes. Thank you.”

“We’ll be right back,” she said to Ceniro with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Rath, you’re to take out the enemy leader as soon as you can – he has a heavy bow and it could do a lot of damage even as the mounted knights charge.” Rath nodded silently. “If you don’t kill him immediately, it’s up to Hector to finished the job.”

“Got it!” Hector said, spinning his axe. “Who am I riding with?”

“Marcus. Marcus, Kent, you and the rest of the knights are to keep the sniper occupied until Rath or Hector brings him down. Fiora, Vaida, get the shaman around the edges but keep an eye on the sniper.”

“Just leave it to us,” Vaida snarled.

“Renee, are your knights ready to open a gap?” Ceniro said.

“Ready on your mark,” she answered.

“NOW!” he yelled, and the cavalry charged. Ostia Hall shook with their hooves until Ceniro feared it would collapse around them. But the old hall was better built than that.

Eliwood was first; the swordsman dodged his lance but Lyn sprang from the back of Eliwood’s horse, doing a flip over the morph’s head and locking swords with him on the way down. The Mani Katti shone with a light he hadn’t seen in some time. The other knights gave the two swordfighters a wide berth, their swords cutting wide arcs through the air.

“Lady Lyndis is really something,” Renee murmured.

“She really is,” Ceniro said.

Lyn’s sword stabbed through his shoulder, and he fell to the floor, unnaturally silent but writhing.

A dark magic spell attempted to catch Lyn, but she was far too quick for that and was gone before the spell was even half-formed. The fallen morph was not so lucky – caught within the dark sphere’s influence, it was ripped in half and turned to dust. Ceniro winced. Whatever else the morphs were made of, they still had some kind of flesh and blood. And still it didn’t scream.

Disturbing.

There was one morph who spoke. Well… Ceniro wondered if he was truly speaking, or just making sounds the way a parrot would. At least he was capable of making sounds. Even the morph shaman cast spells without speaking – a trait that made them especially dangerous.

As they drew closer to the lead morph, they could hear his words echoing monotonously through the hall. “This is a message from Lord Nergal. ‘I await you on the Dread Isle.’ This is a message from Lord Nergal. ‘I await you on the Dread Isle.’ This is a message…” He dodged Rath’s arrows as if he could see them before Rath even fired.

“Shut up!” Hector roared, jumping off Marcus’s horse and charging at the morph. “We already knew that!”

Ceniro quietly ordered the rest of the army to move up in the wake of the cavalry charge.

Hector was beginning to look slightly pin-cushiony, but he was still moving, still attacking, probably ignoring whatever wounds he had taken in favour of adrenaline-pumped fury. The morph was methodically targeting each of the knights in turn, and Hector soon wasn’t the only one with an arrow lodged somewhere it probably shouldn’t be. Ceniro had Isadora withdraw, putting Harken in her place, and substituted Geitz for Lowen.

Hector closed to within striking distance finally.

The morph spun around to target him at point-blank range.

Rath’s horse jumped clear over Hector; time seemed to slow as he reached the apex of his arc, and Rath’s bow twanged.

The morph fell to the ground, an arrow in his skull, and his repeated message petered into silence as he fell into dust.

 

 

It took the army a while to collect themselves, and the healers were busy for a long time. Eliwood, Hector, and Lyn extricated themselves fairly early, with the assurance that Oswin and Marcus would deal with the rest of it. They came to rescue Ceniro from an increasingly heated discussion with Renee on how things could or should have gone differently. “Sorry, Lady Renee, we need him for our plans for tomorrow.”

“If you don’t come back to Ostia to catch up within the next month, I am going to be very angry and probably hit you again,” Renee threatened him.

“Got it,” Ceniro said. “Stay away for another ten years.”

She growled and he laughed, and she smiled, and he followed his friends.

Along the way, they passed Harken and Isadora, close in talk, and he paused to eavesdrop. It wasn’t his business, really – although it partly was, to know how his people were doing emotionally as well as physically.

His people. Were they really ‘his’ people? They were Eliwood’s people, or Hector’s, or Lyn’s, or just their own, joined for love or gold. Or love of gold. Or both.

But they trusted him with their lives, and so far, he had mostly delivered.

“I’m fine,” Isadora said. “It was a small wound, and Lady Priscilla healed it immediately.”

“Still, I was worried… I am glad Ceniro put me in your place. I only wish I could have taken your place from the beginning.”

“Harken, you have always known I have skill in combat… Don’t seek to dissuade me now, though our foes are far greater than anything we ever imagined.”

“No… it’s just…” Harken lowered his head and closed his eyes. “I… love you, Isadora. It’s… not easy for me, in so many ways, and I know it’s not easy for you. And I don’t think it’s going to get easier, not any time soon. But I wanted you to know that…”

“That you were worried,” she finished, and he nodded. “Thank you, Harken, my love.” She put her arms around him, he put his arms around her, and she pulled him close and kissed him.

“I don’t deserve this,” he whispered.

“Don’t say that,” Isadora whispered back, and by now Ceniro was tip-toeing away, because he had definitely stayed too long and heard too much. But he was glad their relationship was… intact, though it still had a long way to go.

 

“So, Greybeard, those were his morphs,” Hector said to Athos as they returned. “You knew that already, of course, probably.”

“They were all eerily similar,” Lyn murmured. “But you know who they remind me of? That man on Valor, Ephidel… Black Fang’s Sonia, too… Are you saying that he made them all?”

“It is so,” Athos said. “I have not met the ones you speak of, but I would guess with certainty that it is so.”

“But they were more intelligent, Ephidel and Sonia,” Eliwood said. “These ones didn’t even speak, except for that one leading them.”

“Yet they moved with purpose and skill,” Lyn said. “The only reason we could match them was because we’d fought them before, at Sonia’s lair.”

“It is an abomination,” Athos said. “A crime against all that is natural. When Nergal began using morphs to carry out his plans, his power had grown beyond our ability to contain him. After humans, his next target became the essence of dragons.”

“That’s why he went to the Dragon’s Gate?” Eliwood asked.

Athos nodded slowly. “I was certain back then that his next target had to be Arcadia. I concealed our paradise behind a curtain of sandstorms. I then hid in the underground ruins and waited for him. I did not hope to defeat him. Just to exchange blows… and then draw him into the desert, which would be his end.”

“But he never showed up,” Eliwood said, nodding.

“Correct. I’ve no idea how he managed it but… He called those siblings through the Dragon’s Gate. And now… he plans to call a horde of dragons to this land.”

“We have to protect Nils at all cost,” Hector murmured. “What should we do next, then? How can we seek to defeat him now?”

“Our last hope is still the power of the Legendary Weapons,” Athos said. “But it would take too long for us to gather all of them. I will go to the Shrine of Seals and tell Bramimond everything. We must have his power, too.”

Eliwood stood from his seat, his eyes burning passionately. “Then we will go to the Dragon’s Gate ahead of you.”

Athos turned to face him, startled. “What?”

“Great idea!” Hector said. “Even if we can’t take him down right away, we can at least wipe out his morph-troops. Soften him up for when you get there.”

“You know that such a thing could be suicide, no matter your strength or your tactics?” Athos said.

“If we don’t answer Nergal’s invitation soon… He’ll continue to send out troops after us,” Lyn said. “If that’s going to happen, we might as well take the fight to him! I won’t have Elibe ravaged by any more of his acts!”

Athos looked around at the three of them, the same light in all their eyes. “You… you truly are Roland’s children. I had not thought I would ever be surprised again, and yet…”

“Lord Athos,” said Eliwood.

“It takes the strongest of bonds to alter the course of fate. Go… Go, my youthful friends. Set your sights on the Dragon’s Gate and keep moving.”

“We will,” Lyn promised. “You’re with us, right, Ceniro?”

Ceniro stood to join the rest of them. “I’m not leaving your side. I’m seeing this through to the end.”

“Good,” Hector said. “We’ll need you. Only going to be more of those guys.”

“Eliwood, Hector, where are the Legendary Weapons?” Athos asked.

“Ah… in my room,” Eliwood said. “I… couldn’t… bring myself to use it.”

“Me either,” Hector said, striding to where the great axe leaned against the wall. “Even after what I told Durban… I didn’t know if I wanted to use a weapon that controlled itself in my own castle.”

“I’m sorry,” Eliwood said.

“There is no need to apologize,” Athos said. “May I take them for a while?”

“Yes,” Eliwood said.

“It’s fine, but…” Hector began.

“Eliwood, Hector, I understand how you both feel. But without these weapons, we won’t be able to stop Nergal. …You know that, don’t you?”

“…Yes,” said Eliwood. “When next I wield it… I won’t hesitate.”

“Besides, we should wait for Lyn to catch up!” Hector teased.

Lyn rolled her eyes. “I’m still miles ahead of you even without a legendary blade, Hector. In fact, my sword is already somewhat legendary.”

“You wield the Mani Katti, do you not?” Athos asked. “It is not one of the Legendary Eight, but it is indeed a marvelous sword, and only reinforces my plan.” Lyn looked confused, but Athos rose before she could ask questions. “I will be on my way, then. You all… get your rest.”

“Right,” Ceniro said.

“As if we could do that now,” Hector said. “Ugh, I’m never going to sleep tonight…”

“Try,” Lyn said tartly.

Eliwood smiled. Then he turned to Ceniro. “Do you mind if I check on Nils?”

“He should be okay,” Ceniro said. “He’s next door; I had Hawkeye with him during the battle.”

“Thank you,” Eliwood said. “Rest well, everyone.”

 

Lyn followed him as he left for the room assigned to him. “Ceniro, wait.”

He turned. “What is it? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said, and Ceniro took a better took at her anyway. She seemed tense, as if she had something important to say but was too shy or proud to say it. “I was wondering…”

“Mmhmm?”

“Just for tonight… can I stay with you?”

Well, that he hadn’t been expecting. “Lyn, it’s…”

“I know! But… just to be with you. We haven’t been able to properly be together for… weeks, really. And… we’re both reserved, undemonstrative people when it comes to this sort of thing, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to hold you often.”

“Or I you,” he said, smiling. “But with you beside me I worry that I won’t get any sleep, even if nothing happens.”

“Nothing will happen,” she assured him, standing nose-to-nose with him. Her proximity was making his heart pound like they were in the middle of a battle. “Just this is our best chance of having a moment before things go all crazy.”

“You’re not seducing me with ‘tomorrow we may die’, are you?” he teased.

“Absolutely not. You’ll make sure none of us die. And I’m not seducing you!”

“Noted,” he said, and his hands were on her slender waist, and she was leaning against him, her hands on his shoulders. “Lyn…”

“Shhh,” she said, and kissed him.

 

 

Chapter 8: The Berserker and Valourous Roland           Chapter 10: Victory or Death