Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete

"I will never leave a fallen sister."
- Rule Four of the Whitewing Creed


'Please… I don't want your blood on my conscience as well. Let me go alone!'

'My lady, you need to go!'

'Just… just go. Tell my father what happened. It may be too late for me…'

'I need to get back to her, but first I need you to be safe!'

You grit your teeth as the words flood your mind. The echoes of every time someone you love told you to abandon them and save yourself crashed through your thoughts like an avalanche. You'd followed the order exactly once, and you might as well have torn out your own heart!

Never.

Again!

"Robin, you have that elixir, right?" you say, surprised at how icy and steady your own voice is. Mother would have been proud. "Could it heal him? If so, give it to him and let's go!"

Bernard hisses in frustration. "There is no time, you silly girl! Just-"

"No." You're sure your eyes flash as you glare at him. "No. I am tired of all you self-sacrificing twits! We came here to save Sypha, true, but that doesn't mean we're leaving you behind! Now drink up so we can all get out of here together!"

The boy rears back, a look of deep offense on his face. "Who do you think you-"

"She's right!" Sypha said, throwing you a grateful smile. "Bernie, please, I couldn't live with myself if I got to go home and you didn't!" She shudders. "And what would I say to your father when he demands to know where you are! He'll be so mad at me!" You nod vigorously. You had only spoken to Baron Rickman the once, but you had no intention of crossing him. Ever. He scared you.

Bernard's mouth works for a second before he sighs and turns his gaze to Robin. "Look, just… wait, what are you doing?"

"Exactly what it looks like I'm doing, young lord," Robin says mildly as he digs through his bag. "Getting you your elixir."

The boy blinks. "Wha- but you're the adult! You're supposed to be rational!"

Robin nods. "I am, young lord" he says, pulling out the glowing liquid and shoving it into Bernard's hand. "And I know you're right, we don't have time to argue. I also know convincing two stubborn girls to leave you behind will be more difficult and time-consuming than convincing one stubborn boy to come along. Now drink this so we can all get out of here in a timely fashion."

You frown. Stubborn? You're not stubborn! It's not your fault humans keep coming up with silly ideas like staying with the bad people who're hurting them! Still, it seemed everyone agrees that this is no time to argue, so you simply huff and make a mental note to be irritated with Robin when you all get out of here.

Bernard looks between the three of you, clearly thinking quickly. After a moment, however, he sighs and uncorks the bottle. "If it gets Sypha out of here faster," he mutters, gulping down the White-infused liquid.

After a moment, a faint light starts playing over his body. The large, ugly black eye on his face starts to recede, allowing you to finally see both of his eyes. The other bruises vanish even more quickly.

You also watch the light move about under the boy's clothes, bright enough to shimmer even through the cloth. There were a few flickers around his stomach and chest, but most of the glow you saw was around his right leg. Bernard hissed in discomfort as something happened. You did wish you didn't have to be wary for any Talons showing up to ruin the rescue. It would have been nice to be able to just watch the White magic at work, maybe get some hints as to how to do it yourself. Mother, you wish you'd been able to find space for Practical Magic in your pack, but you'd needed to go fast…

After a few seconds, Bernard lets out a slow breath as the light fades. "I'm… functional," he says grimly. "Now, if you're all quite done, let's go. Come on, Sypha."

'Seems rudeness runs in the family,' you think grumpily as the two nobles follow Robin to the hole that he'd cut in the tent. 'Or maybe it's just an Imperial thing.' Shaking your head, you remind yourself that you're still in danger. You need to go fast. You stuff the knife Robin had given you into a pocket, nearly stabbing yourself in the leg but thankfully twisting the blade at the last second. Sighing, you hurry to join the others.

Robin is outside already, his bow drawn and scanning the area. Bernard is working his way out of the flap, his face occasional twitching in pain. However, he refused to let it stop him. Sypha, meanwhile, glances at you.

"Sorry…" she whispers. "And… thank you, for coming."

"You're welcome," you say, smiling. "We'll be okay. Everything'll be okay."

The noble girl bites her lip. "I hope so," she says.

"Sypha!" Bernard hisses, holding out a hand.

She jerks before hurrying forward. "Oh, of course, coming," she says, taking his offered hand and allowing him to help her over the tent flap. Once she's through, Bernard puts a hand on her upper back and guides her after Robin, who seems to be leading the way. He does not offer to help you out of the tent.

You choose to believe that he just doesn't think you need any help. Clambering out after him, you follow after Robin, keeping a wary eye open behind you.

To the north and east, there are still countless shouts. Between the tents, you spot lines of people snaking from several locations, mostly from the large tent just past the one the wyvern had landed in front of. The lines seem to be swiftly passing buckets back and forwards, moving them far faster than any one person could run them back and forward. "Ohhhh, that's what she meant by bucket chain," you murmur to yourself. A clever use of the humans' greater numbers, especially since so few of them have magic to snuff out the fire themselves.

The wyvern, at first, does not seem to be present. However, just as you think that it burst into the air with a shriek of irritation, looking like it came from the center of the large, burning tent. In its talons is grasped a squirming form, twitching as the serpentine creature lowers itself carefully through the air, seemingly depositing its burden on the ground. You hope that was a Talon that the commander had rescued from the burning tent, rather than one of Mantrae's soldiers who had been over there for some reason.

You're brought back to reality as you nearly bump into Bernard and Sypha, who had stopped just short of bumping into Robin, who has his fist raised. "Hold…" he breathed, seemingly to himself. Before you could try to ask why, you heard the faint rustle of leather as a quartet of Talons rush past you, seemingly on their way to the fire. "Okay, go!" Robin says.

The four of you start to dart across the "road" between clusters of tents. Had it just been you and Robin, you almost certainly would have made it. You probably would have even managed if there had only been you, Robin and Sypha.

Bernard, however, is far more focused on his cousin's safety than on his own. He is also clearly still injured, as the movements of his legs are stiff. Combined, these factors means that, not only does he not notice the discarded cup laying on the ground, when he steps on it he can do nothing to prevent himself from tripping and falling.

He doesn't curse. He doesn't even make a sound. However, the cup goes flying past you and smacks into a pot hanging over the embers of a fire outside one of the tents, causing a loud clang.

You know instantly that the four Talons who had just passed hear the noise. They start to turn, and you also know that there's no way you're going to be able to get out of the way. You're in the open, and there's nothing you can do.

It seems you're going to have to fight after all.

"Hey!" one of the men shouts, hefting his large, two-handed sword. The other three, more lightly armored, rip out thinner blades from the sheaths at their sides, dropping into ready stances. "What the fu-"


Before the man could get the rest of his word out, Robin releases his arrow. The Talon blinks, seemingly confused, as his sword slips from his hand. It almost seems to take his body a moment to catch up with the fact that it wasn't allowed to be alive anymore with an arrow jutting out of its throat. Once it does, however, he quietly falls to his knees and topples over, dead.

You blink. You'd thought Artemis was a good shot, but the sheer, cool confidence Robin had just displayed is… kind of intimidating. He's already shifting another arrow from the bundle he held to his grip and sighting it even as one of the other Talons tries to dodge and weave her way towards him. Robin only takes a second's pause before shooting her in the throat as well, sending her to the ground with a gurgle.

You have your own problems. The two remaining mercenary swordsmen seem to decide that, while Robin is the biggest threat, someone still needs to corral their prisoners. One moves to flank Robin, but the last, his sword seemingly duller than the others, dashes towards you. "Don't move you little-"

"Get away from us!" you snap, holding up Thunder's Cry as Yellow energy gathers around you. You suppress the full extension your wings for the moment: you're trying to remain inconspicuous. However, you don't hold back on your spellcasting. A bolt of lightning stabs across the distance between the two of you. The man only has time to widen his eyes before he's thrown back into one of the tents, his body burned and convulsing as lightning ravages his system. You watch with bated breath for a moment, but he goes still and does not rise.

The last Talon stumbles as he tries to turn towards you. "What the fu-" he begins, but he'd gotten too close to Robin. Not bothering to use his bow, the Agrithian grabs an arrow and shoves it into the man's eye. Then, as the Talon falls and starts to open his mouth to scream, Robin slams his boot down on the man's neck, causing something to go crack, and then shoots him in the other eye with the still bloody arrow for good measure, pinning his head to the ground.

The whole fight took maybe six seconds.

Sypha lets out a moan, covering her eyes. "Spirits help us…" she whimpers.

"I am sorry, Lady Sypha, but we need to go fast," Robin says, his voice cool and controlled. He isn't even breathing hard. "Someone will have heard that." Bernard nods, having managed to clamber to his feet during the struggle. He once again uses his hand to guide Sypha along, though he takes a moment to grab the fallen sword of the nearest Talon. You're not sure how happy you are that he has a weapon, but if it will help him protect Sypha, then you suppose it's okay.

Thankfully, as the four of you hustle towards the place where the horses were resting, you don't hear any shouts of alarm. The fight wasn't fun, but it wasn't disastrous either. You were almost to the horses, the wyvern was still visible to the northeast, you're pretty sure the mage is still working on the other fire. You're almost out of this! You're doing it! Artemis is going to be so proud of you!

"You're a mage?"

You blink as you look back at Bernard, who's studying you. "Yes. It's a long story, can we please get Sypha out of here before we talk about it?" you ask. There's no time.

The boy blinks before nodding firmly. "A fair point," he says, a note of respect finally entering his voice. "I thank you for your aid, mage, though I had not thought one so young-"

Robin raises his fist again, interrupting the Imperial noble boy. "Metal armor," he says, before going ridged. "Voidspit…"

A second later, three men come around the corner of the long tent you'd just started passing. The long, narrow space means there's no way you can hide, and so you step back behind Robin as the three Talons turn… wait… You blink as you realize that you recognize one of them. You'd never seen him up close, only ever from a distance, but you have a good memory.

"Isn't that Robert?" you ask as the former cavalier looks you all over. Behind him, two men in the green cloaks of Agrithian yeomen draw their bows and nock arrows, aiming towards the group of you.

The cavalier blinks as he starts to take a step forward. "Robin?" he asks.

"Robert," Robin responds icily.

Robert sighs, sounding strangely tired. "I will admit, when I considered who would be sent after me, I was expecting Kopoi," he says. You frown, he doesn't sound scared or angry or arrogant. He just sounds... tired.

Robin chuckles darkly. "You have an inflated sense of your own importance, traitor," he says. "You weren't even included as a secondary objective on this mission. His Highness has more important things to worry about than third-rate landless cavaliers." He gestures with his own drawn bow. "In the name of old times, and to avoid the fuss that killing you three would make, I'll give you the chance to walk away. Leave these mercs and never return to the Kingdoms, and you can keep your miserable lives."

The man studies Robin for a moment before shaking his head, drawing his sword and shifting his gauntleted arm in front of his face. "You don't understand, Robin," he said. "You think this is all just happening by chance? Part of some petty power-play by a minor Imperial lord? No, there is so much more going on than you can imagine. If Agrithe's people are to survive… we need to swim with the current, rather than against it. I had hoped to explain that to Lady Artemis-"

"You will explain nothing, traitor," Robin snaps. "By order of His Highness Archduke Letoro Cartese, you are hereby stripped of your titles and privileges. Any and all loyal servants of Agrithe are permitted and expected to carry out your execution."

Robert slowly nods. "I expected nothing less," he said. "I… wish you good fortune, in the war I fear is to come." With that, he gestured to his men, and you realized this was about to go down.


The first thing you do is dive out of the way with a squeak as both of Robert's yeomen try to shoot Robin. Thankfully, he's also able to dodge, but his movement throws off his aim just enough that Robert is able to angle his armor enough to deflect Robin's arrow. The two yeomen quickly take cover behind nearby detritus, raising their bows to aim at Robin as he tries to angle for a shot at the advancing Robert.

You remember Artemis telling you to fry the traitor in his armor if you ever saw him, but right now those arrows are making you very, very nervous. You'll get one spell off before they start aiming at you, and if they're as good of shots as Artemis or Robin, you'll be in real trouble. Suddenly, your lack of protection in heart-form makes you very nervous. "Stay down," you say to Bernard and Sypha, who are crouching behind you, Bernard slightly in front with his sword out. "It'll be okay."

Then, you summon up your lightning bolts. Unable to get a clean line to the nearest yeoman, you're forced to call the thunder down from above. Yellow magic gathers, coalesces, and then slams down upon the man. He doesn't even have time to blink before he's on the ground, dead.

The other archer doesn't hesitate. The next arrow, which had been aimed for Robin, is immediately pointed directly at you. Squeaking, you throw yourself to the ground just in time for the projectile to whistle over your head. Rolling, you tuck yourself behind a small box and start scrambling to call up more magic.

Meanwhile, Robin got off two more shots at Robert, but it's clear that the cavalier's metal armor is well made. One shot deflects off his shoulder plate, and while the second digs into a gap, the traitor grits his teeth and keeps on going, his sword raised. Robin is forced to abandon his bow and draw his sword, the two steel weapons clashing against each other.

"If things are so dire, why didn't you warn us?" Robin snaps.

"It would have changed nothing," Robert shot back, using his greater bulk to shove the wiry hunter away. "There is no stopping what is to come, only surviving it." His eyes flick to you. "The girl… who is she? She was with-"

"I swore to Lady Artemis that I would let no harm come to her. I will not reveal her secrets to you, Robert," Robin cuts in, sliding to the side to give himself some distance.

Robert is able to keep his balance, and with one last glance at you he sighs. "I suppose it doesn't really matter in the end," he says before gesturing to his final yeoman.

"Kill her."


The sheer coldness of his voice makes you gasp. He so easily went from asking who you were to saying you don't matter! Telling his man to murder you, not because you'd hurt him or hurt someone he cares about. He hasn't even looked at the body of the yeoman you'd killed. He's ordered you killed just because you were a nuisance.

You feel your dragonstone hissing and crackling in your pocket as it reacts to your anger, and you can't hold your draconic heritage back completely. "Funny," you say coldly, ignoring the gasps from behind you as your wings extend fully. "Artemis told me to do the same thing to you, Robert. In fact, she was very insistent."

Then, you throw your hand out and unleash twin bolts of lightning.

The yeoman had just finished drawing back his arrow when your fury reached him. He didn't even have time to scream in pain as he was thrown away, his bow shattering into shards as the wood was heated unsustainably. The arrow, thankfully, flops off course and embeds itself in the cloth of the tent next to you, causing it to start smoldering. You're so furious you didn't even flinch.

Robert, meanwhile, was able to dodge enough to avoid the worst of your strike, but he still stumbled away, hissing in pain as arcs of Yellow magic flash across his armor.

"What are you?!" he gasps, barely avoiding a swing from Robin.

"My name is Ryza, and I am here to make sure nobody else gets hurt by you and yours," you shoot back, summoning up another lightning bolt. "Now lay down and leave us alone!"

Robin notices what you're doing, nods, and quickly launches a flurry of blows. Robert is forced to defend himself, forced to take his eyes off of you. You take the opportunity to bring the full force of Thunder's Cry down on his head.

The ex-Agrithian cavalier is thrown to the ground, the smell of burning flesh and seared metal filling your nostril as he lets out a shuddering gasp. His armor took the worst of the blow, more so than either of his minions, but as you watch his body he does not move again.

As you stare at his fallen form, you let out a slow breath. "I did it, Artemis," you say to nobody in particular. "I did it. He can't hurt you anymore."

Robin nods, sheathing his sword and picking up his bow. "Well done," he says. "Both Lady Artemis and His Highness will be well pleased that the traitor is dealt with." He comes over to you and puts a hand on your shoulder. "Now put those wings away, Ryza. We're almost out of here, let's try to not attract more attention to ourselves."

You nod, forcing your temper under control. You're not sure if it's just the stress of everything that's happened to you since Artemis woke you up, or if your use of half-shifting brought your dragon-self closer to the surface of your mind, but you feel like you're getting angry easier. As you push your wings back, you take a moment to think about your emotions. They… seem to be your own. There is some connection to your draconic self, of course, there always is with strong emotions, but you don't think you're being overtaken. Robert just hurt Artemis a lot, you like Artemis a lot, and then he dismissed you and ordered you dead like you were nothing. It just seems… normal, that you would be upset.

As you refocus on the here and now, you notice Sypha and Bernard staring worriedly at you. You grimace: oh, right, they didn't know you're a manakete. You'd spent so long with Artemis and Robin that you'd forgotten most humans didn't know you existed. "I'm sorry if I scared you," you say quickly. "And I promise that I'll explain once we get out of here, but I'm on your side and I'm here to help. Let's just go, I think some of the Talons will have heard that."

The two nobles glance at each other. Sypha chews on her lip again, but slowly nods. "Okay," she says. "I trust you, Ryza." Bernard doesn't look convinced, but apparently decides that now is not the time for a confrontation as he simply nods sharply. You do notice, however, that as the four of you hustle past Robert and his minions he keeps himself firmly between you and Sypha.

You sigh: you truly hope that Axton and Lancel are okay, but Mother you did not miss that particular behavior.

Thankfully, you were almost at the horse area when Robert accosted you. Surprisingly, as you get closer, you can hear a lot of noises coming from the four-legged beasts. Robin cocks his head.

"They're riled up," he mutters. "The horses. What the void's got them so-" he skids to a halt. "More guards: two armored, that way," he snaps, drawing his bow again. You nod, lifting Thunder's Cry as you focus.

"-come on, Claire! Something's going on deeper in, I heard it."

Your heart stops. That voice… you know that voice!

Two figures round the tent ahead of you. You see Robin's aim shift towards them, apparently he's done with letting the Talons get the first word in, but those are no Talons!

"No!" you cry, darting in front of him. It's not very impressive, since he's more than half again your height, but he does raise his bow. "Friends! They're friends!"

He blinks. "How do you-"

"Who's there!" the lead figure calls, hefting his spear and shield into a ready stance. "Come out and face-"

"KELTON!" you squeal joyfully, not caring who hears you as you spin and dash towards the soldier friend you thought gone. "Kelton! You're okay!"

It is him! His armor and weapons are a bit nicer than the last time you saw him, but it's him! His eyes widen as you pass close enough to a torch for him to get a look at you in return. "Ryza?!" he gasps. "Bloody void, kid, is that you?!"

"Kelton!" you cry, slipping past his shield and wrapping your arms around his waist. "You're okay you're okay you're okay-"

"What's going on!" the woman next to Kelton snaps, glaring at you. "Who are you?!"


"It's Ryza, Claire!" Kelton says gleefully, wrapping his shield arm around you in a quick hug. "The girl the rest of the guys tried to dump on you." You're too happy to see your friend alive to be annoyed at how he described you. "And of course I'm okay! I'm surprised you're okay! I thought you'd flown after the monster that kidnapped Lady Artemis and gotten eaten! Glad to see you're still kicking!"

You blink, confused. "What monster? Artemis is fine, I took her to Agrithe!"

Robin strides up to stand next to you. "Let me guess, your plan was to have Belle start a fire, then you go in and scatter the horses," he says.

The woman, Claire, narrows her eyes at him. "What business is it of-"

Kelton raps the butt of his spear on the ground. "A friend of Ryza's is a friend of ours, Claire," he says. "But if you'd wanted to help, old man, you only needed to ask." The woman throws a strange look at Kelton, part annoyance, part… admiration? No, that's not quite right, but it's close. There's also something else in that look to, something you can't name…

However, before she can say anything, a soft voice speaks from behind you. "Claire? Is that you?"

The woman's face flashes through several more emotions. Shock. Relief. Joy. Fear. Then, she dashes past you and Kelton and hurries over to where Sypha is moving to join you, shadowed protectively by Bernard. "My lady!" she says, kneeling down to eye-level. "Thank the Sentinel you're safe! And is that young Lord Rickman?"

Bernard nods. "I am," he says stiffly. "Am I to assume that you are one of Countess Mantrae's soldiers?"

Claire nods. "I am, young lord," she says. "But what are you doing here? You were supposed to go with our woman on the inside to the north while we provided a distraction down here."

Bernard turns his cold gaze onto you. "I was simply going with these… individuals, assuming they were here to help," he says icily.

"Look, they're here anyways, and we've cleared out the stable area for the moment," Kelton says quickly. "I don't know what the void's going on here, but I think we all agree we need to get out of here before that overgrown lizard up north shows up!"

You quickly nod. "That sounds good," you say. Robin throws you a look, but you shake your head: whatever's going on, you need to get out of here sooner rather than later. If that means working with Kelton and friends for now, great.

Thank the Mother, he doesn't argue aloud. "I agree. If you heard us fighting, then others will have. We don't have much time."

Claire doesn't look happy either, but she nods sharply. "Come, my lady, lets' go," she says, slinging her spear over her shoulder and offering her hand to Sypha. "Hurry!"

The girl smiles. "Right behind you, Claire," she says, taking Claire's hand. "Come on, Bernard, we're almost out of here!"

The six of you hurry back the way Kelton and Claire came, and within twenty seconds you come out into the open area where the horses had been. You notice the body of a man lying in the center of the clearing, his body riddled with arrows. Around the area, a group of three men in dark cloaks are running around, throwing open gates and driving the horses out with yells and waved torches.

"Do you have horses?" Kelton asks you worriedly. "We thought we'd have enough for everyone spread out so we didn't need any more, but do you have a way out?"

You shake your head. "No horse. Got here another way, which can kind of get us out, but it'll be-"

Suddenly, an enraged shriek echoed over the area. Spinning, you watch as the wyvern comes to a hover above you all before slamming down onto the ground just inside the camp itself, flattening a tent under its bulk. It glares around furiously, hissing challenges at the intruders that had entered its territory. Some of the horses that had been pawing and standing their ground against Mantrae's men neigh in panic and flee, and even those few who remained look even more nervous.

On the wyvern's back, the woman shifted her shining, silvery lance as she stares around before giving a long-suffering sigh. "Emperor's Breath, this job has just been one disaster after another," she mutters, barely audible even to your ear. "I'm not getting paid enough for this shit." Then, she raises her voice to shout to everyone in the clearing.

"Look, your distraction was cute and all, but I've got fifty men on their way, and even if you run Deathwing can go faster than any of your horses. I will catch you, and I will get the girl back. I am not going to have done all this for nothing!" You watch as a cluster of about ten men, carrying a combination of weapons, start filing out of the camp behind her. "Just… throw down your weapons, and I promise you your lives. You won't get a better deal from anyone else!"

What do you do?


[] Suggest an immediate retreat. While you might be able to win this fight by working together, you already have Sypha. Just leave, this doesn't have to be a bloodbath.

[] Try to engage and kill the wyvern and the nearby Talons. While you could try to run, it would take a little time to get everyone on horses. Better to clear the area, or at least, before making your escape.

[] This is not the place nor the time for subtlety. Shift into dragon form and kill that wyvern. If humans fear dragons, then you will use that to your advantage! Let these Talons know your wrath! (Anger and Determination shine in your soul.)
[] Surrender: You will not fail Artemis! You will not leave anyone to suffer!