Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete

"Hi ho, Silver! Away!"
"Silly human, I am not a wyvern!"
- Reid and Marikara, Marikara's Friend


You think fast as you stare at Mantrae's people staring at you. How are you going to handle this?

"My child, first, focus on what you want to happen," your father's voice whispers in your mind. "That will guide you on how to make it happen." Nodding to yourself and your father's memory, you quickly think.

The first and most important thing you want is not to fight these people. Not only will hurting them make Sypha sad, but you're not sure you could beat them all without you or one of your friends getting hurt. Kelton will probably try to help you, he seems to be upset with Claire right now, but you have no idea what Belle will do. It'd be… messy.

Besides… Sir Ector still has that lance. It's clearly enchanted, you can see the runes burning along it. While you can't read them well enough to figure out what they do, you can guess. After all, a small injury that even a young wyvern should have been able to ignore sent it screaming and flailing into the sky. Your dragon form may be bigger and stronger than Deathwing, but you are related through your draconic heritage… so that lance would probably really hurt.

So if you don't want to fight, then the obvious answer is to give them what they want. The promise is easy: you have no intention of keeping Sypha away from her mother. However… you get the feeling that they want to know you mean it, and if Artemis is right that there are no-few manakete left, they probably won't have heard of the Mother. They might not accept a promise in Her name.

Briefly, you consider going deeper, offering these humans the greatest promise a manakete can give. One that binds not only the heart, but the dragon as well. However, after a moment of dithering, you decide against it. They won't know the significance, and without one of their magic-users present they probably won't sense the arcane energies inherent to a Stone Oath. Besides, Mother always told you to be careful making promises like that: that you should only make them when you're certain how deeply you meant them. Best just give them what they asked for and hope for the best.

Finally, just as the humans start getting restless, you nod. "Sorry, just had to remember a few things," you say. "But I do promise. In the First Mother's name, She who brings light to the broken and clarity to the feral, I promise that I will see Sypha home. I promise that once war has been justly averted, she will see her mother and friends again safely and happily, even if I have to carry her there myself."

Sir Ector, Bernard and Sypha glance at each other. Sypha shrugs, Bernard frowns, and Sir Ector's eyes start to narrow.

Before any of them can speak, however, Belle pipes up. "Not sure how I feel about your goddess, but you seem to like her," she says, glancing at the others. "Those common problem for manakete?"

You shake your head. "Not really, or at least not that I ever heard about," you say. After all, madness and ferity were not the same thing. Anyone could be mad: only one who's heart had been completely subsumed by their dragon could be considered feral, and you've never heard of that happening outside of ancient stories. "It's just what she does. She helps keep us calm, keep us moving forwards."

"That sounds nice," Sypha said. "Well, Sir Ector, Bernie, does Ryza meet your standards?"

The two glance at each other again before slowly nodding. "Yes… she does sound sincere," Bernard says. "And our other condition?"

You start to open your mouth to speak before Sypha nudges you. "I think Bernie should come," she says quickly.

You find yourself nodding: that does make sense. You don't really want Sir Ector to come along. Not only would his lance hopefully help everyone else if the wyvern showed up, but having it stay with them will keep it away from you. You briefly consider pushing for Claire, but you dismiss the idea. Not only does Sypha clearly want her cousin to be safe, him coming with you will make things easier on everyone else. You've done your best, but he's clearly still injured, and it'll take more time and magic than you have to fully mend his injuries. Archduke Letoro surely has someone who can use White magic to finish the job.

Hopefully spending some time with each other will also make him less suspicious of you.

"That sounds like a good idea," you say. "But… may I ask you all to promise me something as well?"

Sir Ector raises an eyebrow. "You may ask," he says after a moment.

'Take what you can get,' you tell yourself. "Well, since I'm going to be keeping Sypha and Lord Bernard safe, I won't be able to bring Robin home. He's very important to Artemis, and I promised I'd bring him home safe." The man raises an eyebrow. "Since I can't bring him back, please make sure he stays safe."

"You know, Ryza, I'm not helpless," Robin says dryly.

"But I brought you here, and if I can't bring you back I need to make sure you'll be okay," you say. "Artemis would want me to make sure you're okay."

Robin grins wryly. "That she would," he said. "That she would."

Sir Ector slowly nodded. "If you are taking Lady Sypha to safety, then it would be best for the rest of us to combine our forces." He looks at Robin. "A good archer with a silver bow will be useful if that wyvern returns. We will make it farther by working together."

You smile. "Great!" you say. "So you'll make sure he gets back safely, right?"

Sir Ector nods. "Should he choose to work with us, his fate will be the same as ours."

… That's not quite what you asked for.

"Don't worry, Ryza," Robin says. "I'll be fine. Focus on getting yourself and our young nobles here to safety. When you get to Agrithe, let Lady Artemis know that I'll be fine."

"On that note," Bernard says. "You have yet to answer what magic you will use to help my cousin and I get out of here."

You open your mouth to answer, only to think for a moment. You remember Artemis's words, how you should never show anyone your dragonstone, since it was so valuable. However, you get the feeling that if you try to keep your half-shift secret, it won't go over well at all. Especially since you'll have to show Bernard and Sypha. It would be rather hard to ride on a creature you can't see, after all.

However… just because you have to show your dragon form doesn't mean you have to show your stone. If you're clever enough…

"Well, there's a ritual that I need to do," you say. "It'll take about an hour, but afterwards… well, I think everything'll make sense after that."

Sypha cocks her head. "Is it some sort of teleportation?" she asks. "I've heard that the mages at the Marble Hall are working on large-scale teleportation, but I'd heard it would be a few decades before-"

Bernard rolls his eyes. "Large-scale teleportation has been a few decades out for decades," he says. "And I'm sure it'll still be decades out in centuries."

You nod. "Yeah. I've never heard of even elder Green manakete being able to teleport more than one person more than a few dozen meters," you say. "And I can't even do that: I'm a young Yellow manakete." You shrug. "As I said, when I'm done with my ritual, everything will make sense." You hold up Thunder's Cry, hoping that they'll think it's your primary magical tool. "Do you mind?"

The Imperial studies you for a long moment before glancing at Sypha. She gives him a smile, and he sighs. "I suppose magic requires focus," he says. "An hour, you say?"

"Probably a little less," you say. "I had enough practice getting Artemis to Agrithe and Robin most of the way here; I just got… a little tired, and a little grumpy. So we decided to walk for a while." That gets a few raised eyebrows, but you keep going. "I might be a little out of practice, but I'll be able to do it, I promise." Reaching into your pocket, you pull out the piece of thick paper you'd copied the important bits of the ritual onto. You also, hopefully surreptitiously, palm your dragonstone.

Thankfully, if anyone noticed, they didn't comment. You think Belle might be raising her eyebrow a bit, but then she glances at Robin. "Ryza, do you mind if I grab something from your bag?" the yeoman asks casually.

"Sure, go ahead," you say, finding a clear spot to kneel down. "If everyone could give me some space, please, I need to focus."

Thankfully, it seems everyone's willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps it's the fact that Sypha seems to trust you, and while she watches you curiously she doesn't approach. Perhaps it's the small flashes of lightning that crackle around you as you cradle your stone just under Thunder's Cry. You have to be careful not to let the magic from your stone feed into the tablet. At best you'd give everyone a completely unnecessary lightshow. At worst you'd burn the tablet out.

Still, better than potentially causing trouble by showing off something valuable.

As you work your way through the half-shifting ritual, you split some of your attention to keep an eye on what everyone's doing. Robin talks to Belle privately for a few minutes before handing her a small bag. You frown: you recognize the bag as one of the ones Chamberlain Ebenezer gave you. Why was Robin giving her money? After thinking for a moment, you shrug; surely he has a reason, and from the way they're whispering you get the feeling that Robin doesn't really want people to know.

Thankfully, they all seem to be pretty distracted. Sypha is watching you in clear, childish fascination. She even occasionally gets up and walks around to get a look at you from different angles. It's… a bit embarrassing, though you remember Artemis watching you the first few times you half-shifted around her. She just wasn't as open about it. Bernard is watching you too, though while Sypha's gaze is full of wonder and curiosity, Bernard looks like he's trying desperately to put together a puzzle in his brain. From the looks of it there are a few pieces missing and he's not happy about it.

Kelton alternates between watching you and glancing at Claire. Curiously, she is also alternating between looking at you and looking at him. A part of you wants to stop what you're doing and just tell them to talk about whatever issues they seem to have with each other. However, you get the feeling that whatever happened is still… too raw. To immediate. Hopefully, during the trip back to Legerius, they'll actually talk to each other and figure something out. You want Kelton to be happy, and Claire seems nice enough too.

Interestingly, it's only Sir Ector who isn't paying a huge amount of attention to you. Oh, he looks your way every now and then, especially whenever your arcane lightning peaks and swirls. However, he's mostly moving between the four Mantrae yeomen, keeping them focused and occasionally pausing to talk to one of them. Hopefully they're making sure that the Talons aren't about to try anything.

Finally, you feel the ritual begin to reach its crescendo. You take a long breath: in for a jolt, in for a bolt.

"Alright," you say, closing your eyes and focusing. "I'm almost done." You pause for a moment before continuing. "Now, something big's about to happen. Just… don't… don't freak out."

With that, your wings extend to draconic length, lightning wreaths your form, and you feel your body begin to warp. Thunder crashes through the air as you lengthen and widen, skin giving way to scales. It's still an exhilarating feeling, and a part of you wonders if there's a way to change the ritual, to give up some of the power, in order to just get the look of your dragon-self. It feels nice, to be big and strong.

As your senses sharpen, you hear the gasps and cries as suddenly everyone's looking exclusively at you. Your elongated muzzle grimaces, maybe it's not the best idea to do this more often…

Once the shift is complete, you open your eyes and look around. Sypha's mouth is hanging open, Bernard's hand is frozen halfway to his borrowed sword, both Claire and Kelton are on their feet, Belle's behind a tree, Sir Ector and his men are all staring at you…

"It's something, isn't it," Robin says with a casual grin. You hope he's trying to calm everyone down by being easygoing, not just getting a kick out of being the only one not shocked.

Sypha's breaths start coming faster as she covers her mouth, a whining noise starting to claw its way out of her mouth, rising in pitch and volume….

"Please don't freak out!" you say quickly, raising both forelegs. This causes you to accidently fall forwards, barely catching yourself with an eep.

Sypha's mouth starts moving behind her hands. "I'm not freaking are you freaking out no I'm just very interested in your lightning and the transformational qualities that it possesses how long have you been doing that exactly?!"

"Depends on what you mean," you say, laying yourself down on your belly so you don't tower over her quite as much. "If you just mean transforming, I could have done that since I was a baby, though I didn't until Mother thought I was ready to start learning. I first half-shifted when I left Legerius the first time with Artemis." Sypha doesn't back away from you, which you hope is a good sign and not just her frozen in place. Slowly, you creep your head forwards until your nose is within arm's reach. "I'm still me, Sypha," you whisper. "I'm still me; I'm just bigger now."

She lets out a frantic, giggling laugh. "Bigger?! You're twenty feet long! And scaly! Oh spirits you're bigger than the wyvern..."

"Thirteen!" you huff. Why do humans keep exaggerating? "And my scales are very shiny! I'm very proud of them."

"Dragon."

You look towards Bernard, who's staring at you as if he's never seen anything quite like you before. Which, to be fair, he probably hasn't.

"You. Are. A. Dragon."

"Manakete," you say tiredly. "I am a manakete, first and foremost. I don't call you a left arm, I'd appreciate you not calling me a dragon improperly."

The boy's eyes flash. "What is improper about stating the truth, Fell-sworn?!" he snarls. "You are very clearly a dragon! You walk upon four legs. You-"

"NO!" you hiss, glaring at him. "I don't know exactly what you've been taught, but I know you're wrong. I am more than my dragon. My dragon isn't even fully awake yet." You rise to your feet, pinning him in place with your eyes. "I am manakete. I am heart and dragon intertwined, loved by the Mother. I am more than either of them, just as you are more than your flesh, more than your blood, more than your organs. You are a human. You are a person! You are Bernard Rickman. Well so am I! I'm no monster. I'm no feral beast. I. Am. Ryza."

The clearing seems to shudder as you finish your speech. The boy continues to stare at you, his mouth moving silently as he tries to process what you're saying. You don't let up. You don't advance, you don't spread your wings or snarl or try to look threatening. That would defeat the point. You aren't a monster. You did not shift in anger or fear. Your heart is still in control. You just keep staring him in the eye, trying to compel him to see reason-

"You promised, Bernie."

Both you and Bernard look at Sypha. She's shifts nervously and glances at you with barely-restrained panic, but she swallows and looks back at her cousin. "You promised, Bernie. You promised you'd give her a chance. You promised you'd come with me so we can make peace. You promised."

The boy swallows. "But-"

"You promised."

"I-"

"You. Promised."

Finally, Bernard wilts. He looks back at you, his face flashing through emotions too fast for you to track, before finally sighing. "I did," he says. "And I can't let you go alone."

You step back, satisfied for the moment. "Well, as I said, things are probably a bit clearer now," you say, looking around at everyone else. "I can't teleport anyone, sadly, but I can fly myself and Sypha and Lord Bernard out of here." You shrug your wings. "Sadly, I'm not big enough to fly three people any distance, but I can outdistance the wyvern with two, and without any tracks to follow they hopefully won't know we're heading to Agrithe."

Robin nods. "I'll vouch for her speed," he says. "As well as her reliability: I was never worried I was going to fall off, and even if I did I'm sure she'd have caught me."

"Of course!" you say. "I'm not just going to let someone fall!"

"But the spines…" Sypha says nervously.

"They're just like hair, they bend," you say, carefully using a claw to rustle them. "Artemis and Robin were both perfectly safe up here, and I promised I'd keep you safe, remember?" Leaning forward again, you once more put your nose in easy reach of Sypha, but don't advance further. "I'm still me, Sypha. I'm still Ryza, the same girl you talked to. I'm just thirteen feet long now."

Slowly, the noble girl giggles. "Strange…" she whispers, slowly reaching out and laying a hand on your muzzle. She jerks it back an instant later with a squeak. "Hey, you zapped me!"

"Sorry," you say. "A lot of my lightning is focused around my mouth, its where my breath comes out. There must be more static there." Carefully, you bite the ground and discharge some of your lighting into it, causing a faint burning smell to fill the clearing. "Better?"

Sypha gingerly reaches out and touches you again. When there's no static shock, she slowly starts petting your nose. "You're warm…" she whispers. "I thought lizards were cold."

"I'm not a lizard. I'm a manakete half-shifted into my dragon form."

Her eyes widen. "You get bigger?!" she squawks.

"No, no not bigger. Not until I grow up anyways," you say. "Just… I just wake up dragon-me, and she handles things. But I don't think I'll need to do that, so it'll just be heart-me in dragon form."

Bernard's eyes narrow again. "So you and your dragon are different people?" he asks.

"No, we're the same person," you say. "It's just… she thinks a bit differently, when she's awake." You swish your tail thoughtfully. "It's complicated. I've tried to explain it to Artemis a few times, but I don't think she really gets it."

Robin clears his throat. "As fascinating as this is, Ryza, you should really get going," he says. "We only wounded the wyvern, and while they're probably still trying to heal it and calm it down, we're reaching the point where they might have managed and be getting ready to try something. You and Lady Sypha and Lord Bernard need to go, quickly."

You nod quickly. "Right, right," you say, laying down on your belly again and offering your leg. "Climb on, we should go. I can't stay like this forever."

As Sypha and Bernard gingerly climb onto your back, Robin steps up to your head. "Take care flying, Ryza," he says, pointing to the sky. "Do you see that star, the one that looks like it's at the end of the Pegasus's tail?" You turn your head and follow his finger. After a moment, you nod, you think you know what he means. "Follow that star. It'll take you to Agrithe. From there, you should be able to find your way to the castle."

You groan, you remember that last leg. Still, maybe things will be easier since you've been there once. "Okay," you say, nuzzling him. "Stay safe, Robin. And keep Kelton safe, and Claire, and Belle, and Sir Ector-"

The man laughs, patting you. "Of course, Ryza," he says. "Remember, tell Lady Artemis I'll be fine. She doesn't like to show it, but she's a worrier."

"Yeah, we'll be alright," Kelton says, stepping up to the other side of your head. "Kind of sad I don't get to fly with you, that'd definitely get me free drinks for life, but I suppose the most important thing is making sure all you kids are safe."

You playfully nudge him. "I'm older than you!" Before anyone can comment on that slip of the tongue, you feel Sypha and Bernard finish settling themselves. "Alright," you say, carefully standing and extending your wings. "I'll see you all again. Hopefully in Legerius, but if you go to this Baron What's-his-face and need help getting out, send word and I'll be there as soon as I've dropped Sypha off at home!"

"Baron Warwick-Ligh- Aaahhh!"

Your wings beat sharply, driving you up into the air. Sypha squeals and grabs onto a bundle of your spines, tugging them painfully. You ignore it, however, as you hover above the crowd. "Stay safe, everyone! I promise I'll get Sypha and Lord Bernard to safety!"

With that, as nobody does more than gawk at you, you rise further into the sky, carefully orienting yourself so that your passengers don't need to hold on too tight. Not that that stops them, but they don't have to.

Thankfully, there's no sign of the wyvern's flaming wings in the sky. Looking back towards the Talon camp, you see no signs of fire, but there's still plenty of dark smoke rising into the night. Shapes are moving around, some hustling back and forwards between the camp and Glenhaven. You hope John and Jace and Jack are all okay…

Still, you have a job to do and a promise to keep. "Alright, hold on friends, we're going flying!" you say as you point your muzzle towards the star Robin pointed out and get going. "Don't worry, it'll be fun!"

As you flap your way east, Sypha's voice nearly gets lost on the wind.

"I'll take your word for iiiiittttttt!"

---

You have a journey ahead of you with (hopefully) no serious trouble. How do you plan to spend it?

[] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[] Focus primarily on the journey itself (Less likely to get temporarily lost.)
-[] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
-[] Focus on finding out about the world around you (Ask one additional line of questions without having to answer one in turn.)
-[] Focus on yourself (Keep a handle on your emotions.)

Meanwhile, you have two new people around to talk to. Sypha seems nervous but mostly willing to go along with things. Bernard, meanwhile, is clearly tense, but his promise seems to be keeping him in check. Maybe talking to them about things will keep them calm, and you might learn something about the world as well.

[] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[] Specifics on how Sypha and Bernard were taken by the Talons.
-[] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[] Specifics on human magical abilities.
-[] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[] Specifics about Bernard's past.
-[] Specifics on human culture.
-[] Specifics on the relationship between the Kingdoms and the Empire.
-[] Light, friendly topics.
-[] Write-in

However, as with Daniella and Manuela and Sara, the more you ask questions, the more you open yourself to having questions asked in turn.

[] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[] Specifics on your dragon-self.
-[] Specifics on manakete culture.
-[] Specifics about your powers.
-[] Specifics about your own past.
-[] Specifics about your dragonstone.
-[] Specifics about your family.
-[] Specifics about your place in Agrithe.
-[] Specifics about your plans for the future.
-[] Write-in


AN: About the dragonstone: As much as Ryza's going to try and keep it hidden, on a multi-day journey with only the three of you, where you're repeatedly going to have to pull it out to half-shift, it's going to be spotted.