Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete

Pretty clear win.

Next chapter should be pretty short, as it's mostly setting up what Ryza plans to do while at home, since there are some Choices (tm) and potentially some Complications (tm)

"Home is where you leave everything you love and never question that it will be there when you return."


As you look around the flattened area just off the mountain pass beneath your home, you get a strange sense of deja-vu. Oh, you've almost certainly been here before: you used to run and fly and play all over the mountain. However, after a thousand years a lot had changed; aside from occasional major landmarks you didn't remember much.

This place, however… maybe it's just because you know what happened here, but you can almost feel a lingering aura of pain.

"This is the place," Sir Octavio says softly, looking around. "This is where Lady Artemis and her men were ambushed." He looks over to Axton, who's clenching his fists hard enough that you're surprised he's not drawing blood. "There's a py-"

"Do not speak to me of that pyre," the yeoman growls. "I was there when it was burned. I helped build it!"

A tense silence passes. Carefully, you make your way over to Axton and pat him on the arm until he slowly lets out a breath. You don't begrudge him his pain: you remember how much it hurt to walk through the ruined remnants of your home, still fresh off the realization that you were alone. The man lets out a slow, shuddering breath, giving in to a moment of what he'd probably consider weakness as he grips your hand.

It seems, for all this place is your home, it has traumas enough for everyone.

Lancel looks around. "I think this is all the farther we can take the cart, Mistr-" You frown at him. "-Ryza."

Sir Octavio nods. "Mistress Flarestone and I weren't able to find a way to get ours any further," he says. "If you wish, I can leave some of my men here to look after it, so that Lady Ryza can have people she knows and trusts more accompany her on the final ascent."

"Thank you," you say. You'd agreed to let Countess Mantrae send some escorts: it was only neighborly, after all, but you weren't quite ready to let everyone into your home yet. Especially the ones who had sort of broken in once already. However… "You can come up if you wish, since you've been here recently. Jenna also mentioned some things that were set aside."

The cavalier bows. "Of course," he says. "Claire, set up camp here, we might be a while."

Silently, the woman nods, gathering the Legerian soldiers and starting to set up a small camp around the cart. You halfway consider suggesting that she come along as well, you'd been hoping to get her and Kelton to actually talk about their problems rather than hiding from them like children. However, your time here is going to be tense enough without needing to babysit them and their hurt feelings. Maybe on the way back, you'll be able to get them to actually use their words.

As you start to lead the way up towards where you partially remember the main entrance being, you see two of the Agrithian yeomen splitting off towards a ridge overlooking the campsite. When you glance at Axton, he lowers his voice. "Best to have some light movers to carry a message through rough terrain, in case things go wrong down here," he says.

You get the feeling he's not being completely forthcoming with his reasons, but at the same time you don't want to call him out on anything in front of Sir Octavio. He has the right to his suspicions, after everything that has happened.

The trip up the mountain is harder than the trip down. You remember a thousand years ago that there used to be finely-carved stairs leading up to the main entrance to Kepesh-Okar, but today all that's left is the occasional jagged rock. Tangled plants and moss cover the countless boulders and stones that cover the area, occasionally forcing you to spread your wings and fly as the others work their way through the messy path. It's incredible that Artemis was able to find her way up safely, especially at night while being chased by the Talons.

Finally, however, you stand before the front door to your home. Your heart sinks: it's one thing to know, intellectually, that a thousand years is going to leave its mark. It's another to stare at a doorway that you can barely recognize as more than just a cave entrance.

"There used to be doors," you hear yourself saying, struggling to contain the prickling in your eyes. "Big, stone doors, so big I couldn't move them without the magic runes Father put in them." You run a finger along the edge. "They were beautiful… they were supposed to be the first things guests saw, and the tribe's ancestors wanted to make a good impression…"

Kelton pats your shoulder as you realize they're shaking. "Hey, kid, you okay?" he asks.

Sniffling, you look up at him. "This was my home…" you say. "This was my home, and look at it."

"I am," he says. "I'll admit, it's a bit of a fixer-upper, but buildings can be rebuilt. I've lost count of the number of times various parts of Miau were put back together after something went wrong. Dad always said that, so long as the people survived, the stuff could be fixed." He ruffles your hair. "It'll take a while, but eventually this place'll look as good as new. You can make a new door, just as nice as the old one."

You smile wanly. "Thanks, Kelton," you say. Taking a deep breath, you lead the way forward. "Alright, let's see what we've got here."

As you step into the darkness, you look around. It's clear that, whatever battle took place a thousand years ago, it was centered here. You can still see the scars of elemental breaths, the marks of claws on stone. They're faint, true, and in places they've been wiped away by time, but you can see them, especially as the humans light up their lanterns so they can see too.

After a minute of silence, Axton looks around. "This was where the Talons set up camp," he says. Focusing on the moment, you note the signs of old fire-pits, the marks of places where pegs were driven into the stone to anchor tents.

"We did too," Sir Octavio says. As the remaining helpers start moving around, looking for spots to set up tents, he looks at you. "Lady Ryza, do you… do you wish to see where we found your father?"

A part of you doesn't. Wants to cling to some faint, desperate illusion that he was still alive. However, you force yourself to be brave, his stone is in your pocket, you know he's gone. "Yes, please," you say.

The cavalier silently leads you down a few corridors, still covered in the ancient signs of battle. Charred patterns on the stone, barely visible but still present, mark the points where elemental breaths went off course. A cratered wall still holds the faint pattern of a dragon's body-shape, and as you pick at the rubble you find the remnants of a broken scale.

Finally, however, Sir Octavio turns down a corridor that ends in a pile of rubble, covered by a large cloth. "We were looking for any sorts of secret passages or signs of habitation," he says stiffly. "And we found… well, we found this. My apologies if this was an intentional burial…"

You shake your head. "No, it wasn't," you say, not moving. "We have proper tombs for that; I've been to them a few times; they're down below." You gesture vaguely towards where you think the stairs are. "This… this is just… where he was left…"

"Do you want some time?" Lancel asks.

Swallowing, you nod. "Yes, please." Kelton starts to open his mouth, but you shake your head. "Alone. I want to be alone with him."

"Sure thing, Ryza," Belle says, grabbing Kelton's arm and starting to tug him back. "Come on, let's go before the official clankers take all the good spots."

You wait, silently, until the last echoes of footsteps have faded from the corridor. Finally, you step forwards and grab the corner of the tarp. Swallowing, you pull it off, revealing the hole that had been dug into the rubble… the hole leading to the empty stare of a dragon-form's skull.

"Hi, Father," you say weakly, pulling his stone out and setting it on his bony snout. The faint line of gold-colored paint and glue is barely visible, but you can still spot it easily. "I… I'm sorry I didn't… I couldn't…" Feeling tears beginning to leak from your eyes, you reach in and start petting the bone. "I…"

You don't know how long you stand by the impromptu grave. You cry and babble and try to make sense of how this all happened. The skull is silent, no warmth or light leaks this deep into the cave with the mirrors broken, but still, you cling to some desperate comfort that there's something physical, something real.

Finally, wiping your eyes, you light up the cavern with an orb of White magic. "I've been practicing, just like I said I would," you say. "I should probably go and find the shrine; I remember there being a tablet of White magic there; that'll help me, even if I don't yet have full control of it. I can use the others, but it won't work as well until I can take the time to really study the other colors." Carefully, you remove the stone and pull the tarp back over the hole: it's not much, but until you decide what you're going to do it's at least somewhat respectful.

"Rest well, Father," you say softly, before finally retreating back towards the entrance.

You find the humans having set up a camp. Sir Octavio is talking quietly with Belle, Kelton, Axton and Lancel as they look down at a bag. As you move over to join them, thankfully nobody asks you if you're okay. You're not sure how you'd be able to answer. Kelton just wraps an arm around your shoulder.

"I was just telling your companions how, after we realized just who's home this was, Mistress Flarestone ordered that we stash all the relics we found," Sir Octavio says, gesturing to the bag.

A flash of anger crosses your mind at the idea that a bunch of strangers were picking over what was yours by right, but you force it down: anger won't help you here, and so you will control that emotion. "Thank you," you say, crouching down and sifting through the pile. There's not much of interest, a few fragments of carved stone, a scrap or two of scroll with legible writing, not much. It is, however, a link to your home, and so you carefully close the bag. "I'm going to my father's shrine: the place where I was sealed away. There's a box that I'll need some help carrying."

"Of course," several people say at the same time.

Smiling faintly, you stand and hold up your ball of light. "Come on, this way,"

As you walk through the halls, the signs of damage become less noticeable. They're still there, of course. Everywhere you look, the signs of wear and tear are mixed with signs that look… almost like deliberate destruction.

Frowning, you pause, running a finger along a groove cut into the remnants of an old mural, one that depicted one of your ancient ancestors first founding this place. At first, you think it's a claw mark, but the pattern isn't right… "What's this?" you ask.

Axton studies it. "I can't be certain," he says after a long moment. "But it looks like a pick-ax mark. There was something there that someone wanted, and they carved it out."

Your blood runs cold. Searching your memory, you think about this mural in its true form: that point… "Someone carved out the topaz gems that stood in for Miakuroisi's dragonstone," you snarl. Looking over the rest of the mural, you see similar marks anywhere else there had been gemstones or other valuable materials. "Someone did this deliberately."

"Grave-robbers," Kelton says darkly. "Some people have no respect for the Sentinel's wards, and will steal from them even after they've gone to the Wall." Belle starts to open her mouth, but seems to think better of whatever she was about to say and closes it.

Breathing slowly, you force your rage down. This was probably done decades if not centuries ago, and as horrifying and insulting as it was they were just gems. They weren't something to get worked up over, especially not at the people who'd had nothing to do with it. "Let's go," you mutter, continuing your path.

It takes you a while to find your way, but finally you stand in front of the wall that hid your sanctuary. You can't sense anything, Father's protections are still in place, but you recognize the wall. "This is it," you say softly. Gently pressing your stone to the wall, you watch as Father's spell transports it to the back of the shrine, opening the way.

"Wow…" Belle whispers as she looks around, her lantern panning across the spiraling runes. "This place is incredible!"

"And so well preserved," Sir Octavio says. "More than anything else." He frowns. "Even accounting for the lack of thieves and vandals breaking things, time should have worn away at this place."

You cock your head thoughtfully. He's… not wrong. Looking about, you consider the crispness of the runes: even away from the elements, there should have been some wear or tear or burnout. Especially since there would have had to be magical energy flowing continuously through the system to maintain the stasis spell on you.

Something was going on here. Something that you aren't thinking of.

Shaking your head, you make your way to the alter where you'd slept. "This was where Artemis found me," you say, vaulting over it and opening the box. "And here's the stuff I wasn't able to carry out." Grabbing your blanket, you wrap it around yourself; even with your cloak it's a little chilly in here.

You faintly hear some snickers, and you look back. "What? Mother made it for me," you say, fumbling with it to make a second hood for yourself.

"We know," Belle says, struggling to keep a grin off her face. "But you've got to admit, it's kind of funny, seeing you like this. Like a little kid wandering around after bedtime."

Pouting, you glare at them. "I will remind you all that, even discounting the thousand-year nap, I am older than all of you put together!" you grumble.

This has less of an effect than you'd hoped, as everyone simply laughs. "Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that you're cute, all bundled up like that," Kelton says.

Muttering about betrayals most foul, you look back into the box. "So these are the things Father and Mother left me," you say, reaching in and digging out Mother's Hymn, putting it into your pocket next to Thunder's Cry. "We can probably leave the food behind; while we can eat it while we're here, it's a bit heavy and we don't need to bring it out now."

The humans, having finally gotten over their stupid giggling, gather around. "That… is a lot of scrolls…" Kelton says.

"Father wanted to make sure I had all the knowledge I'd need if something happened to him and Mother," you say, rooting through the pile to see if there's anything interesting you'd missed. "Oh, I didn't notice this the first time!" you say as you dig out a fancy tablet. "Ha! This is the Claim Stone to the mountain! Even if Countess Mantrae hadn't agreed that Kepesk-Okar is mine, this says it is!"

"That's probably useful to have, though I'm guessing not a lot of humans would acknowledge it, sadly," Sir Octavio says. "So, is there anything else in there?"

"Lots of stuff," you say. "Do you think we could carry the whole thing?"

The humans look at each other. "I don't think so," Belle says, studying the bottom. "It looks like it was made out of the ground itself, probably by magic."

You sigh, it would have been simpler to be able to just carry the box, but you trust that Father knew what he was doing. "Alright," you say. "I guess we just start moving scrolls."

"Ryza, please don't take this the wrong way, but do you need all of them?" Kelton asks. "I mean, I'm sure they're all nice, but there are so many of them."

"But if I leave them, and someone else finds this place, I'll probably never get them back!" you cry. "Besides, Father left them for me. There has to be some sort of meaning to them!" You start digging through the pile. "I at least need these ones," you say, pulling out the remaining elemental tablets and the scrolls that you'd considered bringing along when you were preparing to leave with Artemis. Those, at least, you had to take along!

Lancel nods. "That looks like a reasonable start," he says. "For now, why don't you just take those ones, and you can think about what else you'd like to bring. We have some time; it looks like nobody's been here since Mistress Flarestone left." You nod gratefully as everyone murmurs their agreement, opening their backpacks so you can spread the scrolls and tablets around rather than having to carry them all yourself.

As you re-seal the shrine and start making your way back towards the forming camp at the entrance to your home, you ponder what exactly you're going to do here. Kepesk-Okar is big, especially considering there are some lower levels that you were forbidden from entering. Mother had never gotten around to telling you why exactly you weren't allowed down there, but you'd trusted her to have her reasons. However, now…

Frowning, you consider something. "I want to take a quick detour," you say, turning down another corridor.

"What is it?" Belle asks.

"My home goes deep into the mountain," you say as you follow the halls towards the central stairway. "And I wanted to check to see if I could still go down if I want to."

"What's further down?" Kelton asks.

"A lot of stuff," you say. "Kepesk-Okar was home to a lot of manakete, once upon a time, and some of the living spaces are deeper in than what Father, Mother and I used. There might be some-" your voice trails off.

In front of you is the central stairway. It's still there, which is better than your worst fears, though it is somewhat crumbled. However… as you stare at it, you can see the signs of piles of rubble and broken furniture blocking the way further down. Not completely, it'd be pretty easy to go over it, but something about the way it's arranged… and there's an odd smell on the stagnant air…

"This is recent work," Lancel says, stepping forward and playing his light over the barrier. "Look at the scuff marks: these stones were deliberately dragged to make this wall." Stepping to the edge, he shines the light down into the blackness. "There's something down there…."

Moving up to join him, you peer into the darkness. As his light fades away, you see what he means. "I can't get a good look at it, it's too dark," you say, staring at the dark bundle laying on the stairs, far down below. "I can go get a closer look-"

"Ah ah ah, you don't go first," Belle says, grabbing the back of your cloak and blanket. "Kelton and I'll check it out first." The soldier nods immediately. "You stick with the other ranged-guys and cover us."

You dither for a moment before nodding. "Okay, be careful," you say as the pair clamber over the barricade and make their way carefully down the steps. A minute later, they reach it, only to recoil a moment later.

"Sentinel preserve us…" you hear Kelton mutter, sounding genuinely scared for the first time since you'd met him. "Well, I know why the way was barricaded…"

"What is it?" you ask. Running out of patience when they don't answer immediately, you shuck your blanket, spread your wings and glide down the stairs. "What do you see?"

A moment later, you get your answer.

Laying on the stairs is a dead human body. It's clearly the source of the stench, it looks like it's been rotting away for years… but there's something else about it. Black magic… or at least something very like it, seems to coil faintly around the corpse like a miasma cloud, and you can see the fingers of the corpse have thickened and warped into long, jagged claws. The head is twisted at an impossible angle, leaving its blotchy, rotten face to stare at you. Its teeth, those that remain, are sharpened like fangs. Several broken arrows are jutting out of its torso.

"Revenant," Belle hisses, backing warily away. "The walking dead." She looks up. "Whoever made that barrier must have had a run-in with them, panicked, and built it to keep them out." She looks warily at you. "It's said that where there's one revenant, a horde isn't far behind. We should be careful."

As she speaks, your attention is drawn to the wall a few steps above the revenant. Crouching down, you watch as faint flickers of lightning flash through the runes engraved along the wall. They're… weak, faded, and you can almost see a coiling darkness in them, but they're there. Slowly, you reach out and feed some energy into the runes, and you're rewarded with a steadier glow. "I'm not sure…" you say, staring at the runes. "But I think these are some sorts of protections. They're weak, almost burned out, but they'll give us some protection. I think."

"They can keep the undead out?" Belle asks nervously, peering down the stairs into the darkness as if expecting a swarm to come clambering out of the shadows.

You shrug helplessly. "I can't be sure," you say. "Even if it wasn't too complicated for me, they're worn and faded enough that I'm almost hesitant to leave them running." Seeing the flickers of panic across your friends' faces, you relent. "But I guess it can't hurt." Looking back at the creature, you grimace. Mother does it smell! "What is it?"

"Revenants are the least of monster-kind," Kelton says. "They're slow, dumb, and don't use weapons beyond their claws and teeth. Even most militia-soldiers can handle one or two, especially with a good lance to make them keep their distance." He shudders. "But there's almost never just one or two. When fell magic causes them to rise, they do so in hordes!" He stares down into the blackness. "I'm worried there're more down there. Especially if someone was worried enough to make a full barricade."

You frown. "That doesn't make any sense," you say. "I was down there plenty of times. We didn't live there, but there's a lot of old storage chambers and things like that, as well as some living space from back when there were a lot more people living here. Mother never would have let me go down there if she thought it was dangerous!"

"Maybe it wasn't, a thousand years ago," Belle says. "Maybe back then the magic kept the monsters out, so it was safe to move around, but over time the spells faded." You slowly nod, that actually makes sense. She hesitates. "You say there's stuff down there? Is it anything you want?"

"Possibly. At least, I know there's one big storage room that probably has a lot of odds and ends that might be useful."

The thief and soldier glance at each other. "Well, if you do decide to go down there, it can't be alone," Kelton says. "You at least need to bring the two of us with you, preferably with Axton, Lancel, and Sir Octavio. Revenants may be slow and dumb, but they're relentless, and if there's a lot of them they can surround you before you realize you're in trouble. And that's not even considering that there might be worse monsters lurking below."

You nod. "Okay, I promise," you say. Glancing at the spluttering runes, you feed some more magic into them. "There, that should keep them going for a few hours at least, maybe a day," you say. "We should head back to the others. Can revenants go out during the day?"

"They can," Kelton says. "A lot of people think they can't, but they're perfectly capable of acting during the day, just like all monsters."

Your face goes cold as the three of your hurry back up the crumbling stairs. "Then we should warn Claire and the others to be careful too," you say. "I don't think there are any entrances to the lower levels directly, but that was a thousand years ago, something could have opened up."

"What's wrong?" Sir Octavio asks as you rejoin him and the yeomen.

Looking back down the stairs, you're somewhat reassured to see that the rune is still glowing. "There was a monster down there," you say. "A… what did you call it? Rev-"

"A revenant," Kelton answers. "It was dead, looks like it'd been for a while, but it was a revenant, not just a body. It had claws."

The cavalier curses. "And the magic?" he asks, pointing towards the faint light of the recharged runes.

"I'm pretty sure it's the remnants of an old warding rune-structure my ancestors set up," you say. "It should keep the monsters from coming up these stairs, but we should probably have some people stay here and keep an eye out. The runes are really faded and could burn out at any time."

Axton nods sharply. "A good idea," he says. "I'll go grab some of my men." He glances at Sir Octavio. "Was this here when you were poking around?"

Sir Octavio shakes his head. "I don't know, I'm afraid," he says. "We never made it this far, Mistress Flarestone had us leave as soon as we found Lady Ryza's father." He glances at it. "I don't think it was the Talons and their bandit pets, either. It looks older than that. There were other people here, once, and they were worried enough about what's down there that they put some time and effort into making sure that this barricade would not fall easily."

As Axton hurries away, you turn and gaze down the stairs. Is it just your imagination, or do you see something glinting further down… You raise a hand and send a jolt of White magic down the stairs. There's nothing there, nothing but ruins and scars.

Still, as the darkness reasserts itself, you can't help but despair at what has become of your home.

---

You have returned to your home. You don't feel comfortable trying to repair and make this place livable now, what with the Empire right next door. However, there are still plenty of things that you can find that will bring you aid, comfort and information in the coming days. You can spend as long as you want searching. You can even search the same place multiple times, which will give you better results.

However, you get the feeling that the longer you spend here, the more things will happen during your stay. Not all of these things will be bad, surely, but they will happen. You will have to balance missing important supplies and information if you don't search hard enough with the risk of being blindsided by events if you stay too long.

What do you want to do? (Please vote by plan)

[] Upper Floors: This area seems mostly safe. A bit run-down, a bit dirty, but now that the Talons and bandits are gone there doesn't seem to be any actual threats. However, this makes it more likely that thieves have stolen most things of use.
-[] Visit yours and your parents' rooms. These places may be destroyed, but they were some of the most important places of your early life. Maybe you'll find… something… to remember your roots by.
-[] Dig through the main library. This was where the scrolls and tablets that your parents used on a regular basis were kept. While you have plenty of scrolls from the box in the shrine, there might be other things here.
-[] Make a proper grave for your Father's body, as well as Mother's if you can find it. You have already made a shrine to your parents, and you know you can't bring their bodies to Agrithe even if you wanted to, but you're not just going to leave them laying where they were killed.
--[] Make a new burial spot
--[] Take them to the Crypts (only available if you explore the Crypts)
-[] Look at Father's Runewrighting labs. These were the places where Father carried out his experiments and made his runes. Maybe there's something here that could prove useful
-[] Visit Mother's study. As the Matriarch of the family and tribe, Mother used the ancestral study of the Matriarch and Patriarch when doing official business. Maybe there's something here that can give you some answers as to what happened a thousand years ago…
-[] Your Shrine. Not only do you want to get the rest of the scrolls, you want to try and figure out how that place survived as long as it did. If other manakete have survived, surely it is by some similar method, and so knowing the signs to look for will be useful.

[] Lower Floors: Past the ward and the barricade, you fear that you will start running into monsters, possibly the revenants your human friends fear, possibly more dangerous ones like baels or doogs. However, if humans were afraid of going down there, then it is more likely that useful materials survived.
-[] Visit the Deep Library. A massive storage space for all those scrolls and tablets that were rarely used, you're sure there's something interesting and useful here, if only you can find it.
-[] Main Storage: Another titanic cavern, where countless odds and ends were packed away in case they might ever prove useful. Rune-structures, tablets, maybe even elixers… you're sure you can find items here.
-[] The Crypts. The ancient burial place of your ancestors. Not only might this be a place to bury your family, but perhaps you will be able to find some peace or wisdom among the memories of those who came before.
-[] Even Deeper. Down in the darkness is a passage beyond which you were forbidden to tread. You don't want to go through it… but maybe, if you look at it, you can figure out how the monsters got into your home.
-[] The Ward. If you spend some time, you might be able to reinforce the warding runes so that they at least won't fail. At least, not anytime soon.

AN: A bit of a short update, I know.

For the vote, please remember to vote by plan. Also, to make the mechanics clear: you can vote for as many different things you want Ryza to do or search for, but the more things you do, the more other events will happen, either elsewhere or at Kepesk-Okar.