Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete

"Failure is a great teacher. It shows us what to grow beyond. Us and those who come after us."
-Archmage Thundercrier's final words


As Mercia pulls you away, your thoughts race furiously. A part of you wants to leave, to just keep walking and block out the sounds and the feelings. Surely you've done enough tonight already! However… you can't help but remember what Mother said, that first day she allowed you to ride on her back to watch as she hunted.

"When you strike, child," her dragon-self had said after swiftly slaying the deer she'd dove upon. "Make it quick and clean. These creatures must die: because without their flesh we do not eat. However, in return, it is our duty to minimize their suffering. To needlessly extend the pain of a living being's final moments… to force their last thoughts to linger in agony and terror… that is cruelty."

You shiver as another hiss of pain comes from behind you. Even the bael that Mother had slaughtered to protect you… yes, she'd ripped it apart, but only after her lightning breath had scoured any trace of life from its body. The lich you'd killed in the crypts below your home… it had done unforgivable things, but you'd ended its suffering as soon as you could, even after everything it'd done. What's happening behind you…

It…

Isn't…

Right!

Ripping yourself from Mercia's embrace, you stalk back over to Mary. "Stop that, you're not going to be able to help anyone doing that!" you say, grabbing the haft of her spear. A small voice in the back of your mind points out that this probably isn't the wisest way of speaking to her, but you get the feeling she'd just ignore you if you asked nicely.

Indeed, Mary's eyes narrow even further as she looks at you. "Stay out of this, kid," she says in a low, dangerous voice. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Maybe I don't have all the details," you say as you try to force the lance back out of the wound. Mary doesn't let it budge. "But I do know that he's not going to say anything if you keep hurting him like this!" Giving that up as a bad job, you gesture, wrapping enough White magic around your palm to stem the bleeding on the shoulder not currently being stabbed. "I don't like him either. I certainly don't like what he's done, but as much as we hate to admit it he's got a point. If he's not offered anything, why would he tell us anything? We need to find out what happened-"

The Whitewing scoffs, finally pulling her lance out of the wound. "He's a bandit, a traitor and a murderer," she says icily. "The fact that I haven't stabbed him in the heart yet is already more than he deserves!"

Growling, the bandit adjusts his shoulder, bringing his less-injured arm over to cover the wound. "Rich talk, comin' from someone who's whole deal is built on betrayal!" he snaps, glaring up at Mary. "First, your ancestors betrayed the ruler they'd promised to follow, and now you and your 'sisters' betray the people who prop you all up!"

"Shut your mouth!" Mary snarls, her lance shifting to hover a breath from his neck.

Despite the threat, the bandit just smirks coldly. "Oh, I thought you wanted me to talk!" he says, before turning his gaze to you. There is no warmth in his eyes. "Little mage, I bet these shining knights've never told you what things are really like up here. Bet they've only ever talked about how much they like freedom and how they stand up for what's right!" He spits on the ground. "They never talk about the people who struggle under their pointy heels. Never talk about all the work and blood and tears that goes into eking a living out of these spirit-forsaken mountains, only for them to snatch it all away and give us scraps in return! How they let us starve if we're not 'important' enough to help!" Noting your frown of confusion, his smirk widens slightly as he glances back at Mary. "Yeah, left out that little detail, didn't you?"

"We protect you, you ungrateful pig!" Mary snaps. "We keep the monsters and the Empire at bay, and people like you respond by stabbing us in the back! Without us, the Imps would have taken over long ago!"

He rolls his eyes. "Oh, the Empire? Who's to say we don't actually want them? If you'd ever walked in the dirt and the mud and the rocks like I have-" Mary jerks her lance at him, but he just laughs.

"OKAY!" you shout. "Okay, we are getting off the path here!" you force yourself not to flinch as both of them glare at you. "Look, we need to decide what happens now, not fight about what's happened before. Mary, we need to figure out what happened to the other Whitewings who were here! If they're still alive, we can still save them! He can tell us that!" You look down at the bandit. "And you, well, if you talk to us, we can make sure you're still alive after this is all over. We can guarantee your life if you just help us save people. That way, everyone's able to get something out of this mess!"

For an instant, for a blessed moment, the bandit seems like he's taking your offer seriously. Mary, however, simply snorts. "And if they're all dead already?" she asks. "If this scum and his murderous band have already killed them all, what then? Do we still let him get away with that?!"

You quickly shake your head. "No, no, there are survivors!" you say quickly. "I was listening, and the boss bandit said that he wanted to take people alive, something about a double pay-" you stop, realizing that phrase won't help calm anything down, but it's too late. Mary's teeth grind as her glare flicks between you and the bandit, while the man's eyes harden.

"Naïve little brat," he growls. "Anything you or this one promises is meaningless. The second you're out of sight, her little friends'll string me up no matter what promises they've made. Now, if you convince her to let me go free and clear-"

You start to open your mouth to say no, he does have to take responsibility for the terrible things he helped do, but that there are still other options, Mary cuts in. "Don't you even think about it!" she snarls, her eyes turning firmly onto you. "Don't you even think about letting this bastard go, not after everything he-"

Before you can defend yourself, her grip on her spear tightens, causing the weapon to shiver, and that must have set the bandit off. In an instant, the blood-stained hand holding his shoulder leaps up and grabs the haft of the weapon, trying to tug it out of Mary's grip. She yelps and holds on, but the two are caught in a deadly game of tug-tail. You start calling up your lighting, trying to moderate it enough to shock the man to force him to let go since you need him alive, but Mercia's quicker. She grabs you and throws you back out of the way before stabbing the man's wrist with her own lance, causing him to cry out in agony and let go. As you flap your wings to catch your balance, the two Whitewings' weapons move to point at his neck.

"Talk!" Mary snarls. "Where are they!"

Pain and fury mix together in the bandit's eyes before a slow, cruel smirk crosses his face. "You really want to know?" he purrs. "Alright. The cowards, the ones we didn't kill, Boss took 'em down the mountain to sell 'em, and even if I knew exactly who bought 'em I wouldn't-"

Before he can get another word out, Mary seems to finish processing what he just said. With a cry of rage and disgust, she jabs her lance forward, cutting off the bandit's hateful words along with his throat. He chokes and gurgles for a moment before slumping back, his eyes going glassy in death.

Folding your wings away, you start to take a step forwards, opening your mouth to ask Mary if she's okay, if he'd hurt her somehow, but her furious eyes turn onto you. "Mercia," she snarls. "Deal with the passage. And make sure our client doesn't mess anything else up."

Personally, you think that's a very unfair assessment of what just happened, but from the murderous look on Mary's face you realize that trying to defend yourself will just make things worse. Instead, you take a step back, giving her space as she grabs the torch from the statue next to her and stalks back towards the entrance. After a few seconds of listening to her footsteps echo away, you look at Mercia. "Sorry…" you say.

The woman doesn't look particularly happy either, but she sighs. "Look," she says, turning and leading the way back towards the sky-door. "I guess things were different way back when, but nowadays it's better to keep your mouth shut and your opinions to yourself. Especially when you have no idea what you're talking about." The pair of you reach the ruins as you digest her words, leaving her to stare up at it. "Now, how am I supposed to deal with this mess…"

"I can," you say quickly. "It's pretty narrow, so a few well-aimed spells will collapse it badly enough that nobody can use it for a long while."

Mercia grimaces, but after a moment she sighs darkly. "Fine, I guess that does make things simpler," she says. "Alright, get to it."

It takes you a few minutes of study to figure out the most efficient way to finish breaking the sky-door, but once you do it's relatively easy work. A few Thunders, along with an Elthunder or two (Arcthunder is complete overkill in this situation.) you carefully add to the ruin and rubble in the door. It's not perfect; with time and effort surely the bandits would be able to reopen this, but that'll be loud and take time so future Whitewings would still be safer, and they can take some time to finish the blockade.

As you work, Mercia studies the body of the thief. "Did a number on this guy, and the bandit back by the statue," she says. "Why'd you bother trying to save that last scumbag? Didn't give this one a chance."

You frown. "They were active threats," you say. "The last one, he wasn't at first, until he tried to be." Mercia snorts, but doesn't say anything further.

After a minute, you speak up again. "Mercia, what did the bandit mean, when he was talking about people having trouble living up here?"

Her eyes narrow. "Imperial propaganda," she growls. "They're always sending people up here to tell folks how much better things are in the lowlands, how everyone always has enough to eat and there's never any problems." She snorts. "As if their nobles don't do the exact same thing we do by taking taxes of food and goods. Then, in times of famine, they still feast as their people starve, while we're sacrificing ourselves to keep everyone as healthy as we can! If anything, we do more to redistribute to those who need it in hard times!"

You frown; something's not right here; the fact that two people have completely different views of the basic facts of reality... Before you can figure out if you want to ask a question, she spots your frown and continues defensively. "Life's hard up here, thought you would have known that, since you claimed you lived on a mountain too. Sometimes, there's just not enough goods to go around, and we have to prioritize essential people and locations. Which means sometimes some of the safer villages, the ones that aren't under direct threat, have to tighten their belts a little more than those who're on the frontline! It's what we need to do to survive as a people." With that, she turns and stomps off.

As you watch her stalk away, you find a question leaving your lips almost against your will. "Have you ever been to any of those villages?"

This is a genuine question: after all, if she had, she'd be able to tell that the bandit had just been exaggerated. However, she simply freezes for a few long seconds before continuing on without a word.

After a moment, you get up and start following her, your slow steps allowing the light of her torch to quickly leave you behind to walk in darkness, alone with your thoughts on what had gone wrong. Mother and Father had never had any problems mediating any disputes between you and the other, so what had happened here?

The bandit was the most in the wrong, you quickly decide. Whatever might or might not be happening in villages, attacking, murdering and kidnapping people is wrong. You have no regrets about fighting him and the other bandits, even though you'd made sure it wasn't a fair fight. They hadn't been planning a fair fight either. Afterwards, it'd been dumb to provoke Mary when you'd still been trying to chart a flight-path out of the storm he was in. He was clearly in the wrong on multiple counts.

As for Mary… you sigh. You can't help but understand how she feels. When you'd been really mad after learning about what humans were doing to dragonstones, if someone had said anything that you'd interpreted as meaning your feelings were wrong… you wouldn't have taken it well. You hadn't intended it that way, of course, but when people are emotional they don't always think straight, you should have realized that and been more careful with your wording.

That being said, you still don't regret stopping her from hurting the man just so someone else was in as much pain as she was. If you ever started doing that, you hope that Artemis or Sypha or someone would stop you. Maybe that was the problem, you had misbalanced the roles of neutral arbiter and friend trying to prevent a friend from doing something bad? Honestly, Mary wasn't really a friend anyways, you've only know her for a day, and you hadn't felt the same connection as you had with Artemis or Sypha or Apollo.

…In fact, you probably throw the word "friend" around too much.

Mercia also had a point that you don't really know what things are like in the Whitewing lands. You get the feeling both sides are exaggerating, but you can't be sure who's doing it more without taking time to study the situation. If you ever try to do something like this in the future, you need to do a better job of understanding the background before you say anything that gets both sides fighting, which would cause an attempted mediation to spiral out of control.

You nod: you didn't do it right this time, but you can't and shouldn't feel bad about trying. Instead, you promise yourself, you will do better next time.

With this hopeful thought in your mind, you arrive back at the sleeping area by the entrance. Mary is sitting on her bedroll, cleaning her lance with Mercia and Jaine sitting on either side of her. They have their hands gently on her shoulders, which you realize are shaking slightly. Swallowing, you carefully approach to try and make amends. "Mary-"

The woman's head jerks up. "Don't," she says sharply. "Just don't. Don't talk to me except in connection to finishing the job."

"But-"

"Don't."

Flinching, you take a step back and glance at the other two. They glance at each other, but neither speaks up to disagree. "Okay… I'm sorry," you say, backing away. When you reach your roll, you carefully wrap yourself in your blanket and sit up against the wall, not tired at all despite the long day and fight.

None of you get much sleep that night.

---

The rest of the flight back to the Southern Kingdoms is tense and painful but ultimately uneventful.

The next day, you stop at a mid-sized Whitewing garrison a few hours away by wing. While there, Mary tells the women in charge about what happened. The woman nods along, asking you and the others if you have anything to add. You shake your head; Mary had been scrupulously accurate in everything she'd said, you weren't going to dispute her. The woman had then smiled slightly at you, thanking you for helping to protect Mary and the others.

That made you feel a bit better.

However, once it's just you and your escort in the sky again, the trip settles into cold, uncomfortable monotony. Gone are any of the signs of connection and communication between you and Mary, and while Jaine and Mercia are a bit warmer they both clearly take their cues from their leader. Instead, all you're left with is an icy politeness, with exactly as many words used as required and not a single syllable more.

This goes on for several long days before you finally spot your home mountain in the distance. "Hey, would you drop me off there, please?" you call over to Mary, pointing.

She looks over. "We were hired to fly you to Agrithe," she says, her cool voice almost lost in the equally cool wind.

"I know!" you shout back. "But I can get home from there on my own, and I know you want to get back and see what you can do to try and find the bandits from the rest stop." You also know that she doesn't like you and wants to get rid of you as soon as possible, but you don't mention that bit.

She hesitates for a few long seconds before jerking her hands in a few of the hand-signals Whitewings use. A moment later, all three pegasi are angling towards your mountain.

It takes almost an hour, but eventually the three pegasi clatter to the stone not far from the door to Kepesk-Okar.

As you glide off the back of Jaine's pegasus, you half expect them to ask if they can rest here a few minutes. You would absolutely allow it if they did. However, only Mary gets off her mount, rustling in her pouch for a roll of parchment that you're pretty sure is a map. She studies it for a few seconds before looking around. Then, she glances at you before rummaging in her bag for another piece of parchment, as well as a rumpled quill and a small bottle of ink. She doesn't say anything, simply kneeling down next to a relatively flat rock to write for a minute.

"So for the record," she says formally after she finishes, pushing the parchment in your direction before unslinging a torch, lighting it with a few strikes of flint, and puts a cube of solid wax into a spoon, which she holds over the fire. "Do you want to amend the contract to state that you will be 'transported to the eastern end of the Icewall Mountains?'"

"Uh-huh," you say, picking up the parchment to look at it. It's a short, to the point statement saying much the same as Mary had just said aloud.

"Very well," Mary says in the same tone. "The price of your transit will be modified accordingly." She kicks the rock lightly, and you take the hint and put the paper on it. As soon as your hands are clear, she pours two globs of melty wax onto the parchment. "Put a seal there," she says, fiddling with a pendant around her neck.

Remembering what you'd had to do back in Syrene when you were finalizing things with Katrina, you find the ring you'd gotten along with your cloak. Fiddling with it for a moment, you turn it in the right direction before pushing it down onto the cooling wax. A moment later, Mary does the same with her pendant.

The two of you hold your respective seals for a few seconds to let the wax set. As soon as you're done, Mary takes the scroll. "Our business is concluded," she says, walking back to her pegasus. "Good day."

You start to open your mouth to try and make peace one last time, but after a moment you decide against it. She's clearly decided she's not going to listen to anything you have to say, and as much as it hurts she has a right to her feelings. "Alright," you say instead. "Stay safe." She sharply jerks her head in your direction before nudging her pegasus's sides, sending him cantering off. Mercia and Jaine at least pause to give you a glance before following their leader.

As you watch the three white dots disappear into the distance, you let out a long, slow sigh before turning and looking around. You can probably still make it to Castle Legerius before it gets too dark, so you haven't lost that much time. In fact, you could probably spend some time around here, seeing if there's anything's happened since you left.

As you spend a few minutes wandering around your home, you're thankful that you don't see any signs of human intrusion that you don't remember being there before. You are, however a bit concerned when you check the stairs down into the storage areas. The wards have completely collapsed, and a quick check confirms that there's no way you'll be able to charge them again.

You do, however, have the notes that Lacroix helped you create for a rune structure that would take their place. You pause to think for a minute, before deciding that you want to achieve something productive. Setting down your bag, you pull out the runewrighting equipment Father left for you and get to work.

It takes a few hours of work and a few re-dos on the trickier parts, but when you sit back and wipe the sweat off your forehead, you have a line of runes along three consecutive stairs that faintly crackle with black and white magic. It's not perfect, nowhere near perfect, but it will give any creature that tries to cross it a nasty jolt of White magic for its troubles. It probably won't kill even a revenant, but it'll sure slow them down.

"Thanks, Lacroix," you say softly too nobody in particular. It's a good reminder that, even if you've had some bad experiences, a lot of good came of this trip.

You take another few minutes to carve a warning sign at the top of the stairs in both human Common and Makai, just in case anyone who shows up doesn't notice the wards. Even if they're here without your permission, you don't want people to get hurt without you knowing that they need to be.

With that done, you take a few minutes to stop by the rune-lab that had been covered (and thus not looted) to replenish the gem-dust that you'd used in your first (mostly) successful rune project. With that out of the way, you make your way back outside, spread your wings, and fly up to sit at the peak-balcony.

It feels almost strange, being away from people after so long at the Hall. A small part of you just wants to… stay here, for a while. Be alone to have some time to process everything that's happened these past few weeks… months, even. However, as you hug your new yellow cloak around you like a blanket, you know you can't do that. You made a promise, that you would help Artemis and her family. You have letters to deliver, runes to fix, stories to tell.

Besides; you know you'll be lonely if you actually try to stay and be by yourself.

So, with a long breath, you put your cloak on properly, roll your neck, and kneel to begin half-shifting. You have a long way to go, but you probably won't have to do more than one half-shift in order to get to Castle Legerius. Hopefully Sypha will be back, it'll be great to see her again. Buoyed by that comforting thought, you settle in and focus. It's been a while since you've done this ritual, but you've still got it.

Forty minutes later, you twist and contort as your dragon takes physical form. Stretching like a cat, you beat your large wings and shoot away from the mountain, swiftly orienting yourself northeast before catching a favorable wind and flying away.

You fly for about an hour before your sharp eyes catch something interesting in the clouds. "Oh, good, more Whitewings," you say, a note of sourness entering your voice as you watch the three pegasus knights shifting formation to move to intercept you. Carefully dangling your front legs so they're clearly visible, you turn to meet them. Doing anything else will just make them suspicious and more likely to do something silly when they catch up, since pegasi are still faster than you.

As you approach them, a shift in the winds blows a familiar scent your way. Opening your mouth, you roar as loudly as you can while still (hopefully) sounding friendly. "ANGELA!" you call, doing a spin in midair. "HOW'RE YOU DOING?"

It takes several seconds for Angela to respond you, mostly because you can see her mouth opening to gape in your direction as the two of you rush closer. At last, as you're starting to get worried that she's either misinterpreted your intentions or just not heard you, she shouts back. "Ryza?!" she calls. "Is that you?!"

You twist your muzzle into a smile. It's nice to have Whitewings being friendly again. "Yep, it's me," you call as you circle to avoid merging into the formation: those pegasi look pretty tense and you don't want to scare them needlessly. "It's good to see you again!"

The grey-haired woman swallows as she turns into a circling pattern of her own, slowing to match your speed. "Spirits, I know you've said you're a dra- manakete," she says. "But wow you're bigger than I thought you were gonna be…"

You let out a bark of laughter. "Thanks, I get that a lot," you say. "But I'm still pretty small. But how are you doing?"

The Whitewing shrugs. "Alright, alright," she says. "Thought we were gonna get to run off some Imps, so a little disappointed, but since it's you I guess I can live with it. Back from the mages?"

You nod. "Yep," you say. "I'm getting a little tired, though. Could I impose upon you for a ride?"

"You know what, for you, sure. I've done it so often I'm starting to think that's what I was really hired to do," Angela says, recovering her confidence and her dry smile. "Though, no offense, I don't think Peri'd be able to lift you, you're gonna need to lose a little weight."

Rolling your eyes, you let your half-shift fade, falling for a few meters before your heart-form's wings spread to catch you. "I've never actually unshifted in midair," you say as you fly closer. The pegasi all look a little nervous, they're smart after all, but their riders keep them under control and allow you to approach. Angela's even nice enough to pull Peri to angle upwards, hovering for a moment to let you land on her back. "Thank you."

As the three Whitewings turn towards Castle Legerius, you lean against Angela's back with a sigh. She shifts slightly, and you look up to see her glancing over her shoulder at you. "So, is it fun, getting to be big and scaly?" she asks.

You shrug "It has its benefits," you say. "Though I do wish people wouldn't get as nervous, I'm still me when I do it. I'm not going to hurt anyone."

"Ah, everyone gets nervous when they're around something that could eat them," Angela says.

"Blegh! No, no do not make that joke I don't eat princesses!"

Angela laughs. "Good to know, I'll keep that in mind," she says. "So, how were things in the Empire."

"It went well," you say, flicking your cloak. "I'm a full mage now. They made me pick a name, so I guess I'm Ryza Levinheart now."

"Congrats," Angela says. "That's great to hear that things worked out for you. Any problems?"

You hesitate for a long moment before sighing: Angela'll probably hear everything sooner or later. "Well, the Regent tried to make the Hall give up all the non-Imperial students, but the Archmage put a stop to that."

Angela jerks. "WHAT!?" she shouts, drawing concerned looks from Bucephila and Alexandra. She gives them a few comforting hand signals before turning too look back at you. "You say it didn't work, right? The Imps didn't actually get anyone?!"

"No, no, as I said Archmage Stormspeaker wouldn't let them," you say. "I was able to warn him, and so he was ready when the soldiers showed up."

The Whitewing lets out a long, slow breath. "Spirits, it's good you were there…" she says. "I take back any thoughts I had about it being a bad idea for you to go…" She looks back at you, her eyes serious. "Anything else? Were there any other problems?"

Once again, you hesitate for a moment, but in the end you sigh. "Not in the Empire itself," you say. "But when I was flying back through the mountains… well, there was one problem…"

Angela swallows nervously, but gives a nod. "Alright, hit me," she says. "How bad?"

"… well, it all started when I met your cousin Mary…"

Slowly, you tell Angela the story of what happened on the flight back. As you speak, she turns to look forwards, not saying a word. You flinch, but keep talking: she'll find out anyways eventually, it might as well be from you.

As you finish the story, Angela is silent for several long seconds before letting out a long, slow sigh. "Look, I'm not gonna say I think Mary was wrong about what the bandit deserved," she says. "After everything he did? He absolutely deserved to get stabbed in the throat, especially after he was dumb enough to try something after you single-handedly wiped out his whole gang. Probably deserved another few stabs to make sure he was dead." She looks back at you, and you perk up slightly when you see a tired smile. "But… well, my cousin's always had a bad habit of letting her temper get the better of her and not thinking straight when her hackles are up. I don't know exactly what I would have done if I were there, but I like to think I would have recognized that you were just trying to help get the missing riders back, and that you deserve some slack for that."

You cock your head. "You're not mad at me?" you ask.

She shakes her head. "Nah. Do I think you're naïve? Yeah. Do I think you're too nice for your own good? Absolutely. But I also think that you've managed to do a lot more good than ill by us, and if your idea had worked then the Marshalls would have had enough information to launch a rescue mission." She grimaces. "I also know your way was the only way that had a chance of working; I've seen the old 'stab-em-in-the-limbs' method once or twice, but I've never seen it actually work. You had an idea and you went through with it, it's not your fault the dumb bas- bandit was too stubborn to take you up on the offer. Mary would have huffed and puffed, but if he had actually started talking she'd have given it a shot." She gives you a grin that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Do you want me to send her an angry letter for you?"

Biting back a laugh, you lean forward against Angela's back. "No, no you don't have to do that," you say. "I'm just happy that someone thinks I wasn't wrong, even if I wasn't right."

"See? Right there? Way too nice." The two of you lapse into silence for a few minutes before Angela speaks up again. "But thanks, for saving her from those bandits. She may irritate me sometimes… but she's still my cousin and I love her and I don't want anything bad to happen to her. If you ever need anything from me, say the word and I'll see what I can do."

"… Thanks, Angela."

The two of you share small-talk for the rest of the flight to Castle Legerius. Not much has happened in the Kingdoms that you didn't already suspect; the war preparations are still ongoing, though from what Angela says they're nearing completion. "It's a good thing you're back," she says grimly as the stone towers of the castle come into view just as the sun touches the horizon. "We've all been told to be ready to fly into battle at a moment's notice. We know of five wyvern knights in the Southlands right now, though there could be more. Plus, there's the Phoenix Lord you're… well, the one you met, and my squadron doesn't have a Falcon or a Kinshi with us. So if he shows up… well, we're gonna need all the help we can get."

You remain silent. You really, really hope you don't have to fight Lacroix and Firescale, not after all they've done for you. Maybe… maybe you can talk him down, the way you couldn't talk the bandit down. He's more rational than that man had been, right?

As you ponder, Angela leads the way down into the courtyard of the castle. The castle lacks the same frantic energy it'd had when you were here last, but you can still see signs of preparation. Even more people in armor are practicing with spears and axes and bows, several awnings have been erected against the walls to cover countless boxes that are surely filled with supplies, and there was an undercurrent of tension in the air. Thankfully, nobody seems concerned about the arriving Whitewings, simply clearing out of their way as they come in for a landing.

"Anything to report?" a soldier asks as he makes his way over.

Angela shakes her head. "Nope, just found this one flying over and gave her a ride," she says as you slip off. "The Archduke and the Countess both have standing orders are to make sure Ryza here gets wherever she needs to go."

The man blinks as he seems to notice you. "Ah, Mistress Ryza," he says, before blanching. "I mean; I see you've earned your cloak…"

Sighing, you force yourself to smile. "It's alright," you say. "If you have to use my mage-name, it's Levinheart, but I'm happy enough with Ryza." Trying to change the subject, you look around. "Is Countess Mantrae back? Is Sypha?"

The guard nods. "Yes Mistress Levinheart," he says. "Her Excellency and her daughter are present. Do you wish to speak with them?"

"Only if they're not busy," you say quickly, looking around. "I'm sure everyone has a lot to do around here, so if the Countess is in a meeting or something like that I can wait."

"I believe dinner will be beginning soon, and I'm sure Her Excellency will be happy to entertain you, Mistress," the guard says.

You are a bit hungry, so you find yourself quickly nodding. "If that's alright," you say before looking up at Angela. "What about you? Do you stay here at night?"

She shakes her head. "Nah," she says. "The Commander set up a few watch-posts further out towards the border, to make sure that we can keep an eye out for any attempts by the Empire to try anything. It also lets us get back to our patrol areas faster."

"Okay," you say. You suppose that makes sense, but it would have been nice to talk to her a little more. She seems… calmer, then when you'd spoken before you left for the Hall. Maybe your words at Kepesk-Okar had an impression on her? However, you suppose she'll have to let the other Whitewings know about what's happening in their homeland. "Well, thanks for giving me a ride. Stay safe out there."

Reaching down, Angela gently ruffles your hair. "You too, kid," she says. "Though, if past reflects future, I get the feeling we'll see each other again sooner rather than later. Probably when you need me to take you somewhere even though you can fly yourself just fine."

"But you're faster," you say.

"And don't you forget it!" Angela says, grinning. "Well, I should get back to the others. See you around." With that, she turns Peri around and, with a whistle, leads her friends out of the gate. You frown as you realize she's going much slower than when she'd lifted off with you.

Before you can go too far down that tunnel, the guard behind you clears his throat. "Mistress Levinheart, shall we go find Her Excellency?" he asks.

"Yes, yes, sorry," you say. "I got distracted."

You follow the guard into the castle and up towards one of the Countess's meeting areas. As much as you're sometimes concerned about Archduke Letoro never doing anything other than working in his office, you at least know where you're going to find him if you need to. You have no idea how her guards always figure out where she is, as you're gestured towards a completely separate balcony than the first one you'd spoken with her on.

The guard talks briefly with the men standing outside the door, who briefly enters. A minute later, he ushers you in.

"Mistress Levinheart," Countess Mantrae says. "It is good to see you well." Her eyes scan over your cloak. "I see that your efforts at the Marble Hall were successful. My congratulations; Mistress Flarestone will be ecstatic when she hears."

"Thank you," you say, glancing at the three men, two armored and one in fancy noble dress, who are sitting around the table. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything…"

She shakes her head. "Of course not," she says. "We were just finishing a meeting on preparations, so you've come at a good time." She gestures around. "Gentlemen, I'm sure you've all heard of Ryza Levinheart, the young manakete that rescued my daughter." They all nod and murmur some greetings. "Mistress Levinheart, these are Sirs Adelard, Rycharde and Seri, several of my vassals, who will lead the forces of Legerius into battle."

You frown. "So war's going to happen?" you ask.

The woman studies you. "It does seem so," she says. "From what reports Lady Artemis has sent from the Northern Kingdoms, the Empire continues to mass troops along the border. With the recent 'invasion,' I fear that we have passed the point where a peaceful solution is reasonable." She steeples her fingers. "Unless something has changed during your time at the Hall, that is."

"No, I don't think so," you say. "I do have some good news, though…" Quickly, you share your adventures at the Marble Hall, as well as what the Regent was getting up to while you were there.

Once you're finished, Countess Mantrae leans back, frowning even as she nods. "Well, it is good to know that you were successful in protecting our people in the Empire," she says. "Once again, the spirits have blessed us with your awakening. It is also good to know that the Archmage is aware that the Regent is not to be trusted. It seems we had more allies than we thought."

You nod. Hopefully Archmage Stormspeaker and the other Heads will be able to rally enough people who oppose the Regent's war to be able to prevent things from getting worse than they already are.

Before you can comment, however, a knock is heard on the door. "Mother?" Sypha's voice calls softly. "It's almost time for dinner, are you coming?"

A smile crosses Countess Mantrae's face. "Of course, my dear," she says, rising to her feet and beckoning everyone to join her. "I was just speaking to an unexpected but not unwelcome guest."

"Oh? Who?" Sypha asks as she pokes her head in. As her eyes fall on you, a wide smile crosses her face. "Ryza!" she cries, hurrying over and giving you a hug. "You're back! It's so good to see you! How are you doing?!"

"I'm doing well," you say, returning the hug. "How are you?"

"I'm great," Sypha says, pulling back to get a better look at you. "Oh, wow, that's a nice cloak! So what's your mage name?"

"Sypha," Countess Mantrae says patiently. "I know you're excited to see your friend, but remember, decorum is important." Her eyes flick to the three knights. "In public, at least."

Your friend flushes. "Oh, right, sorry Mother," she says, pulling back and offering you an arm. "Ryza, it's good to see you again."

"You as well, Sypha," you say, linking your arm with hers. You have no idea if you're doing it right, but it seems like fun. "So, I'm Ryza Levinheart now, to answer your question."

"That's a wonderful name, Ryza," Sypha says. "Are you staying the night?"

You glance at Countess Mantrae, who gives a tiny nod. "Of course," you say.

"Great!" Sypha says, leading the way out of the room. You hear the adults following behind you, seemingly willing to let the two of you talk. "So what's the Marble Hall like? I've heard that it's beautiful."

"It is," you say. "And most of the people there are really nice. I met Apollo."

It seems to take Sypha a second to recognize the name. "Oh, you did?" she says. "So what was he like? I only met him once, before he left. He was nice enough then, if a bit quiet, is that still true?"

"Oh yeah," you say, grinning. "He was super nice! He was a huge help finding everything, and he helped me study for the test that made me a full mage."

The rest of the night, you have fun telling Sypha stories about your time at the Hall, especially ones with Apollo. She gets a kick out of how embarrassed he got whenever any of the other students thought that you and he had something going on.

You have to admit, it's funnier now that some time has passed.

---

Your wings beat as you shoot through the sky over Agrithe.

After a good night's rest, one without either the worry of being ambushed by more bandits or the tension of being around people who are mad at you, you'd been ready to set off for Agrithe. Thankfully, Countess Mantrae told you about a network of messenger riders that Archduke Letoro had set up among the kingdoms to facilitate communication during the crisis. While not as fast as pegasus riders, if you combined it with one or two half-shifts, you could seriously cut down on the time it would take you to get back to your new home.

True, landing in your dragon-form did end up scaring a few people in the village you landed near to meet up with the first of the riders, but you're pretty sure you were able to calm them all down in the end.

The important thing is that, rather than taking the entire day for you to fly between Castle Legerius and Castle Agrithe, it only takes about half the day. That means that the sun is still shining as you follow the river up towards the Castle. Frowning, you look around with your sharpened eyes, taking in the scene. There aren't as many carts as you saw when you were first returning, but there are still some, and off to the north you can see a bunch of riders… wait a second… Squinting, you focus on the lead figure…

"Artemis!" you squeal happily, aborting your landing dive and beating your wings faster. You may be still far away, but your draconic eyes are certain that it's her!

A minute later, you drop into a dive, swooping down to land with a thud a few meters in front of the column. "Hi Art-" you start.

"AAAHHHH!"

You blink as you watch the horses back up, nickering and neighing and rearing even as their riders try to calm them. There's even one person who falls off her horse, scrambling away from you. "Oops, sorry," you say. You probably should have approached more slowly, especially since you don't recognize a lot of the riders behind Artemis.

Your friend sighs as she finishes settling Actaeon down. "Hello, Ryza," she says, dismounting and making her way over to you. "It's good to see you."

Leaning down, you accept a hug around your head and neck, nuzzling Artemis gently. "It's good to see you too, Artemis," you say. "Even though you left without telling me."

Artemis laughs, petting your muzzle. "I wish I could have, Ryza," she says. "But you deserved to have your time at home, and I couldn't wait to go north." She steps back, looking you over. "Besides, from what I heard you've been pretty busy without me too."

"Uh-huh," you say. "But I'm back now, and I'm glad to see you're back too." Looking over Artemis's shoulder, you spot a few more people you recognize. "Hi, Axton! Hi, Lancel! Hi Phoebe! Hi Alejandro!"

The Rignali noble looks you over. "Spirits…" he says. "It's one thing to know in the mind that you are more than meets the eye, but to behold that truth myself… magnificent, absolutely magnificent."

You preen happily. "Thanks, Alejandro," you say. "Thanks for looking after Artemis while I couldn't."

Your friend rolls her eyes. "Oh, he wishes he could do that," she says. "If anything, I was looking after him."

Looking past Alejandro as he responds, you frown as you see the woman who fell off is still on the ground, staring at you and clutching her axe as if you're some sort of monster.


"Hello, you're new," you say. "Don't worry, you don't have to be scared, I'm not going to hurt anyone." Closing your eyes, release your half-shift and return to your heart-form. "My name's Ryza, who're you?"

The young woman just stares blankly at you. Artemis glances back at her, sighing. "That's Elena," she says. "We recruited her up north; she was once a Talon, but she helped stop their plan, or at least put it on hold. I guess nobody ever told her about you."

"Oh," you say, waving to her. "Well, thank you for helping Artemis."

"…ye… yeah… sure…" she says, weakly waving.

Artemis sighs. "Axton, Lancel, would you explain things to her on the way to the castle," she says, offering her hand to you. "Come on, Ryza, we should get back. Did you just arrive?"

You nod, allowing her to help you onto Actaeon's back. "Yes, I just got back from the Marble Hall. I'm Ryza Levinheart now."

"Congratulations!" Artemis says. "I knew you could do it, of course, but I'm glad the nobody found a way to mess it up for you."

"They were actually really nice, mostly," you say. "I met Apollo, and you're right, he and I get along really well. He helped me study!"

Artemis laughs. "Of course he did," she says wryly. "Of course he did. But I'm glad you like him."

"So," you say after a moment. "What've you been up to?"

By the sound of it, a lot! Apparently, after leaving Agrithe and the Southern Kingdoms, Artemis had been ambushed by another group of Talons. This time, however, she had been able to defeat them, along with some help from Elena. The former Talon had also been able to tell Artemis about the Talons' evil plan: to make a Northern noble whose child had been kidnapped just like Sypha do something stupid. Unfortunately, since you hadn't been up north to save his children, he had been forced to march his troops towards the Empire in a way that would give the Regent an excuse to be able to invade the Kingdoms as well as the Divine Realm.

Thankfully, Artemis had been able to stop that army, though the nobleman himself had been able to gather the last few of his men and make another push. Artemis had rushed to stop them as well, but unfortunately the rest of the Talon chapter had moved to stop her. It had been a tough battle, but thank the Mother Artemis and her friends had been victorious. The Talon leader had been killed, along with his wyvern and the mage supporting him, leaving the rest of the chapter to splinter and disintegrate. Unfortunately, despite Artemis's best efforts, the Northern noble had managed to make it into the Empire, which meant the Regent was going to have his excuse.

"So what's going to happen now?" you ask.

Artemis pauses for a few long seconds before answering. "Well, Alina's still up north. We were able to buy enough time for several of the Northern Kingdoms to raise their forces and set up a defensive line at Castle Starhelm. I'd still be up there myself, but Father sent a message telling me to come back to Agrithe, which tells me that things are about to heat up." She looks back at you. "I know you don't like fighting, Ryza," she says. "And I hate to ask this of you… but without Alina's magic, that mage with the Bloodhunters would have done terrible damage, and without Master Shadebringer Agrithe doesn't have a mage strong enough to take to the battlefield. I'm sure Father has a plan, and if that plan involves going into battle, with the Empire or any other threat… will you help me?"

You lean your forehead against her back. "If you'd asked me that when I first woke," you say. "I probably would have said no. Or at least not really understood what you were asking. Now…" you swallow. "If you need my help, Artemis, I will help you. Because you're my best friend."

"I'm sorry to ask that of you," Artemis says. "But thank you."

The two of you ride in silence for a minute before you speak up again. "Artemis… I'm planning on doing the Awakening soon," you say. "When I wake my dragon up fully. That's… normally something that a manakete does with their family, but since Father and Mother can't be there, at least not physically… would you come with me? To my home? To be with me?"

"Ryza…" Artemis whispers. "I… I would be honored to."

"…Thank you, Artemis," you say. "That means a lot to me."

---

You have returned to Agrithe to find it on the brink of war. However, there are still a precious few weeks to brace yourself for the storm. Aside from going with Artemis and Sypha and everyone else you care about that you can borrow to carry out the Awakening, what else do you do?

(Please vote by plan)

[] Social Options: (Choose 2)
-[] Artemis
-[] Sypha
-[] Kelton
-[] Belle
-[] Elena
-[] Phoebe
-[] Jenna
-[] Angela
-[] Axton and Lancel
-[] Robin and Kopoi
-[] Write-in (subject to veto)

[] Learning Options (Choose 2)
-[] Continue learning White magic
--[] Ellight
--[] Rituals (Slower, more in-depth healing, calming stress, protection against evil, etc.)
-[] Continue learning Yellow magic
--[] Specialist Spell (Bolting)
--[] Silence
--[] Rituals (Moving energy between objects, dealing with sleepiness, etc.)
-[] Begin learning Red magic (Fire)
-[] Begin learning Green magic (Wind)
-[] Begin learning Black magic (Flux)
-[] Continue learning Runewrighting
-[] Write In (subject to veto)


Of course, eventually, you will need to take a stand against the darkness in the Empire. As Artemis predicted, her father does have a plan. What path are you and Artemis set upon?


[] Reinforce the Northern Kingdoms. While Artemis had a small advance force before, Archduke Letoro and the rest of the Southern Kingdoms are now going to send a larger, more powerful army to help blunt the invasion of the Northern Kingdoms while the rest of the alliance pushes into the Southlands. Artemis will lead that army, and you will stand with her. The Northern Kingdoms will do a lot of the fighting, and you'll have plenty of chances to meet new people. (Moderate Combat, Moderate Social)

[] Punch into the Southlands. No one polity has the strength to oppose the full might of the Empire alone. If nothing is done, the North will fall, no matter how bravely they fight. What is required is that the Southern Kingdoms open a second front, to draw troops and treasure away from the invasion of the North. Artemis will lead one of the branches of the Southern Kingdom invasion of the Southlands dutchy, and you'll help her however you can. There will be battle. That is unavoidable. (High Combat, Low Social)

[] The path before you seems an… odd, one. Apparently, during the buildup, Archduke Letoro was in secret contact with Baron Rickman and Baron Warwick-Lightbringer. In the last days before the invasion of the Southlands, the Archduke has apparently made a breakthrough: the two Barons are willing to either stand aside without a fight or, possibly, even join forces with the Southern Kingdoms. However, to finalize the deal, face-to-face meetings are required. Artemis will take a small, stealthy force to slip first to Warwick, who's on the border, and from there to Rickman. Despite the fact that the Archduke and Kopoi insist that these meetings are legitimate, you're not going to let her go alone! (High Social, Low Combat)


Finally, choose one free Boon, along with as many additional Boons as you take Banes.


[] Boons:
-[] The Revisionists find fertile ground for your story.
-[] The war in the North gets off to a good start.
-[] A knife in the dark is exposed.
-[] A friend on the other side crosses the line to aid you.
-[] The world at large receives good fortune.
-[] A boon unique to your path forward appears.

[] Banes:
-[] The Revisionists cries fall on deaf ears.
-[] The war in the North gets off to a poor start.
-[] Someone causes problems at your back at a bad time.
-[] Sometimes… old loyalties can never be overcome…
-[] A shadow moves beyond your sight.
-[] A bane unique to your path forward appears.


AN: I would like to apologize for how these last couple chapters went.

In hindsight, I probably should have stuck closer to the theme of Fire Emblem and kept some of the darker elements of medieval times out of the story.

I also should have been much more transparent about the mechanics I was testing before I tested them.