Chapter 24) River of Regrets

After a surprisingly cheerful rest in Zada, we continue north. Our goal? Rausten, where the last Sacred Stone is. And maybe some answers? Problem is… there's one answer I don't want confirmed. At all. I don't even want to think about it. But I know we'll find out sooner rather than later.

Gods, we've kind of been through hell and back multiple times. Can you swing us a happy ending? Please?

"You're falling behind, Cormag!" I laughed as Brynhildr and I passed him on a dive. For the first time in what felt like forever, both of us were determined to be well enough to fly. So, as soon as we set up camp? Cormag and I hopped onto Genarog and Brynhildr to race. Well, 'race'. Honestly, it was more like playing tag where we alternated who would be 'winning'. It was really just to feel the wind blasting our faces and see the gloriously familiar sight of the land from above. "Getting tired?"

"You wish!" Cormag retorted, grinning as Genarog pulled a sharp turn that made my joints ache in 'sympathy pain'. But I bent low over Brynhildr's neck so that she could push just a little faster. "Just getting warmed up!"

"Oh, please! You look like yesterday's gruel!" Though, to be honest, he did look a lot better than he had been. He had more color to his face, at least. Could've just been chapped from the wind, but still. "No need-!" A sharp whistle cut me off and both Cormag and I groaned because we knew what that meant. Playtime was over. "If we don't look down, you think we can pretend we didn't hear it?"

"Could pretend that the wyvern's screeching in joy rattled our hearing." Even as he said that, he had Genarog slow to a stop and I urged Brynhildr to do the same. "But, serious question, do we want to risk the healers getting mad?"

"Uh…" Not going to lie. For a few more seconds of flying, I would. But then I remembered L'arachel still felt guilty about how bad off I was, and how Natasha would fuss and fret and winced. Forget a healer's wrath. A healer's worry was far worse, when you loved the healer in question. "Damn it." I glanced down to see if at least the person who whistled could be negotiated with. And the answer was a big 'nope!'. Because Seth was the one who was waiting for us. "...We better head down before Seth rallies the pegasus knights."

"He sure is protective of his future queen."

"Oh, shut up."

Slowly, arcing around to maximize our time in the air, Genarog and Brynhildr landed. As soon as I had unbuckled myself, Seth was there to help me down and keep me steady. I knew this was why he had been asked to get us. I had collapsed yesterday and, though I had been allowed to fly, I still needed to be careful while walking. Which is why I didn't protest when Cormag led Brynhildr off with Genarog, save to sneak in a few more hugs and nuzzles. I knew Cormag wouldn't be alone to tend to both of them anyway; others would be by to help and Cormag would more supervise than anything.

"I'm sorry to drag you from your duties, Seth," I said as we walked. Slowly. My legs were aching, and truth be told, I was a little shaky. But I wanted to walk on my own, and Seth respected that, only assisting me when I started teetering. "I really wanted to fly."

"The healers cleared you, so I see no problem with it," Seth dismissed, helping me over some difficult terrain, no doubt the remnants of some prank or other. It was super muddy. "Save that King Ephraim is terribly morose that he was too busy to come get you himself."

"There's a lot of work to be done!" Though, as we had agreed, Ephraim did make sure to not work so much that we barely saw each other. For instance, he and I often took walks in the afternoon, to build up my strength again. "We're almost at the border, right?"

"Yes, in a few days, we'll be at the Narube river, which serves as a natural border between Rausten and Jehanna." It was one of the rivers that fed into the Vrep. If I remembered the stories correctly, a couple of big battles with the Demon King had been fought there. "From there, we will cross through a pass in the Neleras Peaks, and it will be a straight shot to Rausten Castle from there."

"And we battle any soldiers or monsters in our path, huh? If any, I mean." It was almost eerie how quiet it had been since Valter died. "There's still one more general left, isn't there?"

"Yes, Riev. We're trying to gather information on his whereabouts, but he proves elusive."

"Innes must be annoyed about that." Would certainly explain why he had seemed grouchier than usual. "Has Tana put ice in his collar yet?"

"No, I believe she changed her plans, though I do not know to what yet."

"Well, we haven't heard Innes yell yet, so I'm sure he doesn't know either." I just knew that Tana had been thinking about bringing L'arachel into it, to use her as a distraction. "Whoa!"

"Easy…" Seth caught me before I fell. I didn't even know what I had slipped on. "Perhaps I should have gotten you sooner."

"Any sooner, and I think Brynhildr would've protested." I could only sighed, trying to not be aggravated. I was healing. That was enough. Or it should be. "I look forward to when I can run around as normal."

"I can think of many who wish the same." Seth smiled kindly and it did a lot to help soothe my frustration. "Here, lean on me for a bit."

"Yeah, good idea."

I ended up leaning on Seth the rest of the way to my tent, and it was probably a good thing because… well, the original plan was that Seth would drop me off and I'd rest, probably take a nap. However, that was delayed because Knoll was in my tent. Which was odd for many, many reasons. After all, it was rare he left his own tent, much less found his way into someone else's. And a someone he hadn't interacted with much, at that!

"Ah, my apologies," Knoll mumbled, ducking his head. As always, his hood was up, so it was hard to see his face. "I didn't realize this was your tent."

"Did you somehow mistake it for yours?" Seth asked quietly, expression stoic. He subtly pulled me behind him, and it took a moment to realize that he was suspecting Knoll. I thought that paranoid, but then again, Valter managed to circumvent all of the patrols. And Knoll was the newest member. "I would think otherwise."

"Not… precisely?" Knoll raised his head and now, I caught the sheepish look with an equally awkward smile. "I'm hiding. This was the closest place."

"...Hiding?" I repeated, frowning. And wobbling, but I held onto Seth to hide that. "Who or what are you trying to hide from?"

"I don't know her name, but it's the purple-haired mage?" he replied, fussing with his sleeves. Seth relaxed slightly as it became clear that this all really was a weird accident. "The one fixated on 'superiority'?"

"Oh, Lute." That was… odd. "Why are you hiding from her?"

"Well, she was stalking me, and randomly attacked me earlier." He shrugged, and Seth and I shared an alarmed look. That… that wasn't good. "Something about me being a threat to her superiority? I'm not entirely sure. But I am sorry that I broke into your tent."

"It's fine. Things are clearly… strange. Even by our standards." Unable to stand any longer, I had Seth help me sit down on my blankets. "So, let's…" Someone rushed past outside and Seth's blank expression when he looked out confirmed it was Lute. "Seth, I'm sorry, but do you mind…?"

"I'll get her to Kyle, since the two have been talking a lot recently," Seth reassured. I was startled because serious Kyle seemed like the last person who would want to talk to Lute, particularly given her eccentricities. Then again, Forde was his best friend. "Wait a moment before leaving, Knoll." Seth stepped out then and there was a bit of quiet murmuring followed by the sound of footsteps heading away.

When things were quiet again, I turned my attention back to Knoll. "We'll ask Artur and Vanessa to talk to her," I told him. Lute was even more isolated than me when it came to friends, but she listened to the two of them a lot. "I'm sorry. Was it a recent thing?"

"The attacking was," Knoll sighed, standing with a wince. I decided that as soon as I was done with my nap, I was talking to people. Knoll had enough to deal with. "I do apologize for stealing your tent. You should be resting."

"It's fine." I was admittedly curious as to why mine had been closest, but there wasn't really an answer to that. "Are you doing okay? Aside from Lute." Why was she so fixated on superiority? Did she think we wouldn't keep her around or something? ...Maybe, and if that was the case, there were many others far better suited for that.

"I am well enough." And he said no more.

"I'm glad to hear it." I wasn't offended by the terseness. Gods knew I understood the reluctance to reach out when everything went wrong. "You can hide here a little longer, if you want."

"It is appreciated, but I was supposed to meet Duessel." Which would actually explain why he was near. "We're going to pool our knowledge to discern the most accurate truth about what happened with Emperor Vigarde and Prince Lyon."

"...Most accurate?"

"There are as many truths as there are people. History is merely the most accepted version of it." With that, he left and it reminded me of what I had told Eirika once. About how history was written by the victors and we could spin things so that Lyon wasn't villainized…

I shook my head and laid down, trying to go to sleep. But I couldn't. All I could think about was what Saleh and I suspected. Sure, it was nice to have a clear 'villain' to blame, but… Gods, if Saleh and I were right, what were we going to do?

"Aw, Brynhildr looks so happy!" Tana cooed, urging Achaeus to fly closer so that she could lean over and pet Brynhildr's neck. Brynhildr not-purred in reply. "She's missed flying with you!"

"Even on something as serious as a scouting mission?" I teased, laughing. I had to admit that it did feel nice to actually be doing stuff again. I had long hit that point in illnesses where you weren't well enough to do anything, but were well enough to be annoyed by it. "Look at all the green…"

"Yeah, we're just about in Rausten." Tana's voice became soft and a little distant as she looked out to the horizon. "I've never been. Truthfully, I only been to Frelia and Renais prior to all of this."

"Now look at you! You've traveled the continent, more or less."

"Yeah, I've flown quite far, huh?" She twisted to smile at me, but despite the attempt at cheer, her eyes were sad. "You know… some days, I wish I could go back to those carefree days. But we never can, can we? Everything has changed too much."

"Frelia has a lot of reconstruction." So many died during that assault. So many had died all over the continent, really. "But change is… okay. And hey, change means butterflies."

"...Butterflies?" Her sadness was replaced with a 'really?' look, complete with a raised eyebrow. "Did you seriously just say that?"

"Look, I'm still on medication! It made sense in my head!" Actually, it didn't really. I thought I'd been trying to make a connection to caterpillars changing into butterflies, but… "Ugh, that's the last time I try to cheer you up."

"Noo…!" Tana playfully sulked and whined before both of us burst into laughter. "Okay, okay. Serious. We must be serious. Vanessa would scold us most severely if she learned how much we were joking."

"Speaking of joking, hasn't she been spending a lot of time with Forde recently?" I shifted back in my saddle to ease the pain in my knees and hips. I still wasn't completely recovered, after all. "Amelia mentioned that."

"Amelia is spreading gossip?" Tana gasped dramatically, placing her hand on her chest like the news stopped her heart. "My word!"

"She was trying to keep me from teasing her!" News of her and Franz kissing spread like wildfire, to the delight of everyone who enjoyed teasing. Which was most of us. "She normally hides behind Neimi, but Neimi was out hunting." And out scolding Colm for making a mess of Moulder's things. Again. On accident, sure, but it was the fourth time! I wondered just why Colm was around Moulder's stuff so much. "So, I had her to myself~!"

"Aw, that sounds like fun!" She stuck her tongue out at me and I snickered. "Ah, but yes, she has. Vanessa, I mean. She's trying to get him to take his duties more seriously, but I think it's more Forde helping her relax."

"That doesn't surprise me." If a lifetime with Kyle didn't turn Forde 'serious', nothing would. But that was also if you looked surface-deep, since I knew well how seriously Forde took his duties. And, besides, who expected a napping idiot to know the best way to gut a person? Or be watching for things to sketch later? "So, anyway…" I trailed off when Brynhildr growled. And not a happy growl. "...Why does something always have to happen?"

"Oh, hell, look down." Tana's tone told me what I'd see, but it was still heartbreaking to see a demolished village below. It was quickly followed by terror because 'obliterated' might have been a better word; most of the buildings were nothing but rubble. Worse, I couldn't see bodies up here. Just crimson patches, and what looked to be something… mushy. "Why is it that whenever I'm certain I've seen the worst, I get proven wrong within a few days?"

"When you figure out which god we pissed off enough to keep that happening, let me know. I'll assist with appeasing." I thought of the prayer I had made to the Queen-Goddess of the Dead and mouthed it again. Please… please… "Shall we continue or head back?"

"I…" Tana took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She gripped Vidofnir so hard it shook. "I think we should at least go a little bit ahead, just to try and gather more information. But not far. Much farther, and…"

"It would be too dangerous." Honestly, going ahead was dangerous enough, but… "I'm going to fly a bit above you. Just in case we've got wyverns hiding." I still remembered how their scouts got around Frelia's patrols, after all.

"Let's go."

We flew in silence and, surprisingly, it actually didn't take us long to find out what was going on. Sort of. Nothing about what caused the village to implode, but we did see Grado soldiers fighting Frelian pegasus knights. While the pegasus knights were trying to evacuate civilians. Because of course there were.

As we got a little closer, Tana gasped suddenly and pointed to one pegasus knight flitting about, desperately trying to keep the enemy's attention on her. "That's Syrene!" she cried. I wondered how she could tell, since she was just a vague figure of white with long green hair, but I trusted her. "Why is Syrene…?"

"Seems like they're in need of back-up," I noted, frowning as I counted. There were… it looked like twenty pegasus knights. And many more archers. "I'll go support, if you'll head back?" Was it the best decision? No idea. But Brynhildr was better armored and Achaeus was faster. "Been a while since I got to be dramatic."

"I'd say getting kidnapped and then rescuing yourself is dramatic, personally." That… that was a good point, actually. "I'll be right back. Gods, someone should invent some way that you can be heard from great distances. Like instantaneous letters or something. Why has no one invented anything like that yet anyway? We have warp magic!"

"Complain to the mages on your way back!" I grinned to emphasize I was teasing and then bent low over Brynhildr's neck so that she could go fast. "Be quick!" And then Brynhildr and I were off, knowing that Tana had her part covered.

So, I focused on mine, which was 'get to Syrene as soon as possible'. It meant flying straight through a storm of arrows, but arrows barely did anything to Brynhildr at this height. It just made for a rather annoying racket as they bounced and splintered off her armor. And made it harder to aim properly because the arrows deflected my own shots. So, Brynhildr and I actually dropped, landing with a loud thud that was almost swallowed up by the sounds of snapping bones and crushed bodies. The soldiers were understandably terrified, even more so when Brynhildr lashed out with her claws and fangs, and promptly ran to regroup. That let Brynhildr and me safely fly back up to where Syrene was hovering in the air, absently patting her pegasus on the neck.

"You fly well, Emma," she noted, smiling at me. It was tired, but somehow calm as well. 'Serene', if one could forgive the play on her name. "Dare I hope there's an army not far behind you?"

"Tana is on her way back to inform them," I reassured her, smiling as well. I looked around curiously, noticing that the enemy was organized. Someone important was in charge. Riev, maybe? That would be convenient. "Here, let me play bait for a while."

"Thank you. We've been fighting since dawn." ...It was well into the afternoon now! "If the druids return, shout."

"Druids?" A quick look proved that there weren't any magic users below. Which… was odd. Where were they.

"They're the primary reason for why the villages are razed and why we are having to evacuate civilians." Oh, I didn't like that implication. "It's been very chaotic. So much so that I don't know where they went or where pr…" She bit her lip and, after a moment, shook her head. "I shouldn't report that yet. I need confirmation first."

"...Okay." I had a bad feeling what she had been going to say. I had a worse feeling about why. "Stay safe."

It wasn't hard, playing bait. If anything, it was tedious, which was very… unnerving. It was like these soldiers were holding back or something. I wasn't sure. But Brynhildr's uneasy growls told me it wasn't just me being paranoid. Something was wrong. The soldiers I 'fought' couldn't have caused Syrene or her squad any trouble. So, where were the ones who they had fought? Had they killed them, leaving only the newer and weaker soldiers? Were they hiding? There were no answers. Just a heaviness to the wind that would not go away.

It was a relief to see our army arrive, and I immediately fell back to let our pegasus knights take over aerial support. And Brynhildr and I went high in the air to try and see something. Anything. This had to be some sort of trap. But there was nothing unusual. At least, at first. Eventually, something did catch my eye, but it was nothing like a trap or anything. It was a very familiar looking person, stumbling about near the river. About to fall into the very fast river, actually. So, without thinking about it, I had Brynhildr land and block Lyon just as he pitched forward. As soon as I unbuckled myself, I dismounted and went to steady him, leading him away from the water.

"Not sure if you know how close you were to drowning, but I'm told it's a very drawn out thing and not a good way to die," I informed him with a lightness that probably didn't suit the words. He mumbled something I didn't catch, head lolling about. He moved jerkily, like there were a thousand puppeteers trying to pull his strings and none of them could agree on just which way to pull. "Lyon? Can you hear me?" I glanced up and saw Eirika and Ephraim rushing over, while others coordinated our army for actual combat. "Lyon? It's Emma. Remember me? We've met a couple of times."

"Em… ma…?" Lyon finally said, just barely coherent. He glanced up at me through his bangs, hazy eyes trying to focus. He was terribly gray in the face, and he almost seemed… gaunt or something. Not just a ghost, but a skeleton as well. "Emma. Eirika's friend."

"Yes, it's me."

"You… you need to get away…!" Though his eyes were still hazy, there was a fierce and desperate light to them now. "Get away and keep them away and…!"

"Lyon!" And Eirika hugged Lyon, almost knocking him over. "Lyon, goodness, are you ill?" she asked, pulling away and brushing the hair out of Lyon's face. Ephraim lingered back for a moment, hesitant, but then came to Lyon's side to support his back and shoulders. "No fever, but you are clammy…" Not really sure what to do, or how to react, I decided to just head to Brynhildr, feeling uneasy and wanting my bow. "You're supposed to rest if you're sick!"

"Oh, you know me; always the frail one," Lyon joked, with a meek smile. It was so different than how he had been just seconds before that when I did get my bow, I almost just shot. But I… I couldn't. Not when Ephraim and Eirika were… "But Ephraim, you look so serious. Is something wrong?"

"He's probably trying to think of what to say. He's been trying to be better about blurting things out."

"But would he be Ephraim if he is?"

"Haha, very funny," Ephraim immediately deadpanned, rolling his eyes. He hesitated a bit more before going for it. The others were fighting, not paying attention to the conversation here. "Hey, Lyon, we met in Grado Keep recently. Did… do you remember what you said?"

"Hmm? I…" Lyon began. He frowned, raising a hand to his head. For a second, I thought I saw something dark at his fingertips, but when I blinked, it was gone. "Sorry, I'm a little… do you mind if I lay down for a while before…?"

"No, of course not." He tightened his grip on Lyon's shoulder, now just worried. Worried about his best friend. "Here, I'll get Duessel-"

"Get away from him." The words were surprisingly strong and cold, considering it was Myrrh who spoke. Myrrh, standing alone, not hiding behind anyone for once. "Ephraim, Eirika, get away from him," she repeated. "Now."

"Myrrh, this is…" Eirika began, startled. She held onto Lyon a little tighter, while Ephraim hesitated yet again. "Myrrh, this is Lyon, one of our dearest-"

"No, it's not. It's not Lyon." Myrrh's gaze wavered then, her eyes filling with tears. "I can sense it. It's not him. It's Fomortiis, using his body. So, get away from him. He's just acting."

"But that's not…!"

"Well, certainly didn't expect this," Lyon sighed, all meekness disappearing. He snapped his fingers, but the magic that sparked from it didn't hit its mark. Ephraim pulled Eirika away before it could hit her, earning a gash on his arm. "Ha… it seems the little manakete has become a slightly bigger manakete." Lyon's smile was cruel; it didn't suit his face at all. "But your protectors are long dead now, are they not? Such a tragedy."

"If only I could trade you for them." Now Myrrh cried, unable to hold back her tears anymore, but she also glared fiercely, undaunted and furious. "But it's the same exact thing. You found cracks and you widened them until his heart shattered and you could crawl inside."

"And so many cracks there were!" 'Lyon' laughed, a raucous sound that made my skin crawl and cold dread pool in my stomach. "I barely had to do anything to break it into bite-sized pieces. Such self-hatred… agonizing inferiority… unrequited love… sharp loss… all made worse by the expectations of others and his genuine kindness!" He 'smiled' again, but this time it felt like he was baring teeth instead. "Quite the delicious soul, truthfully, surprisingly so given how pathetic his heart was. A shame that it's almost gone. Just the last few pieces… I should pick when to savor them. Perhaps after I've crushed you all? I imagine the despair his heart would feel would make the perfect seasoning."

"Damn you…!" Ephraim shouted, lunging for Ly… for Fomortiis. But he quickly had to dodge another magic blast. "Tch…"

"What's wrong?" Fomortiis asked, all innocent and coy. Save for the cruelty in his eyes. "Is it not right for the weak to perish? That's all that happened. He was a weak fool and he died trying to live up to your exemplary example, little Ephraim."

"Stop talking about him like you know him." Ephraim glared. Nearby, Eirika was frozen, even as Myrrh rushed over to take her hand. "You don't."

"Did you forget I am in his head, young fool? I can read through his memories and thoughts as if they were a particularly dull book." Fomortiis chuckled and Ephraim snarled. "Quite amusing, you saying that. I know him so very intimately… and you didn't even know how much he loathed himself." He smirked when Ephraim winced. "But that is neither here nor there. The dead are dead, after all. You two have a Sacred Stone, yes? Clever ruse, that."

"Thank you for praising our ancestors," Eirika finally managed, stepping up to stand next to Ephraim. The words were a bit wobbly, and she had started crying, but she had Sieglinde in hand now and she glared with all the fierceness I had ever seen. It was just like with Novala and the little girl… "But you're not going to have it. And you're going to give us back our friend!"

"There's nothing to give back," Fomortiis sighed, shaking his head while still smirking. Patronizing little…! "And I have no wish to see warriors die pitiful deaths at my feet. It always takes so long to clean. Give me the stone and bend the knee. If you pledge yourself, I'll let you live."

"We're not fools! History tells us just what happened to those who knelt to you!"

"Ah, yes, that's right. You're not anything like Lyon, are you? And how he knew it, and longed to be as clever and as strong…" Fomortiis chuckled and Eirika reeled back on her heels. Myrrh kept her steady. "Poor choice, really, but it lets me… show off a little." He raised his hand and instantly, the air grew heavy with power. It was hard to breathe; the soldiers fighting nearby had to stop to gasp for air. "A force no human flesh can withstand… a horror beyond horrors… a power that placed this sad world under my dominion and will do so again…" Dark purple flames wrapped around Fomortiis's hand and forearm, twisting and writhing like snakes. "I am the Demon King. Behold my might."

That was, thankfully, when I found the presence of mind to actually freaking shoot like I should've a while ago. Even more thankfully, it caught him in the elbow, forcing him to stumble back and disrupt the spell. He glared balefully at me and twisted his arm to regather the magic, the arrow in his arm splintering from the power. But before he could cast it, a blast of wind cut through those dark flames and gouged Fomortiis's chest. I knew without looking that it was Saleh, with Excalibur, but I turned to confirm it anyway. His expression was pure stone, and there was a fury in his eyes that I didn't recognize. I'd never seen him angry before… But it didn't matter. Because Fomortiis decided to warp himself away then and in his place, the dead rose to shamble forward, forced to do battle again.

This was just wrong.

The number of rescue missions I had to fly today was… well, truthfully, it probably wasn't a whole lot, but it sure as hell felt like a lot. Particularly when I had a squalling baby in my arms while his five-year-old sister sat behind me, wailing from fright. And why wouldn't she be afraid? She watched her other younger sibling, a little girl no older than two, literally explode from dark magic! And gods knew what had happened to her parents!

"Sure, let's go for the civilians!" I groused… groused? Was that the word I wanted? Probably not. Did I care? Nope! Honestly, who the hell cared anyway? I made sure to not say the words until after I dropped the kids off and I was alone and that was more important. Almost as important as dismounting before I began my tirade, to have ample room to pace and flail to bleed off frustration. "Because what else says 'oh, I am an evil bastard of evil' than going after civilians. Or nothing says that I am a fucking coward like that! Gods above and below and everywhere!"

"Should… I come back while you rant and ramble at shadows?" And there was Vanessa, giving me a concerned look. "Or should I get the healers?" she asked, serious as always. I simply sighed and shook my head. "The village?"

"I brought the only two survivors." I took a few deep breaths to try and calm down and leaned against Brynhildr. She brought her wing over me in a 'hug' and crooned to help soothe me. "It was actually the secondary village. The original one had none."

"Damn it." Vanessa actually slammed her fist against the wall of the 'fort' we were at. It had once been an armory, but it had long since been raided. And, unfortunately, it was the most secure building we had, because the only fort-fort? Fomortiis had it. But we needed a fortified area to keep the survivors. And there were quite a few, but those were the ones who got out early. The ones Syrene and her group managed to save. "Damn it, damn it, damn it."

"I think that's the most I've ever heard you curse."

"This is a situation that cursing was invented for." She hit the wall again, this time with far less force. I looked around for her pegasus and saw her being tended to by one of the other pegasus knights. "I knew it would be bad because of how battered Syrene and her squad were, but…"

"At least we have a semi-good strategy for dealing with the undead." It was basically Lute, Knoll, Saleh, Eirika, and Ewan all cast Elfire's simultaneously until there was nothing but a wall of fire. Bring the fire down to advance. Fire again. It was slow going, but from what I had seen? Effective enough. "Swear the smoke is going to kill one of us fliers, though."

"Had a near miss, actually. It's why I'm down; Prince Innes ordered it." Definitely missed that, then. "I was coming over to let you know when… ah…"

"Sorry, when you see a toddler turn into chunks of meat and blood in front of you, you have to scream a little. Or I do, at least." I ground my teeth, just… remembering. I had almost been there. I had almost been in range to save her. But 'almost' wasn't enough. And I knew that. It was just so damn frustrating…! At least it was one of the last villages to be evacuated. I would only have to fly one or two more, at most, to determine who was left. "Why does Fomortiis have to live up to his reputation?"

"And just imagine. He's in the body of a human."

"Is that better or worse? I mean; Lyon is supposed to be a damn powerful-" Loud shrieking both cut me off and filled me with dread. Vanessa closed her eyes at it. "Why do I get the feeling that I was just proven right?" Why couldn't I be right about simpler things, damn it!

"I wish the heroes had just killed him."

"Same."

I jumped onto Brynhildr and headed up in the air, buckling myself in as we ascended. After all, if people were screaming, then they needed help. Brynhildr and I were typically (sort of) good at getting ourselves into trouble to get people out of trouble. So, it was a simple decision to make… or it should've been. As we flew over the battlefield, however, my jaw dropped at the sheer carnage. Forget the typical bodies strewn all over the place. Fomortiis's spells left craters. Sure, he was slow as hell when it came to casting, but that didn't matter. He used the extra magic as a shield to limit how close someone could get and all he needed was one spell to obliterate his targets! And that was no exaggeration. I watched ten people just disappear.

"Oh, you and I are getting nowhere near his range, Brynhildr…" I breathed, just… staring. Talisman or not, one hit would probably slaughter both her and me. I could see pegasus knights that were taken out. Or so I assumed since all that was left was a wing or two! "Holy shit…" Brynhildr growled and then whimpered, frustrated by how we… we really couldn't help. Not in this fight. Not as we normally did. "Holy…"

"Yeah, I promptly got the hell out of there," Cormag commented, swooping down to fly next to me. Genarog had some gashes sluggishly bleeding, and I pulled out some medicine from the compartment of my glove to smear on the worst of them. "For the record? That's from shrapnel."

"I don't think I've… ever felt so helpless in a battle, actually." This was just insane. Even with the cyclops, we managed some sort of plan. "I'm guessing someone is setting up assassination via sniping?"

"Tried that. Innes and Neimi are in the infirmary." ...Oh gods… "And only reason they're alive is because some soldiers used themselves as living shields to blunt the worst of it."

"And here I thought nothing would be worse than the damn cyclops…" Then again, we hadn't thought we would be fighting the damn Demon King. "Who's dead?"

"Surprisingly, no one you and I know personally. Near misses all over the place, and the infirmary is full." He smiled bitterly. "I decided for the sake of my heart to not try and count the dead."

"I think that's going to be our goal until we reach Rausten." I had to close my eyes when I saw another five be engulfed by Fomortiis's spell. I couldn't… and gods, I was afraid I would look down and see Ephraim or Eirika or Joshua or… so many others… disappear while I was helpless… "I'm with Vanessa. Cursing was invented for times like this."

"I agree." Cormag's eyes narrowed, and he urged Genarog to fly a little closer. "Hey…"

"Yes?" I glanced at him and frowned. "Wait, you've got a stupid idea, don't you?"

"You say it like that's a bad thing."

"Cursed. Lance."

"...Okay, that's a good point." He shuddered at the memory, but then shook his head. "But this is… oh, never mind. You stopped his spell earlier, right?"

"I… uh... think I more disrupted his concentration long enough for Saleh to blast him with Excalibur." And I was becoming more and more certain that had only worked because he hadn't been paying attention. "But something tells me you want me to try again."

"If there was ever a time to weaponize that luck you Jehannans have…"

"We really shouldn't weaponize that!" But even as I protested, I pulled an arrow from my quiver and Brynhildr dropped a little to give me a better angle. "If we die, I'm killing you."

"Duly noted." He and Genarog also dropped to stay level with Brynhildr and me. I had a feeling they would try to tackle us out of the way, if it came to it. "Just try."

"Yeah, yeah…" Sighing, I drew back the arrow and did my best to aim. It was difficult, because of the distance and… honestly, I wasn't so sure this was going to work. But hey, maybe if his attention was on us or something… no, this was stupid and I almost gave up on it. However, just when I was about to say that, I saw someone with long, blood-red hair skirt around the edge of the battle with a clear goal. Joshua, with Audhulma in hand, was heading straight for Fomortiis. Audhulma, the Sacred Twin of Ice, the bane of magic users…

I bit my lip and waited. I waited until Joshua was closer, in a better range. Even then, I hesitated, but then I saw him look up, right at me, and realized this was no mere coincidence. He had seen me aiming. He was planning on me shooting. He was depending on me. So, I focused on Fomortiis, lined up the shot again, and fired.

Immediately after firing, both Cormag and I dropped and swooped around, just in case. So, I didn't see my arrow hit. But I did see Joshua surge forward and slice Fomortiis across the chest before kicking him in the wound. When he tried to strike again, though, Fomortiis threw a spell at him and for a blink, for a heartbeat, I thought Joshua would die. But Joshua brought up Audhulma to block and blue-white light flashed around him like a shield, blocking most of the spell. Unfortunately, though, the spell had been nothing more than a diversion for Fomortiis to escape. Leaving nothing but a bunch of shaken people wondering just what the hell they got themselves into.

Why did this have to happen? Just… why?

"Yikes, Neimi, he got you good…" I whispered, brushing the hair out of her face. She mumbled something in her sleep, but remained unconscious. But that bit of movement was enough for me, because she was horribly pale and she felt cold and clammy. "Damn."

"Yeah, that's the strongest word I can muster, despite my thoughts," Colm replied, leaning back in his chair. He smiled slightly, like it was a joke, but he looked too exhausted to give it any sort of humor. And why wouldn't he? He had carried Neimi to the infirmary himself, and had stayed by her side even through her surgery. He had been sitting on the floor, but I had dragged a chair over for him. "Did Moulder say…?"

"She should make a full recovery." I didn't bring up that Moulder had told him, thrice, the same thing. It was hard to pay attention when someone you loved so dearly looked like she was a slip away from death. The pale colors of the infirmary bed and blankets made her look even more washed out. "How are you? You were near."

"I got bandaged a little while ago. While you were setting up the food for the healers." He almost reached over to hold Neimi's hand, but stopped himself. After all, Neimi's arm was completely bandaged. "Her gauntlet…?"

"It's being fixed. Garcia is handling it, I believe." I fixed the blankets on Neimi and then walked to the other side to stand behind Colm, resting my hands on his shoulders. "You going to be okay?"

"When she wakes up." He looked up at me, and there was some life to his eyes now. Only a little, but it was there. "Oh, and if you tell anyone how I'm acting, I'm going to deny it."

"Of course you are." I kissed his forehead and hugged him. "Make sure you get something to eat as well, okay? I'm going to check later."

"I will. Thief's honor."

"And there's none better, right?" I tightened my hug on him before letting go. "See you later, Colm."

I walked around the infirmary for a bit, mostly helping with adjusting blankets and minor things so that the healers got a breather, and then I left to head for Ephraim's work tent. After all, as per usual, that's where the leaders were meeting. Now, why was I called in? Honestly, I wasn't sure. Originally, I had thought it was because Saleh was busy, but he was right there in the corner, with Myrrh hiding behind him. In fact, even L'arachel was here, since most of the post-battle madness in the infirmary was over. The post-battle meeting was happening later than usual due to Innes needing surgery and bandages himself. He was the only one seated, actually, and Tana fussed over him relentlessly, even draping a blanket over his shoulders. I didn't know if he was just humoring her by keeping it on, or if he was in so much pain that he wanted to minimize movement. His entire torso was bandaged, after all, along with his arms and his neck. From what I understood, he was only conscious because he had been a little further back, compared to Neimi.

"Let's just say that I don't want to try that again any time soon," Joshua was saying as I walked in. He pulled back his sleeves to show his own bandages, and I winced at them. He had some on his torso as well, and one or two had been deep. Natasha had been fretting, eve after clearing him. "That's with the protection my blade gave me. I don't know if that's the Demon King's power or him using Lyon's, but either way, we're in some trouble."

"I do wish we had the presence of mind to try and use the Sacred Stone," L'arachel sighed. Her hair wasn't in its usual pigtail… ponytail… whatever. It was fully down, and the ends were still damp from a quick wash. I vaguely remembered Natasha mentioning a patient had vomited on her hair while she was stitching their leg. "Surely that could have done something…"

"To be fair, we hadn't expected to fight the Demon King. Well, most of us." Joshua glanced at me, and I had a sudden bad feeling about why I was here. So bad that I immediately headed over to Saleh and pretended to fuss over Myrrh. Who thankfully played along. "Saleh? Petal? Both of you were able to react fairly quickly."

"From what I understand, Emma tends to react quickly whenever she believes people she loves are in danger," Saleh replied calmly. Unlike me, who was nervy, he was perfectly poised and relaxed. "But she and I both had our suspicions, yes. I have my knowledge from Caer Pelyn and Emma has a habit of overhearing many conversations."

"You make it sound like I'm snooping," I grumbled, scowling now. Saleh, of course, simply shrugged. "Oh, whatever. It is based on my interactions with Lyon and some conversations I've overheard that led me to guess. That and deciding that the worst case scenario was the most likely one, given how this has gone." I sighed and brushed my hair behind my ear. Myrrh, sweetie that she was, took my hand. "But I didn't want to say anything because I felt like saying something would…"

"It would make it real, and if only for certain people's sakes…" Saleh glanced at Eirika, who stood quietly in the corner with Ephraim, and, amusingly, Eirika actually blushed. Faintly, but it was there. If only circumstances were better… I could've teased them. "Neither of us wanted to be right." He smiled ruefully then, focusing on everyone else. "Though, both of us did peruse Grado's library for potential clues as to save him."

"Of course, I got kidnapped by Valter soon afterwards. Which also kind of plays a part in why I, at least, didn't say anything." Hard to talk about something so serious when you had freaking Valter hovering over you. "Actually, that plays a big part."

"I can't blame you for not wanting it to be real," Tana whispered, smiling sadly. She kept fidgeting with Innes's blanket, to the point that Innes had to hold her hand to stop her. "So, what do we do? I mean… I'd love to save him, but wasn't there only one 'vessel' that survived?"

"That… isn't quite true?" Myrrh mumbled hesitantly, still hiding behind Saleh. In fact, he had to shift a little so that she could be seen at all. "The one before was… but just the body. The soul was…"

"Yeah, not ideal." She sighed, squeezing Innes's hand with both of hers. Careful to avoid the bandages, of course, and Innes didn't seem to mind. "How did Saint Latona survive anyway, Myrrh? I know what the stories say, but I think we can all agree that the stories simplified things."

"They do, but sadly, I don't actually know…" Myrrh's voice wobbled and broke and she ducked behind Saleh again, this time to hide that she was crying. "I was little, so they didn't take me to that battle. I just held onto my charm and prayed. My father might know, but…" She shrugged helplessly and pulled her wings tight against her back. "All I know is that Ishmael was involved."

"Ishmael?" Innes repeated with a frown. He was silent for half of a second before focusing on Joshua. "Your house name…?"

"It became the 'house name' because King Kasimir always called himself 'Ishmael's son'," Joshua explained with a shrug. He then began absently braiding his hair, just to have something to do. "Ishmael was the leader of the desert people during the last years of the war."

"And I don't suppose there was some old story or anything…"

"Not that I know of." Joshua grimaced then and looked down, curling into himself slightly in shame. L'arachel patted him on the back reassuringly. "It's possible it was… supposed to be passed down and my running away kind of… well…"

"Right…" Innes closed his eyes briefly before looking at everyone. "Well, in that case, the odds aren't in our favor. We should proceed with the knowledge that we will have to kill him."

"Surely not!" Eirika immediately protested. No one was surprised. And, honestly, no one could blame her. Most everyone had some sort of conflicted look on their face. "If there was a way before, then…!"

"That assumes we can find anything," Innes pointed out, words sharp. Sharper than usual, actually, and Tana frowned at them. "And we have no leads."

"That's just because we haven't started looking yet, I-!"

"We can't sacrifice all of our soldiers to save a walking corpse!" ...I had never heard Innes yell before, but he did now. Loud and sharp, with a touch of fear in it. "I know we speak metaphorically of people living without a soul or heart, but this isn't a story! This is reality, and we must accept that sometimes, there's no happy ending!" And no one knew how to reply to that. All of us were just too… rattled.

"Well, that's a sign that none of us are emotionally stable enough to hold a serious conversation," Joshua noted lightly, breaking the silence. He smiled charmingly at everyone and began nudging L'arachel towards the door. "So, as the eldest one here, besides Myrrh, I say we're done for the day. We're all reeling."

There was no arguing that and, so the others filed out, with Tana supporting Innes (who still had that blanket around him). I thought about following, possibly to take Myrrh so that Saleh and Eirika could 'conveniently' be alone (even if this wasn't really the time for teasing), but I paused and looked back to Ephraim, since he had been strangely silent throughout the exchange. When I saw he had collapsed into Innes's vacated chair, I decided to head over. As soon as I was close enough, he snagged me by the waist and pulled me close, burying his face into my abdomen as he held me tightly. Though startled, I ran my hands through his hair, hoping it was enough to soothe him for now. It seemed to be as gradually, his death grip on me relaxed, though he still clung. Like he was afraid I would disappear if he let go.

"...I know that I have to swallow my wishes and do what is best for the people…" he began softly, each word made heavier by the tears he shed. "But I don't want to. Not with this. I want to save Lyon. I want to apologize and then yell at him for taking things on his own like usual. Damn it, I told him that there was no point in helping people if it meant..."

"You likely will serve as the middle ground between Innes and Eirika in this. Perhaps leaning more towards one side than the other," I whispered. I was sure Joshua would also be a 'neutral' ground. I wasn't certain on L'arachel, save that I knew she would want to save him. But she would also be cautious because allowing Fomortiis to walk free wasn't 'righteous'. And her parents died fighting his monsters. "But that doesn't mean you have to give up. I know this isn't a fight you're sure you can win, but that's fine. You're not alone, love."

"I… well, no…" His hands shook on my back. "But…"

"Let's send messengers to Zada and see if they can discover anything in their libraries. And we can look through Rausten's as well." It was possible Latona made a record of the thing that saved her, after all. "Or, well, I can. I don't have duties like you do. Gods know I'm stubborn enough, even if I'm not the most academically inclined."

"...We could put Lute, Knoll, and Saleh on it too… in between looking up more information on the monsters."

"Yes, we can." And maybe we could send word to Caer Pelyn. There were a lot of options, after all, and we had quite a few allies. The question was, of course, whether we could find anything in time. "I'm sure Innes is just trying to not get hopes up, because of how crushing it can be. For all his prickliness, he does love you two."

"...Yeah… and he's always been awkward with his feelings…" He chuckled, but it soon turned into a sob. "I know Innes is feeling every death keenly today. It's all…"

"I know."

"And I know Eirika probably needs you, but…"

"Eirika can make her own decisions on who she wants and needs comfort from, and we share a tent, so she and I can talk then, if she wants." I laughed softly, smiling even though I knew he couldn't see it. "So, don't feel guilty or anything. I'm all yours. As always, of course. I love you."

"I love you too."

Ephraim continued clinging to me and crying until he passed out, just from sheer exhaustion. After getting him balanced on the chair, I sent someone for Forde or Kyle, and both actually appeared to carry their sleeping king to his tent. I walked with them, just in case Ephraim woke up, but when he didn't, I headed for my own tent, where Eirika already was. She had our bedding arranged so that we could hold hands while sleeping, and I didn't comment on it. Instead, I told her about something I had seen earlier, with Garcia and Dozla doing something ridiculous and nearly burning their eyebrows off. It got her to smile, and led to more stories about all the silly things that had happened around camp.

In the next few days, we would talk about Lyon. For now, she needed help easing the blows to her spirit. And what else were friends for, right?

Again, not sure what to write here… maybe this should just become a space where I write silly things? We'll see. Oh, but I think Syrene is accompanying us now? And I don't think I wrote about Knoll either… eh, I'll do that later.

Author's notes: Changed things a little bit here to give Myrrh a presence, since she doesn't speak at all in the game's version of this chapter, and also brought in dialogue from Ephraim's version of this chapter (mostly the kneeling thing). The first scene is based off of Lute and Knoll's supports. The 'Ishmael' mentioned here is a character from Records of the Indomitable.

Lyon's tome, Naglfar, is actually a better tome than Gleipnir, the Sacred Twin of dark magic. It's more powerful, more accurate, lighter, and has infinite durability. Now, that being said, it's still heavy as hell, so Lyon's not going to be doubling many (if any) units with it, but with 25 might combined with Lyon's high magic and your units' typically low Res, he often only need one hit. Now, granted, he doesn't actually use that tome in this chapter iirc, buuut… novelization. (...Okay, and I might have forgotten until later and didn't want to rewrite the scene). The mention of craters, btw, is due to the animation. If you're wondering why the arrow disrupted the spell, I was thinking it to be like when you have to make a concentration check in DnD.

Fun fact, Naglfar appears in Norse mythology as a boat made from the fingernails and toenails of the dead, carrying the forces that will do battle with the gods during Ragnarok. Kind of fitting for someone who can make bunches of monsters?

Next Chapter - Two Faces of Evil