Title: Ascension
Author: Korsriddare
Characters: Seth, Eirika, hints of Eirika/Seth
Rating: K+
Summary: The right man at the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. As a band of knights make their last stand against insurmountable odds, one of them will forever carve his name amongst the legends of Magvel.
Disclaimer: Definitely not mine, or this would be canon.
A/N: Thanks to wonderful-words (Kitten Kisses) and pillowfight for beta-ing, dedicated to Maruta, wolfraven80, Mako, PT. And all the FE fans out there.

Her Royal Highness, the Princess Eirika, peered over the battlements, looking down at the courtyards as a group of knight prepared to depart from Castle Renais. The sun was shining brightly, and she thought it was fitting that her favorite retainer was leaving on a day with such perfect weather.

"A routine patrol to hunt down bandits up north," her father had said. She did not know why he had bothered to inform her about Sir Seth's mission, since it was not uncommon for young knights with leadership potential to be given a small command and dispatched in order to judge their actual abilities. Her brother called it 'testing water', and Eirika had found it utterly ridiculous.

Sir Seth was a brilliant knight, why did they even need him to prove his worth? As far as she was concerned, he deserved a promotion the moment he won his first jousting tournament.

Her cheeks blushed rosily at the memory even as King Fado glanced at her with a faint smile. He had high hopes for a certain retainer.

Said retainer, in his full armored glory, looked up at the battlements and offered a silent salute. Fado nodded at the man, armored in the silver and the blue trims of Renais. The princess's cheeks darkened even more as she sniffed regally, offering her retainer a rigid nod.

She could not hear his commands, but they must have been given as the knight lowered his salute and rode away, leading the small column of thirty out of the gates.

It was evening when the scout returned, a grim look on his face. The slim man spoke with a shake of his head, "It's no good, Sir Seth, too many of them. I count at least two hundred, with signs of another hundred well concealed. Give or take fifty."

The red-haired knight kept his expression impassive. It would do them no good if the commanding officer panicked, and he needed his men to be in their top condition, both physically and mentally.

"Battle readiness?" Seth finally queried as he tapped the helm held in his other hand.

"Armed and ready, they can launch an attack anytime now if they want to."

He considered the scout's words with an inner sigh. The situation was hopeless. This town, if he could call it that, was just too far away from the nearest reinforcements. Between the horses his men and the civilians had, in addition to the carts and wagons, they could maybe get all his men and a quarter of the civilians out.

It was only with the Everlasting's blessing that he and his men had arrived just in time for this mess. The bandits they were tasked to hunt down were more than just a rabble group - it was a full-fledged brigand army, all three hundred strong.

The decision was almost too simple. They could not get everyone out.

Seth turned to the scout, "Have them all meet at the square."

When he broke the news and the subsequent orders to the townsfolk, there were a few startled gasps, a few shocked stares. His knights were ready, their helms donned and visors pulled down as they aided the selected townsfolk onto the wagons and carts.

"Children are given priorities, together with their parents."

There was crying as parents hugged their own parents before turning almost guiltily to their escape, while the elderly and the singles were left behind. It was similar to a death sentence, but they knew it could have been worse.

They had expected the knights to escort whomever they could carry with them, and not for the knights themselves to stay behind.

Seth had his knights direct the civilians who had to remain to the mayor's house. It was big, and had a hidden cellar where they could hide and hope it would not be found by the bandits.

As the sun was setting and the evacuees readied to move out, the appointed leader of the column shook his gauntlet gratefully, "Thank you, sir knight, thank you. I… May I know your name?" The knight shook his head as he replied quietly, "Just go. Get them to safety."

The evening sky was red, Seth noted. It reminded him of blood.

The town was silent, most of its residents had been evacuated, and the rest were hidden well. It made for a contemplative mood, and Seth wondered if he could have done better. Arm the residents? Evacuate the whole town on foot? Negotiated with the bandits?

Nay, they neither had the training nor the equipment to put up a meaningful resistance. That would have resulted in unnecessary deaths.

Nay, they were not as well trained, and the hike from the hills meant that the bandits would likely have caught all of them.

Nay, going by their reputation, negotiation was a joke.

Flickers of light caught his attention, and he turned his gaze to the edges of the town.

Torches. That meant the bandits were here. Judging by the numbers, the scout was accurate in his estimation of the opposition. Seth inclined his head to his left, murmuring a soft, "Well done." He received a nod in return as the compliment was taken. The knight looked to his left, then to his right.

He had positioned his men in the square, the only location in town remotely defensible with the numbers available to him. Nay, not true, Seth ruefully amended to himself. It was the only location where they could force the bandits to come to them, and to bleed them dry. He knew, and his men knew they would probably not survive the night, but at least they could bloody the bandits well enough that they would make for easier pickings for the next Renais detachment that came.

They stood in a circle. Their enemies were too numerous, and would be able to surround them. It was the only formation flexible enough to close ranks should a member in the circle fall during battle. Not that it mattered much, for they were all dead men. A shout from the distance alerted Seth to his surroundings once more.

It seemed they were finally spotted.

Seth inhaled under his helm before he spoke in a clear voice, "It is regretful that we have been comrades for such a short period of time. However, I can confess with pride that it was my honor to have known you, and to be your commanding officer." He exhaled, "Come what may, the Everlasting will watch over us."

He was never good with words, yet at the moment, his fellow knights would have followed him to hell if he had commanded. It was not just his words, but how he acted during the evacuation, the way he commanded and ordered his knights to aid the townsfolk.

How he refused to run while civilians were left behind.

Go forth and smite thy enemies, and may thy arm be strengthened by the Everlasting's will. Seth prayed silently as he watched the bandit mob closed the distance and began to charge.

"For the Honor of Renais!"

He drew his sword, readied his shield, and braced himself for obliteration.

Eirika recoiled in horror and ran to her room, ignoring the calls of the servants and attendants.

She had overhead a conversation between her father and a petitioner.

…Please, Your Majesty, you must send more soldiers…

…hundreds of them…

…Calm down, man, who was the knight in charge?

I-I don't know, he never gave me his name, but you must hurry, Your Majesty, that knight…That silver knight, he stayed behind so we could escape!

She buried her head into the pillow and wept for the feelings she had discovered too late.

The sound of fighting had stopped. It was the mayor who suggested that they took a look at the outside. The hourglass they brought with them aided in telling the time, and surely now that the sun was rising, the bandits must have finished looting, leaving before more soldiers could arrive.

It was with surprise that when they exited the cellar, the house seemed to be untouched. No sign of looting. They looked at each other with surprise. Perhaps the bandits had ran out of time before they could pillage through this house? There was a breathless anticipation as they opened the large, wooden doors.

The collective intake of air was sharp as they took in the scene before them.

It was hell manifest. Corpses littered the ground in scores, with blood covering it so it appeared that the square had always been red. They could see entrails and even limbs separated from the bodies, but what was most astonishing was that at the center of the carnage, amidst the broken bodies of armored figures entangled with their less geared counterparts, stood a motionless figure.

The sun had just risen, and its beams of light seemed to caress the armored man with gentle touches, his silver armor glistening. His sword was held downwards, blood still dripping down from its edges. The shield was attached to his left arm, hanging almost brokenly by his side, the edges cracked and the shield itself dented beyond repair. For a long while, the survivors from the cellar thought him dead, his body supported by the armor in its final moments.

Thus it was with startled gasps when he moved, his sword arm moving and flicking the blood off the sword with a quick swing. The knight sheathed his sword and turned towards them. His silver armor was surprisingly devoid of blood splatter as it gleamed while his cloak fluttered in the gentle morning breeze.

The legend of the Silver Knight had begun.