Recuperation (FEFD)

[ShadesofGrey18]

When the group had reached the village, having escaped from the Vallite attack on the mountain, none of them were quite sure what to expect... certainly, a village with mostly igloo houses was not high up on their 'expected' lists.

That said, Takumi had to admit that while it was interesting to see, he had to admit that he was glad for the very-much-not-an-igloo inn there, and the fact that the innkeeper was grateful for them having taken down the 'ghosts' on the mountain. He would certainly have much rather stayed somewhere he was sure would stay warm while they recovered. They'd all been in pretty rough shape by the end of it.



As it was, the younger princes were still fairly heavily bandaged, even as the group of eight spoke in the main room of the inn. It was really the first time since that whole incident that they'd been able to really discuss things.

"...So your kingdoms had been in a state of high tension for quite a while... then those 'invisible soldiers' were brought up to you by your elder brother and sister?" Ephraim was having difficulty wrapping his mind around what they'd told him so far. "...Quite frankly, I'm most confused by the fact that your weapons are still whole if you've been using them for the vast majority of that conflict..." It seemed like some things didn't change even after all the time since the War of the Stones.

[DanteMGalileo]

"... You mean weapons in your realm are so shoddily constructed that they fall apart?" Leo, while able to maintain his consciousness and hold a conversation, was still recovering. The tavern owner had taken away their armour to be cleaned. "My apologies, Lord Ephraim, Lady Eirika. I did not mean for it to come out that way."

At the main bar, Odin was weaving a tale to other patrons. Gold coins were tossed in his general direction, although it was unclear if they were actually enjoying his stories, just wanted him to stop talking, or a mixture of both. "And then, our hero swung his sword with the force of a thousand men, felling an entire army for his comrades! One, the lady of a sharp tongue and a sharper blade, slipped past the fallen guard, while the other, a humble mage much like myself, began chanting a spell, to repair the damage caused to the destroyed land..."

At another table, hidden behind a thin layer of smoke, Niles sat with a blank expression, hand full of cards. A stack of multicoloured chips lay before him. He slid a stack of green ones, labeled with a 500. "All right, let's bare ourselves, shall we?" The outlaw placed down his cards, revealing a royal flush. A stream of profanities came from his fellow card-players as the outlaw broke into a grin. "Now pay up, boys...~"

"It is okay, Prince Leo. We know you did not intend for it to be that way." Although she had escaped injury on the mountain, Eirika was grateful to be out of the cold, even if only for a few hours. "Although your story may sound like a fairy tale to outside observers, your level of detail is enough for me to believe that you are telling the truth."

"If I didn't see this myself, I would have dismissed it as a work of fantasy." Leo slowly reached out for his drink, a cup of scalding tea, wincing slightly as it his his tongue. "And what of you? What is your story, and how did you end up in this... place?"

[ShadesofGrey18]

Ephraim shook his head in response to Leo's comment. "I agree with Eirika; no offense taken. Perhaps Magvel does not have the techniques your home has for weaponsmithing; where we are from, even the best weapons slowly deteriorate, tomes lose their magical potency..."

Takumi spoke up, taking a slow drink from his cup; the hot tea was just what he'd needed. "Haah... I'm curious as well; you both are clearly experienced warriors and are royalty, even if from a place neither he nor I know..."

The teal-haired man nodded before starting to speak, adjusting his position on the chair he was sitting in. "Well, it's a bit of a lengthy tale, but I'll do my best to keep it brief."

"Don't skimp too much on the details," Takumi replied. "I don't think we're going anywhere anytime soon."

"Very well, then. Sister, if you could help fill in blanks in the story, I'd be very grateful. So... we come from the continent of Magvel. As I said before on the mountain, I am the King of the country of Renais." Snatching a piece of paper and a pencil from another table nearby, Ephraim began drawing a crude image like a map of the continent, though the shape was serviceable enough for what he sought to tell. "Here is Renais, in the center. Many years ago, a group of heroes, with the aid of a powerful Manakete who was known as the 'Great Dragon', fought against the Demon King, and his soul was sealed through the power of mighty gems known as the Sacred Stones..."



"...There was a time of peace for many years, but in the year 803, that changed... Vigarde, Emperor of Grado," at that, Ephraim sketched out the borders of the kingdom south of Renais, "ordered a sudden attack on Renais... our father, King Fado, was in the castle while I lead our army against Grado's offensive force."

[DanteMGalileo]

"I was in the castle as Vigarde and the Grado breached our defenses." Reaching out, Eirika borrowed the pencil from Ephraim. "... Our father... he did not survive the fall of Renais. I only escaped due to the actions of one of our knights." After that, she drew another border, a country along what would have been the northwestern sea. "We fled to a neighboring country, Frelia. Father, and the Frelian king would have had me stay in Frelia. I learned through the king that my brother was still fighting... I needed to reach him, even if meant returning to occupied Renais."

She drew a lighter line, extending from the northwestern country, down to a part in the borderlands of the coastal nation. "The king granted me some soldiers, and I gained new recruits along the way. In Serafew..." She made a circle along the arrow. "From a cleric defecting from Grado, I learned that Vigarde... wanted to destroy the Sacred Stones."

Taking a sip of tea, Leo paid the twins full attention. "It seems as though your tale makes more sense than our's does..."

"Eventually, my allies and I made our way to Renvall." She drew a second circle, deeper into the coastal nation. "We had heard rumors that Ephraim was captured. We fought our way inside the fortress, but..."

[ShadesofGrey18]

"The rumors weren't exactly wrong... exactly, anyway. I took a few knights that I trusted absolutely and attacked Renvall."

Takumi was about to take a drink from his cup when he stopped. "...Define 'a few knights', please?"

"Three. Forde, Kyle, and Orson were their names."

The white-haired prince just blinked before slowly setting down his cup. "...Gods, that is one of the most insane plans I've ever heard anyone come up with."

"But it worked." Ephraim couldn't hide the slight smirk. "I didn't expect a betrayal, however. Orson had been lured by Grado with the promise of being able to be with his wife again... she had passed away years prior and he loved her dearly. He tried to trick Eirika into a trap, but the knight my sister mentioned, Seth, Light bless him, saw through it. Forde, Kyle, and myself fought through another part of Renvall and we met up with Eirika and those she had traveled with."

"What a tale," Takumi said, shaking his head and finally taking another sip from his cup. "Still, though, a much more straightforward tale than ours. What happened next?"

"Well..."

[DanteMGalileo]

"... Attempting to take what appears to be a heavily fortified enemy hold with just three men... I'm not sure if you're brilliant, insane, or both," Leo said, after taking in that sentence.

"We returned to Frelia, to regroup with King Hayden, and his son, Innes." Eirika continued, shooting Takumi a quick look up-and-down. "Forgive me for going off-topic, but Prince Takumi reminds me much of Innes."

To hide his expression, Leo was suddenly very interested in his tea. Eirika either did not see this gesture, or chose to ignore it. "But Grado got into Frelia, and invaded the Tower of Valni, which housed Frelia's Sacred Stone, and shattered it. King Hayden grew fearful of what would occur should all five stones be shattered. The other nations..." She drew out the rest of the borders, totaling three new countries. "Jehanna and Rausten, the two remaining Scared Stone kingdoms, and the Republic of Carcino." She gestured to the smaller nation. "We split our forces. I was assigned a Frelian escort along several of my old companions, and set out to Rausten and Jehanna, to warn them of Grado's threat..."

"And then what happened?"

[ShadesofGrey18]

"Should I be concerned by that comparison?" Takumi tilted his head slightly in response to Eirika's statement.

"Not really. Innes is a good man, if a bit prickly, and a very skilled archer. I think the comparison is apt," Ephraim responded, before continuing the story. "Eirika was originally going to take a boat to Rausten to warn them; Innes was going to Jehanna, and I was going, alongside some of Eirika's companions and Frelian knights, to attack Grado directly. Due to a ghost ship attacking boats, however, Eirika had to go by foot through Carcino. My forces ended up taking on that ship and the Gargoyles that manned it... due to what was going on in the world, monsters of old were starting to come back in force."

His expression turned a bit darker at that. "At one of the first forts into Grado, Fort Rigwald, I rescued the princess of Frelia, Tana, who had been captured... and also convinced a young recruit named Amelia to join us. From there, I pushed onward with my forces towards Grado's capital... on the way, one of their generals, Duessel, a man who trained me and who I respect greatly, was labeled a turncoat and we saved him from death... I also crossed lances with a Wyvern Rider named Cormag..."

At that, he looked over at Eirika, before noticing that their group had grown a bit; Hinata had walked over, Odin's storytelling having finished for the time being.

[DanteMGalileo]

"As my brother brought the fight to Grado, I continued en route to Rausten. Along the way, we crossed through Carcino, which had allied herself with Grado. Innes was holed up in a fort with a pair of mercenaries, Gerik and Tethys... We rescued Innes and his allies, and recruited another mercenary affiliated with Gerik, a myrmidon named Marisa." Eirika noted the curious looks she was getting, including from the recently-rejoined Odin (who had gold coins stuffed down what passed as his shirt) and Niles (whose pockets clanged). "Beg pardon. A myrmidon is a swordfighter that relies on speed and swift strokes, as opposed to brute strength. They are similar to Sir Hinata here."

Another faint arrow was drawn. "We stopped in Caer Pelyn, located in the mountains of Carcino. A sage named Saleh, whom I had run into in Serafew, guided us, and joined us to find the Great Dragon," Eirika glanced towards Ephraim. "We ended up in a canyon next. The wyvern rider my brother mentioned, Cormag, attacked us on a false report he had received. I convinced Cormag that I had not killed his brother, Glenn, and he joined our forces. After that..."

[ShadesofGrey18]

Hinata spoke up at that. "Okay, so they're like your country's version of Samurai... interesting."

"While Eirika went into Jehanna towards Rausten, I had entered Grado's capital with a few more allies; one of which was the aforementioned Tethys and Saleh's little brother and student, respectively... a trainee mage named Ewan. I had also been joined by a Troubadour named L'Arachel and her bodyguard, Dozla... we assaulted the capital of Grado and I fought Emperor Vigarde, slaying him... he didn't speak a word during the fight and his body crumbled to dust upon his defeat."

Takumi's expression turned a bit more grim. "...That sounds like necromancy."

"It was." Ephraim nodded in response. "In the jail in the castle, I encountered a freed a Shaman... I believe you would call them 'Dark Mages' where you are from... named Knoll... he had been working on experiments on the Sacred Stone of Grado... the 'Fire Emblem', which the Demon King's soul had been sealed in, alongside... ...Eirika and my childhood friend, Prince Lyon of Grado."

His expression turned somber at the memory. "...Knoll told us of Lyon drawing out a dark power from the Emblem, a Dark Stone... while he had been trying to do so to prevent a tragedy from befalling Grado as had been prophecized, it had changed him. I didn't have much time to think on that, however. My forces moved to Jehanna to aid Eirika's."

[DanteMGalileo]

"Jehanna Hall had come under siege by Grado's troops, and we went to rescue Queen Ismaire," Eirika continued by drawing a star in the middle of one of the landmasses. "We fought our way to the throne room, and at a fee, I enlisted the aid of a rogue named Rennac... I suppose you could liken a rogue to Sir Niles, except that they use swords instead of bows."

"Now now, I'm far more than just a common rogue, princess..." A mischievous glint appeared in Niles's eye. Eirika, rather than paying the outlaw any attention, continued her story, causing the eyepatched man to make a quick, almost comical pout.

"In the throne room, we found not Queen Ismaire, but instead, a Jehannan military commander, Carlyle, who defected in hopes of winning the queen's heart..." Leo mumbled something under his breath, the words "how illogical" audible. "Although we defeated Carlyle, we could not save Ismaire. Before we were able to locate her, one of Grado's generals, Caellach the Tiger Eye, had mortally wounded her and shattered Jehanna's Sacred Stone..." Her tone drew somber and she trailed off for a moment, before taking on a resolute expression. "A myrmidon I had recruited in Serafew thanks to Sister Natasha, Joshua, was the missing prince of Jehanna. In her dying words, Queen Ismaire entrusted the Sacred Twin weapons of Jehanna, Audhulma the ice blade, and Excalibur the wind blade..."

"I apologize for interrupting your story, Princess Eirika, but in our world, we have a weapon known as Excalibur, too," Leo said. "Was this also a wind tome?"

"Indeed," Eirika responded with a nod. "Joshua, as the new king of Jehanna, struck an alliance with myself and Innes. We had little time to process this, however, as Grado troops set Jehanna Hall on fire, forcing us out into the desert, against forces lead by Caellach and Valter, the Moonstone..." She shuddered as she said the last name. Clearly, that individual had left more than a sour taste in her mouth.

[ShadesofGrey18]

"Valter was the one who had killed Glen; and, I had found out later, had injured Seth. A real piece of work, that one..." Ephraim shook his head. "With my forces arriving shortly afterward, we united and fought against Valter and Caellach's men. Joshua had had history with Caellach and struck him down personally, and Cormag ended Valter's life. Our next move was to return to Renais, which had fallen into disarray thanks to Orson not doing anything to aid the people against the monsters and bandits... our goal was to get the Sacred Stone of Renais, as well as our country's Sacred Twin weapons, the blade Sieglinde, and the lance Siegmund..."

"Your weapons, right?" Hinata noticed Ephraim's slight hesitation. "...Did you end up losing them when you arrived here?"

"Neither of us are sure what became of them or our horses... regardless, we fought and ended Orson... as well as the... urgh. The 'creature' that only somewhat resembled his late wife. It was just like Vigarde had been. The bracelets that Eirika and I wore were the keys to unlocking the room that the Stone and weapons were in... and it also unlocked greater power within us."

[DanteMGalileo]

"Renais did not keep its Sacred Stone out, but rather, hidden beneath the throne room along with its Sacred Twin weapons..." Eirika instinctively felt at her side, although knowing Sieglinde would be absent. "We made our way to Rausten, to warn Pontifex Mansel, and to gain Rausten's Sacred Stone..."

"Your tone implies things never got better."

"Along the way, we got involved in a skirmish between Frelia and Grado's remnants, in the Narube River in Jehanna... Frelia was losing, so we intervened, but..." Eirika trailed off again. "I'm sorry. This is a difficult topic for both my brother and I... Lyon appeared before us. I had run into him in Jehanna Hall, but something... something was not right about him then, and it had not passed..."

[ShadesofGrey18]

Takumi was quiet for a moment as they spoke. "...It sounds like Lyon was a good friend of yours. What happened?"

"We didn't know exactly what at the time, though we did find out later... Lyon had been possessed by the Demon King." Ephraim's expression turned stony. "His soul had almost entirely been consumed by him."

That sent a chill down Takumi's spine, and the prince visibly shivered, though he couldn't quite place why. Oboro placed a hand on his shoulder, and he didn't brush it off, taking a slow breath. "I... I see. What happened next?"

"Lyon retreated into the mountains. He lured us into a dangerous place, a sulfurous part of the mountain range with Gorgon eggs everywhere. We killed the monsters, but during all that, Eirika and I got separated... Lyon found me and magically paralyzed me."

Oboro was next to speak up. "And he didn't kill you?"

"He had me dead to rights, but no. All he did was take the Stone of Renais from me and shatter it... he'd claimed that all he'd done was of his own will... I still don't believe that, though. Lyon was always a kind soul." Ephraim took a moment to flag down one of the inn staff, and instead of the tea he was drinking earlier, he got some ale to drink. "...My apologies. This next part is something that isn't exactly pleasant to remember..."

[DanteMGalileo]

"... We successfully made it into Rausten despite that." Eirika continued, trying to keep her tone level. "Pontifex Mansel agreed to loan us the Sacred Stone of Rausten, but that night... Grado's remnants, lead by Riev the Blood Beryl, attacked the capital."

Eirika flagged down their waiter, receiving a small glass of red wine. "My apologies. The attack lasted for hours, and each wave was stronger than the last. I believe some of the soldiers, especially the last waves, may not have been true humans..." She took a sip of her wine, pausing. "The attack went on until the morning hours."

"Why did they stop?"

"You can thank my brother for this one," Eirika said, a faint smile on her face. "We agreed that we needed to take out Riev. I coordinated most of our fighters on the defensive, to shield Mansel and to keep us from getting stuck in a pincer attack."

[ShadesofGrey18]

"Thieves had also slipped in." Ephraim smiled at that as he took a drink from his stein. "...While Colm and Rennac went to secure the valuables from the chests, I led a small force... myself, Seth, the trainees who had become quite strong during our travels, as well as L'arachel, who we had found out was the princess of Rausten, and Dozla... we had figured out where Riev had been hiding in the fog, and we cleared a path. L'Arachel herself struck him down... at least enough to force him to retreat. As he fled, many of the forces assailing us vanished, and the dawn came, the Knights of Rausten arriving to finish what remained."

"Another risky maneuver..." Takumi couldn't hide his smile, though. "Impressive. And then?"

"Darkling Woods was our next destination. Myrrh, a Manakete who had been traveling with us, the Great Dragon herself... felt drawn there. Deep within the Woods, Lyon had gone... the remaining piece of the true Lyon was being lead to do a ceremony there. He thought it would protect Grado, but..." He went quiet before taking another drink, exhaling lowly. "...Of course, that wasn't what actually would have happened. Riev was guarding the entrance to the ruin where Lyon was along with a Dracozombie... Morva. Myrrh's adopted father..."