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Chapter Text

Alear : ???

Blades of soldiers, both alive and not clashed violently within the halls of Lythos Castle as those who wished to stop the war and bring peace to their homelands fought passionately against the raised corpses of the fallen which mindlessly blocked the way.

It was through this heat of battle that Alear dashed though not wishing to waste the opportunity that her allies had provided for her. As the royals of the four nations and their emblem companions helped carve a path for the dragon and her emblem, they began to call out to encourage her.

“We can handle this” called out the purple Elusian princess.

“Keep them back” called out the red Brodian prince.

“We won’t lose, not today” called out the yellow Solmic princess.

“Keep going, you can do this” called out the blue Firenese prince.

Finally, she reached the end of the hall and her emblem companion turned to her “This is it; our final battle lies ahead. Now, it’s time to engage.” With a nod Alear and her companion opened the door and moved forward.

The chamber that they entered was almost completely quiet compared to the heat of battle taking place just behind the door. It was just Alear, her ethereal companion, and the man they had come to put an end to.

Alear looked towards the end of the hall at her enemy, the Fell Dragon and her father, the one who had brought so much suffering to Elyos, herself, her friends and her siblings. The Fell Dragon looked towards her “You’re here at your end, this place shall be your tomb, foolish child of mine.”

She hated yet feared that voice and the way that it had sounded like it came from a serpent both literally and figuratively. For the misery that the monster had inflicted upon her and those she cared about had she now come to viciously oppose him.

Harnessing the disdain in heart Alear steeled herself for the coming final fight. She would end this here and now. Lifting her blade up she charged.

As Alear and her companion charged forward while their opponent immediately began to bombard them with powerful dark magic, yet Alear managed to nimbly avoid every attack.

Closing the distance Alear managed to deliver a diagonal slash of her blade upon the Fell Dragon, yet he immediately counter attacked with another blast of dark magic grazing her and pushing her backward.

“Ah” Pushed back Alear quickly began to catch her breath and plan for a second strike.

 “Alear now is the time” She turned towards her companion “we can strike him together, time to fight as one” Alear nodded at her companion’s words. Both stated in unity, “Emblem engage!”

With that the two figures merged together in a flash of light. Alear felt a rush of power wash over her, ethereal blue wings sprouted above her, and her blade shifted to that of a light blue rapier, her companion was now gone with his strength given to her. Once again, she charged the Fell Dragon.

Almost immediately her opponent restarted the fierce magical bombardment at her, yet the speed she now had allowed her to dodge and outpace each and every strike, aiming her blade she jabbed at her opponent in a flurry of attacks. Briefly her opponent collapsed and for a moment it looked as if Alear had claimed victory.

“You think you have won? You have not achieved anything, you have not a thing to celebrate.” With that the Fell Dragon pulled himself up through sheer strength and force of will and channeled a truly mighty blast of dark magic straight at Alear.

Despite her best attempt to avoid it the dark magic had hit Alear square in the chest launching her across the room and causing her to collapse. Alear felt the emblem’s power leave her body.

Feeling pain all across her body Alear muttered out “Not here, not now” yet it was of little use as the room went dark and she lost consciousness.

“….” In an instant Alear opened her eyes and took a deep breath, the room she was in had radically changed, once pristine and away from the viciousness of the fight just behind its doors. Now however, the room was up in flames with its pillars collapsed around her.

Pulling herself up Alear began to look around to where her companion and her opponent had gone, she noticed that the Fell Dragon was simply observing her at the end of the room surrounded by smoke and flames, quickly taking a step back she turned on instinct to see her companion now hovering behind her. However, the color on him was gone replaced by a piercing blood red as he floated silently, without words and with a blank stare.

“M-Marth” Alear tried to figure out what was happening, but then looked downward and noticed her once bright white and blue armor was replaced by a nightmarish black and red armor, quickly she grabbed the sides of her hair and realized that her multicolored red and blue hair was now entirely red.

As terror began to wash over Alear a migraine almost immediately came over her, forcing her to her knees as she felt an unbearable pain across her head. As she felt horror at what had happened an intrusive feeling of joy and a vile happiness began to creep into Alear’s mind before completely overtaking her and burying her true thoughts.

Rising to her feet Alear now had a smile on her face, quite satisfied with her change and the opportunity at redemption her father had so graciously provided for her.

Alear was unable to appreciate her new reality for long however as the large doors had once again opened as her former allies made their way inside.

The four royals stopped in shock, staring at her and immediately realized something was wrong. The red prince looked at her filled with concern and asked “Alear what happened?”

Alear turned to face her old friends and bore a wide smirk across her face. “What does it look like? I have found my redemption.”

The concern and fear spread and rose across the four royals faces at that statement. The yellow princess stepped forward fear and dread written on her face, “Alear you can’t be serious.”

The blue prince also chose to step forward with an unmistakable look of horror on his face, “What did he do to you Alear?”

Alear herself could not care less about the sad display of concern these worms presented to her, the Alear that these fools had befriended, looked up to, and worshiped was dead, washed away by her own contemptible weakness and treachery, now the new Alear was left to pick up the pieces and find her own redemption. With this new resolve in hand, she began, “Hand over the rings and I promise that your deaths will be swift and painless” as she spoke the smile never once faded from her face.

“We refuse” the blue prince stepped forward with a foolish resolve of his own, “We will defeat you, bring the real you back, and put an end to this war.”

Alear just looked at him, “Is that the case?” The four royals all stepped forward and nodded. Alear scoffed at that and began, “In that case I shall burn your kingdoms, destroy your homes, kill your friends, have your citizens drown in their own blood, and crush everything that you care about underneath my heel” Alear paused for a moment and resumed “And after that I shall rip the rings from your fingers anyway. The last thoughts you shall have as your lives fade away from you shall be wondering why you chose to be so foolish on this day and oppose me and my father the great lord Sombron.”

The purple princess silent until now chose to speak, worry and sadness marked across her face “”Your father”, you are lost, aren’t you?”

 At that Alear laughed “So be it come at me worms, come at me so I may have my redemption sooner.” 

The royals and their emblems readied themselves and charged at the fell child and her emblem as the Fell Dragon continued to watch amused in the background. However, as Alear’s blade met her new opponents the world faded, and everything went dark… then white. And Alear began to hear as voices came in.

“H-y Fr---e l--k the D-v--e Dr---n -s st—r-ng”

“W—t”

Alear began to awake from her long slumber at last.

Chapter Text

Alear : The Somniel

As Alear began to awaken she began to feel pairs of eyes watching her, eventually she started to feel breathing confirming that there were people next to her as she lay sleeping. She opened her eyes yet found that a blinding amount of light struck them leaving her unable to see anything beyond the light.

“Huh?” A childish feminine voice was the first thing Alear recognized.

“Tell me you’re seeing this.” A second similarly childlike voice called out, Alear concluded that this voice was likely male.

Alear finally managed to get her eyes to adapt to the blinding white light that had hindered her sight. At this Alear finally noticed who the voices had belonged to. Two children had been watching her, one was a boy in green and the other was a girl in pink. Both looked similar, marking them as likely siblings if not twins. Alear had tried on instinct to strike out at these two who had gotten so close, yet she found that her hands and body did not respond.

The girl practically shouted at her “You’re awake, you’re really awake yeah!”

before Alear could respond the boy continued “You’re the Divine Dragon Alear”

Alear was in shock at the boy’s statement and yet before she could comprehend her situation or what the boy and girl were saying both shouted in unison, “No way the Divine Dragon is finally awake!” And ran off out of the room leaving Alear to figure out what was happening.

As the two ran off Alear finally managed to pull herself out of the bed and began to look around still tense. Immediately she began to reach for the dagger she kept hidden on her person yet found that it was gone, as was her sword, obscurité tome, and the rest of her many daggers. As she began to worry over her situation, she began to look around at her surroundings as she noticed that the room she was in had open-air surroundings that overlooked the rest of the area. It was at this point that she realized that she was in the Somniel. Alear quickly realized that the room she was in was a sanctum within the Somniel that for whatever reason was transformed into a bedroom.

Calming and easing up somewhat she noticed and was startled by the fact that part of her hair was blue, quickly moving to a mirror within the room she realized just how much was different. Around half of her once all red hair had turned blue along with one of her eye pupils, leaving her weirdly two-toned. The second thing she noticed was that her black and red armor was swapped out for a white and blue variant that served to complement her new blue hair and eye. She had also looked down at her now blue glove to notice that she still had the ring of the Hero-King on her finger, even though it was not activated it was calming to her that she still had it.

More confused than ever Alear had begun to think on what the boy had said to her as she was waking up, “You’re the Divine Dragon Alear!”

That statement was baffling to Alear, yes she was a dragon but not a divine dragon. Queen Lumera’s servants had always been suspicious of their queen’s adoptive child, and they had never treated Alear as a divine dragon, not that Alear really blamed them for that treatment. The more Alear thought about and looked at her current situation the more confused she got, “Just what is going on?”

Before she could continue thinking and looking around, She heard voices and footsteps from beyond the room, two of the voices she recognized and one was new, “Calm down, calm down you two what is all this ruckus about?”

 The owner of the voice entered the room and stood in shock at Alear “Divine Dragon Alear!” The man was much older than the other two having a fully grown white beard and a suit of sliver and blue armor.

 Alear though still tense had calmed down and cautiously approached the man. “Um hello there”

before Alear could continue however the man immediately began to speak, “It’s a miracle and utter miracle. The Divine Dragon awake at long last!”

Alear again was confused that he referred to her as a divine dragon, “May I ask your name?”

“Ah apologies I am Vander 32nd steward of the dragon” as he said that he a gave a light bow to Alear.

“Steward of the dragon” that was not a term Alear was familiar with, and what did he mean by “32nd.”

“Um what do you mean by “32nd steward of the dragon sir Vander.” Alear began to ask.

“Ah simply “Vander” will do Divine One. But as for your question, after you fell asleep your mother Queen Lumera began to appoint guardians to watch over you known as the stewards of the dragon. I am the 32nd individual to hold that post.” Vander began to explain.

The boy and girl silent up until now took this opportunity to jump in, “And we are the 33rd stewards of the dragon, I am Clanne.”

The girl then introduced herself as well “And I am Framme, me and Clanne are twins.”

With this information in hand Alear turned to Vander and asked the question now at the top of her mind “There have been 33 generations of these stewards watching over me, how long have I been asleep”

“You fell asleep due to your wounds in the war against the Fell Dragon. That was a 1000 years ago.” Vander responded.

Alear could not believe it, she did remember being badly wounded at the end right after she struck down her fa- the Fell Dragon, but a 1000 years had passed while she recovered? “A 1000 years, that’s how long I slept, truly?”

Vander quickly noticed her distress at that news, “It is, I am sure that your mother will be overjoyed that you have awakened at long last.” He was trying to lift her mood.

“My mother.” Alear thought out loud.

“Indeed, she will wish to see you after so long, perhaps it is best for us to go and see her, she can help explain everything to you Divine One.” Vander replied to Alear’s thought.

Alear agreed with that, she had so many questions about her situation that only her adoptive mother could answer, and she so wished to see her as well. “Okay let’s go see her.”

 But before they did Alear had to ask one more question, “but before that, I must ask, what was it that my mother told you about me?”

Vander was taken aback but answered, “Your Mother always referred to you as kind, brave, thoughtful and selfless.”

“Yeah she always had nothing but praise for you.” Clanne continued.

“It just goes to show how amazing you are Divine One!” Framme followed up cheerfully.

“Anything else, about me I mean” Alear had to know if they knew.

“Nothing beyond what you were like and your deed of defeating the Fell Dragon” Vander responded.

“I-I see, in that case let us go see my mother.” To Alear it looked as though that these three truly believed that Alear was a true divine dragon and not a fell child, but for confirmation she needed to ask her mother.

“Yes onwards to Lythos Castle!” Framme proclaimed loudly.

As the party left the room Alear noticed how little the Somniel had changed after all these years, beyond the old sanctum now being a bedroom little else had changed, Vander explained to her that the stewards on top of watching over Alear also worked to maintain the Somniel as its guardians.

Before they left the floating island the stewards grabbed their equipment, Vander got a battle-axe and lead out an armored horse, Clanne pulled out a fire tome, and Framme got a healing staff and a pair of brawling gloves. Alear took the opportunity to arm herself with a spare iron sword. Now equipped the party departed from the Somniel and began their journey to Lythos Castle.

Now in Lythos, Alear began to reflect on her new situation, if nobody knew that she was a fell dragon, and everyone in this world saw her as a divine dragon then perhaps she could finally know true peace and find the friendship and bonds that had long evaded her. It was a pleasant thought as the four of them marched though the serene land of Lythos.

Lythos had always been a wondrous and beautiful land, it was as if the heavens had planted itself upon the earth, just standing on the land brought about a sense a calm and a feeling of serenity.

And yet Alear could never truly integrate herself within the land. It felt opposed to her very being like it was an alien world compared to her homeland of Gradlon. Gradlon was practically the opposite of Lythos, whereas Lythos was temperate with a land that exuded calm, Gradlon was harsh with climates that were either extremely hot volcanic wastes in the west, or extremely cold frigid mountains in the east. Still even despite Gradlon’s harshness and all of the awful memories associated with that place it was the only place in Elyos that Alear felt bonded to.

Still Alear had hoped that she could carve out a new life and there were worst places to do that than Lythos.

As the group trekked towards the castle Alear decided to ask the stewards about what they did while she was asleep.

“Oh we mostly just tended to the Somniel and prepared everything for when visiting royalty and nobility took pilgrimages to see you.” Clanne stated.

“Wait, nobles and royals would visit me?” Alear was taken aback.

“Yeah they did, they would come to the Somniel and pray at your bedside.” Framme enthusiastically added.

Alear was a bit horrified that her sleeping form had apparently been made into a holy site. Still it added further evidence that the people of this time knew nothing of her true heritage.

“It was mostly from Firene that we got most of our visitors, although we got a lot from Brodia, and every now and again some from Solm, though no Solmic royalty have visited in a while.” Clanne further clarified.

“I see” It made sense to Alear, Firene and to a lesser extent Brodia were very religious and devout nations that worshiped the divine dragons, Solm also worshiped the divine dragons but were otherwise not too concerned with religion. And of course, Elusia preferred to worship the Fell Dragon as their deity.

“Well thank you for the information Clanne and Framme.”

“AH! The Divine Dragon said our names! And thanked us!” Framme Cheered

“I think I am going to faint… is this a dream?” Clanne genuinely looked as if he was about to faint.

“Need I remind you two that you are the presence of the Divine Dragon. How many times must I tell you to act in a manner that befits your stations.” Vander turned to Alear “Apologies Divine One for this breech of decorum.”

“No its fine Vander, I actually like people acting more naturally around me, I am not use to it” Alear quickly responded.

After that conversation they resumed their journey until Lythos Castle was within sight.

However before Alear could appreciate the impressive view she felt a chill run up though her spine. Turning she noticed a horrific sight, corrupted.

“Huh?” Alear gasped. It should not have been possible for there to be corrupted, fell dragons were the only beings capable of creating the monsters and her father and all of her siblings died in the war, Alear should have been the only one left with the ability to create them.

“What are those horrible things” Framme was nearly as frightened as Alear was.

“I don’t know” Clanne was startled.

“I have never seen these creatures before. And certainly not in Lythos.” Vander began to gasp his axe in hand.

Alear however was panicking, even though she was trying to hide it she was clearly on the verge of a panic attack. She found herself paralyzed with fear and began to breathe heavily. She hated the corrupted, she had to watch as the vile creatures ripped apart and devoured dozens of her siblings, all while having to deal with the ever-present threat of them killing her hang over her. They were awful.

“Shall fight them Divine One? as you wish you whose bravery know no equal…” Vander looked eager to fight the creatures.

“N-n-no w-we ha-have to r-run” Alear could barely get her sentences out.

“Huh?” Vander was shocked that Divine One was this terrified of these creatures.

“W-we hav-have to go, I-I c-can’t f-f-fi-fight t-them” Alear’s breathing picked up in speed.

“I… as you wish Divine One” Vander looked a bit disappointed but followed her command nonetheless.

Before they could flee however, “Ok get to safety.” Framme stated.

“We’ll distract them” Clanne followed up.

Before Alear could react both of them charged at the corrupted soldiers.

“Clanne, Framme come back this instant!” Vander yelled to no avail.

Clanne and Framme’s charge at the corrupted quickly fell into disarray as the corrupted soldier quickly knocked away Clanne’s tome and other corrupted began to surround the two of them.

“Uh this isn’t looking good” Framme bravado had begun to dry up.

“Hold on I shall come to you” Vander quickly mounted his horse and began to charge forth. “Divine One stay back, it is too dangerous I shall handle this.”

Alear wanted to run away but the danger Clanne and Framme were now in lit a spark of determination within her “N-no n-now is not the t-time for m-me to run” She pulled out her blade, took a deep breath and ran towards the others.

Quickly Vander began to fight a corrupted that blocked the path to Clanne and Framme, while Alear began to face off against one of the corrupted to the side.

Alear was not well equipped to handle fighting, the 1000 years of sleep took a toll on her reflexes and with her tome and daggers not with her she was forced to rely entirely on her sword. It was because of this that she found herself struggling against the single corrupted that she fought. Barely dodging the corrupted’s axe swings and swiftly counter attacking for minimal damage was exhausting her more than she would like to admit. Still she managed to deliver a fatal blow against her foe and move on.

She noticed that Vander had dispatched his own foe as well but there were so many more corrupted coming in that Alear began to worry if either of them would make to Clanne and Framme in time.

“I have to reach them, if only I could….” Alear was interrupted by a familiar ethereal voice.

“Alear my strength can be yours, summon me.” Alear looked down at the ring of the Hero-King.

“I can’t summon you Marth, I don’t wish to take away your free will.” Alear had to find a different way but could not see one.

“It will be okay, you need to protect those who protected you.” again the voice continued.

Alear sighed realizing there was no other option, “Okay I will.”

Alear grasped her hands and shouted the invocation. “SHINE ON EMBLEM OF BEGINNINGS!”

With that a brilliant flash of a blinding light radiated out of the ring and an ethereal floating man appear outward.

To Alear’s shock he was not red and seemed to retain his free will as if he was summoned by a divine dragon. “M-Marth how are you…”

“That can be explained later, for now we must fight” Marth turned to face the incoming corrupted.

At that Alear nodded, a warm feeling coming over her even if she did not quite understand it.

The two charged forward fighting off a particularly tough corrupted with a series of a synchronized strikes, all while Vander and the twins watched in awe. Finally felling the unreasonably strong corrupted Alear had managed to break through to the twins.

“That was amazing!” Framme cheered.

“Cool!” Clanne seemed too out of breath to say much more.

“We did it” Alear turned to Marth. “Thank you Marth, truly.”

Vander finally arrived to the rest of the group, “Is that an emblem of legend or do my eyes deceive me.”

“Ah I am Marth, Emblem Marth to be clear.” Marth introduced himself.

However before they could all celebrate a new wave of corrupted began to charge towards them.

Marth turned to Alear “We have to fight them off, it’s time to engage.”

“Agreed” Alear began to steady herself between the stewards and the corrupted. Afterwards both Alear and Marth shouted in unison, “Emblem engage!”

With that Marth merged into Alear giving forth all of his power to her. Immediately a pair of shining wings appeared over Alear, her clothes changed to a pure white version of Marth’s, and her sword transformed into a glowing light blue rapier.

Now swelling with the strength that she needed Alear flew forth against the horde of corrupted and began strike furiously taking one down and then immediately switching to strike another, and then another. She did this until the area that they were in were devoid of the corrupted.

After this she lowered herself down on the ground and disengaged with Marth. Alear turned and began to make her way over to the stewards.

“That was incredible!” Clanne finally recovering enough of his breath. “Oh and um sorry for running off and getting us into this whole mess.”

“Thanks for saving us, and yeah sorry for charging ahead” Framme looked extremely grateful.

“I am just glad that neither of you got hurt, but still don’t run off ahead like that, both of you could have gotten seriously injured or worse” Alear responded.

“Um Divine one there are more enemies approaching” Vander interrupted.

Alear turned around to see well over a dozen more corrupted soldiers charging towards them, “There’s more!” She found herself in a state of worry once again.

As her eyes darted around looking for some sort of escape Alear noticed a shadow come over the group.

Looking upward a white-scaled dragon had appeared and charged up and then released forth a powerful energy blast towards their pursuers, wiping them out instantly. With that Alear felt truly at calm for the first time today.

The dragon landed on the ground before a swelling of light engulfed the dragon. The light manifested and transformed it into a serene blue haired crowned woman. Queen Lumera.

The woman stared at Alear with a face of longing before quickly making her way over to her and embracing Alear in a hug. “It’s really you, I have waited so long my child.”

Lumera released Alear from her embrace, “As soon as I felt your awakening I rushed as fast as my wings could carry me. You’re not hurt are you.”

“No I’m fine.” Alear herself could not contain her own joy, “Mother I am so glad to see you again.”

“As am I my dear child” Lumera responded with a smile.

Alear found her composure and begun to ask, “Mother what happened, why is my hair…”

Before she could continue Lumera interrupted her, “Shh, I will explain it all to you later. For now let us make our way to the castle there we can all rest and I will answer your questions.”

Lumera stepped back and once again transformed into a dragon, “Come climb on back so we can head to the castle.”

Alear and the stewards climbed on top, and in an instant they took flight. And for the first time since her awakening Alear began to relax.

Chapter Text

Alear : Lythos Castle

The flight to Lythos Castle was quick and the party found themselves landing in the castle garden before too long.

Alear took a look around, Lythos Castle like the Somniel had barely changed in the past 1000 years, the castle was pristine and commanded a sense of dignity though its high spires jutting out of the main structure, it was made out of clear white bricks the exuded serenity and represented the holiness and peace of the land of Lythos.

It was the polar opposite to the environments that Alear grew up in and was adapted to. For her Lythos Castle felt unapproachable at times, the several assassination attempts made by servants that wished to rid the land of the fell child did not help matters. Because of this Alear could never truly call this place home, indeed it was only because of Lumera that Alear felt she could even let her guard down in this place’s halls.

“Here we are” Lumera called out to the group as she finished transforming back into her human form. She turned to Alear, “Welcome home my child.”

The way Lumera so eagerly said it made Alear for a second feel as though this place could one day be like a home to her. “Thank you mother, I am so glad to awake and with you again.”

“As am I my sweet child, as am I” Lumera’s soft smile only growing wider.

Lumera looked at Alear for a moment before coming to a realization, “Oh but you must be hungry after today, come let us go have lunch.”

Alear nodded and followed along.

After dismissing the stewards Lumera and Alear sat down to enjoy their lunch together. For Alear this was finally a good opportunity to ask the questions that had been on her mind since waking up.

“Mother is true that it has been a 1000 year since I fell asleep?” This was the first thing Alear decided to ask her.

Lumera looked at her daughter with a hint of sadness for a second before confirming, “Yes, yes it has been. After your battle with Sombron the injuries you received forced you into a long slumber so that you could recover.” Lumera paused again looking a little sad before continuing, “It took 1000 years for you to recover, but now you are awake, and we can be together again.”

“I see” For Alear it was hard to wrap her head around the idea that 1000 years pasted by her as she slept. As a dragon time did not have the same meaning to her as it did to humans, yet still 1000 years was a lot even for their kind.

“Well I am glad that I am awake now mother, I really felt like I was going to die at the end, so I am so grateful that I now have a second chance at life.” That seemed to cheer up Lumera considerably.

“Oh my child, I am so glad that you are awake, now we can finally spend time together after all this time” The sadness was now gone from her expression being replaced by pure joy.

Alear appreciated the moment and took a bite of her sandwich. After finishing her bite she asked the next most pressing question, “Mother why is part of my hair and one of my eyes blue now?”

Lumera looked at her for a moment before answering, “When you were asleep I began to channel some of my divine power into you. The blue hair and eye is a mark of that new power I invested into you.”

Alear digested that information for a second, “Is that why when I summoned Marth he was not red and could speak?”

“When you summoned Marth how did you summon him?” meeting Alear’s question with another question.

“I used the invocation “Shine on, Emblem of Beginnings” but instead of appearing red and without free will he was his natural colors and could speak and everything.” Alear answered.

“I see, and when you used the invocation what was it that you were thinking of” Lumera again asking another question.

Alear briefly looked at Lumera trying to understand what Lumera was asking for before answering, “I wanted to save Clanne and Framme and felt that summoning Marth was the only option that I had.”

Lumera’s face shifted to a smile, “When you summon an emblem keep thoughts like that close and the emblem will appear as they should.”

Alear still did not understand “But I used an invocation like a fell drag-“

Lumera interrupted her, “Yes, when summoning emblems fell dragons use invocations and divine dragons use prayer, however you use both when you summon. When I granted you my power you also gained the ability to channel that divine power to summon emblems with their free will intact”

It was a lot for Alear to take in that she now apparently had the power of a divine dragon, but still she had one more question that she had to ask, ”Do any of the stewards or anyone else for that matter know that I am a fell child?”

“No they do not” Lumera’s expression changed to one of assurance, “As you slept I made sure that the truth of who you were was changed so that history would remember you a divine dragon. As far as anyone knows you are my birth child and a pure divine dragon” Lumera paused then continued, “Your fell roots have been completely forgotten.”

At that Alear was shocked yet glad, maybe just maybe she could move on and no longer have to stay within her mother shadow. Perhaps she could walk among others without the fear of being hated. Alear took in the idea and began to cheerfully finished her sandwich.

After finishing their lunch Lumera and Alear made their way to the castle’s throne room.

Lumera once calm and cheery expression turned much more grim, “Alear I did not wish to overwhelm you as you woke up but the attack by the corrupted tells me that I can not hide it any longer.”

Alear looked at her mother understanding what she was about to say.

“Shortly before you awoke I felt the presence of Sombron’s reawakening, I believe that this is the reason the corrupted have begun to reappear across Elyos” Lumera explained.

For Alear that was hard to take in “He survived, but how?” Shaking her head in disbelief.

“I believe that like you Sombron has been slumbering to recover from the wounds you dealt to him at the end of the war.” Lumera answered.

Alear could barely believe yet the corrupted that she fought was proof enough, “What shall we do?”

Lumera gave her a reassuring smile “do not fret my dear, even though he has reawakened I feel that he is still very weak, I wonder if he can even move. It would not do for us to lose ourselves to worry just at the start. For now we have time to make plans, prepare, and ready ourselves, let us use this gift of time well. In a few days I plan on taking a journey across Elyos to gather the emblem rings, this way we can keep the emblem’s power out of Sombron’s hands.”

“I… alright” Alear was still uneasy but at least time was on their side.

Lumera looked at her for a moment before having an idea, “Alear go gather the stewards and meet me in the gardens I wish for us to do some training.”

Alear nodded and left to go find Vander and the twins.

Finding all of the stewards was easy as they were all in a yard next to the garden, after telling them that Queen Lumera wished to do a practice battle all of them went with Alear to the garden. After waiting for a bit Lumera arrived to meet them.

“All right is everyone ready?” Lumera scanned around at everyone before continuing “Vander, Clanne, Framme you three will be aiding my child against her opponent, me.”

Vander responded in shock, “Queen Lumera I cannot bring myself to turn my blade on you, even in a practice bout”

Lumera rolled her eyes and gave a smile, “Oh Vander do put your heart into it, I know I will.”

With that Lumera raised her hand and summoned a group of fabrications,

“Eep,” The appearance of the soulless soldier caused Alear to jump, The fabrications reminded Alear too much of corrupted with the way both were mindless and unnatural. And the fact that like the corrupted, several of Alear’s siblings met their end due to the fabrications.

“C-can we train with something else p-please” Alear was shaking a bit.

“Oh my dear, I know how much you dislike the fabrications, but if you are ever to overcome your fear you must meet it head on.” Lumera reassured Alear.

“Yeah it will okay Divine One after all we are here with you!” Framme raised her fist upwards as she said that.

“Don’t worry we are here to help” Clanne added.

“Well much as I am loathe to fight against Queen Lumera, orders are orders, I shall help bring you victory divine one.” Vander said dejectedly.

Alear took a deep breath, “Well alright then, I shall do my best.”

With that Alear and the stewards took up position on the right and Lumera and the fabrications took up position on the left.

The first bout was fairly easy. Alear commanded the stewards to cover her flanks as she fended off and defeated a fabrication with ease.

Afterwards Alear made her way to Lumera “Don’t worry there is no need to hold back my child.”

Both Alear and Lumera quickly found themselves in a sword-lock which for a minute stalemated the two of them however Alear managed to muster enough strength to push her back.

“Ugh… Well done my child, you preformed well” Lumera took a moment to catch her breath. “Now however let us fight again but this time with emblems.”

“With Emblems… Alright” with that Marth appeared at Alear’s side.

Lumera pulled out an emblem ring of her own which Alear immediately recognized as the Ring of the Holy Knight.

Lumera clasped her hands together and gave a silent prayer, in an instant a flash of blinding white light was set off from the ring.

Beside Lumera now stood an ethereal blue haired knight in white robes, “I am Emblem Sigurd. It is wonderful to see you all after these many long years.”

Alear looked at the new emblem, The Emblem of the Holy War as he was known was a source of constant frustration for the fell dragons during the war 1000 years ago. Sigurd was the favored emblem of Queen Lumera and even during the times when the other eleven emblems were in the hands of the fell dragons The Emblem of the Holy War managed to elude them. So many of Alear’s siblings had tried and failed at obtaining the emblem now standing before her.

Sigurd turned to see Marth, “Ah, it has been some time Marth, do give your upmost today.”

“Alright then Alear and I shall not lose” Marth responded.

With that the stewards and Alear moved to the back of the garden whilst Lumera and Sigurd took position at the top of the garden.

This second fight proved to be a much more difficult affair as Lumera had summoned more fabrications than she did the first time. Still Alear now equipped with Marth was able to make quick work of them while the stewards protected her flanks.

Lumera looked on at the progress Alear was making to her, “Alright then, its time we made our move, come Sigurd”

In an instant Lumera engaged with Sigurd, Sigurd disappeared as Lumera sprouted a pair of disconnected ethereal wings, changed to a set a lilac knight robes, and obtained a new lance.

With remarkable speed Lumera darted across the garden in an instant using her lance to almost immediately defeat Vander and put the rest of Alear’s group on the defensive.

Clanne and Framme did not last much longer and were quickly overwhelmed and defeated by the raw power of Lumera and her emblem.

Alear managed to barely block some of Lumera's attacks but was still put entirely on the backfoot, realizing that she had to act Alear called out to Marth, “Emblem engage!”

Now engaged with Marth, Alear was able to match Lumera in strength and agility if not speed. Using her rapier to unleash a flurry of blows against Lumera, Alear was able to find an opening and swiftly moved to strike at her.

With that Lumera conceded defeat and disengaged with Sigurd, Alear followed suit and disengaged with Marth.

Lumera walked over to Alear, “Well done my child, you preform most excellently.”

Despite the praise Alear knew that she was much weaker than she was before she slept, “I just hope I can be as strong as I once was.”

“Oh don’t worry about it my dear, there is much to improve yes, but that does not discredit your victory today” Lumera pulled her sword and its scabbard from her belt, “Here I have a gift for you.” She said as she presented the blade to Alear.

Alear recognized the sword as the blade Libération a sacred sword that could only be wielded by a divine dragon, “ar-are you sure?”

“Yes I am, this blade has served me well for many years, and I am sure that it will serve you just as well.” Lumera soft smile never once fading.

With a bit of hesitation Alear reached for the blade expecting the blade to burn her hand for daring to touch it, yet instead the blade’s hilt fit right into her palm and resonated a warm feeling across her arm as Alear held it.

Alear glanced at Lumera her soft smile growing into a wide grin as she reached for something else.

“Here please take this as well.” Lumera handed Alear a multi-banded ring with a multicolored gem.

Alear did not feel any energy from the ring quickly recognizing it as purely ornamental, “What is this ring”

“Do remember before you went to sleep and I promised to give you a birthday gift that would suit you wonderfully?” Lumera asked.

Alear remembered Lumera saying that to her right before Alear lost consciousness, “Yes, yes I do,” Alear grasped at the ring in her palm, “Thank you so much mother.” Alear reached to give her mother a hug, as she did so Alear let loose a few tears.

Lumera and Alear embraced one another for several moments before they parted and Alear wiped the tears from her face.

“Come now I think it’s time for us all to go have some dinner” Lumera said.

The dinner was a much more casual affair than lunch was, conversation was lighter, the stewards sat with Alear and Lumera, Clanne and Framme made the mood much cheerier.

“It was unbelievable that we got to fight with you today Divine One, it’s a dream come true!” Framme cheerfully went on.

“Yeah it was incredible watching you wake up, then travel with you, I mean fighting those corrupted was kind of scary, but you were awesome out there.” Clanne was tripping of his words with excitement.”

Vander sighed out the twins “How many times must I tell you two to maintain a level of dignity with your stations especially when you are dining with the divine dragons. Please Queen Lumera, Divine One, forgive this display.”

At that Lumera just began to giggle at them all, quite amused at the antics of the twins contrasted by the seriousness of Vander.

Alear looked on at the whole affair and found herself smiling at it all, she knew that she would always treasure moments like these. The cold existence that she once lived felt like a lifetime ago as she watched as the twins sheepishly apologize to Vander for their total lack of decorum.

After Dinner and a bit more talking with her mother Alear headed off for bed, Clanne showed her to a bedroom in the castle and then left her.

Alear sat on the bed reflecting on the events of the day, Everything about it had been like a dream come true to her. The kindness, the reunion with her mother, the fact that it was if Alear’s fell heritage had simply been wiped away, it was all wonderful.

And yet now alone Alear began to think on something long in the back of her mind “Do I deserve any of this?”

Alear had so many siblings yet now it looked like she was the only one left, and that made her deeply sad, she thought about them. Alear was one of the strongest of the fell children, for some that meant that she took on the role of a protector, a protector from humans, fabrications, divine dragons, vengeful and jealous siblings, and their father’s crushing expectations. For other siblings however it meant that Alear was a rival that stood in the way of their path to the top. Still Alear never hated any of them, no matter what.

So Alear wondered if she deserved to live while the rest of them died, several of them had even died at her own hand.

As Alear thought though her grim thoughts Marth Appeared beside her, “I know what you are thinking of.”

Alear looked up at him but said nothing.

“Listen Alear I have felt that feeling, a feeling of wondering why you survived while others did not, a feeling that perhaps you should have died along with the others.” Marth paused briefly before continuing, “But thinking that way will only drag you into doubt and cause you to lose focus, so keep those you care about in your heart and never lose focus of your path, that is the best advice I can give you.”

Alear took those words to heart, the sadness that clawed at her heart still very much in effect and perhaps that sadness would always be there, but she able to clear her head. “Alright thank you for telling me that Marth, I shall keep those words in mind.”

With that Alear laid down and drifted off to sleep and dreamt of nothing in particular.

Chapter Text

??? : Lythos Castle

The black-robed mage girl watched as the troops she commanded made their final preparations.

Weeks, even months of planning had gone into this operation, soldiers disguised as travelers made their way to the cities in southern Lythos and silently gathered useful intel. Then after the groundwork was sufficiently planted the main force arrived by ship to Lythos in secrecy.

First they landed their ship in a hidden cove, then they met up with their spies and hidden forces, after this the mage girl summoned corrupted in key locations across Lythos to distract from the arrival of their forces to Lythos castle under the cover of the night.

Now here they sat in a blind spot against the castle wall, close to the ring vault, however getting into the castle from this side of the wall was impossible, at least if one were to go about it in a conventional way.

The mage girl turned “Abyme are the troops ready?”

Abyme looked at the soldiers for a second before responding “Yes my lady, we are ready to go at your command.”

“Excellent.” With that the mage girl pulled out an orange crystal connected to a golden chain. She walked over to the side of the wall and looked around for a minute, soon she found a good spot to place the crystal. After setting the crystal down the mage girl signaled for her soldiers to back away. After moving a bit away herself she waved her hand in a motion towards the crystal, activating it.

The crystal glowed then began to take in energy and after a few seconds…

*CRASH*

The Crystal erupted into a flash of violent flames ripping apart the castle walls like paper.

The mage girl smirked as she signaled for the soldiers to charge into the wide gap where the walls once. She stood for a minute to admire the damage the crystal had caused, “Zephia you have outdone yourself yet again.”

With that they made their way to the castle ring vault.

Alear : Lythos castle

*CRASH*

Alear awoke immediately at the sound of the eruption. “What was that!” Quickly getting out of any slump her sleep may have put her in.

Marth appeared before her, “I do not know but it came from the direction of the ring vault.”

“In that case we need to go now!” Alear responded before quickly grabbing her sword and rushing off to investigate.

Alear quickly made her way through the castle halls until she reached the corridor connecting to the ring vault. Alear entered the corridor to witness dozens of soldiers laying siege to the vault. As Alear took in the sight before her she immediately recognized the uniforms of the intruders, Elusians.

That did not make much sense to Alear. Yes the Kingdom of Elusia worshipped the Fell Dragon, but they didn’t tend to put that over their country’s survival. Perhaps Elusia became more devout in the past 1000 years, but it still did not seem right to Alear.

Deciding that questioning it further would do her no good Alear started to ready to herself for combat when she noticed the stewards standing by a pile of rubble.

Rushing over to them Alear immediately inquired about the situation, “Vander what is happening, how did they get in?”

Vander turned to her, “Divine One thank goodness you are safe, I do not know how they got through, I came rushing to the vault as soon as it happened. However there were too many of them for me to be able to break through.”

“And my mother, where is she?” Alear kept her focus on the intruders as she asked that.

“As we speak Queen Lumera is defending the ring vault.” Vander responded.

“Then we must break through, follow me.” With that Vander, Clanne and Framme all readied themselves to follow Alear into battle.

Alear stepped out from the cover sword in hand. Almost immediately she was noticed by the Elusia soldiers.

“You th-“ Before the Elusian could finish Alear dashed forward with a sword slash forcing him to block, however this was mistake as Alear quickly shifted her slash to a different angle delivering a fatal blow.

Half a dozen of the other Elusians began to charge at her however Vander covered her right flank while Clanne began to strike them with fire magic from a distance breaking up their charge.

Alear shifted to fight the soldiers to the left making use of the damage Clanne caused to them to quickly defeat them before they had a chance to reorganize and overwhelm her. She killed one before they could react, then another, then the last, all with ease.

To the right Vander was able to kill the first with an axe cleave, whilst beating back the other two, Clanne shot at them while they were disoriented forcing one down and allowing Vander to take out the last with a follow-up strike.

Still even with their display of skill Alear realized that there were simply too many soldiers for just the four of them to take on. Quickly they made their way to a different set of rubble.

“Umm Divine One there are so many of them” Framme said with concerned look at the incoming opponents.

Alear got up and took a look around quickly gauging their odds, “Eight are charging from the right, five coming from straight ahead, and to the left two pegasus riders look like they are about to charge at us from outside.” The odds were not good.

As Alear began to think of a way to bear this next assault she heard running and then voices coming from behind her.

“Though this door, right?” a distinct male voice asked.

“Yes. This is the one.” A female voice this time.

“Then let’s go!” a second male voice.

Alear raised her blade, prepared to be surrounded by foes.

At the back of the hall a blonde-haired young man on a horse charged through. Accompanied by two companions, a large man wielding an axe and a young woman wielding a bow. “Made it and not a moment too soon.”

The three quickly scanned the area and charged at the Elusians. The axe man and the horseman slammed against the Elusians to their right, Clanne took the opportunity to blast the soldiers with fire as well resulting in their assaulters falling back.

The bowwoman quickly aimed and loosed an arrow at one of the incoming pegasus knights striking the knight’s steed dead on and causing the knight to fall to her death.

Alear and Vander turned to meet the forward charge head on, Vander used his axe to break their defenses and then deliver a fatal blow against one. While Alear swiftly aimed her sword at the throat of one, killing him instantly. As she did this a second attacker struck at her, managing to evade Alear ripped her blade from the throat of the first soldier and quickly used it slice off the current attacker’s arm and then instantly followed up with a decapitating slash. This display caused the remaining two soldiers to lose morale and retreat.

Finding time to breathe Alear went back over the rubble to see who these three were.

As Alear appeared from the rubble the horseman looked at her with a shocked expression, “*gasp* Could it be, Divine Dragon Alear, you awoke at long last?”

Alear looked at him cautiously, “I did yes, may I ask your name?”

“This is amazing that you have awakened Divine One, ah but as for your question I am Alfred, the crown prince of Firene.”

Alear was surprised that it was the crown prince of Firene who came to their aid, “And who are your companions, Prince Alfred?”

“Ah this is Boucheron.” Alfred gestured to the large axe fighter.

“Um, it’s an honor to meet you Divine One.” Boucheron said.

Alfred then pointed toward the bowwoman, “And that is Etie.”

Etie shot down the second pegasus knight before turning, “Oh pleased to meet you Divine One.”

Alear looked at Alfred, “Okay we can all talk later, for now can you help me get to the vault?”

“That we can Divine, you know I've waited ages for you to wake up, but for now let’s defeat these scoundrels and figure out who’s in charge.” Alfred responded.

Alear turned to face the now defending Elusians “Alright good, let’s go.” With that the seven of them regrouped and began their assault against their opponents.

Alear and her allies managed to break through the Elusian forces until they had gotten through to the last line.

At the center of this line was an armored woman who Alear guessed was the one in command of the soldiers. “Who are you?” Alear called out her.

The woman responded, “I am here to fight, not to talk.”

The woman charged with her soldiers towards Alear and her group.

“Everyone split up and protect my flanks.” Alear commanded her allies she began to battle the enemy commander.

The strength of the woman was enough to push Alear back and force her on the back foot. Realizing that she could not break her opponent’s armor Alear held out her hand to summon Marth and engage.

Now engaged Alear rushed forward with her rapier to strike at the vulnerable openings in her enemy’s armor. The woman tried to repel Alear but was to slow. Alear quickly struck at her and then used her immense speed to quickly appear behind her to strike at her head, the woman fell back enough to avoid a fatal strike, but Alear’s rapier still cut a vertical gash across the woman’s face, from her forehead down to her chin and cutting out her left eye.

Alear moved to deal the finishing blow but a group of three soldier charged at her, turning her attention Alear jabbed at the first her blade going through the heart, Alear pulled the blade out and quickly flew straight towards the second man, felling him with a slash across the chest. Finally Alear turned to the third one which held her distance, Alear used her absurd speed to close sixty feet in less than a second, decapitating her with barely an effort.

Alear disengaged after this, no longer being able to maintain that form. Turning around she found that her allies had managed to dispatch their own foes, The remaining Elusians began to retreat with  their commander being carried away by them.

“Do we chase after them” Alfred asked Alear.

“No let them go. We need to get to the vault.” Alear responded before rushing into the Vault.

??? : The Ring Vault

As the fighting carried on outside, the mage girl and a select group of powerful mages were attempting to fend off Queen Lumera and obtain the emblem rings.

She managed to get four of the rings easily, but she found that the Ring of the Holy Knight was on Lumera’s person while the Ring of the Hero King was nowhere to be found.

Every one of her accompanying mages had fallen and it sounded as though Abyme’s forces had been forced to retreat. Suddenly she heard a rush of footsteps coming through the door.

A red and blue haired young woman leading the new force pointed her blade at the mage girl, “Surrender now, your forces have been defeated.”

The mage girl gave a scoff to that, quickly she used the time crystal Zephia had given her.

In an instant she appeared behind her pursuer. “Ah!” the red and blue woman blurted out.

“Do I detect a hint of fear? Of course I do.” With that the mage quickly charged the strongest spell of dark magic she could from her tome straight at her pursuer.

However before the spell could rip apart its target Queen Lumera appeared in her dragon form and knocked her away. And in doing took the brunt of the attack straight on. The queen fell to the ground and was forced out of her draconic form.

“Mother NO!” the red and blue woman shouted.

“Ah so this person is the queen’s child.” The mage girl thought to herself. Moving forward the girl held out her hand. “Now why don’t you hand over the rings to me.”

Queen Lumera quickly fired a blast of energy straight towards the girl, “Leave here at once!” she shouted.

Realizing her situation the mage girl decided that it was best to flee, not liking her chances at getting the other two rings.

With that she fled, not noticing that she dropped the time crystal as she made her escape.

She was satisfied with the results; she managed to claim four rings and dealt a crippling, possibly even fatal blow against the Divine Dragon. Still she failed to get the Ring of the Holy Knight, and the Ring of the Hero King.

There was also the queen’s child, she was oddly familiar to the mage girl.

Alear : The Ring Vault

After the mage girl fled, Alear sat next to her wounded mother, “Framme get over here and heal her!” Alear urgently called Framme over.

“Okay, I got this” Framme raised her staff and set a healing light onto Lumera, but it did nothing to heal her. “I… uh.. My staff isn’t healing her, she’s too badly wounded. Her divine power is almost totally drained!”

That didn’t make sense to Alear. How could Lumera have been this drained of her power, “I…. what? How is that possible?”

“It is because I gave my power onto you my child.” Alear turned to see Lumera speaking.

“All these years that you were sleeping and healing I was transferring my divine power to you.”

Alear’s eyes began to widen in realization at what Lumera was saying. “No-no this is all my fault, if I hadn’t…”

Lumera interrupted Alear, “Shh no my dear push those thoughts away, there is nothing a mother would not do… to see life… return to her beloved child.”

Lumera continued. “Listen to me my child, you must gather the twelve emblem rings, you cannot let any more of the rings fall into the hands of the Fell Dragon.”

Alear looked at her and nodded “Okay I will, I will gather the rings and protect them, I swear to you.” Alear began to feel tears run down her face, “But please don’t leave me… don’t leave me mother.”

Lumera looked at her a gave a soft smile, “Don’t worry my child I will always be with you, and when your time to rest comes… then we well spent time together as we were meant too.”  Lumera began to close her eyes, “You… and I.” With that Queen Lumera closed her eyes for the final time.

“Mother… mother please…” Alear broke down, “Mother… please don’t go, I need you.” Alear lifted her mother’s head trying desperately to get her to open her eyes, “No, please don’t go, please… please.” Each word causing Alear to lose more hope as tears streaked down her face further, “Please wake up… Please, not now… Not after all this time.”

Alear broke down crying, her sobs radiating across the ring vaults. The group stayed silent allowing the young dragon to mourn uninterrupted.

Alear walked over to Vander, dried tears still covering her face, “ Thank you for helping with my mother’s funeral.”

“It was the final service we could provide Queen Lumera as her stewards.” Vander replied giving a sorrowful look.

Alear looked over at Clanne and Framme.

“I can’t believe she’s gone” Framme said.

“We have to stay strong Framme, think how hard this must be on the Divine Dragon, we got to hold it together.” Clanne replied.

“I know, it’s just so hard” Framme responded.

“… Queen Lumera, to think our paths would have diverged so soon” Marth thought out loud.

Sigurd gave a mournful look “To leave a child behind, I did that in my death… a bitter memory. In your absence I vow to protect your child, Lumera.”

Alfred turned to Alear, “This is awful, I apologize that we couldn't arrive sooner.”

Alear turned to meet Alfred, “No, if weren’t for you today could have been much worse Prince Alfred. And please do not worry for me, I am… accustomed to loss like this.”

Alfred did not understand what she meant by that last part, but he felt an immense pain behind it.

Before he could ask though Alear questioned him, “Why did you come here anyway though, did you need something?”

Alfred took a deep breath, “My kingdom is in danger, recently there have been attacks by these strange creatures, they are like raised corpses, we are trying to fight them off, but we are stretched thin. I came to ask for your aid.”

Alear looked at him, “Alright I will come to the aid of your kingdom, I may not be my mother but whatever help I can give you shall have Prince Alfred” Alear continued “Besides my mother was planning on journeying to collect the emblem rings, now I must do that in her stead, I will need to go to Firene anyway to obtain the rings.”

“Thank you so much Divine One, and please just call me “Alfred” I have visited you in the Somniel since I was a boy. I think of you as an old friend in a way.”

Alear was still  weirded out by her sleeping form being used as a holy site, but she was uplifted by his enthusiasm, “Alright I appreciate that, and my information on the world is a 1000 years out of date, so I would like to have someone who can help fill the gaps for me.”

Marth floated over to Alear, “Alear, are you going to be alright?”

Alear looked upward at the night sky, “Right now, no. but I will be, I will be eventually.”

Chapter Text

Alear : Lythos Castle

Alear finished making her final preparations before heading to Firene with her new allies. She managed to grab a set of daggers from the castle armory, she also made sure to obtain the mystical orb known as the Somniel’s Atlas that her mother used to access the Somniel.

“Vander, please hold on to this for me.” Alear said as she handed Vander the orb.

“Of course Divine One, but may I ask why you do not wish to hold onto the Somniel’s Atlas yourself?” Vander inquired after he took hold of the orb.

“I just wish for you to protect it for me. It would be good for us to able to access The Somniel as a base and for that we will need the orb. My mother taught me how to use it before I fell asleep. Can I trust you to protect and hold on to it for me Vander?”

“Of course Divine One, you can count on me to safeguard the Atlas for you.” Vander placed the Atlas into a carrier bag at his side.

Alear turned to look at the rest of the group, “Is everything ready?”

“Everything is all set Divine One. We are all ready to go.” Answered Alfred.

Alear gave a nod, “In that case let us make our way to Firene.

With that the group set off from Lythos Castle to a Lythian port in the south and set sail for Firene.

After an uneventful ship ride the party departed from a small port town as they headed for the Firenese capital of Havre De Fleur.

On their way Alear decided to ask Alfred about Firenese relations to the other countries, “Alfred what has Firene’s interactions been like with other countries?”

“Oh, we actually managed to sign an agreement between us and our two neighbors, Solm and Brodia which says there won’t be war between us and that we would all commit to friendly relations.” Alfred answered.

Alear now inquired about what she wished to focus on, “I see, and what about Elusia?”

Alfred thought for a moment before answering, “We don’t really interact with Elusia all that much since they are so far away from us. Most of the trade we do with Elusia is done with Solm as a third party and since Brodia is at war with Elusia getting too friendly with Elusia would be seen as an insult to Brodia.”

Alear was surprised at that last part, “Wait Brodia and Elusia are at war?”

“Oh yeah, it’s been an on and off war that’s been going on since before I was born. The king of Brodia, King Morion has been launching attacks into Elusia to expand his territory for some time.” Alfred explained.

Alear took that in and began to connect the dots. “Alfred did Firene sign the treaty with Brodia before or after Brodia started invading Elusia.”

Alfred looked at her confused before answering, “Like I said the war has been on and off. Firene and Brodia came to an agreement during one of the calm stages about a decade ago.”

Alear got worried, “And when did the war pick up again after that.”

Alfred began to think on the timeframe before answering, “ About a year afterwards I believe.”

Alear finally understood why Elusia was acting so aggressively, “It sounds to me that Brodia was seeking to isolate Elusia diplomatically Alfred.”

Alfred thought for a moment at Alear’s observation, “Well it’s not like Firene joined Brodia in its invasions or anything.”

Alear frowned at that, “You said yourself that Firene avoids talking with Elusia much to avoid offending Brodia. Elusia likely feels like it’s been backed into a corner and is now lashing out.” Alear found herself frustrated at Brodia’s actions, she did not know the whole story but from what she knew about Brodian culture and politics she found it likely that Brodia’s invasions were unprovoked.

“I-I never thought of it that way” Alfred suddenly looked a little guilty.

“Do not mistake what I say for condoning Elusia’s actions, Elusia shares responsibility for what happened in Lythos. But still I do understand them a bit more.” Alear did not know the full story between Elusia and Brodia, so she decided to wait before passing full judgement.

Alear faced forwarded and the group continued on their way.

As the group moved through the rolling green hills of the Firenese countryside A town came into view.

“Aw here we are Florra Mill town, we can rest here before making our way to the castle.” Alfred said to the group.

Before they continued however Alfred looked into the distance, “Wait!” He pointed towards the town, “There’s corrupted, they are starting to overrun the town. We can’t let that happen, Divine One can you help me?”

Alear looked forward feeling a shiver go down her spine, “Y-yes of course.” She quickly began to steel herself to face the corrupted.

The party quickly headed down to the entrance of the town.

As they began to prepare for battle Alear spotted someone coming towards. The girl had long blond hair, a crown on her head, and quite possibly the largest and most impractical dress Alear had ever seen in her life.

“Alfred!” The girl shouted clearly familiar with him.

“Céline! What are you doing here?” Alfred responded.

Alear remembered that Alfred mentioned having a sister named Céline on their journey here.

“After you left an Elusia force was able to break into the castle and take over. I fled to warn you and get the emblem ring to safety.” Céline took a breath. “I was trying to head to Florra Port, but I was ambushed, Chloe and Louis stayed behind in the town to help me get away. Please we must get to them.”

Alear looked at Céline, “You said you have the emblem ring with you?”

“Yes that’s- wait, The Divine Dragon?!” Céline looked at Alear in awe, “You’re here, you’re… awake!”

“I- yes I am.” Alear responded still not at all use to being treated like this. “Give me the emblem so that I can summon it, then we can take back the town.”

Céline nodded as she pulled out the Ring of the Caring Princess, “Here you go Divine One.” Céline handed Alear the ring.

Alear put her hands together with the ring and used the invocation, “Care for us, Emblem of Echoes!”

In an instant a flash of light radiated outwards. Now floating next to Alear was a red-haired woman in a white dress, “I am Emblem Celica, I do so detest violence, but I shall aid you in your fight to protect the innocent.”

“Emblem Celica, how marvelous.” Céline looked in awe at the new emblem, “Divine One may I ask to fight by Celica’s side, I must protect the people of this town.”

“Yes of course.” Alear handed Celine the ring before turning to Alfred, “And Alfred take this.” Handing him the Ring of the Holy Knight, “Can you fight alongside Sigurd?”

“Yes of course Divine One. You can count on me.” Alfred responded.

“We shall do our utmost to protect this town and its people.” Sigurd responded after appearing by Alfred’s side.

“Alright then let’s go.” Alear commanded her allies to begin their attack.

The party split themselves up. Alear and the stewards headed upward to secure a bridge in the middle of the town to try and see if they could stop the incoming corrupted. Meanwhile Alfred, Céline and Alfred’s retainers went right to get to Céline’s retainers.

Alear steeled herself fighting against the incoming corrupted soldiers, unwilling to break down at the sight of them again.

Clanne would shoot fire at them from a distance softening them up and allowing Vander to charge into the corrupted breaking them up and letting Alear swoop in take them out.

The four of them moved into a nearby watchtower for cover as Framme began to heal their wounds. As she did Alear looked  across the river to see Alfred’s group make good progress towards a bridge on the far right. A group of corrupted attempted to block the bridge but Céline engaged with Celica and used her power to teleport behind them and deliver a mighty blast of fire magic, wiping them out.

As Alear watched she quickly turned to see a corrupted charge at her, before it could get to her Alear produced a Throwing knife and swiftly threw it straight at the corrupted. The dagger struck the corrupted in the chest interrupting it and allowing Alear to quickly deal a finishing blow.

Now recovered, Alear and her stewards went to take the bridge.

Approaching the bridge an onslaught of corrupted charged at them. “Ah, we can’t fight that many!” Clanne urgently said to Alear.

“Don’t worry.” Alear rushed forward, “Emblem engage!” After she engaged with Marth Alear was able to make short work of the corrupted easily. Alear immediately sliced through two of the corrupted, then followed up with jab at a third before speeding behind the corrupted to cut down a further four and break up their charge. Vander charged and took out one focused on Alear while Clanne incinerated one that charged Vander. The remaining two charged Clanne but Alear darted in between the two and cut them down instantly.

After Alear disengaged she and the stewards made their way downward to rendezvous with the others.

Reaching them Alear noticed two new faces, A long blue-haired pegasus knight, and a brown-haired man in heavy steel armor, Alear assumed them to be Céline’s retainers that she talked about. Walking over to the group, “Is everyone okay?”

“Yes Divine One, we made it through with no issues.” Alfred responded.

The armored man walked over to Alear and introduced himself, giving a light bow “Ah, you must be the Divine Dragon it is an honor to meet you, I am Louis a knight of Firene and retainer to Princess Céline.”

“And I am Chloe, it so wonderful to meet you Divine One.” The blue-haired woman said.

“Nice to meet you two, we can make more proper introductions later.” Alear responded.

“Ah of course” Louis replied.

“Uh, Divine One when I was flying overhead I saw a man that looked like he was giving orders to the creatures, he might be the one in charge.” Chloe said to Alear.

“Where is he?” Alear asked.

“He was beyond the second river over there.” Chloe pointed to the upper right portion of the town. “But he started moving forward with a large amount of the creatures just before you arrived.”

“I see, in that case let us find and put an end to that man.” Alear turned around everyone come with me, we need to intercept the commander.”

“Got it Divine One” Alfred responded. Everyone gathered and followed Alear.

Alear commanded her allies to fight off the corrupted as she went to face the commander.

The man commanding the corrupted was equipped with a lance, a large shield and heavy armor, the colors on him armor clearly marked him as an Elusian soldier.

Alear swiftly darted towards him swinging Libération in an attempt to strike her unarmored face. However he managed to raise his shield in time to block Alear attack. Falling backwards Alear heard him speak, “Wait a minute, you’re the Divine Dragon. If I kill you I’ll be a legend.” He gave a confident smirk at that.

Alear was disgusted by glory hounds like him, the way some people would bring harm onto others for no reason other than pride, ego, a foolish sense of honor, or just plain fame chasing was sickening to Alear. She had no mercy for people like that.

Alear however lacked any proper way to break through his defenses as she had already used the engage and was still waiting for that to recharge. Quickly she darted forward before suddenly shifting to the side to try and strike his weak spot but again she struck and again he blocked. The man attempted to strike Alear with his lance, but Alear was far too fast for him to hit her, and she dodged with little effort.

Alear looked over to her allies in the distance, they had their hands full fighting off the new wave of corrupted. The man charged her while she was looking but she quickly sidestepped and attempted a counterattack, but again it failed as he blocked. This time though he slammed his shield at Alear knocking her down and causing her to drop her sword. Alear quickly rolled away and pulled herself up.

Getting up Alear decided enough was enough and raised her palm forward and began to channel a miasma blast at her opponent, but it failed, and nothing left her palm.

He charged her yet again as she stared at her palm in disbelief. With Alear again dodging with little effort.

Alear again aimed her palm at him, she incited the miasma incantation in her head and focused deeply at channeling it. Finally she felt the dark energy come forth and… barely a sputter of purple clouds came forth from her palms.

Frustrated at her inability to cast her spell Alear looked around a noticed she was out of space to dodge as the man gave yet another charge.

Quickly Alear improvised and swiftly dodged the lance and lodged her arm between the man and his shield. Alear quickly used her free hand to produce a dagger which she threw point blank at his face causing blood to jet out and for him to collapse in pain.

The dagger struck in between the man’s eyes and stuck out from his nose bridge. As he fell on his back he began to cry out in agony at the injury, he attempted to pulled out the dagger out, but Alear kicked his arm away and slammed her heel into the dagger’s pommel causing it to be pushed further into the man’s skull, killing him instantly.

Alear ripped her dagger out of the man’s face. It was now bloody all over the blade and hilt with parts of brain matter and flesh stuck to the blade.

After this Alear walked over to recover her sword as she watched her allies finish off the remaining corrupted.

The group was recovering in the now saved town as Alear wandered off to think to herself. She stared across the river to town wondering about what had happened during her battle with the commander. “Why was I unable to use magic?”

As Alear thought to herself she failed to notice as a stray corrupted charged at her.

Alear quickly turned around at the noise but found herself paralyzed with fear at her unexpected assailant. Before she could think of a way to defend herself a fireball struck the corrupted soldier from behind felling it instantly.

Alear looked over in the direction the fireball came from expecting to see Clanne or Céline. Instead she saw a small girl with long black and white hair.

“There’s no need to be afraid , it is gone now.” The girl smiled at Alear as Alear stared in disbelief.

Walking over Alear could not believe her eyes, Alear noticed that the girl had violet eyes. Along with her hair everything about this girl reminded Alear of her littlest sister Veyle.

“Th-thank y-you” Alear was befuddled by the girl.

“It was nothing, anyone would have helped.” The girl cheerfully responded not noticing the strange way Alear was looking at her.

“N-no you really helped me, I was so startled I couldn’t think. Thank you so much.” Alear got over her confusion, this girl was not her sister. It simply was not possible.

“I see, oh may I ask your name?” The girl politely asked.

“Oh my name is Alear, I am the Divine Dragon.” Alear answered her, finally gaining a clear head.

“Alear…”The girl let the name roll on her tongue before shaking her head, “That’s a lovely name. I’m Veyle, it’s nice to meet you.”

Alear once again felt completely disoriented at the girl, “Veyle, Veyle, it doesn’t make sense.” Alear looked at the girl in disbelief. This had to be a coincidence there was no way that this Veyle and her Veyle were one and the same, Alear just could not accept it.

Alear closed her eyes for a moment before Alear decided that she should at least help the girl home. However as Alear opened her eyes to look at Veyle, she was gone. It was as if the girl had vanished. Looking around for a minute Alear did not spot where she had gone.

Alear stood at the hill staring at nothing trying to comprehend what had just happened. Eventually she decided that it was a hallucination and left.

She buried the interaction in the back of her head, She was the last fell child, her siblings were gone, Veyle was gone. Whatever that was, whether it be a real person or an illusion, it was not Alear’s Veyle.

Alear began to tear up as she made her way back.

She missed her siblings.

She missed Veyle.

Chapter Text

Alear : Florra Mill Town

The sun began to set as Alear made her way back to her allies. She had managed to wipe away most of her tears before she got to them, putting on a face of normalcy to her allies.

Alfred turned to greet her, seeing through her façade immediately, “Uh, Divine One are you alright?”

Alear quickly came up with an excuse, “Y-yes, I think I just might be having a reaction to all these flowers.”

Alfred didn’t quite buy it, but he decided to let the matter rest for now, “If you say so Divine One. We should begin to make camp, it’s still a fair distance from the capital and we will need to be ready and at our best against the Elusians.”

“Don’t make camp, hold on.” Alear walked over to Vander, “Vander hand me the Atlas.”

“Of course Divine One.” Vander pulled out the Somniel’s Atlas from its bag and handed it to Alear. “Here it is.”

Alear activated the Atlas with a complex series of motions and created a portal next to the group.

“Here we can use the Somniel instead.” Alear said to the others.

Céline looked at the portal, “Oh I’ve seen this before, I did not know that the portal to the Somniel could be transported like that.” Céline turned to her and Alfred’s retainers, “Don’t worry the portal is safe.”

One after another the group entered the portal and found themselves in the Somniel.

The retainers immediately looked in awe as they arrived, “So this is the Somniel, it really is just like a fairytale.” Chloe looked around mystified.

“Indeed it does, this place is really quite magnificent isn’t it.” Louis had his hand on his chin as he made his observation.

Alear continued to fiddle around with the Atlas before deactivating it and handing it back to Vander, “Alright we can use the Somniel as a base to rest and plan in safety. I used the Atlas to slow down time here so we can spend more time preparing.”

“Wait you can slow down time in the Somniel, how?” Alfred had never heard of this before.

“I can use the Atlas for warping reality around the Somniel.” Alear clarified, “And before you ask, no I do not know how any of the magic works. The Somniel was made long before my time by an ancient divine dragon monarch who buried the secrets they used to construct it. I just know how to operate some of the features.”

“I see, and how much did you slow down time exactly?” Alfred inquired.

“The slowest it would it go, which is 4 to 1. Or for every four minutes in the Somniel only a single minute will pass outside it. We can spend an hour here and only 15 minutes would pass. A day here is 6 hours outside it.” Alear answered before continuing, “We can spend plenty of time resting and preparing here without holding up our march to much.”

“Alright then that sounds great, I’ll get some plans made.” Alfred replied.

“Clanne, Framme can you two get Alfred, Céline and their retainers set up with some lodgings.” Alear asked.

“Yes we can Divine One.” Framme said before the two them headed off.

With that Alear left to be alone and think about her day.

The night was fully in effect as Alear looked out at the skyline from the hole in the wall on the left side of the castle.

Alear tried to push away her interaction with Veyle at Florra Mill Town, yet she could not do that. It kept clawing at her mind as she questioned if it was even real.

“It was just a hallucination, it was just a hallucination, it was just a hallucination….” Alear kept repeating under her breath, trying to get over it, trying to forget it, and trying to get it out of her mind.

Alear ceased muttering the phrase as she heard footsteps approaching.

“Um Divine One, are you doing okay?” Alfred approached her, “Because you looked like you were crying back at Florra Mill Town, and you haven’t interacted with anyone since we first came to the Somniel.”

“I am fine Alfred, I had allergies and I wish to be alone right now” Alear responded turning back to look at the sky.

Alfred was unconvinced, “Divine One please if anything is wrong you can open up. You don’t need to be alone.”

Alear did not look at him as she responded, “I just want to be alone right now, I am fine.”

“Queen Lumera once told me that dragons have an immunity to things like allergies, and the flowers weren’t even a type that tend cause reactions like that. Please whatever i-“

Alear interrupted him before he could finish, “I said I am fine!” she practically snarled as she said that, “I want to be alone, you would not understand what I am dealing with, so leave me be!”

Alfred was startled by her snapping like that, “I-I… okay Divine One I’ll leave but please jus-“

“You said you were going to leave so leave!” Alear gave him a harsh glance a she said that, not allowing him to finish.

Alfred looked at Alear for a moment, “Okay sorry Divine One.” He gave a light bow and quickly left.

Alear went back to staring at the night’s horizon.

Marth appeared from the ring, “Alear there was no reason to snap at him like that.”

“…” Alear ignored what Marth said and asked, “Marth you were in your ring when it happened, was it just a hallucination or was there really a girl that saved me?”

Marth sighed before answering, “There was, it was not a hallucination. But I doubt that it was the Veyle you know, it is unlikely that she would have survived the end of the war. There is also the fact that Veyle looked older than when you left. If she went sleep like you then she would not have aged at all. And if she were awake this whole time then she would have looked far older than she did.”

Alear nodded at that, “…,You’re right, it must have been a coincidence.” “It was just a coincidence, it was just a coincidence, it was just a coincidence…..” Alear continued until it was pushed to the back of her mind.

Alear shifted her mind to her secondary concern. Alear looked down at her hand before aiming her palm towards the horizon and began to process a miasma incantation in her head, She felt energy come forth only for it to fizzle out into a harmless cloud of purple smoke.

It didn’t make sense to Alear why she could not use her magic. She didn’t have her tome with her, but tomes were just conduits to channel magic. She couldn’t use greater dark magic spells like Dark Spikes, Goetia, or especially Obscurité without her tome for fear of harming herself, but She was trained to use lesser dark magic spells like Miasma and Swarm without her tome and she had done so with ease many times in the past.

Alear continued to try and get the spell to work before Marth finally spoke, “You cannot use dark magic anymore.”

Alear turned to look at him with a questioning look, “What do you know about it?”

Marth took a deep breath, “I am not a mage, but I do know that magic is produced from our spirits and the energy that those spirits give off. As a fell dragon you have a natural affinity for dark magic. However it is likely that your new divine power conflicts with and rejects the dark magic that you are trying to produce, blocking it off.”

Alear took in the information. She had no other affinities for any other types of magic, if what Marth said is accurate then she was effectively without magic as she could produce no other types. “I see…”

Alear went back to staring at the night sky starting to understand the reality of the divine power she was given.

Alfred : The Somniel

Alfred made his way to the lodging he had been given, his interaction with the Divine One still on his mind.

Before he entered his room Céline walked over to talk, “Alfred where did you go, and why do you look so down right now?”

“Oh I went to see the Divine One…” Alfred looked more grim as he continued, “Céline, the Divine One is not doing well right now. I tried to see if I could help, but she snapped at me.”

“Well I mean she did just lose her mother, that has to be weighing heavy on her.” Céline theorized, “Perhaps she is just going through various stages of grief right now.”

Alfred thought about it for a moment, “No, when we first left the Divine One was quite despondent and kept to herself, but she wasn’t acting like this before. I think that something happened in Florra Mill Town that caused her distress.”

Céline took what Alfred was saying, “Well what do you think happened for her to act like this?”

“I have no idea what did happen, but she was crying a bit.” Alfred explained.

“I see, well if she does not want to talk about it there is nothing we can do to help her right now. If we try and force our help we will only push her away further.” Céline decided to change the topic, “I talked with Vander, and we scheduled the planning meeting in a few hours, until then everyone should get some rest, that means you.”

Alfred sighed still thinking about Alear, “Alright then I’ll get some sleep, I see you in the morning Céline.”

With that Alfred went inside his room and fell asleep for a few hours.

Alear : The Somniel Undercroft

With Alear being unable to sleep and wishing to clear her mind she began to wander around the Somniel. Eventually she found herself in the Somniel’s undercroft.

The undercroft was mostly a place used for storage within the Somniel, the area could be accessed via a door within the Somniel’s main structure next to the café. Entering the door would lead to a stairway which lowered into the undercroft which encompassed nearly the entire floating island. The environment shifted from the traditional white-brick structures of the surface to more soft brown bricks.

In one of the undercroft’s rooms Alear saw Vander taking inventory of the supplies, he quickly turned to greet her, “Ah Divine One, I just finished checking our supplies. Do you need anything?”

“No, not right now. Do we have enough of everything we need?” Alear asked.

“We are fine for now, but it will not last, especially if our forces continue to grow. It would be best if we found a reliable way of obtaining supplies.” Vander responded to Alear inquiry.

Alear thought for a moment on the issue. “When we get to Havre De Fleur we can top up on supplies, with us being allied to the Firenese royal family that should not be difficult. As for reliably getting supplies after that, perhaps we could get some merchants and armorers on the Somniel to set up a supply chain, although they would have to be trustworthy and willing to travel with us.

Vander seemed to agree with Alear’s strategy as he nodded, “In that case I shall try and make contact with willing merchants after we free the castle, Havre De Fleur is a major trade hub and a pious city so we should be able to find some reliable merchants willing to join us.”

Alear nodded at that, “Is there anything else to report Vander?”

Vander thought for a moment, “Nothing right now, but I do have a question that perhaps you could answer Divine One.”

“What do you mean?” Alear asked.

Vander looked around for a moment before continuing “Follow me and I shall explain.” With that Vander lead Alear to a different section of the undercroft before they reached a locked black door which Alear immediately recognized, as Vander began to explain, “I do not know where the key to this door is, it has been locked like this since before I was even a steward, in fact the steward that trained me said that he never knew what was inside, and neither did the steward that trained him. When I asked Queen Lumera about it she said to ignore it and would not answer further. I hoped you might be able to shed some light on this mystery for me Divine One.”

Alear knew what was behind the door but decided that she neither wanted anyone going in or for her herself to enter either, “Vander the key to this door was lost before I fell asleep, and frankly I rather it stay locked, so please make sure nobody here tries to find a way in.”

Vander looked a bit confused at Alear’s reaction but still followed her instruction nonetheless, “Of course Divine One I shall let the matter rest. Oh and Céline and I organized the planning meeting in four hours so I must encourage you to get some rest Divine One.”

“In that case I will give an effort.” Alear said as she turned to leave the undercroft.

Alear was not ready to walk behind that black door again, and it was best to keep the secrets that laid behind it buried.

Alear exited the undercroft and headed for her room, to try and force herself to get some rest, as she left however she noticed something wobble around café in the dark. Looking around she found a familiar creature looking back at her.

“Sommie!” Alear said aloud at the white and blue cat-like creature. She went to pick up… Her?.. Him?..... It? As she did so, it made no attempts to run off, instead it just stared at Alear with its signature happy blank stare, happy that it got to see a friend after so long.

Alear smiled as she held Sommie, “Come on let’s go to bed.”

Alear carried the guardian spirit with her to her bed chambers. She still didn’t get any sleep and all her worries still tore through her head, but she did feel a little better with Sommie around.

Chapter Text

Alear : City Of Havre De Fleur, Outside The Royal Palace

Alear and her party made it to Havre De Fleur in the early morning right as the sun began to rise. When they got there they found that the city was on high alert with the guards and town militia making sure that the Elusian invaders did not exit the royal palace.

Soon they found a guard captain to fill them in on what was happening, “The Elusian dogs took control of the royal palace, but their force is small and they have made no attempts to exit into the city your highness,” The captain explained to Alfred.

“I see, and what is their situation inside.” Alfred inquired.

“I do not know the exact amount or status of the force, but they are likely making use of the large amount of supplies we had in the palace to hold out under our siege. We know they are a small force, as soon as the city guard mobilized we were able to take back the outer palace with ease, they are now stuck in central structure. However they are holding Queen Ève and the castle staff hostage, preventing us from doing anything but lay siege.” The captain finished his explanation.

“I see, thank you for the report captain, you can return to your post now.” Alfred said to him before turning to the group.

“Of course your highness” the captain gave a salute before leaving.

Alfred had a grim look on his face, “What do we do if they are holding mother hostage?”

Alear shook her head, “They are bluffing. If the Elusians are working with the Fell Dragon then they will not kill Queen Ève, not now anyway.”

Céline looked at Alear strangely, “How can you be so sure.”

“The reason why would upset you more, but know that the longer we wait the more danger her life will be in, not less.” Alear answered.

Céline looked like she wanted to ask more but was interrupted by Alfred, “Even if that’s true, there is still the castle staff to worry about.”

“Have the guards focus on saving the other hostages while we find and defeat the commanders.” Alear responded.

“It’s likely that some of the hostages will be killed that way.” Alfred said concerned.

“Your right Alfred, it is unlikely that all of the hostages will live, but if we do nothing then more will be harmed. Sitting on our hands while we wait them out will result in more deaths later.” Alear explained without a shred of emotion.

Céline rejoined the conversation at this, “I agree with the Divine One, if we go with that plan the less people will die in the long run. We have an obligation to make sure the least amount of people die in our kingdom as possible, Alfred; this is the best way to do that.”

Outvoted Alfred relented, “Okay fine, I don’t like it but the two of you are right. When everyone is ready I’ll give the order to the guards to move in while we face the core force.”

Everyone began to prepare to enter the castle.

So far everything went to plan as the group made their way through the inner castle while the guards focused on saving the staff.

The group soon found themselves in a room next to the throne room, the commanders of the Elusian force now in front of them holding the queen  “Mother!” Alfred called out.

“Mother we’re here” Céline followed up.

“Alfred, Céline” Queen Ève called out.

As they were talking Alear’s attention was focused on one of the Elusian commanders, the woman had long white hair while wearing a revealing purple mage robe, she also had a pair of horns growing out of her. “Zephia?” Alear thought to herself while staring at the women.

The woman noticed Alear’s staring, “Oh and you are? It’s rude to stare at someone you know.”

As Zephia spoke Alear saw no indication that she knew who she was, still Alear could not find her words in fear of Zephia catching on and revealing her.

“You are speaking to the Divine Dragon, wretch.” Alfred harshly responded for Alear.

“Well that’s just not true, unless.. Oh I see, you are Lumera’s little spawn aren’t you?”

Alear just had to not give herself away, “Y-yes I am the child of Queen Lumera, and I demand your surrender immediately.”

Zephia ignored Alear’s request for surrender and continued, “Oh I have wanted to meet since I found out that you exist.” Zephia paused as she looked at Alear, “Although something is awfully familiar about you now that I look at you.”

Zephia hint of remembrance caused Alear to tense up and for her heartbeat to increase in speed. She was unable to stop herself from moving her eyes around to find an escape in case Zephia did unveil her lie in front of everyone.

“Ah it’s no matter, I am pleased to announce to you the reawakening of Lord Sombron to this world. Be thankful, your awakening was most likely a byproduct of his resurrection.”

“Liar I awoke because of my mother.” Alear responded.

Zephia shook her head, “Well why don’t you go ask her more about it… oh wait.”

Alear lost her composure at the taunt, “YOU! I rip your tongue out of your mouth for that!”

Zephia face grew an expression of surprise at Alear’s words, “Oh my, you do have quite a fire to you, that should help make things more interesting moving forward.”

“Well I have some pressing business to get done elsewhere, you understand?” Zephia turned to her subordinate, a pompous green-haired man in a purple vest, “Nelucce, deal with them and get the rings, I want no prisoners.”

“Just what I hoped you would say, come on boys lets wipe them out.” The commander said as several Elusians began to lead the queen away.

With that Zephia mounted her wyvern and flew off, leaving her forces to fend off Alear’s.

The battle began quickly. Immediately more Elusians began to converge against Alear and her allies forcing them to fall back.

An Elusian soldier broke formation and rushed towards Alear giving her an opportunity, “Emblem Engage.” In an instant Alear gave a signal to her allies to hold back and counter charged the soldier slicing through him with ease and sending fear into the other soldiers in the process.

Alear did not let up her assault, beginning a rhythm of striking and ripping apart any Elusian unfortunate enough to not be fully joined with their comrades before retreating with her immense speed before she could be retaliated against.

Alear had long known how to use her enemies’ fear and dread against them, making an enemy feel helpless in a fight was the best way to do that as was killing friends and allies in front of them. These soldier were not corrupted, no matter how devout and dedicated they were, they were still human and as such held the same basic survival instincts all living creatures did. They would not approach if they knew they would die doing so.

Alear fell back to her allies as she disengaged. However just as the Elusians began a second assault Alear again signaled for Alfred and Céline to engage and begin their attack.

In an instant  Céline warped behind the Elusian force and unleashed a devastating blast of fire magic. Attacking at the Same time Alfred also engaged and rushed forward with his lance immediately breaking straight through the line.

Alear gave the third signal for everyone else to rush in and deal with the now demoralized, broken up, and wounded Elusian force.

The battle after this took less than five minutes as the Elusians began to surrender on mass, not wishing to fight anymore, frightened to their core by the devastating display of power.

Alear walked over to the commander who had been pushed down by the impact of Céline’s attack before pointing her blade at his throat, “You are defeated.” She pressed her blade closer as she continued in a monotone voice, “I do not need to explain why further noncompliance would be foolish.”

The man’s bravado just minutes ago was gone replaced with terror, “O-of c-cou-course D-Divine O-One, I s-surrender p-please.”

More guards entered now finished with their task, and with them Queen Ève, “Your highnesses we managed to find her majesty being taken away during your fight, she is safe.” The soldier bowed as sad this.

“Thank you soldier, make sure the Elusians are bound properly.” Alfred responded before turning to his mother, “Mother I am so glad you are all right, I was so worried.”

“As was I Alfred, but everything is fine now.” Queen Ève responded.

The Elusians were now bound by rope laying against the wall.

Alear and Céline walked over to Nelucce who was in the center of the Elusians. Alear spoke first, “Who are you and what were you after here?”

Nelucce was still frightened, “I-I w-was sent to ge- get F-Firene’s emblem ring and cap-capture t-the q-qu-queen, but I d-don’t k-know a-anything else. P-please don’t hurt m-me.”

“Quit your sniveling!” Céline harshly said before continuing, “What business did your superior go to do?”

“I d-don’t know what Zephia went to do. Please I was just f-following or-orders, I-I w-will tell you an-anything you wish to know, pl-please just let me go.” The man kept tripping over his words.

“You said you didn’t know anything else remember.” Alear coldly said to him.

Nelucce quickly felt nervous at Alear’s perceptiveness, “I c-can t-tell you that Ze-Zephia is searching for em-emblem r-rings, th-that’s s-something r-right?”

“…” Alear just looked at him with a cold stare that gazed through him.

Céline scoffed at his words, “You had to have known what you were doing, yet you claim that you didn’t know anything. I find that hard to believe.”

“Pl-please Zephia didn’t tell me anything beyond our m-mission, if I knew about all that f-fell d-dragon and r-ring stuff I would n-not have come here.”

“Yet earlier you said that you came to take Firene’s emblem ring.” Alear again proved to have been very perceptive.

“I-I uh uh, I was t-to-“

“Enough I do not wish to hear your feeble excuses!” Céline interrupted, “You were and are aware of what you were doing. You also have nothing to tell us that we don’t already know, lest you would have told us.” Céline brought forth her palm, “You shall do as an example of those who violate Firene’s peace.”

Any vague semblance of composure Nelucce had left deserted him, “W-w-wa-wait plea-“

Before he could finish Céline shot forth a blast of fire causing him light up as the flames engulfed his body.

His screams of agony caught the attention of the entire room, Alear and Céline watched on without expression, Vander quickly covered Clanne and Framme’s eyes, Alfred and the retainers looked away not wishing to watch, the guards varied with their reactions, but none were surprised, and the Elusians watched in pure terror as their commander burned alive in front of them.

After a couple of minutes Nelucce’s screams died down and he slumped over his back, now a lifeless and charred corpse.

Céline looked at the rest of the Elusians with them looking at back at her, fear written across their faces, “Can I expect you all to behave from now on?”

The Elusians all quickly nodded still terrified.

“Good, cause no problems or else.” Céline let the threat rest before calling on the guards, “Bring them to the castle dungeons until we can set up more proper locations to hold them.”

The guards followed their princess’s orders and led the Elusians away all of them looking grateful to be away from Céline. One guard walked to Céline, “What shall we do with the man’s corpse your highness?”

“Throw it in an unmarked grave like we do with criminals.” Céline responded before walking away.

Celica appeared before Céline, “Céline was that really necessary, he had already surrendered.”

“It was necessary to set an example and to punish those who deserve it.” Céline responded with not a hint of remorse.

Marth appeared as well, “There are ways to cast judgement without burning alive a defenseless man.”

At this Alear joined in the conversation, “I agree with Céline, that man was not worth the air he breathed, nothing of value was lost.” Alear matched Céline in remorselessness.

Celica frowned at Céline and Alear’s words, “Unbelievable. Sigurd what do you think?” Celica looked in the direction of Sigurd who looked despondent, “Sigurd,… Sigurd?”

Sigurd stared blankly before realizing Celica was talking to him, “Oh sorry, I was just having a bad memory from watching that.”

Alear, Céline and Alfred now found themselves in the throne room talking to Queen Ève.

“Thank you Divine One for coming to our aid, it is a miracle that you awoke in these trying time. But to think, Queen Lumera.. gone, it’s hard to imagine. I am so sorry for your loss.” Queen Ève said to Alear.

“Your condolences are deeply appreciated Queen Ève.” Alear responded.

Queen Ève nodded, “Of course. If I may though, what will you do now?”

“I am journeying to collect the emblem rings to put an end to the Fell Dragon before he regains his strength.” Alear answered, “I was hoping to stock up on supplies if that is fine with you.”

“Of course Divine One. Any help Firene can give, you shall have.” Queen Ève turned to Alfred and Céline, “And will the two of you go with the Divine One on her journey?”

Alfred nodded, a determination on his face, “We wish to go with the Divine to help preserve and restore the peace of Elyos.”

“I too wish to go on this journey as well mother.” Céline followed up.

“I see, but the two of you must promise to stay safe and come home alive.” Queen Ève asked.

“We will.”

“I swear it.”

“Good, I will await for your safe returns.” Queen Ève turned back to Alear, “There is something you something you should know Divine One, when Queen Lumera gave the four nations the rings to protect she secretly gave Firene a second ring to safeguard.”

This caught Alear by surprise, “She did? Where is it, which one?”

“This is the first I am hearing of this.” Céline added.

Queen turned to Alfred, “Alfred do you remember when you were little I took you to that shrine by the Brodian border and told you to keep the location in mind?”

Alfred thought for a second before replying, “Oh yeah, is that where the emblem ring is?”

“Yes, in that shrine is hidden the Ring of the Dawn Maiden. This was a closely guarded secret only known by the rulers of Firene and no one else.” Queen Ève confirmed.

“In that case we shall head there before going to Brodia, Alfred can you lead us to the shrine?” Alear asked, turning her head to him.

Alfred nodded, “Yes I can I made sure to remember the way to that location.”

“In that case I shall write to King Morion to await you, I will also begin to strengthen Firene’s armies and defenses, If we are to restore Elyos’s peace Firene must be prepared to do her part.” Queen Ève said resolutely.

“Thank you Queen Ève, for all the help” Alear turned.

After stocking up on supplies the party set off for Brodia.

Chapter Text

Veyle : Abandoned Town In Firene

Veyle found herself within a deserted town as she continued on her travels. The small town had been recently abandoned do to what Veyle assumed to be either bandits, or corrupted.

She sat herself down on a stone fence to rest before she continued to wander in search of her lost sibling.

As she sat down she pulled out a red gemstone from her clothes and began to stare into it, “Where are you sister?.. I met someone who reminded me of you, it only made me miss you more.” Veyle looked around the flowery landscape contrasted by the setting sun giving a soft orange hue to the area. Taking in the beautiful sight Veyle continued to speak to the stone, “I have been journeying around Firene, I wish you could be here with me to see this beautiful sight, I know how much you loved sunsets so I know you would have loved this… I will find you so we can finally spend time together,.. until then stay safe sister.”

Veyle took in a breath after setting the stone down on her lap and turned back to looking at the sunset.

As she was about to get up and continue on her journey Veyle heard a wyvern flying overhead. Quickly she looked up to spot where it was, soon seeing it landing next to the town.

Veyle quickly hid the red stone back into her dress and walked over to the black wyvern to see a familiar face, “Zephia what are you doing here, how did you find me?”

Zephia dismounted from her wyvern as she began to speak, “I wished to see you Lady Veyle, I just finished some business I was sent on.”

Veyle grew a frown on her face, “Are you here to take me back to Papa?”

Zephia closed eyes and shook her head, “I have no orders from Lord Sombron to collect you, I just came to see you. If you do not want to come back right now I will not force you.”

Veyle’s frown disappeared at Zephia’s words, “Thanks Zephia. Why did you wish to see me though?”

Zephia now had a smile on her face before pulling out a small white parcel, “Before I left Havre De Fleur I managed to get you something.” She said as she handed Veyle the box.

Veyle looked at Zephia curiously as she opened the box. Within it was a cinnamon muffin. Veyle looked at the muffin before looking to Zephia, “You got this for me Zephia? Thank you so much!”

“Of course Lady Veyle, seeing you smile is a treat in of itself.” Zephia said matching Veyle’s smile.

Veyle began to eat her muffin while watching the sunset with Zephia.

As Veyle finished her muffin she turned to Zephia, “Thank you so much Zephia, I am sorry for being suspicious of you when you first arrived.”

Zephia shook her head, “Don’t worry about it my lady. Although I am fine with you not coming back right now I must ask, why are you choosing to wander around by yourself?.”

Veyle took a breath, deciding what to say, “I am on a journey searching for something.”

“Searching for what? If you want I can help you find what you are looking for.” Zephia said to her.

Veyle liked Zephia but she did not want her involved, “I wish to find what I am looking for alone.” Veyle grew a happy look as she continued, “But when I do find what it is I will show you Zephia.”

Zephia was curious by what Veyle was searching for, especially since she was sharing no details about what it is, “If that is what you wish Lady Veyle. I do hope you find what you are looking for.”

“Thank you Zephia.” Veyle said as she closed her eyes.

Zephia said nothing as she walked over to Veyle, and without warning leaned down and pinched Veyle’s cheeks and tugged on them, “You really are the most adorable thing aren’t you Lady Veyle.” Zephia said with a smile as she pulled on Veyle’s cheeks.

Veyle was startled and looked at Zephia weirdly, “Z-Zephia what are you doing.”

Zephia let go of Veyle’s cheeks, “I am sorry my lady, I just could help myself. I wanted to have a pleasant memory before you went to sleep.”

Veyle was confused by what Zephia said, “But I am not going to sleep right now.”

Zephia’s smile vanished as she raised her hand to Veyle’s head, “But you really should get a little rest my lady, don’t worry you’ll wake in a little bit.” Zephia tapped Veyle forehead with her index finger letting forth a small jolt of magic.

Veyle suddenly could not keep her eyes open as she drifted off, “Zephia.. w-what…. are.. y-you……. t-ta-talking abo-“ Veyle could not finish as she closed her violet eyes and drifted off.

Veyle opened her eyes in an instant, now a deep shade of crimson.

She looked around as she woke to see Zephia standing near her, “Zephia what are you doing here, wait how did I-” Veyle stopped and realized what was happening, “Oh I see, that simple minded defect was in control wasn’t she.”

If Zephia had any objections to the other Lady Veyle’s words to the other she did not show it, “That’s right, I found her wandering the town and quickly went to wake you to give my report.”

“I see, thank you Zephia for waking me, I hate to have to share a body with that weakling, we really need to find a way to rid ourselves of her permanently.” Veyle thought out loud. “Ah but on to more pressing matters, how did your mission fair, did you acquire the Ring of the Caring Princess?”

“I left a force to gather it for me, but seeing as that craven Nelucce has not returned yet I assume he failed.” Zephia explained.

“I see, well is there anything else” Veyle inquired.

“Yes, while there I had a brief chat with Queen Lumera’s little spawn, She had three emblems with her, the Ring of the Hero King, the Ring of the Holy Knight, and the Ring of the Caring Princess. The good news is that I managed to confirm that your attack did indeed kill Lumera, now only her child stands in our way.”

“Excellent, Lumera’s child will not pose real threat to us, although she is familiar to me somehow.” Veyle responded.

“Ah, so I am not alone on that feeling of familiarity, I would have remembered meeting a child of Queen Lumera, yet it was as if I had seen her somewhere but I just can’t put my finger on it.” Zephia shook her head over the oddity, “As for what happened to the time crystal. I did not have an opportunity to see if that girl had it with her. However seeing as you lost it in Lythos Castle we should assume they did manage to get their hands on the crystal.”

Veyle looked around for moment, her mind still on the dragon child, “That is fine, we will just make plans around the assumption that they can revert time a few seconds. For now it is best that we wait to make our next move, recent battles have taken a toll. We will wait and watch, and when the time comes we will strike, wipe those who oppose us out, and take the rings.”

“Understood my lady, I shall travel to Elusia to give my report to Lord Sombron” With that Zephia gave a light bow and left.

Veyle watched as Zephia mounted and flew off on her wyvern.

The sun had now set, being replaced by a night sky. Veyle looked up to the stars above her thinking to herself with a satisfaction, “With Lumera dead there is not a thing to stand in our way, not even her pathetic little spawn.”

Looking back down Veyle began to make her way north.

Chapter Text

Alear : Northern Firene Near The Brodia Border

The party left Havre De Fleur after making contact with a select group of merchants to set up supply chains in the Somniel. All in all they got an armorer named Durthon, a purveyor named Anisse, a specialized tailor named Pinet, and a blacksmith named Calney. With them set up in the Somniel and with the aid from Firene supply was no longer as much of a concern.

On the way north to Brodia the group was able to pick up two new members.

One was a young medic boy by the name of Jean. He joined the group after Alear and her allies saved his village from a horde of corrupted. Alear liked his skill as a medic and potential so she agreed to accept his request to join after getting his parents’ blessing.

The second was an equally young merchant girl named Anna. The group found her while raiding a bandit hideout in an abandoned fort. The girl like Jean had potential that resulted in Alear allowing her to join. Strangely all of the emblems Alear ever met mentioned meeting similar looking red-haired merchant girls named Anna in their own worlds, except Celica oddly.

The now expanded party headed north to find the Ring of the Dawn Maiden and get to Brodia.

It was now early in the night as the party looked out over a forest searching for the shrine they were told of.

“Alfred are we near the shrine” Alear asked him.

“Yes we are, it’s just over this forest and we will be there.” Alfred Answered.

“Good, the sooner we get this ring the quicker we c-“ Alear stopped when she spotted someone standing in their vicinity.

The person was a red-haired girl in dark purple clothing speaking to herself, “Take a little look around…. Wait for it…” It sounded like the girl started sobbing a little.

Alfred moved to get closer to see what she was doing and why she was crying, “I better help her, I am her prince after all.”

“Alfred wait you don’t know-“ Alear tried to warn but Alfred got to the girl before she could stop him.

“What’s the matter, is there anything I can help with?” Alfred asked the girl.

The girl turned to look at Alfred, “ *gasp* … zuh… zuh… ZAPPY!” the girl cheered up almost immediately catching Alear attention as she walked up, “You came right on time, I’m saved!”

Alear looked at the girl cautiously “…”

“I lost something earlier and there was nobody around so I got real stressed out.” The girl continued not stopping for a second, “Oh, right I skipped over the niceties. You can call me Yunaka, Hiya papaya!”

Alear quickly felt as though the girl’s odd speech patterns were forced in a way, but Alear did not know why.

“Huh I never heard anyone use “hiya papaya” as a greeting before.” Alfred said as Alear continued to try and ascertain Yunaka, “Anyway what did you lose Yunaka?”

“Oh it was a little round ring, kind of shiny with a hole in the middle. Oh and it talks for some reason.” Yunaka explained.

That immediately caught Alear’s attention, “Wait, did you say the ring talks?”

Yunaka put her hand on her head, “Yeah I figured you wouldn’t believe me.”

Alear shook her head, “No I believe you; I just wonder where you found an emblem ring.” Alear realized something was off, She knew where eleven of the twelve rings were, the only ones that this ring could be were the Ring of the Crux Of Fate, which was unaccounted for. Or much more likely it was the Ring of the Dawn Maiden, which was in the area, if that was the case then Alear decided that is was very likely that this girl stole it from the shrine.

As Alear thought about this Alfred asked Yunaka “Please go on, what did the ring say to you?”

“Hmm… If I remember right it asked me to bring it to the Divine Dragon.” Yunaka answered.

“It asked to bring it to me?” Alear decided to give the girl the benefit of doubt.

Yunaka was caught off guard by Alear’s words, “Is that- Did you- Are you saying you’re the Divine Dragon?” The girl was flustered suddenly.

“Yes, yes I did.” Alear said still trying to get an idea of what this girl was really like.

“And now that we are doing introductions, I’m Alfred, the crown prince of Firene.” Alfred followed up proving to be much more open than Alear was being.

The girl was in a state of bafflement, “Holy brocc-oly! Why didn’t you lead with that?!”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you Yunaka.” Alfred said apologetically.

Alear continued with the question on her mind, “Yunaka, how was that you found the ring?”

“I was walking along the border minding my own business, when I heard a woman’s voice.” Yunaka shifted into an impression that Alear recognized as more Micaiah than Corrin, further confirming Alear’s theory, “Help me… I’m right here… I’m by your foot.”

Alear looked at Yunaka with suspicion, not believing her story at all.

Yunaka started to notice that Alear wasn’t fully believing her and quickly moved on with her story, “A-Anyway I picked up the ring and it said to bring it to the Divine Dragon. But I didn’t know where you were so I said that I couldn’t help her. But she said that she knew the way and said to head for Havre De Fleur, which I did until I lost her in this forest after I was attacked by some bandits.”

As Alear thought through the impossibility of her story Alfred responded to Yunaka, “That is good advice, the quickest way to Lythos is through the capital. And wait did you say bandits?”

“Yup! I ran off as I was attacked, I must have dropped the ring when I ran away, woe is me *sob*. But you’ll help me find it won’t you?” Yunaka further explained.

Alear looked at Yunaka for a moment, deciding whether or not to help look for it. While it was likely that Yunaka stole the ring, the idea that she lost it while running from bandits was believable to Alear. After thinking about it Alear responded, “Alright Yunaka lets retrace your steps and try to find where the ring went.”

“Oh thank you so much Divine One. I’m sure she will be so happy if you’re the one who finds her.” Yunaka said.

With that Yunaka began to help Alear and her party find the ring, Although Alear kept an eye on Yunaka as they did so.

The group spread out around the forest trying to find the ring Yunaka was speaking of. However despite the step-by-step combing of the area the ring was nowhere to be found.

“Maybe somebody already got it before we did.” Yunaka suggested.

“You said you were ambushed by bandits, perhaps they found it.” Alear added to her suggestion. “Where was it that you were ambushed?”

“Oh it was in that ghost town over there” Yunaka looked over at a ghost town in the distance before noticing something, “Huh! It looks like that town is overrun with bandits.”

Alear looked forward towards the town, she could just barely make out some figures, “I can see some people, although how can you tell?” Alear was impressed by Yunaka’s eyesight.

“I’ll bet these chumps are the same ones who ambushed me earlier.” Yunaka said avoiding Alear’s question.

The party moved to get a closer look at the town which had been overrun.

“They’ve taken over the town.” Alfred said as he began to focus.

“Yup, these are the bandits that I ran into earlier, no doubt about it.” Yunaka’s tone had shifted dramatically, a detail that Alear quickly caught onto. Yunaka began to look around for something before noticing it, “Aha, that bandit right over there, he has the ring.”

Alear looked to where Yunaka was looking, however even she was unable to see the ring Yunaka said, “How are you able to see that far?”

“Well I have a killer’s eyes.” Yunaka said in what Alear noticed to be a much more natural voice.

“What an odd thing to say.” Alear responded to test her.

Alear’s words immediately caused Yunaka jump in surprise and shift back to her old voice, “Well y’know I got killer eyesight if you ever need something looked at real good  I’m your gal ha-ha.”

“…” Alear just looked at Yunaka who was no longer making eye contact.

Yunaka quickly tried to redivert attention, “Anyway what’s the plan.”

Alear thought for a moment, “Alfred you and the others get into place and begin to strike at the bandits. Me and Yunaka will sneak in and acquire the ring. Afterward we will rejoin with you.”

“Got it Divine One, I’ll go and explain the plan to everyone” Alfred responded before heading off.

Alear turned to face Yunaka who silently gulped, “Yunaka let’s go.”

Yunaka looked nervous but followed anyway, “Y-you got it Divine One, I’m with y-you.”

Alear and Yunaka started to silently move in to take the ring.

Alear stalked her way around the shadows watching her target as she waited to strike.

The man was distracted staring at the ring, most likely to determine what he could sell it for. The man did not notice as Alear silently walk up behind him and took out a dagger, before he could react Alear reached out her hand around his mouth.

“Mph” he struggled to get Alear off, yet her surprising strength kept him down with ease as she brought up her knife and slit his throat.

After making sure he was dead Alear ripped the ring out of his hands. She inspected it and confirmed that it was indeed the Ring of the Dawn Maiden all but proving her theory true.

“Heal us Emblem of Dawn!” after speaking the invocation a white-haired woman in simple red clothing with a blue scarf appeared before her.

“I am Emblem Micaiah. I sense the future shifting… now victory lies ahead.” The emblem stated.

Alear thought for a minute about what to do with the ring before turning to Yunaka, “Yunaka I will entrust the ring and Micaiah to you for now.”

Yunaka jolted in surprise, “Wait me!?, bu-“

Alear interrupted her, “You found the ring remember, that means that this is now your responsibility.” Alear again was curious about what Yunaka would do, and having an extra usable emblem would be helpful right now. “For now help me defeat these bandits.”

“Well, um. Okay I will help you; I won’t let you down.” Yunaka took the ring and put it on.

Alear turned back, in the distance she heard her allies begin their assault, “Let’s go Yunaka, Micaiah, let’s see if we can find and defeat the leader of this group.” Yunaka and Micaiah nodded and began to follow Alear back into a set of shadows.

Alear and Yunaka made their way through the abandoned town swiftly taking out any bandits with quick attacks before retreating back into the shadows.

As they did this Alear heard the noise of battle that was happening in the town’s south. She watched as numerous bandits made their way without noticing her, clearly all their attention focus on the south.

Alear strode up to a bandit girl standing guard away from the others, she put her hands around the mouth to silence her and then quickly stabbed Libération into the bandit’s chest.

The bandit girl slumped to the ground just as a wave of fire erupted in the southern town. Any worry Alear may have had vanished as screaming bandits ran away in all directions  many of them on fire.

Yunaka looked over, “It seems one of your friends is just burning the bandits out of the houses. Actually I think those houses are where the bandits were sleeping” As Yunaka said this another house was set alight, again with screaming bandits following suit.

“The bandits are at fault for sleeping near such flammable materials.” Alear said in a cold voice before turning around.

“You mean like the hay and wood?” Yunaka asked.

“Yes, but also their own flesh.” Alear replied as she continued without looking at her.

The two of them made their way near the back of the village. There they spotted a group of six bandits standing around, Yunaka held her hand in front of Alear and pointed at the group, “Look, those five are taking orders from that bald one.”

Alear looked at the bandit Yunaka was pointing toward, he was bald with a brown beard. He seemed to be the one in charge. Alear immediately began looking for a good approach to take him out, soon she found one, “Listen Yunaka, I am going to engage with Marth to draw out him and his friends, I will focus on taking those five out as well as any further bandits who may come in. While I do that you take out the boss. You got that?”

Yunaka nodded her head, “Good plan Divine One, I’ll do my part.”

The two split off to carry out their sides of the plan. Alear had gauged that when engaged she could probably take out all six easily, however she wished to see how well Yunaka would handle the task she gave her.

As Alear walked into sight of the bandit group they immediately spotted her with one of them deciding to speak up, “Hey you there! I see you got sepa-“ Before the bandit could finish Alear produced and threw a dagger straight at him, the dagger lodged itself in the man’s throat causing him to spit up blood and collapse dead.

Instantly the bandit boss commanded the remaining four to charge her, Alear also noticed an additional three coming at different directions. “Emblem Engage!” Alear sudden shift in form frightened the seven charging bandits. Quickly Alear broke into a countercharge before the bandits could decide whether to flee, attack or stand their ground. In an instant Alear’s rapier jabbed through the first one’s chest, as she did this two decided to attack, however she quickly pulled the blade back and slashed apart the attackers into red mist with ease. Three of the bandits after seeing this chose to flee, not wishing to even try. The last simply held her axe and slowly backed away, Alear however quickly flew forward and slew her before she could react.

Finished with cleaning up her opponents Alear disengaged and turned to where the bandit boss was standing, only to find Yunaka standing over a corpse.

Alear was baffled yet intrigued that Yunaka had managed to take him out while Alear was still fighting, “I see you did your part Yunaka.”

“W-Well I did say that I’m your gal Divine One, that’s me ol speedy Yunaka herself.” Yunaka said with what Alear observed to be a very quickly made façade.

“I see. Well with our mission done I think it would be best to get back to th-“ Before Alear finished she spotted the rest of the group enter into view, “Or I guess they’ll make their way to us.”

Alear walked up to Alfred, “Alfred, has everything gone well?”

“Yes it did Divine One, we suffered no losses and the majority of town has been cleared of bandits, although there do seem to be a few stranglers.” Alfred answered, “How about you two, did you get the ring?”

“Abso-totely we did, me and the Divine One make quite the zappy team don’t ya think.” Yunaka had managed to put up a more convincing act in time.

“We can talk more about it after we make sure the area is safe, let go push out or eliminate any remaining bandits.” Alear said to the group.

“On it Divine One.” With that the group again split up and cleaned up the bandits still in town.

Alear, Alfred and Yunaka along with Micaiah now stood around to discuss events.

“I owe you our thanks Yunaka, If it weren’t for you we would have just found an empty shrine with no ring.” Alfred thanked Yunaka as Alear continued to silently observe.

“Oh... well it was nothing really.” Yunaka said with hesitation.

“So I’m guessing the bandits are the ones who took the ring from the shrine.” Alfred theorized.

“Uh… well you see,” Yunaka began to feel the silent pressure she was being placed on by Alear, “You see, I have a confession to make.”

Alear knew exactly what Yunaka was about to say, “Go on.”

Yunaka took a deep breath before confessing, “You see the thing is… I stole the ring; I was the one who took Micaiah from the shrine.”

“So you did, continue please.” Alear said urging Yunaka to tell her story.

“You see I was strapped for money and when I came upon the shrine I thought it might have valuables so I went inside. It was there when I heard Micaiah’s voice from the ring.” Yunaka took another breath, “I was just trying to make a bundle of dough, I’m sorry. When I heard that you were the Divine Dragon and he was royalty I panicked and well… lied. So yeah I guess I’m no different from those bandits. I’ll accept whatever punishment you’ll give me.”

Alear began to think more about it, there was still something off about Yunaka that suggested more than just being a simple thief, and that was something Alear wanted to find out, “I see, Alfred do you mind if I choose the punishment?”

“Uh no… I don’t Divine One. But may I ask what you have in mind?”  Alfred asked.

Alear turned to Yunaka, “How about for your atonement you join our band, you have skills that could be put to great use.”

Yunaka’s expression turned to shock at Alear’s suggestion, “Wait what… You want me to join you guys, but why?”

“We are on a dangerous journey to find the emblem rings so that we may kill the Fell Dragon. Skills like yours would be invaluable to my cause. Your instincts and skill impressed me today, I want you on my side.” Alear answered, although she also wanted to figure what was behind that mask Yunaka put up.

“If that’s what you want then yes I’ll join. I won’t let you down Divine One.” Yunaka now had a determined look, although Alear noticed some pieces of nervousness in there as well.

“All right then. Now before we head back to the Somniel we should take a look around to make sure the area is secure.” Alear said.

“Got it Divine One, oh and Yunaka come with me this is a great opportunity to give you a proper introduction to everyone.” Yunaka nodded and followed Alfred back to the temporary camp site.

Alear wandered through the ruins of the town thinking about Yunaka before she spotted someone in the distance. Moving forward, Alear was shocked by who it was, Veyle.

Alear quickly forgot about Yunaka as she began to mutter under her breath, “It is just a coincidence, it is just a coincidence, it is just a coincidence, it is just a coincidence…” Calmed down Alear decided to approach the girl to see why she was here.

“Hey!” Alear called out catching the girl’s attention. “Veyle was it, you’re the girl I met in Florra Mill Town right.”

The girl ran up to greet “Oh Alear, it’s nice to see you again, what a coincidence to see you here.”

It was unnerving to Alear just how much this girl resembled her sister, but still Alear decided that it was unfair to project on to her like that, “It’s nice to see you again Veyle, do you live around by chance?”

“No I don’t, I was just passing through on my way to find someone.” Veyle stated.

“Oh who is it that you are looking for?” Alear asked still trying to find out more about the girl.

Veyle put her hands on her chest and closed her eyes, “Someone that I must speak to again, my sister.”

This immediately made Alear tense up once again, “it is just a coincidence, it is just a coincidence” “Y-your s-sister you say?”

“Mm hm” the girl nodded, “Sadly I have no idea where to find her, we were separated when I was little, I can’t even properly remember her face.” Veyle’s expression shifted to one of sadness, “The only thing I have to remember her is this treasure that she gave me so long ago.” Veyle said as began to pull something out of her dress.

What Alear saw next shocked her to her very core, A blood red gemstone with an ornate black symbol deep in the center. Veyle held it up so Alear could see it, as she did Alear looked within the stone. It radiated silent energy that resonated throughout Alear as she stared into the gem, finding herself getting lost within it, she felt as if she could stare for hours. The stone felt as though it was a part of Alear’s body, soul and very being.

That’s because it was a part of Alear. It was a dragonstone, it was Alear’s dragonstone. It urged her to take it, to reclaim that piece of herself, to join every part herself together, to take flight as true fell dragon once again. Alear had to resist every bone and muscle in her body to not reach out and snatch away the stone from Veyle’s hand.

Regaining just enough composure to speak, Alear asked Veyle, “I-It’s s-so pr-pretty, when d-did your sis-sister give this to you?”

“I don’t remember, it was so long ago, but I do remember what she said to me when she gave me it. She said that as long as I have this it means that she is still alive, and that one day we will be reunited.” Veyle said not noticing as Alear’s mind began to break down.

“I-I… that’s-“ All of the worries, questions, and thoughts that Alear had spent so much time suppressing since their last encounter suddenly came rushing forth to take center stage in her mind, even harsher this time. Those were her words, that is what she said to Veyle all that time ago when she gave her the stone. The was absolutely no denying it, it was not a hallucination, it was not a coincidence. This was her sister, this was her Veyle. And that was terrifying.

Alear in that moment seriously considered revealing herself to Veyle. She wanted nothing more than to hold her close and tell her that they found each other at last. Yet she could not. If she revealed herself as a fell dragon then her allies would desert her at best, or try and kill her at worst. She needed to kill Sombron, and to do that she needed to remain as the Divine Dragon.

“I-I’m sure that one day you will be reunited, until then the fact that you keep your sister in your heart shows how much you care.” Alear felt horrible denying their reunion.

“Thank you, it means a lot to hear someone say that.” Veyle placed the stone back into her dress as she said that.

Alear looked downward at Veyle to see a wound in her leg, “Veyle, look at your leg, there’s a pretty bad cut in it.”

Veyle looked at her lower leg to see the injury Alear mentioned, “Oh it’s fine, I get similar injuries all the time.”

Alear was disturbed and deeply worried for Veyle if she was getting injuries like this frequently, “It’s not good. Hold on let me treat it for you.” Alear pulled out a bandage and placed some of a vulnerary within it and began to wrap the bandage around Veyle’s wound. “There you go, it’s not perfect but it should help you.”

Veyle looked up at Alear with a surprised yet grateful expression, “Why would you go out of your way to help a complete stranger like me?”

Veyle referring to Alear as a stranger hurt her more than anything else in the world could, Alear had closed her eyes in shock at the statement, “It’s because you helped me back in Florra Mill Town remember. I think of us as friends because of that.”

“Friends? Really?” Veyle asked with surprise.

“Yes friends, i-if th-that’s alright with you.” Alear responded not wishing to come off as forceful.

Veyle grew a smile on her face, “Mhm, Okay friends, you and me. Thank you.”

Alear grew a smile of her own to match Veyle’s, “Friends.” One day Alear wished that she and Veyle could be sisters once again. Until then she would have to settle for distant friendship.

Veyle suddenly began look distant, “I think I should leave now; I hope to see you again Alear.” She began to turn away.

“Wait, why don’t you come with us, I might be able to help you find your sister.” Alear offered not wishing to leave Veyle behind again.

“I don’t think that for the best, I have to go. Goodbye Alear.” Veyle turned and made her way out of the ruined town, leaving Alear to cope with the encounter.

Alear stood among the ruins for a while, not really sure how long she stayed as the minutes felt as though they took an eternity.

Eventually Alfred found her, “Um Divine One we have been searching for you for a while now, what happened?” A concerned look on his face.

Alear shook her head, “Nothing happened. Let’s go, I wish to return to the Somniel.”

“Alright Divine One, but are you sure that everything is fine?” Alfred asked realizing something was wrong.

Alear looked at him for a moment, “I said I wish to go to the Somniel now, let’s go.” She turned to leave, not bothering to acknowledge Alfred’s concerns.

“I… Okay Divine One” Alfred realized that she wasn’t going to open up now.

Both of them made it back to the rest of the group where Alear opened a portal to Somniel and promptly headed straight for her room, skipping dinner, not coming out until morning, and quietly sobbing to herself in her bed.

Chapter Text

Veyle : Gradlon Temple, 1000 Years Ago

Veyle sat near the entrance of Gradlon temple, watching as her older siblings arrived back from the various assignments they were on. She looked around the horizon seeing if she could spot when the familiar crimson hair of Alear would come into sight. Eventually Alear and two other fell siblings, whom Veyle recognized as Nel and Rafal, appeared in Veyle’s sight, marching back to their home.

In around twenty minutes the fell children had properly entered the temple’s grounds. Veyle made her way over to talk to Alear, as she got closer she noticed the less than great condition they were in, there was also the fact that when Veyle saw them off she had counted eight who left on the mission, now she counted three. “Alear what happened?”

Alear turned to speak in her monotone voice, “There was an ambush, Pascalle, Viktorie, Matiyias and Esmeralde lost their lives.”

Veyle knew none of the siblings that Alear mentioned, and was unable to tell if Alear knew them well either, “And what about the eighth one that went with you?”

Alear looked at Veyle for several seconds deciding whether or not to answer that, “That is something I cannot share with you right now. We can talk more later Veyle.”

“Okay, see you later.” Veyle was sad at that, but nonetheless she walked away seeing as Alear left along with Nel and Rafal to go report to papa.

Veyle now sat in her room, it was small having only a bed, a small table and stool, a dresser, and a single chest for storage. The room was made from the same black bricks as the rest of the temple, there was no decoration and nothing to separate it from the several hundred other rooms exactly like it in the temple.

A couple hours had passed since she saw Alear, when suddenly she heard a familiar rhythmed knock at the door, *Knock*, *Knock*…..*Knock**knock**Knock* The rhythm was the one Alear used to notify Veyle that it was her.

Veyle got up to open the door to let Alear inside. Alear had recovered and cleaned the wounds and torn parts of her clothes.

Alear walked into the room as Veyle closed the door behind her. As Alear turned to look at Veyle she pulled out a bag and handed it to Veyle, “Here Veyle I got you this when I was in Solm.”

Veyle opened the bag to find several candies inside of it. Her eyes widened in happiness at what Alear had given her, “Oh thank you so much sister.”

Before she could continue Alear interrupted, “Do you remember what I said when I give you stuff like this?”

“Hide it in the chest, don’t bring any out of the room, don’t tell anyone, eat it all in a week, and burn the bag.” Veyle answered.

“Good.” Alear said in her subdued voice.

Veyle picked two of the candies from the bag and held one out to Alear, ‘Please have one.”

“But they are for you.” Alear said as she pushed Veyle’s hand away.

Veyle shook her head and put her hand forward again, “Please, just one so I can be happy that you are sharing it with me.

Alear sighed and took the candy, “Okay I’ll have one with you if that will make you happy.” Causing Veyle to smile in response.

The two enjoyed a candy together in joyful silence even if Alear still did not emote.

Veyle finished her candy as she began to ask, “So what happened on your mission?”

Alear thought about what to say before answering, “We got the ring we were searching for as father asked, but at the end Torres, the other sibling that went with us, lead us into an ambush by Solmic forces so that he could gain all the credit. We defeated them but four of our siblings died, Only me, Nel, and Rafal survived that encounter.” Alear said all of that without changing her expression once.

“I-I see, how awful” It was horrible to think that one of her siblings would act in such a manner just to take away from others. Still with how much suspicion the siblings all tended to have for one another… Veyle didn’t want to think about it.

Alear and Veyle sat in a grim silence for several minutes before a knock on the door came, this time in a new rhythm.

*Knock**Knock*….*Knock**Knock, It was the rhythm that Alear taught to Nel and Rafal, notably Alear told Veyle to not open to them if Alear wasn’t already there. Alear opened the door to see Nel standing in front of her. “Alear, Father wishes to see you and me right now.”

“And Rafal?” Alear inquired.

“Already there, let’s go now.” Nel said as she turned to leave.

“Okay. Goodbye Veyle I have to go now. Lock the door behind me.” Alear said as she closed the door and followed Nel.

Veyle was alone again as she sat down on her bed and began to eat some more of the candies.

Alear : Gradlon Temple

Alear and Nel walked into the temple’s audience chamber. The room was nearly pitch black with the darkness creating an oppressive feeling that Alear and Nel had both long become molded by. The room itself was empty except for Rafal waiting by the shard at the end of the room.

The two walked up to meet Rafal, “Where is father Rafal?” Nel asked.

“He said he would be here in a little bit, until then we wait.” Rafal explained.

They did not need to wait long for their father to arrive. Immediately his presence overwhelmed the room, all three of the siblings knew to only speak when spoken to, “I see you three are all gathered, good.” Every word he spoke commanded the absolute attention of his children, “With the Ring of the Lady Of The Plains now in our possession all that is left is the Ring of the Holy Knight, you three have proven worthy enough for me to bestow these to you.” With that he held out his hand to reveal three rings and beckoned the three of his children to take them.

With caution Rafal went and picked the Ring of the Crux of Fate from his father’s hand, Nel went second and obtained the Ring of the Azure Twins, and Alear went last and attained the Ring of the Hero King. All three knew what this meant, when fell children gained a blessing like this it also meant that their father was painting a target on their back for jealous siblings. That way he could have his strongest children be more useful to him while also more isolated from the others.

“Thank you father.”

“Thank you father.”

“Thank you father.”

“You may all leave now; I will have assignments for you all in the morning.” All three received the cue to leave, all gave silent bows and exited without a word.

Alear, Nel, and Rafal now stood in a different section of the temple discussing the meeting with their father, “Well that went well I think.” Rafal was the first to speak.

Nel shook her head at Rafal’s words, “Did it? The rings now make all three of us the primary targets.”

“If any would be ladder climber wishes to challenge us they shall be defeated with ease. We should not worry over this Nel, worry should be an emotion relegated to the defects.” Rafal said as he slipped the ring on his finger before using the invocation, ”Bare your fangs Emblem of Fates.” Summoning forth the red apparition inside.

Alear joined in the conversation “I agree, showcasing weakness now would only show that we weren’t worthy of this in the first place.” She also slipped on her new ring, “Shine on Emblem of Beginnings.”

Nel sighed at the truth of their words “… I guess the two of you are right, we will carry out our orders, and we will do away with the violent jealousy as it comes.” With reluctance she summoned her emblem, “Restore calm Emblem Of The Sacred.”

“That’s the spirit Nel, remember I’m always here for you, that’s what you said when you gave me your dragonstone.” Rafal said to comfort Nel, catching the attention of Alear.

Alear had never heard about that, “Wait Nel, you gave Rafal your dragonstone? Why?”

Nel turned to look at Alear, “When we were little I and Rafal were bonding after Nil’s death, when that happened I gave Rafal the dragonstone to show that we would always be together.” She explained.

Alear knew that Nel and Rafal were very close to each other. She herself was quite close to the two of them as was Veyle, but not nearly to the same extent. Really they were to each other as Veyle was to Alear.

Alear pulled out her own dragonstone and began to stare at it while thinking to herself, “To always be together?” Alear's mind shifted to think of Veyle.

Chapter Text

Alear : Kingdom Of Brodia

Alear and her allies made their way through the Firenese-Brodian border after resting at the Somniel after reclaiming the Ring of the Dawn Maiden. Now they headed for the Brodian Capital of Stahlberg to acquire the Ring of the Young Lion.

The party chatted amongst themselves, except for Alear who walked in silence and did nothing but glare and move ahead if anyone tried to speak with her. Alear’s mind was concentrated on two things, one was wishing to get through Brodia as fast as possible, she did not like this place one bit. The second and more pressing thing on her mind was Veyle.

Alfred walked up to Alear to try and get her to open up, “Uh Divine One, you have been even more down lately, anything you want to talk about?”

“…” Alear continued to walk.

“I’m just saying if you talk with me I might not be able to solve your problem, but you’ll at least feel better right?” Alfred kept trying to get her to talk.

““My problem” is none of your concern.” Alear pointedly told him before walking on ahead.

Alfred quickly picked his own pace up, “Fine, if you don’t want to talk about that, how about we talk about other things. What are your thoughts on Brodia?”

“…The weather and terrain is nice; I dislike everything else.” Alear answered without expression.

“Not a fan of the local culture I presume? I guess they can be quite militarized and belligerent at times.” Alfred really just wanted to understand her more.

Alear shook her head at Alfred’s words, “The militaristic part of their culture is not what bothers me, it’s the way they use it. The kingdom is obsessed with this idea of might makes right and how the weak serve the strong. This line of thinking causes Brodia to constantly be fighting something, usually other nations.” Alear paused before continuing, “I read up on the current war with Elusia you told me about, and everything I have read suggests that this whole war was an unprovoked invasion by Brodia with the sole aims of expansion and glory.”

Alear’s words confused Alfred, “Hasn’t Elusia been working with the Fell Dragon though, that seems like a good reason to invade.”

Alear looked at Alfred before responding, “Elusia only started to revive the Fell Dragon years after Brodia’s invasions, before that they seemed to have preferred diplomatic solutions. However I read the Brodian peace proposal, nothing but the annexation of half of Elusia, and the establishment of a client state in the other half, I should not have to explain why Elusia didn’t accept.” Alear took a moment to breath and gave Alfred a glare, “Elusia tried to reach out to get Solm and Firene to help mediate, but the pact signed between your nations put a stop to that and isolated Elusia.”

Alfred suddenly felt ill, he had no idea Brodia was being so harsh, “I didn’t know any of that. Still I don’t think Brodia’s actions excuse Elusia.”

“Of course it doesn’t, but neither do Elusia actions take away from the fact that King Morion is nothing more than a conqueror fed by his own ego.” Alear suddenly grew a much fiercer glare, “Not that that is unexpected of a Brodian king though. As I said Brodia is obsessed with might makes right. Always on about glory or pride, or worst of all “honor”, Hmph.”

This earned a quizzical look by Alfred, “Why do you look down on honor, I think it’s a good thing to have strict honor codes.”

“A “honor” code is a way for the uncreative to keep down those who could challenge them with more than brutish power and inherited wealth. Honor is an artificial man-made construct to hoard power by those who created it.” Alear words dripped with venom as she said that.

Alfred was taken aback by what Alear was saying, “I just can’t agree Divine One, honor is important to make sure the ideals we fight for aren’t lost in the battlefield. Without honor what are we but just a well-organized bandit group?”

“Hmph, Brodia is the nation which puts the most emphasis on honor, and yet to me they are nothing more than the strongest and most well-organized bandit group in Elyos.” Alear decided that she no longer wished to discuss this so she picked up the pace to move away from Alfred.

She just wanted the ring, then she could leave this awful country of bitter memories.

The party made their way into a small opening in the valley they were moving through.

Alfred began to speak to the rest of the party, “Alright soon we will go through a bridge and then we can go straight to Stahlberg, still a bit of distance bu-“

“Alfred, Shh.” Alear quickly interrupted Alfred as she felt an incoming attack. An arrow came from straight ahead towards Alear; however she dodged her head around it and pulled a dagger as it moved past her.

Alear turned to look at where the arrow came from, looking forward she saw three people, a pink-haired girl in red armor holding a sword, a blond-haired woman with a tome, and most prominently a blue haired man in fancy red and white light armor aiming a bow. “Identify yourselves! Whoever you are.” Alear said to them.

The blue-haired man began to speak, “I would ask the same to you, since you’re the ones sneaking over our border. The first shot was a warning, my next won’t miss.” The man began to draw another arrow in his bow.

“Hmph, I am the Divine Dragon Alear, draw that arrow further and it will be last thing you do.” Alear began to aim her dagger for a fatal throw.

Alfred quickly jumped in to avoid escalation, “And I am Alfred, the crown prince of Firene. Now who are you?”

The blue haired man slightly lowered his bow and looked at Alear and Alfred with a puzzling look, “The Divine Dragon, and the crown prince of Firene?”

Alear began to study his movements, “….”

“That’s right, again I’ll ask who you are?” Alfred began to use a more commanding tone.

“I…” The man brought down his bow and charged forward. Alear was about to toss her dagger but the man instantly dropped to the ground and gave one of the strongest bows Alear had ever seen.

The man’s tone shifted to one of complete fright, “I am so sorry! I thr-threatened the Divine Dragon and the prince of Firene. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me!”

Alear looked on in complete confusion and shock at the display she was seeing.

The man stood up with an apologetic look on his face and begun to explain himself to the group.

“That was quite the bow soldier. Just who are you anyway? You look awfully familiar.” Alfred said to the man.

“Oh I’m Alcryst, the second prince of Brodia.” Alcryst explained.

“Prince?” This caught Alear’s attention.

“Now I remember you, how’s it going Prince Alcryst.” Alfred turned much more jovial.

“Even worse than usual, I’m sorry that I took so long to introduce myself to you.” Alcryst continued to be in an extremely apologetic state, “Oh, these are my retainers, Citrinne and Lapis.”

“I am honored to meet you and your coterie.” The blond-haired mage said to introduce herself.

“Yeah, welcome to Brodia.”  The pink-haired swordswoman said, although Alear noticed that she looked less than pleased.

For Alear there was simply too much going on for her to care much about these Brodians and what they had to say. “….”

Alcryst noticed Alear’s sour mood, “Oh sorry Divine One, we are just a little tense, I cannot apologize enough to you. My father King Morion received word from Queen Ève that your party was on its way. He ordered me to meet you at the border to await your arrival. We were fighting monsters and bandits and initially assumed you to be more of the same.”

“I understand Prince Alcryst, still if your arrow hit the Divine One Brodia’s standing would have been badly hurt.” Alfred sternly said.

“I completely understand, I am truly sorry for what happened.” Alcryst replied.

Citrinne shook her head, “You cannot be held liable for what happened Prince Alcryst, you had no way of knowing who they were.” She turned to Alear, “Was it not possible for you to arrive in a more resplendent manner?”

Alear scoffed at that, “Apologies that me trying to do things on schedule mildly inconveniences your presence.”

Citrinne was taken aback as Lapis began to talk, “Hmph this is the kingdom of warriors, if you can’t dodge a single arrow you aren’t worthy to enter. Here the weak serve the strong. Maybe we should give you a little test hm-“

Alear quickly brought forward her dagger by Lapis’s neck before she could react, “Do you think you or your allies can stop this blade from killing should I desire it?” Alear stared unblinking, terrifying her.

Alcryst and Citrinne were instantly horrified by their friend being in such danger while Alfred and the rest of Alear’s allies were shocked at her sudden violence, “D-Divine One please calm down, she didn’t mean it, I am so s-“ Alcryst was interrupted before he could finish.

“Answer the question “Lapis”, do you think you can stop this dagger from going into your neck?” Alear asked her totally emotionlessly as she pressed the blade further.

Lapis’s heartbeat picked up as she felt petrified realizing that nothing she or her allies did could prevent her death at the hands of this woman, ‘I-I, n-no I… c-could n-not.”

Alear glared at her at her for a few more tense seconds before she pulled the blade away from her neck, it just barely touching the red fabric of her armor, “…, What happened to that bravado a moment ago, afraid that you aren’t actually within the “strong” camp you thought you were?” Alear coldly asked her.

Lapis now had a face mixed of anger and fear written on her, “That was cheap, you didn’t prov-“
Alear interrupted her, “If you so called “strength” breaks apart simply by your opponent not following the rules that you made up in your head, then you weren’t strong to begin with.” Alear sheathed her dagger and turned to walk away.

Lapis was furious at what Alear was saying “You li-“

“Lapis please, let’s all settle down now.” Alcryst said trying to deescalate things.

“Divine One was that really necessary?” Alfred asked Alear.

“No it wasn’t.” Alear said without further comment.

“Perhaps it would be best that we just move onward to the capital now.” Céline joined in to try and help with the tensions.

“Yes of course, I can lead all of you to Stahlberg now. I am sorry that it is me who is here to greet you all though.” Alcryst was still clearly quite tense after watching Lapis nearly die.

Alear sighed, “As long as someone can help move this along I am fine with whoever. Let’s go.”

“Al-Alright then follow me and I’ll lead the way to Stahlberg.” Alcryst said quite nervously.

The group began to follow Alcryst. As they renewed their march Alear noticed the glares she was receiving from Citrinne and especially Lapis, however she had also noticed that her own allies were increasingly viewing her with caution and worry.

The party, now including Alcryst and his retainers made their way further into Brodia, eventually coming in sight of a bridge they needed to cross.

“Alright, we just need to cross this bridge and we won’t be far from the capital.” Alcryst said to the group before looking closer, “Wait, there are soldiers… Oh no, the Elusian army has occupied the bridge.”

Alear went to check where Alcryst was looking, sure enough several dozen Elusian soldiers were currently holding the bridge. Alear turned around and beckoned Yunaka over, “Yunaka how many are there and can you spot anything particular?”

Yunaka followed Alear’s question and began to observe the bridge, “Well since you asked nicely I’ll take a little look-see. From what I can see, five dozen give or take. I can also see the leader and-… Wait, she looks a bit young, kinda looks like a clown or jester.”

“Clown or jester eh, you know I do remember hearing that one of the Elusian princesses has an eccentric fashion style.” Alcryst said to Alear.

Alear thought for a moment, “Lets go and meet them, if it is an Elusian princess then it would be worth it to gain intel and maybe even a ring if she has one. And besides five dozen is not enough to overwhelm us when we have emblems.”

The group made their way to the bridge to meet with the occupying forces. It was there that Alear got a good look at the Elusian commander, she was a pink-haired girl in a jester-like blue outfit. Beside her were two others, one was a brown-haired woman in yellow armor holding a blade, the other was a light blue-haired…. girl? With an axe and in black clothing with a purple skirt and pink leggings.

The commander girl noticed Alear and her group and moved forward to greet them, “HELLO EVERYBODY!” The girl screamed across the entire canyon causing a large echo, “It took you long enough, very rude to keep a princess waiting you know. Very rude indeed.”

Alear was glad that Alcryst’s theory was right, “Princess?”

The girl put her hand on her chest, “That would be me. The second princess of Elusia, Hortensia!” The said to introduce herself, “And you are the Divine Dragon.”

“Yes, yes I am.” Alear responded to her.

“Ha knew it. You’re easily the cutest, it’s a dead giveaway” As she said that Hortensia began walk forward to Alear, “Wow… Those multicolored eyes and hair sure are something, although your demeanor could use some, no a lot of work.” The girl was practically right in Alear’s face now.

Alear was about to swat the girl away before Alcryst jumped in, “Don’t come any closer! You wicked Elusians aren’t worthy to approach the Divine Dragon.”

The girl got mad at Alcryst’s words, “Hmph, nobody asked you Brodian, and besides we aren’t the wicked ones you are. Brodia is a barbaric country, always invading our land and killing our people for no reason.”

Alcryst himself got offended, “We aren’t invading to expand, we are keeping your wicked country in check.”

Before Hortensia could respond Alear joined the argument, “If that is the case then why were Brodia’s invasions unprovoked and all of the peace offers focused entirely on expansion?” Alear questioned Alcryst.

Both Alcryst and Hortensia were shocked by Alear’s remark, “Uh, Divine One why would you say that, the Elusians revived the Fell Dragon, of course they’re the evil ones.” Alcryst was in disbelief over what Alear said.

Alear scoffed at his words, “Hmph, last I checked Elusia only revived the Fell Dragon well after Brodia’s multiple invasions. Now because of that I have to get involved and clean up this mess.”

Alcryst was shaken by what she was saying, “B-but Div-“

“Silence. I don’t wish to hear justification of wanton conquest.” Alear harshly interrupted him.

“….” Alcryst was now too shocked to respond further. Looking around for a moment Alear noticed how the glares she was receiving from Citrinne and Lapis had greatly intensified.

Hortensia looked utterly delighted “Well I’m glad that you could be so reasonable miss Divine Dragon. You really are too good for those miserable Brodians. I’ll have to tell my sister all about you after she gets back from her attack on the capital.”

Alear quickly took notice at what Hortensia said, “Elusia is going to attack Stahlberg!?”

Hortensia quickly realized her error, “Oops, I probably shouldn’t have said that. But it doesn’t matter because you aren't getting through this bridge.”

Alear moved forward, her hand now on her sword, “Listen to me Princess Hortensia, my quarrel is not with Elusia, my quarrel is with the Fell Dragon and his followers. I recommend that you and the rest of Elusia stand aside, else I shall make you stand aside.”

Hortensia didn’t back down from Alear as she mounted her pegasus, “Lord Sombron helped Elusia, as if I would just stand aside and let you do what you want. And besides you don’t scare me, not when I have this.” Hortensia now showed off the Ring of the Princess Exalt on her finger as the blood red apparition was summoned forth.

The sight immediately reignited a fury within Alear, “YOU! Give that back right now and stand aside right now or else!” Alear drew her sword and pointed it forward.

“Heh no don’t think so. It’s Elusia’s ring now and thanks to Lord Sombron I even got a new friend out of it.” Hortensia now had an immensely smug look on her infuriating Alear further.

“My mother died protecting that ring, if you so determined to have it then I shall rip it from your finger after leaving you and your soldiers as bloody stains on this bridge!” Alear’s venomous words did clearly frighten Hortensia even if she did not show it. Alear turned to her allies, “Everyone with me, capturing that ring is now the highest priority with or without the princess alive!”

Alear’s allies began to prepare to strike, even if her tone worried them.

Hortensia : Kingdom Of Brodia

Hortensia watched from across the bridge as the Divine Dragon and her forces prepared their assault, “They are pretty badly outnumbered here, don’t worry my soldiers we shall beat them easily!”

Goldmary looked forward at Alear, “Oh my, the Divine Dragon is absolutely-“

“Absolutely not as cute as we are.” Rosado interrupted before she could finish.

Goldmary sighed at his words “Right, exactly.”

“That’s the spirit Goldmary, that woman threatened Hortensia so we must completely outshine her and make her regret saying those awful things. Now lets steal those rings and do Hortensia proud.” Rosado cheerfully said as he prepared his wyvern to take flight.

“Of course Rosado, lets make quick work of them.” Goldmary began to ready her blade for the coming fight.

Hortensia began to call out to her forces, “Everyone hold position and harry the enemy, with their numbers they don’t stand a smidgen of chance at breaking through us!”

As Hortensia was speaking she saw the Divine Dragon called forth her own forces to begin the strike. The battle had now begun.

Quickly Hortensia saw the Divine Dragon rush forward against some initial opponents on the right while the Firenese prince and one of his retainers took on soldiers to the left. Both attacks broke through with easy.

As this was happening the Brodian prince and an orange-haired archer shot down several of the pegasus knights in the south with the prince’s retainers covering them from harm.

Realizing she need to act Hortensia quickly gave orders, “Everybody in the front, charge their center and break them apart!”

At her command more than a dozen Elusian soldiers charged forward, yet this proved to be a mistake. The Firenese Princess merged with her emblem, warped forward and ignited the entire charge with some of the most powerful fire magic Hortensia had ever seen. However what was even worse was what came after, any stranglers were torn to shreds by the Divine Dragon as she mercilessly carved through the now disorganized force.

Hortensia signaled for her northern pegasus knights to try and save survivors. A pit was now starting to form in Hortensia’s stomach.

The airborne attack was initially successful as it pushed the Divine Dragon back, seeing this opportunity Hortensia called for another central strike to add further pressure.

There was now around two dozen more soldiers about to crash into her enemy, But in an instant the dragon merged with her own emblem and started to slice apart any who approached. The now winged and radiant foe tore a hole through her attackers while the also engaged princess burned any out of range with harsh red flames.

The sight was horrifying to watch as the screams of her soldiers and their steeds cried out as they burned and bled out. Hortensia looked around; her remaining forces watched on just as terrified as she was.

“Th-This is awful,.. w-we have to do something.” Rosado’s breathing picked up as he watched the carnage unfolding.

“Oh dear Hortensia please don’t look, this is terrible.” Goldmary’s voice expressed calm, but her trembling hands betrayed that.

In desperation Hortensia pulled out her fortify staff to try and save as many as she could. Placing as much power as possible she unleash a fierce healing aura across the bridge. As the aura passed over though she was completely disheartened that only a few of the fallen managed to get up, the rest were dead.

Hortensia was now trembling as she attempted to desperately heal her forces, “… Please…please get up…” The princess’s recent bravado had now felt like a distant memory.

“Hortensia, that’s enough, you are going to hurt yourself.” Goldmary called before reading herself further.

“Right, you have the emblem and you have us, you need to f-“ Before Rosado could finish he looked forward to see the oncoming strike, “Here they come, we can do this everybody.”

The soldiers were frightened to their core, but none wished to abandon their princess, with determination her forces prepared to meet the approaching storm head on.

The engaged dragon rushed into the fray striking down two Elusians with ease, more charged her but she evaded all attacks and countered with her blade to slash and jab apart her foes in a violent and bloody dance.

Soon however, the dragon was forced to disengage, seeing this several more pegasus knights flew forth to strike, only to be shot down by the Brodian prince’s freakish aim and speed with his bow.

The dragon gave a nod to the prince as she turned to face Hortensia, the sight was the stuff of nightmares, flames and smoke rose upwards behind her, the pristine white clothing she wore was drenched in blood, and the look, the look she gave Hortensia did not have a hint of emotion behind it, her eye pupils were contracted like a predator about to kill. She pulled forth her blade and rushed Hortensia as her allies held her flanks.

Hortensia was breathing heavily as she bombarded the dragon with magic, yet each attack failed as she darted around with ease. In an instant the dragon jumped forward and slashed at her, quickly she reined her pegasus away however the speed of the attack frightened her steed and she was knocked off and fell to the ground.

Managing to pull herself up, Hortensia looked and saw the Divine Dragon land and pull forth a throwing dagger, with quick aim she tossed it straight at Hortensia, however Goldmary swiftly appeared and knocked the blade away with her buckler.

“Don’t worry Hortensia, I will deal with this for you.” Goldmary said as pointed her blade at the dragon who simply observed her new foe.

“G-Goldmary no it’s *cough* t-too dangerous.” Hortensia picked up her fallen tome and tried to shake off the pain of falling.

“Don’t worry my princess, I simply am too good to fail h-“ Before she could finish the Divine Dragon found her method of attack and darted forward. Almost immediately Goldmary was placed on the backfoot trying to parry all of the dragon’s rapid attacks, each time Goldmary blocked a second strike came almost immediately after.

Hortensia watched as Goldmary was forced back with each of the dragons strikes, each strike took away from Goldmary stamina while the dragon was seemingly unaffected by any sort of exhaustion. Deciding she needed to help Hortensia conjured a flame in her hands and fired it at her foe, yet almost instantly the dragon simply angled back and let the fireball pass harmlessly over.

As she moved back up the dragon gave a flick of her blade across Goldmary’s thigh, causing her to collapse. Before she could give a finishing blow Rosado flew from behind and struck down his axe, forcing the dragon away.

“Are you two okay?” Rosado wasted no time trying to make sure his friends were okay.

“Of course I’m good, augh…” Goldmary was clutching her leg to stop further bleeding.

Hortensia quickly grabbed her staff and healed the wound, looking around she noticed that the surrounding soldiers had been severely reduced. before she could look further the dragon once again decided to go on the offensive.

Rosado tried to intercept her but as he dived she quickly jumped and gave a forceful kick, knocking from his mount and causing a rough landing.

Now with both retainers defeated the dragon began to approach Hortensia, quickly she fired another blast of fire, yet all it took was for the dragon to angle her body away and it missed. The dragon pulled another dagger in her left hand and continued the approach, terrifying Hortensia further. Two of the remaining soldiers rushed in to protect their princess, only to be slashed to ribbons in an instant, spilling more blood on the dragon’s white clothes.

Looking around the bridge Hortensia realized she had only one hope left, “Come on, come on emblem do something, please,… please don’t let my friends die.” Hortensia did everything she could think of trying to get the emblem to work. The silent red apparition looked at her with pity before turning to look at the approaching dragon and then her emblem who had a hurt and sad expression on his face, with a shake of her head the emblem willingly gave a surge of power to the princess.

Without full realization of what was happening Hortensia pulled an ethereal rapier from thin air and concentrated power into nearby remaining allies. The surge allowed for Goldmary, Rosado, and the remaining soldiers to strike all at once at the dragon. Immediately the sudden coordinated strike caught the dragon off guard and tore through her defenses and pushed her back with several landing strikes and noticeably causing her to bleed. Hortensia pointed forward her new rapier and rushed forth, however the dragon mustered her remaining strength to block the finishing blow and push Hortensia back.

Now once more out of power and energy Hortensia looked around and noticed that it was over, breathing heavily she decided to call retreat, “ *Huff* *Huff* A-All remaining Elusian forces, retreat!” She turned and whistled for her pegasus to return, swiftly mounting it.

Rosado mounted his own wyvern with Goldmary in tow, while the remaining ground forces were lifted up by air forces. Looking back the Divine Dragon was now too injured to pursue further instead giving a harsh glare at Hortensia as she clutched her right arm. While outside of meeting up with the dragon, no others chose to pursue either.

With that the Elusians made their airborne retreat leaving the bridge to the Divine Dragon.

As she flew away Hortensia began to reflect on the horrific encounter, looking over both Goldmary and Rosado were clearly struggling with what they had seen as well. Under her breath Hortensia prayed to the Fell Dragon that Ivy would be safe.

Alear : Kingdom Of Brodia

Struggling to stand Alear looked over the Horizon to see her fleeing foe, “We failed to get the ring.” She bitterly said.

“Nobody was lost and we can move through, let’s call that good enough,” Alfred said as he tried to comfort her. “I suggest we return to the Somniel first to rest and recover.”

Alear stared with frustration for a few moments longer, “Fine, Vander bring the Atlas to me.”

“Of course Divine One.” Vander said as he walked over and handed her the Atlas.

As they returned to the Somniel, Alear ignored everyone else, whether that be Alfred’s and the stewards’ concern, Céline’s inquiry of what had happened, the fear from Alcryst and Yunaka, or the death glares from Lapis and Citrinne.

Instead she went and collapsed on her bed from her injuries, refusing to let Jean treat them as he requested. Curling her hand into a fist in bed, Alear bitterly stewed in her failure to get that ring.

To her it was just another thing to find misery in.

She began to leave Marth’s ring behind in the ring vault.

Chapter Text

Alear : The Somniel

It was just before sunrise when Alear decided to get up from her bed. The night after the battle against Princess Hortensia was yet another sleepless night for Alear, the night was one of a silent stirring of frustration at her failure to acquire the ring. The wounds she had received from the emblem attack had healed over the night due to her natural draconic regeneration, but not before causing her a large amount of pain as well as staining her crisp white bed sheets with her own blood.

The Somniel was still quiet at the current hour with most still asleep. It was in this silence that Alear slipped through to the ring vault going unnoticed by the few awake.

Now within the ring vault Alear approached the resting Ring of the Hero King. As she picked the ring from its resting place Alear immediately began to hear the emblem’s ethereal voice calling out to her, “Alear?”

Alear took a breath at the voice before answering it, “Yes Marth?”

The full form of Emblem Marth finally appeared before Alear, with a notable worried look, “Are you ready to talk about what has been happening Alear?”

“…., I just came to get ready for our next march.” Alear simply wished to continue on.

Marth shook his head at her words, “Listen Alear I know that what you are going through is hard, however your current course is unsustainable.” Marth paused before continuing, “You saw how Lucina, at least partially chose to help that princess out of her own free will?”

Alear did not want to think much on Lucina’s apparent betrayal, “I did… Why did she do that, I could have reclaimed the ring if it wasn’t for her choosing to give the girl her power. That girl was  clearly incapable of drawing out Lucina’s power so I had practically already won.”

Marth sighed, “I do not know Lucina’s reasoning, the princess, either because of inability or unwillingness could not draw out Lucina’s power for herself, which means that it was almost entirely the choice of Lucina’s limited will. I know Lucina well, she is my descendant after all, so I do believe that she had good reason for what she did.” Marth paused his speculation before continuing, “But more importantly I ask that you please reevaluate your current course, lest you make a choice you come to regret.”

Alear scoffed at his closing words, “I am fine, for now I need to reclaim the rings and defeat the Fell Dragon. Then after that we can discuss my “course”.” Alear turned to walk away.

Before she could leave Marth sighed but had one last thing to say, “I… No it is clear that I cannot talk this through with you, not now at least. But listen Alear, if you continue to act in this manner there will come a day when your actions harm someone you care for, and when that happens you will never be able to take it back. Even if they forgive you the harm will have always existed.” Marth paused before finishing, “For now just take a moment to breathe every now and again when something frustrating or difficult happens.”

Alear paused for a moment, “…I Shall keep that in mind…”

With that Alear opened the door and left the vault, ready for the coming preparations for the remaining march to Stahlberg.

The group made their way across the Brodian countryside in relative silence as Alear noticed how most of her allies chose to leave her alone as she marched in the front.

Before too long the city of Stahlberg came into view. The city looked more like a fortress with its extremely thick walls and the way it was centered on a hill. Stahlberg was not even a full city in Alear’s time like the other capitals, instead it was a castle that the Brodian royal family liked to use as a gathering place for their armies. The city was small compared to Havre De Fleur, being less than a fifth in size and likely having an even smaller civilian population, Brodia was simply put a very rural country compared to Firene.

“Alright it’s not too far now.” Alcryst began to speak.

Alear turned to him, “Prince Alcryst what can you tell me of your father and older brother before I meet them?”

Alcryst was still clearly uneasy of Alear, “Oh.. w-well, my older brother Prince Diamant is an incredible person, he is cut from the noblest of cloth, compared to the leftover scraps I came from…. He really is an inspiration to me and really all of Brodia.”

Alear clearly saw that Alcryst did not think highly of himself in comparison to his brother, “And your father?” From everything Alear had read on King Morion she did not have a good opinion.

“Oh my father is also an incredible person. He is always finding new ways to help Brodia, and yet despite that he always makes time to spend with me, Diamant, and the rest of his family like Citrinne. ” Alcryst explained before finishing with another self-depreciating remark, “I just wish I could be someone more deserving of that.”

Alear shook her head, she supposed it was possible for a conqueror to also be a good father, not that she would personally know that. she did focus on one detail of what Alcryst said though, “Wait, Citrinne is a part of your family?”

“Oh yeah she is my cousin, and my father’s niece. I’m sorry for never telling you that earlier Divine One.” Alcryst answered.

“I see, well it looks like we are almost there now.” Alear looked forward to the capital which was only a short distance away.

She had somewhat regretted being so awful to Alcryst yesterday, he was not a bad person and it was clear that she had both misjudged him and mistreated him on the bridge. She took a breath and decided that should try and be more cordial with Prince Diamant and King Morion. If nothing else, not being so belligerent would make getting the ring easier.

Still Alear did wish to get out of Brodia as fast as possible, she detested this place as it went against her entire world view.

The party made their way through the city to the main castle gate, it was there that Alear noticed a man in dignified red armor and red-brown hair with his back turned, . Tilting her head, Alear noticed Alcryst immediately look up in recognition towards the figure, “That’s Diamant! He must have come out to greet us.”

Alear looked back to see the man turn, “Hm, I have been waiting for your arrival Divine One. I greet you as the crown prince of Brodia, Diamant.” He said has he began to approach, I’ve heard so much about you and even visited you once, to see you now awake and walking among us,.. it’s an honor truly.” As he finished he gave a light bow to Alear.

Alear looked at him for a moment trying to get a good grasp on who the prince was, “It’s a good to meet you Prince Diamant, I am glad to finally arrive here.” She was not glad to be here though.

Diamant gave her a nod before turning to Alfred and Céline, “And Prince Alfred, Princess Céline welcome to Brodia, Queen Éve’s letter explained your situation. It’s good to see you both again.”

Alear observed the cordiality and soft-spoken nature of the prince, it was not all what she expected of a Brodia prince, although Alcryst was even further from that expectation she supposed.

As Alear thought to herself Alfred responded to Diamant, “Likewise Prince Diamant, I am sorry that it took a war for us to meet again after so long.”

“Indeed, I fondly remember my visit to Brodia a few years ago, your country really is quite lovely. Hopefully we can end this nasty business of war soon and have a more proper visit later.” Céline followed up,

Diamant again nodded before turning to his brother, “Oh and Alcryst thank you for escorting our guests, That particular road is quite rugged.”

Alcryst immediately became flustered at the praise, “Oh, it was nothing really. But Diamant I bear ill news, we encountered Elusian forces led by Princess Hortensia at the grand crossing. We defeated them but we learned from them that they have plans to attack the capital. If they are after our emblem ring, we may have a confrontation soon.”

Diamant’s face hardened at his brother’s warning, “In that case we shall see to our defenses. That warning will likely prove vital, you did good Alcryst.” Alear was starting to notice that Diamant was consistently trying to encourage Alcryst. “Come father will wish to hear about this.”

As the group turned they heard the sound of armor approaching, turning Alear saw the origin of the noise, the man wore a set of regal steel armor, a golden circlet of his head, a red cape across his back, and he had red hair and beard the same shade as Diamant’s hair. Alear immediately figured out who this was, King Morion. She took a breath.

“Why do you all look so tense?” The man asked the group.

“Father? You were supposed to be waiting inside.” Diamant said with worry.

“Yes I know, but I had a feeling that my boy and my niece were home.” Morion quickly turned to face Alcryst and Citrinne with a joyous demeaner. “And look at that, I was right. That’s my fatherly intuition for you.”

“Th-Thank your father.” Alcryst timidly responded.

“It’s wonderful to be back home uncle, Although after we have properly treated our guests may I have a word with you and Diamant.. privately.” As she said that Citrinne gave a brief dirty look toward Alear.

Alear had a pretty good idea what said conversation would be about.

“Ha of course Citrinne, I always have time to talk with you.” Morion said to her.

Diamant shook his head, “Of course Citrinne, we can talk after. But for now, father it’s not safe out here you really should be in the castle.”

Morion rolled his eyes and looked exhausted at Diamant’s word, “Ugh, please Diamant not another lecture.” Morion looked over to Alear, “And besides we shouldn’t argue in front of our guests. Prince Alfred, Princess Céline, Divine One, I am Morion, king of Brodia it is an  honor to welcome you all into my kingdom.”

Alear looked back, King Morion was much more amenable then she had anticipated, still she knew that it was not contradictory with what she read. Her negative opinion still stood even if she decided to be cordial “It’s good to meet you King Morion.”

“Likewise Divine One, I never Imagine that I would live to see the awaking of the Divine Dragon Alear. Ha, Indeed such an occasion calls for a welcoming duel.” Morion looked to her with a hint of eagerness.

Alear did not want anything to do with a duel, “I’ll pass, it is imperative that I get the Ring of the Young Lion as soon as possible. And I am not a fan of dueling.” She took a breath after.
Morion quickly frowned at her words, however before he could respond Diamant interrupted, “And besides there is no time for that, we have an important matter to discuss. As Alcryst was escorting our guests her an Elusian force led by Princess Hortensia attacked them.”

King Morion quickly grew a face of disgust, “Ugh Elusians. Always acting to uppity for their own good.”

Alear quickly felt disgusted at his words as she thought to herself, “How is it that you feel they are “uppity” when you have been the one invading them.”

As Alear seethed to herself Diamant continued, “It seems that the Elusians are planning to strike the capital, it is likely that their objective is the ring.

Morion nodded and spoke to several soldiers behind him, “Soldiers go now! shore up our defenses!”

“Yes your majesty.” The soldiers began to spread out.

Morion turned to Alcryst, “Well done getting that information Alcryst, you did good my son.”

Alcryst immediately tried to write off the praise, “Please father, I don’t deserve such kind words.”

Morion became disappointed, “..Humble as ever son… ha..ha.”

“King Morion, it is important that I receive the Ring of the Young Lion as soon possible, that is why I came here.” Alear really just wanted the ring, then she could leave. After she dealt with the Fell Dragon she would deal with Morion’s warmongering.

Morion laughed, “Ha, I knew you would ask, don’t worry I brought it here with me.” He turned to Diamant, “Hey Diamant think fast!” He said as he was about to throw the ring,

“Hey don-“ Alear was interrupted as he threw it towards Diamant,

“Gah!” Diamant did get a hold on the ring after fumbling it around briefly before just barely getting grip, “Father! We are supposed to be taking care of the ring, you can’t just throw it around.” He said as he handed the ring to Alear.”

“You need to be more respectful with this ring, these are important you know!” Alear was furious as she took the ring.

“Bah, neither of you are any fun. Hmph, kids these days.” Morion huffed. “Anyway what will you do with it?”

Alear still was quite mad and didn’t answer before holding the ring around her hands and saying the invocation, “Rise up, Emblem of Binding!”

After the blinding flash of light subsided the emblem inside appeared, the ethereal figure had orange hair and blue armor,  “I’m Roy, if you are summoning me.. then that can only mean that war has begun.”

Alear nodded, “It has Emblem Roy, I came to Brodia to acquire your aid against the Fell Dragon once again.”

“And you shall have it” Roy confirmed.

The emblem’s appearance caught Diamant and Morion off guard. “There was a person in there?”

“Well how about, all along to think that this emblem dwelt within our family ring.” Morion commented before turning to Alear, “And now you released him, “Divine” is no exaggeration huh?”

Before they could continue talking one of the soldiers from before ran up, “Urgent news your majesty, an Elusian wyvern rider is approaching. We tried shooting it down but they are dodging all of our archers’ attacks, there also seem to be more wyverns behind them as well.”

“I guess this is the attack we learned of. It seems the crown princess has arrived.” After speaking to herself Alear took a preemptive breath.

“Divine One, may I call upon Emblem Roy’s help to defend the castle?” Diamant requested.

Alear nodded, “Okay, just return him after the battle.”

After handing over the ring Alear turned to the sky. She was just barely able to spot the approaching wyvern rider, she took one more breath, if this was indeed the crown princess, then she almost certainly would have an emblem. Alear could not lose herself at that sight like last time.

The wyvern came from the direction of the sun, as it landed Alear finally got a good look at the flyer. She was a woman with purple hair, a dark regal dress, and some weird dreamcatcher-like headpiece covering part of her face. Just as she landed dozens more wyverns landed with additional Elusia soldiers being dropped off, in an instant a small army had materialized within the castle’s courtyard.

Now looking at Alear and the royals the woman began to speak, “I, Princess Ivy speak for the Elusian throne. I will now be taking your live, your souls, and the rings.” She gave a wide smirk at those words.

“Leave now, or else.” Alear could not care less about this woman words or status.

“You are in no position to make demands, more of my soldiers are on the way; I will give you this chance to surrender.” Ivy said to the group.

“Oh, I’m itching for that fight.” Morion was about to draw his blade.

“Father, go back to the castle, please if something happened to you our country would be devasted. Please leave this to us.” Diamant quickly said to him in a hushed tone.

Morion sighed before agreeing, “Right why should the king get a say? Fine I’ll do as you ask. But Diamant, stay safe, and that goes for you two as well, Alcryst, Citrinne, none of you dare get killed, understood?”

“We will try father, please don’t worry for us.” Alcryst responded as he readied his bow.

“Of course uncle, when have any of us ever let you down?’ Citrinne said as she pulled out her tome.

As King Morion left for the castle Princess Ivy spoke to Alear, “You must be the Divine Dragon yes?”

“Hmph, and you are the crown princess of Elusia? I recommend that your country cease its foolish actions, I met your sister, I’m guessing like her you have a ring, hand it over now.” Alear began to shift to her colder demeanor once again.

Ivy shook her head, “I am pleased to meet you, but I shall not be handing this over.” She pulled out an ornate golden ring which Alear recognized.

“The Ring of the Sage Lord.” The sight of the stolen ring once again built silent fury within Alear, quickly she breathed before continuing, “Princess Ivy I will tell you to return the ring one more time, if you value you and your soldiers’ lives you will give it to me and leave. Elusia does not need to fall with the Fell Dragon, but I will crush you all same.” Alear took one more breath before drawing her blade.

Ivy had a hint of sadness on her face, “I cannot do that, I am sorry to say, but I must kill you. If you won’t surrender then my forces will prepare for battle”

“Very well, your sister escaped with her ring,.. but I will make sure that you will not do the same. If you and Elusia truly wish to die, so be it.” Alear turned her head to face her allies, “Ready yourselves, and don’t the princess escape.” Turning to face Ivy once more Alear spoke to her again, “My mother died as she lost that ring, and you will die as I return that ring, do not expect a shred of mercy.”

Alear’s cold words clearly caused pain to Ivy, nonetheless the two opposing forces prepared themselves. As they did Alear took one last breath before battle.

The number of Elusians was overwhelming to the small group, still all Alear and her allies had to do was hold their superior defensive position and not let anyone into the main castle. Even with the decently large force the Elusians had, local Brodian forces completely outnumbered them, If Alear could hold she would win.

As Alear thought about the best strategy a man on horseback galloped over from the right, “*huff* *huff*,Horsey what’s gotten into you, wait why are there Elusians here. And Prince Diamant?” The blond-haired man wore simple red and black armor.

“Amber? Weren’t you out fighting beasts?” Diamant questioned the man.

Amber responded, “Oh yeah I was, but then horsey ran all the way here, what’s going on Prince Diamant?”

“Elusians are attacking the castle, Amber please assist us with this battle.” Turning to Alear Diamant introduced the man, “Divine One, this is Amber, he is one of my retainers.”

Alear nodded before looking at Amber, “Okay, get into formation, we are protecting the castle from the Elusians.”

Alear turned back to focusing on the coming battle, not noticing whether or not Amber had a reaction to her presence. Princess Ivy gave a signal to begin the assault.

The Elusians initial charge was blunted quickly with Alcryst using the castle ballista to shoot down several wyverns allowing for his retainers and Diamant to easily mop up the central charge. To their left flank several soldier charged but were burnt to char by a well-timed wall of flame by Céline, Louis protected her while Chloe swooped down and harassed survivors.

To the right Alear and the stewards held their position, however as they did Alear was quickly caught off guard by a charge of a small group of corrupted, “Ah!” Alear was immediately gripped by fear, steeling herself just in time she managed to block a strike and quickly riposte with a drawn dagger, jamming her blade at her disoriented foe she quickly regained composure and tore through three more before Clanne and Vander made short work of the remaining four. Framme started healing them as Alear took a few more breaths.

Managing to withstand the first strike with ease the group reformed in time for the second attack. This time several ground forces manage to break through the wooden barricade in the center. Alfred and his retainers charged forward to the Brodians’ aid. “Emblem engage!” With the speed of an arrow Alfred ran through more than half a dozen Elusians with ease and completely throwing off the Elusian attack allowing for the others to pick off remaining ground forces while Etie and Alcryst shot down more wyverns and pegasi.

Just as they defeated the assault, the third wave was sent forth before anyone could properly react, while to the flanks two more probing attacks were also called.

Diamant quickly thought to himself before turning to the engaged Alfred, “Prince Alfred how did you gain that power?”

Alfred nodded knowing what Diamant wished to do, “Hold out the hand with your ring and concentrate on your and Roy’s being, then say “Emblem engage”, and you will merge together.”

Nodding Diamant rushed forth into the Elusian line. Before they could strike him Diamant did as Alfred instructed, “Emblem engage!” In an instant Diamant merged with Roy, now hovering, he had white clothes and a set of ethereal weapons behind his back. Now holding an orange blade Diamant gave a wide sweeping slash across the Elusian line, The might of the attack set the very ground on fire. The single strike caused the Elusian wave to fall into chaos as Alfred charged in to help Diamant.

As they fought the stragglers a man in an odd garb rushed at Diamant with a look of determination on his face. Catching him in a sword lock the odd blue haired man immediately proved his skill to be able to take on an engaged opponent on his own, “I am Kagetsu, retainer to Princess Ivy, I am glad to be facing such a strong opponent today. Before Diamant could respond Kagetsu broke off the sword lock and fell backward to avoid a counterattack.

As the two fought Alear made her way after fighting through the right, “Alfred.. what’s our status?”

“We are running out of energy but otherwise we are holding well, lo-“ As Alfred was talking a dagger came from nowhere and stuck the prince’s chest.

“Alfred!” Collapsing in front of her Alear quickly leaned down to help, franticly looking around where the dagger was thrown, Alear watch helplessly as Alfred bled out.

“*cough* *cough*, no.. I-.. Div-Divine One, I..” Alfred was struggling to talk.

Breathing heavily Alear pulled out a crystal just as a second dagger was thrown.

In an instant time froze, and then rewinded…

Now back in a better moment Alear looked at Alfred still standing, “We are running out of energy but otherw-“

“Alfred look out!” Alear quickly pushed him out of the way of the incoming dagger.

Looking up Alear finally noticed the dagger’s owner, a tall ashen skinned man in dark grey clothing, “Tch, it would appear that my dagger has *missed*.”

Reorienting himself Alfred realized what happened, “*huff* Oh thank you Divine One! Without you I would have died.”

Alear gritted her teeth and shuddered before taking a breath, “R-Right…” realigning herself to the new threat Alear pulled out a dagger of her own.

Quickly the two started throwing daggers with immense precision at each other. As Alear dodged one dagger she tossed her own barely grazing the man’s face and drawing an ever so slight amount of blood, “Ah. Well color me *Impressed* Divine One.” He said as he threw another dagger.

As Alear knocked it away with her sword she was about to toss another blade, but a blast of high-power electricity just barely missed her. Turning her head Alear noticed the source, Princess Ivy had arrived with the crimson emblem hovering beside her, “Well now I guess it is time for me to make my move, Zelkov, Kagetsu, cover me.”

“Of course Princess Ivy,”

“*Understood*”

Several more Elusians charged forth only to be stalled by Alear’s own allies, as Diamant once again fought Kagetsu while Alfred began to fight Zelkov.

Now alone to face Ivy Alear called forth Marth, “Emblem engage!” Alear quickly darted around the electric blasts Ivy was throwing at her from her wyvern, jumping up Alear attempted a strike, however Ivy quickly manifested an ethereal green lance and struck her back.

Now back near the ground Alear clutched her side where the lance struck, there was a moderate wound spilling blood, Alear took a breath and looked up coldly. Princess Ivy clearly had more control of her emblem than Hortensia did.

As Ivy swooped down for another strike Alear quickly pulled her last dagger and struck Ivy back, “Ah!” The sudden dagger strike caused Ivy to lose balance and fall off her wyvern. Quickly she got up and attempted to force Alear back however Alear dodged the electricity again and rushed forth, Ivy immediately blocked Alear’s attack with her lance and began to concentrate to use the emblem’s power. However Alear noticed this and swiftly gave a hard punch to Ivy’s jaw, pushing her back and disorienting her.

“*huff* *huff* *huff*, This is bad.” Ivy stated to herself, “Kagetsu, Zelkov, remaining soldiers! Pull back, we are leaving,”

 “No you aren’t.” Alear was now disengaged but she still ran with her blade in hand and struck at Ivy. Barely dodging Ivy managed a last jolt of electricity to force Alear back. Grazing her Alear immediately recovered and was about to attack again, however Ivy whistled for her mount to return, as she did Alear noticed Ivy pull off the ring and throw it to the ground. Pulling herself up Ivy flew off as the other Elusians did the same.

Now alone Alear walked over to pick the ring up off the ground, “Why would she throw the ring? She could have esca-“

Alfred ran up to Alear, interrupting her thoughts, “Oh good you got the ring, All the Elusians are retreating.”

Alear nodded before saying the invocation, “Free us, Emblem of Genealogy!”

The red emblem was engulfed in white light, appearing out the light the emblem was now in his normal white-gold armor, and red hair, “I am Leif, thank you for freeing me from my imprisonment, it is good to see you again Alear.”

“As am I glad to see you Leif.” Alear turned back to sky seeing as Ivy disappeared into the sky.

she did not feel the need to breathe again. She felt softened by the princess’s actions. It gave her the slightest hope that Elusia could still be talked down.

Alear walked over the rest of the group, King Morion was now outside again talking to Diamant and some soldier, “What is happening?”

Diamant turned to Alear, “An Elusian army is mustering near the border, it seems that they are personally lead by King Hyacinth.”

“And it seems that the fool is demanding to see me personally. Ha!” Morion finished.

Diamant turned back to his father, “Father as I’ve said, you can’t go, it’s obviously a trap.”

“My son, I have to go, anything less would bring dishonor to Brodia. Don’t worry I will fight my way out of whatever trap he springs.” Morion said.

“Father, please reconsider.” Diamant was clearly worried.

“Listen who’s the father and who’s the son, stop trying to protect me. This has been happening a lot lately, what are you worried about Diamant? Are you worried that Brodia might lose this war… or lose its king?” Morion inquired.

Diamant took a breath, “….We aren’t ready for any of this, I am not ready to lose you. From a young age I was taught to prepare for your death and the future is uncertain, war is here, the Fell Dragon has returned, and I am not ready.”

Morion shook his head, “It’s alright Diamant, if I die, I die, but Brodia will live on, I know you will lead with a steady hand. Although I am offended that you expect that day to come so soon. You really think I’m going to lose huh, you think I need your protection. Ha, what about you Alcryst?”

“W-What me?!” Alcryst was flustered.

“If I die, and so does Diamant, then the throne will pass to you and you will be the one to lead.” Morion stated.

Alcryst face turned grim before shifting to pure resolve, “I…I won’t let that happen, I will protect Diamant until the very end.”

“Alcryst…” Diamant looked in shock.

‘Haha! That’s my boy, Diamant you could learn a thing from your brother.” Morion looked around, “Now then it is time to prepare ourselves for the coming battle. Once we are ready we march to Elusia.”

Diamant look down, “It seems I can’t dissuade you from this path, I guess all I can do is walk it with you.”

Morion looked proud, “Ha we will show Elusia why we are called the kingdom of might. And after we are done, a tournament for our strongest warriors, that means you Divine One.” He said as he looked towards Alear.

“…No, I want nothing to do with any tournament.” Alear decided that the rest of this conversation held no importance to her, “I will stay in the Somniel until the march to the border happens.”

“I… Alright Divine One, you really are quite boring you know. Diamant, Alcryst, both of you should go with her. I can handle the mustering don’t worry.” Morion walked off, clearly disappointed by Alear’s refusal to join his tournament.

Before he could leave Citrinne walked up to the king, “Before we go can I have that discussion I mentioned?”

“Of course Citrinne lets go have a bite to eat and we can talk, come on Diamant.”

“Alright, Divine One when will you leave?” Diamant asked.

“I’ll close the portal in three hours, get there before then.” Alear coldly said before walking off.

“Alright, Alcryst, Amber go on ahead, me and Citrinne will go after we have our talk.” Diamant said as he followed his father and cousin.

“Okay Diamant, I’ll see you later.” Alcryst said as he followed Alear.

Alear paid them all no mind, her mind was still on Princess Ivy willingly giving her the ring.

Chapter Text

Alear : The Somniel

The party appeared in the Somniel after Alear opened the portal from the castle courtyard in Brodia, leaving it open for Citrinne and Diamant.

“Woah this is the Somniel, this is so cool! I never imagined I would ever see something like this!” Amber was excited.

“Vander can you go check to make sure everything is good with our supplies? Clanne, Framme, go and prepare quarters for Amber and Diamant.” Alear requested of her stewards.

“Of course Divine One” Vander gave a bow and left.

“You can count on us Divine One!” Framme said as she and Clanne left to fulfill Alear’s request.

Alear ignored everyone else and left to go be on her own. She was calmed, but she still did not wish to interact with anyone.

Céline : The Somniel

Céline sat down to have tea with her two retainers. Louis walked over and set down the prepared tea and some pastries, “Here we are. I made plenty so please help yourselves.”

Céline gave a light smile, “This is lovely, the three of us haven’t had a real tea party since meeting the Divine Dragon.”

Chloe nodded, “Right, we been fighting and meeting so many people that we have not had the opportunity.”

“I’ve been quite enjoying observing all of these new people frankly, they sure are a colorful bunch.” Louis commented.

This caught Céline’s attention, “Oh, and what has caught your interest Louis?” She took a sip of tea after inquiring.

“Well for starters, Yunaka has been shifting around quite a bit, behind her joyous personality she does seem to be on edge a lot, I do believe that she is hiding something. I am also reasonably sure that the Divine One suspects something to.” Louis explained.

“What do you think it is and how would the Divine One know?” Céline was quite eager to get on with the secondary purpose of this gathering.

Louis thought for a moment, “I have no idea what Yunaka could be hiding, as for the Divine One knowing something, she does seem to be good at reading people and she was silently looking at some documents after Yunaka was first recruited. The Divine One does seem to be fine with her presence though, so it seems there is nothing to worry about.”

“I see, please continue Louis, what else have you observed?” Céline took a bite of one of the pastries.

Louis took a small sip of tea and thought for a moment, “Well let’s see, ah Lapis seems quite attached to Prince Alcryst, she also still is on edge around the Divine One, I guess their encounter has left some sour feelings.”

Chloe finished her own pastry, “Well it does makes sense, I do imagine most people would dislike a dagger being shoved near their neck, I was really unnerved watching that.”

Louis nodded, “Yes it was quite shocking to witness, I suppose Lapis’s words seem to have just really upset the Divine One.”

Céline joined in after finishing the pastry, “Louis I must say you have outdone yourself with these mini cakes. As for that incident let’s just be glad our relationship with Brodia wasn’t damaged too much in the process.”

“Indeed, and thank you for the praise my lady.” Louis responded.

“While we are on topic, what have you observed of the Divine One Louis?” This is what Céline wished to know the most, “So far she has been not a thing like Queen Lumera.”

“She has most certainly been the most interesting to watch, I have rarely seen her interact with anyone for notable lengths of time, really if she is not on important business she tends to be alone. She mostly spends time either in her room, watching the sunsets or sunrises from either that hole in the wall or the ledge in the south, or she sits in the Somniel’s undercroft where she tends to eat. Speaking of eating, I have never seen her choose to eat with anyone, and she has never eaten within the café.” Louis’s long explanation of Alear’s habits really caught Céline’s attention.

Chloe had a frown on her face, “Poor thing, she must be so lonely after losing her mother. Céline have you tried inviting her to tea by chance?”

Céline nodded, “I have tried several times, but she always rejects, she does seem to be quite the solitary type. It is strange though I do feel an odd kinship her, oh but perhaps that is arrogant of me to say, after all she is the Divine Dragon.”

“Not at all, I do think that the two of you share some traits, it makes sense that you would feel that way to her. Perhaps try and understand her better and then invite her.” Louis suggested to Céline as he took another sip of tea.

“Then that is something I will try and do, perhaps now would be the best time, she did seem much calmer today than when we were at the bridge.” Céline said before finishing her tea. pouring more tea from the teapot before she continued her inquiry, “Please Louis, what else have you observed?”

“Well let’s see… Ah, The twins do have the strangest of habits….”

The three continued to discuss Louis’s observations as they enjoyed their tea and pastries.

Alcryst : The Somniel

Alcryst stood in the Somniel’s garden waiting for Citrinne and Diamant to return, he was still so unsure about his interactions with the Divine One and how her words at the bridge had affected him, yet at the same time his father’s words had put within him a newfound determination.

“Prince Alcryst! There you are.” Turning around Alcryst noticed Lapis walking up to him.

“Oh, hey Lapis did you need anything?” Alcryst asked her.

“I came to find you, you just wandered off. I was wondering how you have holding up.” Lapis asked him.

Alcryst was confused at her words. “W-What do you mean, I’m doing fine.”

Lapis shook her head, “Well we haven’t had a proper talk about what happened on the bridge, it was wrong for the Divine Dragon to treat you like that. She practically humiliated you in front of the Elusian Princess, and before that she was constantly insulting our kingdom.”

Alcryst sighed, “I know, thinking about the way she insulted our culture still frustrates me.”

“And what I’m saying is that she had no right to do so. She clearly has no honor, and again insulting you right in front of the Elusians… It’s awful.” Lapis clearly had little respect for Alear.

“I-I know.. but I am starting to wonder what was going through her head, after all she is the Divine Dragon, and the de facto ruler of Lythos. So maybe she was in her right…” Alcryst was still trying to wrap his head around her actions.

Before he could continue Alcryst was interrupted by another voice, “Her being the Divine Dragon does not give her any sort of right to dismiss you in such a way Alcryst.”

Turning around Alcryst saw Citrinne approach them, “Citrinne! You’re back, how was your talk with Diamant and father?”

“It was productive, I told them all about what had happened at the bridge and our first meeting, Uncle Morion and Diamant were quite mad about what I had to say.” Citrinne explained.

Alcryst was shocked, “W-Wait what, why would you tell them, you didn’t need to do that, and father was mad?”

“I told them, because they had a right to know, the Divine One must know that she cannot insult our nation and one of our princes. And yes Uncle was furious, Diamant had to stop him from coming here and confronting her himself.” Citrinne sighed before continuing, “We care for you Alcryst we really do, me, Diamant, and Uncle. We all wish for you to come to appreciate yourself for who you are, and people putting you down frustrates us all, I simply could not stand by.”

Alcryst was overwhelmed by her words, “I-I…, C-Citrinne you-you…, please your concern is completely wasted on me, you did not need to tell them about what happened, wh-where is Diamant now?”

“I wanted to tell them, Diamant went to confront the Divine One over her actions, after that we can all go have dinner together, I hear the Somniel has absolutely heavenly ingredients and a top-notch kitchen, I was disappointed that we did not have any opportunity to have a meal here yesterday.” Citrinne told him.

Alcryst was still flustered “I-I, but…She’s th-”

“That’s enough Alcryst come on no more moping around, you look better with a smile, come on let’s go see the rest of the Somniel.” Citrinne turned to Lapis, “You to Lapis, let’s go.”

“Are you sure, I mean is it right for me to come with?” Lapis inquired.

“Of course its right, you are a fellow retainer and a friend, so let’s go. I hear there is a tailor here, I would love see what they can make.” Citrinne turned and walked off prompting Alcryst and Lapis to follow.

Alcryst had a smile on his even if he still felt unsure.

Diamant : The Somniel

Diamant was searching around the Somniel for Alear, he only been here once, and that was more than a decade ago when he was a child, so he was very unfamiliar with the area, or where to find Alear.

Asking around Diamant got several locations to look around, eventually he walked up to a ledge on the southern island to see Alear staring at the sunset.

Walking up to her Diamant gripped is hand, “Divine One, we need to talk.” He said quite sternly.

Alear did not bother looking away from the sunset, “Let me guess, this is about Alcryst isn’t it?”

“Yes it is. When I heard what Citrinne had to say I was furious and my father even more so, so do you admit to saying what I heard happened?” Diamant asked her still quite mad.

“Hmph yes I do, and I don’t regret it either,… well maybe I regret threating to stab Lapis… But what I said needed to be said.” Alear responded, not showing a hint of remorse as she did.

Diamant now showed his anger, “Even if that is true you did not need to put him down in front of the Elusian army! You made a fool out of both Brodia and my brother!”

Alear still did bother looking at him, “And the Elusians have suffered far more than looking foolish because of Brodia, so sorry if I don’t care much for you looking like the fools you so tend to be.”

“You have no right to say such things! And why be so protective of the Elusians, they are the ones working with the Fell Dragon not us!” Diamant was furious with how he talked.

Not reacting to his anger Alear responded, “The Elusians are working with the Fell Dragon because they had no other option after Brodia’s numerous invasions and refusal to do basic diplomacy, it is because of you people that I now have to even be here to fix this mess. All of this because of some mislead and selfish desire of “honor” and “glory,” hmph.” 

Diamant was angered by her dismissal of Brodian honor while seemingly favoring their mutual enemies, “… I don’t understand why you choose to be so dismissive of Brodia and our way of life.”

Alear curled her hand into a fist, “Let me tell you something Prince Diamant, have you ever seen a man mount a child’s skin on his wall and then proclaim victory over a dragon. I have, multiple times, all from Brodia.”

Alear’s story immediately shocked Diamant, “I-I what?”

“I have seen the way Brodians’ love of honor and glory results in atrocity, during my time Brodia was one of the bloodiest places in the world due to the horrific crimes committed by both sides during the war, and to see the way that even a thousand years later Brodia has not changed a bit in the way it acts, it’s disgusting.” Alear quickly took several breaths before looking at the horizon to see the fully set sun, “There is no more point for me to stay here, goodbye Prince of Brodia. Once we are done with the Fell Dragon we need not interact again.”

As Alear walked away Diamant had one last comment, “I get that you have seen horrible things, but still to dismiss basic honor cod-“

Quickly Alear interrupted him, “The only reason to fight is survival, whether that be survival of oneself, survival of those you care for, or survival of ideals. Fighting to fight or fighting for a made-up code is just selfish slaughter for slaughter’s sake. That is why I hate Brodia, goodbye.” Alear walked out of sight not bothering to look at Diamant once.

Diamant was now alone on the ledge thinking about her words, the way she expressed such disgust with Brodia and its actions had shaken Diamant to his core, to him the Divine One so firmly disapproving… it was hard to think about. Her story was awful to think about and her worldview was the polar opposite of what he was taught.

Still her feelings were genuine, and the venomous words dripped with some deep undeniable truth.

Diamant shook his head, he could think more later, for now he went to go spend time with his brother. No matter her feelings Alear was wrong to take it out on Alcryst.

 Alfred : The Somniel Undercroft

Alfred walked down to the Somniel’s undercroft to see if he could find Alear. The area was mazelike with darkened pathways going across the entire floating isle, Alfred eventually found himself in the undercroft’s deepest point, in front of him was now a black door. Reaching out Alfred tried to open the door; however it was locked.

As Alfred looked at the door with curiosity, Alear silently moved behind him, “What are you doing Alfred?”

“Gah?!” Alfred quickly turned around, “*huff* *huff*, Uh D-Divine One, don’t do that!” Alfred began to catch his breath before he answered her question, “I was looking for you, but I got lost here, how do you know where you’re going in this place anyway?”

“I spend a lot of time here and I have eyes that work well in the dark.” Alear talked without much emotion. “Anyway why were you looking for me?”

“Oh we made dinner for everyone; I was wondering if you wanted to join us.” Alfred answered.

“I do not, I am not hungry right now” Alear responded.

Alfred tried to hide his disappointment, “Are you sure, it is some good vegetable stir fry.

Alear shook her head in response, “Not a fan sorry.”

“Well what do you like, you kind of just eat anything, I have never heard you go out of your way for any dish.” Alfred thought that if he could reach out this way he could eventually get her to open up.

“I struggle with flavor and I am not picky so I do not put much thought into what I eat.” Alear answered him not really seeing the point of the conversation.

That first detail caught Alfred attention, “You.. struggle with flavor, what does that mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like, I struggle tasting certain things especially mild foods. If I must say what I like then I will say I do enjoy both very sweet and very spicy food, the extreme flavors do help me actually taste the food, however most people do not like the sheer spice or sweetness I require so I never bother requesting anything for dinner because no one else will want to have it.” Alear explained to him.

“Oh don’t be like that, I would enjoy anything you choose to eat Divine One.” Alfred just wanted to cheer her up.

Alear looked at him for a moment before reaching for a bag in her pocket, “If it will teach you a lesson, try one of these.” She said as she handed a candy from the bag to Alfred.

“Oh what’s this?” Alfred said as he took it.

“It some candy I made a little bit ago, it’s what I tend to eat.” Alear answered urging him to try it, a small smile forming on her face.

“Well alright then.” Alfred put the candy in his mouth, only to be immediately overwhelmed by the sweetness, “*cough* *cough* *cough*, oh *ack,* *ack,* wh-what did you p-put in this? It’s so s-sweet.”

Alear’s smile widened ever so slightly, “Well I did warn you I have extreme tastes.”

Getting over the shock Alfred responded to her, “Y-Yeah I guess you did; how did you even learn to make candy that sweet? Did Queen Lumera teach you?”

Alear smile disappeared, “No actually it was… someone else, he also struggled with taste, this is actually quite tame compared to what he tended to eat.”

“Oh wow, who was he? Was it another divine dragon?” Alfred felt like he was starting get somewhere with her.

Alear shifted to a frown, “No.. he was not,… I have said too much, go enjoy dinner Alfred, I no longer wish to speak right now.”

Alfred felt crushed, he got her to open up the slightest amount, only for her to pull away, “I… Okay Divine One, by the way what is in this door?”

Alear stared at him for a moment before turning to leave, “Some doors are locked for a reason Alfred, don’t put your nose where it does not belong.” Without further explanation Alear left to go be on her own.

Alfred stood in disappointment for a moment before sighing and leaving to go have dinner. “I just want to be friends.”

Alear : The Somniel Ring Vault

After leaving the undercroft Alear went to the ring vault, opening the door Alear walked over to the resting place of the Ring of the Hero King, “Marth?”

Appearing at her call Marth responded, “Ah Alear I am surprised to see you here. Did you need anything?”

Alear shook her head, “No I have just been wandering around and I don’t wish to go to bed yet.”

“I see, well I am glad to say that you did much better today, I appreciate you taking my advice,… but you still don’t want to talk properly do you?” Marth asked her.

“… I feel better, but for now I just need to think alone, I am sorry if my outbursts have been causing harm.” Alear was still so confused in her mind.

“I understand, but remember just simply burying your problems will not solve them, one of these days you must confront them. If you don’t things will just get far worse than before.” Marth told her.

“…I understand, I will try and keep myself under control better.” Alear began to feel her true tired state.
Marth immediately noticed this, “Alear… go get some sleep, you haven’t gotten a full rest in a while, it’s not good for you.”

Alear took a breath before deciding not to argue, “…Alright, see you in the morning then.” Marth nodded as she turned to leave.

Quickly managing to avoid everyone eating in the café Alear headed for her room, laying down in her bed Alear felt as her thoughts instantly came to haunt her, gritting her teeth Alear finally passed out from exhaustion, she had not slept at all since meeting Veyle in the abandoned town.

That night her crushing thoughts manifested into harsh nightmares as she slept, but she at least got some sleep.

Chapter Text

Alear : Outside The City Of Stahlberg

Alear and the rest of the group finished their preparations and went to meet with the Brodian army to join on the march to Elusia.

Now within the mustering area, Alear noticed King Morion making his way over to her, he was giving her an intense look as he walked up, “So Divine One, I assume you know what I am about say.” He was not happy.

“Yeah Yeah, Prince Diamant already went off about the bridge incident last night, I do not retract a single statement.” Alear could not care less, still she was starting to regret saying what she said just because of how much of a fit the Brodians were throwing over it.

Morion’s face only grew more intense by Alear’s refusal to apologize, “Listen to me Divine One, I can hear an insult against myself and not flinch. An insult to Brodia makes my blood boil, but I can withstand it. But you insult my son again and I will make you regret it. Understood?” The way he said all that was harsh and a far cry from the way he treated Alear yesterday.

Alear stopped herself from rolling her eyes, “And you listen to me King Morion, I came here for the ring and that’s it, once we are done with the Fell Dragon our business is done, understood? I will not support further actions taken against Elusia after this.”

“Hmph, I’d like to see you try and stop the kingdom of might from taking its rightful place in Elyos, it’d be a good fight. But instead of that why don’t you stick to your fancy chair in Lythos.” Morion left to go take final account of his troops.

“Stahlberg was not always the capital of Brodia, your old one is an empty ruin because of me and my siblings. If I must break Brodia a second time, so be it.” Alear quietly thought to herself, when this was over she would crush Morion and Brodia, then and only then may Elyos start to know proper peace.

Shaking her head and taking a breath Alear went to go and make sure everyone was ready, they had a long road ahead.

More than a day had passed as their march through the rocky countryside shifted into the familiar snow of Elusia. Alear looked behind her to account for her allies, they were marching at the spearhead of the Brodian army. While the Brodians all seemed fine many of her own group did not seem adapted to the bitter cold.

“H-Hey Divine One, how are you so un-unaffected by the c-cold, I can barely feel my f-fingers.” Framme asked her, shivering to herself.

“I used to spend a lot of time in an extremely cold region, and I have lived a great deal of my life in northern Elyos. I am used to it.” Alear answered him without much further explanation.

“But Lythos doesn’t have any super cold places.” Clanne said confused.

“No it doesn’t.” Alear commented without any elaboration.

The group continued their march, passing by ruined towns and castles, whatever civilians they passed gave scornful looks at the army.

“So how long until we reach the border? I didn't know Brodia stretched on this long.” Clanne asked around.

“We’ve been in Elusia for five hours now. That large wall we passed is called the Rothalt, it is the dividing point between Brodia and Elusia.” Alear said to him.

“Wait if we are already in Elusia then how come all of the forts and towns have Brodia flags on them?” Clanne did not seem to quite understand the situation.

Shaking her head, “Conquest Clanne, conquest is your answer. Brodia has control of nearly all of northwestern Elusia. You saw how those people looked, fear and hated in their eyes, a stark contrast from the pride before the wall yes? And did you notice all those churches, all burnt down.”

Clanne thought for a moment, “Now that you say that yeah, I did notice, so those people were Elusians…. Although why were those churches burnt down anyway?”

“Those churches are dedicated to the Fell Dragon, the Brodia army burns down the churches in accordance to Brodia’s outlawing of Fell Dragon worship.” Alear answered him.

“Isn’t it good that the churches are burned down though, Fell Dragon worshipers are evil.” Clanne commented.

Alear turned to look at him, “Clanne, nearly the entire population of Elusia are Fell Dragon worshippers, do you believe that all Elusians are evil?”

“I… I mean I haven’t really met any…” Clanne began to think over it.

“I have met many, nearly all of whom worshiped the Fell Dragon and I still would rather be in Elusia than Brodia. There is a reason why the Elusians have held onto their faith as long as they have, and it is not because they are evil,.. not most of them anyway.” Alear told him as she turned back ahead.

“But fell dragons are evil though, why would good people choose to worship evil beings.” Clanne asked her confused.

Alear flinched at him referring to fell dragons as evil, “….Yes, I suppose they are…” Alear quickly regained composure and explained, “But there are reasons why some would choose to worship the Fell Dragon. For one the religion puts emphasis on self-reliance and personal strength, which for a frigid country like Elusia makes sense. It should also be noted that most do not worship the current Fell Dragon directly, rather they honor him as a living representation of some sort of empirical “Fell Dragon” of sorts, if that makes sense, only a small subset worship the current Fell Dragon as a direct deity, and those people are relegated to closed off cults. Finally, the way the other nations constantly dismiss Elusia means that few see reason to change their beliefs just to please an outside world that blindly regards them as “evil” as you say.”

Clanne did not respond to her explanation, instead he went into deep thought at what Alear had said, clearly she gave him a lot to think about.

Looking forward, the army continued their long march.

The army made their way to a fortified wall on the edge of occupied Elusia, looking outwards from the wall Alear noticed the approaching Elusian army. To her distress much of the opposing force was made up of corrupted with only a core of human soldiers. Peering further Alear spotted a man in a regal black robes leading the army, she guessed that he was King Hyacinth

“It is time!” King Morion said to those around him. He turned to Alear and Diamant, “Divine One, Diamant, you two are to hold the rear, I shall face Hyacinth.” With that King Morion gathered the vanguard and sallied forth.

Alear watched as the Brodian and Corrupted soldiers almost immediately began to battle with each other. Quickly the Brodians proved to be the better soldiers as they pushed back the corrupted with the force of their charge. In the middle of this King Morion pulled his blade and charged into the frontlines.

Alear had to give credit, she found it very admirable that Morion fought alongside the common soldiers. She did not like him, but she understood why those under Morion spoke so highly of him.

The King personally charging in rallied the Brodians further, he quickly proved that his strength was not exaggerated. He pushed aside corrupted with ferocious speed and power in equal measure.

In an instant however, King Morion halted in front of King Hyacinth. Alear saw them briefly exchange words although she did not hear them.

Morion immediately went on the offensive attempting to strike Hyacinth with his blade, however to Alear’s surprise Hyacinth evaded with ease and quickly showed his skill with martial arts as he countered with a strong kick to push Morion away. This only enraged Morion further as he struck again, this time pushing Hyacinth back with the sheer force of the attack causing him to collapse on his legs.

Alear watched as Morion pointed his blade at his now seemingly defeated opponent, however Hyacinth pulled something from his robe. As he did, Hyacinth grasped Morion’s blade holding him in place. Alear did not have to wait long to figure out what Hyacinth had; the sight of the reddened Emblem Lyn manifested into form with an aimed bow. Morion immediately tried to pulled away however Hyacinth swiftly gave a magically enhanced punch, launching Morion away right as Lyn loosed her arrow straight into the king’s chest.

“Father!” Diamant quickly ran to save his father. With Alear following behind him.

As King Morion collapsed on the snow Hyacinth gave a nod to two odd individuals to go and collect the king. One was a young blonde girl in pink armor, and the other was a green-haired man in black robes.

Getting closer Alear made out what the two were saying.

“Come on he’s not getting any lighter.” The man stated quite bored.

“We know what to do your majesty. See you later.” The girl cheerfully said before skipping forward.

Quickly Alear realized what they wanted to do, “Everyone! We need to get King Morion back now!” Urging everyone to join her and Diamant. She did not particularly care for Morion’s life, but She knew why they wanted Morion alive, and it was anything but good.

Rushing forward into the fray Alear noticed as the frontlines spread out, with the corrupted holding down the Brodian forces, limiting any support they could provide, this was a battle Alear now needed to do alone.

However before they could reach the Elusian king, the group was blocked by Princess Ivy and some of her forces.

“Princess Ivy… Out of my way now!” Alear said aggressively.

“That I cannot do, I am here to make sure you cannot interfere.” Ivy stated.

Hyacinth quickly spoke to Ivy, “You are to hold them here child, whatever the cost may be. Oh and Ivy? Don’t forget that ring was given to you by our Lord Sombron. Your failure to protect it was a grievous one. It is now your duty to reclaim the ring now. Do not fail me again.” Hyacinth made his leave.

Alear overheard his words to his daughter, to be used as tool by one’s own father and then so easily discarded. It was a feeling that Alear knew all too well. Immediately Alear now held a deep-rooted sympathy for Princess Ivy.

“So.. you want me to buy time for you as I die here. Very well. I  die for you, Father.” Ivy said to herself.

“You’re not going to stop us!” Diamant yelled to her.

With reluctance Alear spoke as well, “We cannot let the Fell Dragon have King Morion! Princess Ivy get out of the way now!” Alear now truly did not wish for Ivy to die here.

Shaking her head Ivy did not answer, instead she just ordered her soldiers and retainers forward.

Alear took a somber breath in disappointment, readying her blade she turned to her allies, “Everyone prepare for battle now!”

As her allies readied themselves Alear looked across the field and took a second breath. The Battle had now begun.

Quickly their group made their ways within a set of collapsed debris to establish a defensive hold. Alear began to formulate a plan to fight Ivy, As she did Diamant noticed a soldier he recognized.

“Jade! What are you doing here?” Diamant called out to the woman in heavy steel armor.

“Prince Diamant? I’ve been holding this position since that battle began, why are you here?” She asked.

“No time to explain, for now I am reassigning you to rejoin me.” Diamant said, “Divine One, this is Jade, she is my second retainer.”

Alear nodded in response before going back to planning.

“Got it Prince Diamant, I’m with you.” Jade responded.

In the distance Ivy’s two retainers began to move forward, the one called Kagetsu moved to the north to their left, while the one called Zelkov moved south against their right. As they did more corrupted joined them.

Alear finally had a plan, “Diamant, you, Alcryst and your retainers go south.” Turning now to Alfred Alear instructed him as well, “Alfred, you and the rest of the Firenese go north. I shall go with my stewards and everyone else in the center. Once you have pushed aside Princess Ivy’s retainers, reconverge on the center. With luck we can sweep them away quickly.”

“Understood.” Diamant gave a gesture to the Brodians and they made their ways to the right.

“Count on us Divine One, we’ll handle it.’ Alfred and the Firenese began to go to the left.

“Vander with me, and make sure everyone stays in formation. Oh and take this” Alear told him, as she handed him the Ring of the Sage Lord.

“Of course Divine One. I shall do my upmost to prove worthy of the emblem.” He said as he took the ring and summoned Leif behind him.

With that Alear began her attack.

The Elusians immediately began to strike at Alear as she made her way from the cover. A swordsman attempted to charge her, only to be cut down before he could swing. Two more soldier were wiped by a fireball from Anna and a dagger from Yunaka.

The other Elusians readied a more coordinated attack, however before they could even begin Alear gave a signal to Vander, “Emblem Engage!” Vander merged with Leif and charged forth, almost immediately the Elusian line was overwhelmed by the engaged veteran knight.

As they began to fall into disarray the Elusian were thrown into further chaos as Alear rushed in, now engaged herself.

Quickly the Elusians fell apart by the power of the two engaged figures, with soldiers scattering away to flee.

Now no longer under assault Alear looked ahead, Princess Ivy was now approaching from her wyvern, additional forces behind her. Alear thought for a moment before turning to Vander, “Vander, I am going to face Princess Ivy, you and everyone else make sure no Elusians intervenes, but do not intervene yourself. Got it?”

Vander and the others looked confused, “I.. Are you sure?”

“Yes I am sure, now follow my order.” Alear told him before disengaging and heading off to face Princess Ivy. She needed to end this on her own.

Alear darted forward until she could speak to Ivy, “Princess Ivy, I will give you one last chance to get out of my way.”

Ivy sighed, “I apologize Divine One, but I cannot.” She had a face of hurt on her.

Alear shook her head, “You do not have an emblem, and even if you did you would not stand a chance, so why fight?”

Ivy thought for a moment, “You would not understand…” She readied her tome and prepared herself.

Alear took a breath and thought to herself, “I do understand, more than you would know.” Alear readied her blade and drew a dagger and began her attack.

Ivy swiftly began to bombard Alear with lightning strikes, however as with their last battle Alear easily evaded each and every strike.

As she dodged around Alear tossed her dagger with precision towards Ivy, striking one of her mounts reins, causing the Princess to fall off.

Alear waited for Ivy to pull herself up. Now recovered Ivy immediately began to fire lightning towards Alear, but it still proved ineffective. Briefly ending her attack Ivy signaled to her wyvern to charge Alear. The beast followed its master’s command and rushed Alear, only for her to jump up and give a straight kick to the wyvern’s upper head, disorienting the beast.

As Alear landed Ivy began to resume her magical attacks, this time however Alear went on the offensive as she moved around the attacks and closed the distance, as she did Alear produced another dagger and threw it straight ahead, just narrowly missing Ivy’s ear. As Ivy avoided the dagger however Alear finished her approach and slammed Libération’s pommel straight into Ivy’s face disorienting the princess. Alear quickly followed up with a leg sweep, resulting in Ivy falling to the snow.

Before Ivy could get up Alear pointed her blade at her throat, “It’s over.” Alear stated in her standard cold voice.

Ivy looked at her for a moment before closing her eyes,“…You’ve won,… Please kill me.” Ivy said it with such hurt in her voice.

Alear stared at her for a moment, as she did she heard footsteps approaching. Tilting her head she saw that her allies had been victorious, with the Firenese coming from the north and the Brodians coming from the south.

Alear looked back at Ivy, “No…” she retracted her blade from Ivy’s throat.

Ivy looked at her with confusion, “Don’t be naïve. If I live what’s stopping me from hunting you down?”

Alear shook her, “You won’t, you were tossed aside by your father. Elusia no longer wants you. You were meant to die here. Why? I do not know, but I will not act as Hyacinth’s or the Fell Dragon’s executioner.”
Ivy did not have words, “…”

Alear allies began to walk over to the two of them, “Let me ask you something Princess Ivy, back in Stahlberg before you left you threw me the emblem ring, why? You could have escaped with it, but instead you threw it to me deliberately, you did not need to do that. So why?”

Ivy took a breath, “I do not know what you are talking about. I am telling you kill me now and be done with it.”

Alear realized she was not going to get an answer out of Ivy, still Alear decided that she would not kill Ivy, “I said I will not. You pose no more danger or threat to me, so there is no point. If we ever do fight again I will not show mercy again however, but I do not think we will.” Alear sheathed Libération in its scabbard.

“I see, if that is your wish, then as my deity I will respect it.” Ivy stated more to herself.

Alear was caught off guard by that, “Wait what do you-“

“Can I ask that you forget that.” Ivy asked her as she got up, “In exchange I will tell you where King Morion is being taken and why.”

Diamant now approached and joined the conversation, “Well out with it then.” He crossed his arms.

Ivy nodded and began to explain, “He is being taken to Destinea Cathedral. There he will-“

Before Ivy could continue, Alear interrupted, “There he will be used as a sacrificial offering to the Fell Dragon in a ritual.” She was very much aware of the ritual and it’s specifics, after all she had witnessed it multiple times.

Diamant was immediately caught off guard, “Ritual?! I… what, why?”

Turning to him, Alear explained, “The Fell Dragon needs to collect all twelve rings if he wishes to fully restore his power, however he can temporarily regain some power if he feasts on sovereign blood.” She turned to Alfred and Céline, “This is why I was so sure that they would not kill Queen Ève back in Havre De Fleur. The Fell Dragon can draw power from royal blood to fuel his strength.”

Diamant spoke before either of them could, “Th-That’s a-awful…. We have to go now, to save father.”

Alear nodded, she detested King Morion, but she could not allow that ritual to take place, “Agreed. Everyone prepare to march to Destinea Cathedral; we have to go immediately, lest the Fell Dragon regain his power.” She turned back to Ivy, “Princess Ivy what will you do now?”

“Whatever I can do, without taking sides. I do hope we meet again Divine One, hopefully not as enemies.” As she spoke Ivy’s two retainers appeared and walked over, “Come, Kagetsu, Zelkov. Let us leave this place.” She whistled her wyvern over and the three of them left.

As she watched them leave Alear thought to herself, “Goodbye, Princess Ivy.” Alear turned around to her allies, “Come on everyone, we must get to Destinea now.”

Diamant nodded, “We have to hurry!” He was clearly in distress.

Not taking any time to rest the party set off for Destinea Cathedral as the Brodian army held their position by the border.

As they marched Alear was optimistic that they could end this now, however deep down she also felt unease well up inside her.

Chapter Text

Alear : Kingdom Of Elusia

The party made their way through the snowy Elusian countryside, intent on reaching Destinea cathedral before the ritual could take place.

Alear could not let the Fell Dragon restore his power, lest all the horrors she had faced one thousand years ago would return to Elyos once more.

Looking forward into the blizzard that they were going through, Alear was determined to end this before her long nightmare would resume once again.

Alear knew the rough location of the cathedral, she had been there a few times in the past. If the fell children assigned in Brodia were ever given time off, then they would end up spending that time in Elusia. The times of respite she was given, she would use to spend amongst the Elusian people, always kind to the little fell dragon and her siblings. It was from those people who gave her the first kindness she ever felt, that Alear came to care for Elusia deeply. And still now Alear could not forget those actions, she could never hate Elusia.

The group made a brief stop, Alfred turned to ask Alear, “Divine One, you said the cathedral was this way right?”

“I said I have a rough idea, but I have never taken this path before and it has been so long since I have even seen the cathedral.” Alear explained to him. She knew they could find it; the problem was whether or not they could get there in time.

“Gah we don’t have time to get lost, we need to get there now!” Diamant said in frustration as he looked ahead, “Hold on… I see someone.”

Alear looked over to where he was looking, only to shockingly see Veyle in front of her. Immediately she began to take several breaths.

Veyle soon turned to spot Alear, “Hm? Is that you Alear?” The girl walked over to greet her apparent friend.

Alear was quickly overwhelmed by the sight once again, “V-Veyle, w-what.. are you doing here?” She suddenly struggled breathing.

Diamant looked at her confused, “You know her?”

“Y-Yeah she’s m-my…. Friend.” Alear felt horrible whenever she called Veyle just her friend, “V-Veyle, how.. did you get here?” Alear was concerned that Veyle was this close to where their father was.

“I-I don’t know.” Veyle said with worry and confusion.

This immediately made a pit form in Alear’s stomach, “Y-You don’t how you crossed a border into another country?” Alear was starting to get concerned.

“Well how about you? You look worried. Is something the matter?” Veyle asked trying to shake off Alear’s concern.

“I-I am trying to get to Destinea Cathedral, but I don’t know this path and this blizzard is making things difficult. But more importantly, Veyle if you need help you just need to ask me.” Alear did not want to drag Veyle into her problems, but she could sit idly by and watch Veyle get hurt.

Veyle shook her head, “Thank you, but this happens all the time for me, its fine. But I can help with your problem.” Veyle turned, “If it’s the cathedral you’re looking for, see that really tall tree over there? She pointed to large tree on a hill, “Use that as a landmark and you can easily get to the Cathedral.”

Alear was now even more worried about Veyle if for her not knowing how she gets places was a common occurrence, “I-I… Thank you Veyle, but please, not knowing how you get from place to place is not normal.”

Veyle just brushed it off, “I can deal with it, don’t worry about me. And besides I owed you for helping treat my wound the other day. That was so kind.” Veyle noticed the ring on Alear’s hand, “Huh? Were you wearing that ring before Alear?”

Alear looked at her hand for a moment, “Oh, yes. It is very important to me.”

“I didn’t notice it the other times we talked. It’s so pretty…. Really… Pretty” Veyle began to doze off into a trance.

“Veyle?” Alear’s concern began to magnify.

“Em…belm…ring” Veyle stubbled over near Alear acting as though she about to grab the ring.

“Veyle!” Alear said to snap her out of the trance.

Veyle regained herself at Alear’s yell, “Oh?!, I’m sorry, I better be on my way!”

Before Alear could respond Veyle took off into the blizzard at alarming speed, “Wait Veyle, it’s not safe out here!” Alear was about to chase after her.

“Wait Divine One, she’s already gone.” Alfred called right as Alear was about to pursue Veyle.

“We can’t search for her, not when Father’s life hangs in the balance.” Diamant said sternly.

“I can’t leave her out here!” Alear snarled at the two of them, causing them to jump in surprise.

before she could run after Veyle however, Marth appeared in front of her, “Alear no! Chasing after her right now would be foolish, we still have to stop the ritual.”

Alear wanted to argue, but she knew things would get worse if she could not stop that ritual, She took one breath, and then another, and then several more before responding, “You’re right…. Fine lets go.”

Alfred looked at her confused, “Who was that anyway? You two referred to each other as friends? When did you even meet?”

Alear looked at him for a moment, “….We met… in Florra Mill Town, and yes she is my… friend. But there’s no time,.. let’s get to the cathedral.

Alfred looked confused; he had never seen Alear show so much care and concern for one person, nor had she ever referred to anyone as a friend. To him it was as if Alear was acting completely differently around Veyle than she did anyone else.

Alear paid him no mind. She would stop the ritual, kill the Fell Dragon, and then after she could search for Veyle. Maybe then they could spend the time together Alear once said that they would.

She walked ahead of her allies so they would not see her silent tears. She took more breaths than she could count.

Hortensia : Destinea Cathedral

Hortensia looked out of a window in the cathedral in worry, “Aw, the snow’s really coming down out there.” She had a rising feeling of dread.

“Yeah, the cathedral always gets hit harder than anywhere else, huh.” Rosado said to her as the two waited for Goldmary.

“And Ivy’s late, We’ve been waiting here for ages…. What if…. Things at Stahlberg went bad and that dragon…” Hortensia could not stop thinking about her terrible encounter with the Divine Dragon at the bridge, the idea that her sister had to face that dragon was horrifying to Hortensia. She just couldn't let the feeling dread leave her as the snow continued to fall with Ivy still not coming into sight.

“Don’t worry Hortensia, Princess Ivy can handle herself.” Rosado said it with such confidence, and yet there was just the slightest amount of doubt in his voice.

“…” Hortensia had such a hard time believing his words. Hortensia looked back to the window and sighed to herself before speaking again, “Ugh,… why has all of this been happening anyway… Ever since Lord Sombron reawakened, Father has been acting so strange… he used to spend so much time with me, but ever since they came into the picture it’s like I hardly exist…”

Rosado gave her a sympathetic look, “You mean the ones who showed up at Elusia castle with Lord Sombron?”

Hortensia nodded, “Yeah, that kid with the hood and those four weirdos who follow her around, Father only likes them because they brought him so many rings,… I thought if I could get a few he would praise me like he used to… and well… look how that turned out.”

“I’m sorry Hortensia…” Rosado didn’t quite know how to cheer her up.

“No,… It’s not your fault,… what happened on the bridge… that was me and my arrogance, I should be apologizing to you and everyone else there if anything,.. at least those who made it back….” Hortensia began to look down at the ground.

As she did Goldmary walked in, “Hortensia? Pardon me for interrupting. King Hyacinth wants you to join him at the altar, and he wants you to have this.” She handed Hortensia a black ring with a purple gem in the middle.

Taking it Hortensia looked in shock, “An emblem ring?”

“Whoa the king gave you another one, huh?” Rosado said to her.

“He said to where it and prepare for battle.” Goldmary said with a worried look and tone.

“So,.. that must mean the Divine Dragon is coming…” Hortensia felt a shiver come up her spine.

“Are you going to be alright?” Goldmary asked her.

“I-I don’t know… But I can’t leave Father to face that monster alone, and if anyone knows where Ivy is, then it would be the dragon.” Hortensia looked at them, “Rosado, Goldmary, both of you are free to leave, things could get dicey, just because I must stay here does not mean either you two do, you aren’t even my official retainers anyway.”

Goldmary got emotional at her words“*sniff* *sniff*, oh Hortensia, I am reminded about just how wonderful you are, after all as the perfect retainer it makes sense that I would serve the most perfect liege. No I won’t flee, if you must face the dragon then so will I with you.”

Rosado nodded, “Yeah just because we aren’t your official retainers does not mean that we will abandon you, we are with you until the end Hortensia.”

Hortensia was cheered up some by their responses, “Goldmary,.. Rosado,.. thank you both, it means so much to me…” She looked out the window again, dread still inside her, yet she now also had a newfound determination.

Alear : Kingdom Of Elusia

The group was now in front of Destinea cathedral, looking around the area was unnervingly empty, no guards stood outside, if any were to stop them they would be in the Cathedral themselves.

“Everyone let’s head inside and end this quickly” Alear said to her group.

Marth appeared in front of her, worry written on his face, “Hold on Alear, I sense the Fell Dragon’s presence. He’s waiting for us in the cathedral.”

Alear nodded, “Yes.. I feel him to, that is why we must stop him.” She was terrified of seeing her father again, but she had to end this while he was weakened.

“Alear listen to me, we are not ready to fight him, if the ritual has been completed,.. we should retreat.” Marth said to her.

“We can end this right now Marth, the Fell Dragon is weak right now. And we have half of the rings, and since I doubt they have the Ring of the Radiant Hero, and the Ring of the Crux Of Fate is missing, we outnumber them even if they use all four of theirs.” Alear said wishing to reassure him.

“Alear… I agree that we are formidable but do not fall prey to your overconfidence…. Just… be careful.” Marth was still unconvinced.

“I Shall keep that in mind, but I still think it is best we strike now, the longer we wait the higher chance the ritual is complete. Now let’s go.” Alear began to make her way to the cathedral entrance, prompting the others to follow her.

Marth shook his head, “I hope you are right…” He disappeared back into the ring.

Alear opened the large cathedral doors and made her way inside, ready to face what was inside.

The group made their ways into the main hall in the cathedral with Alear, Alfred, Céline, Diamant and Alcryst in the front.

The hall had Elusian soldiers standing at the sides, prepared but unmoving, at the main altar was Princess Hortensia and a little bit behind her stood her two retainers. And standing next to Hortensia in the center of the Altar was King Hyacinth.

He spoke as the group approached, “I bid you welcome to Destinea Cathedral. We’re so happy to greet you, loathsome Divine Dragon.”

Alear did not care for his words, “Enough! If you do not wish to die stand aside and end the ritual!”

Hyacinth took in her words for a spilt second, “I see the talk your violent demeanor was no exaggeration. Since Ivy is not here I assume you left her body to rot in the snow. As one would expect from one such as yourself.”

“You mean my sister… is dead? Hortensia was overcome by shock, fear, grief, anger and hatred all at once.

Alear paid the Princess no mind, “Where is King Morion?”

Hyacinth developed a smug look on his face, “All will be known in due time.”

Alear grew frustrated, “Tell me now or else!” she began to draw her blade.

Alfred turned and noticed a figure by the altar, “Look there is someone by the altar!”

Alcryst looked over and immediately recognized the figure, “Can it be… Diamant, it’s Father, he’s alive.”

“Don’t worry Father we are here to save you!” Diamant had a rush of relief. Before noticing the odd way Morion was standing, “Father?”

Morion turned to face them, he moved unnaturally, his face was drained of color, and his eyes were glowing a dead red. “Ugh. Raaaaaaaaaaaaaagh”

“Father!” Diamant was in disbelief.

Alear tensed up, realizing what happen, “Diamant, Morion has been corrupted, you can’t save him.” Alear focused, the blood took some time to manifest into power, the ritual was complete, but there was still time to kill the Fell Dragon.

“It appears you were a few moments too late. As you can see the ritual has carried out.” Hyacinth said in a mocking tone.

Diamant turned to the Elusian king, “Hyacinth!…. You bastard!”

Marth turned to Alear, “We have to leave immediately Alear. Call a retreat without delay.”

“We can’t, there is still time to kill the Fell Dragon before he digests the power.” Alear readied her blade, she still had time.

“Don’t be stubborn Alear. You can’t win this fight!” Marth told her.

“You would have us… Leave our own father behind?” Alcryst stepped forward showing a side none had seen before, “I cannot! I will not abandon him here!”

Diamant nodded at his brother’s determined words, “The only option is to fight Hyacinth, I won’t flee, not after… after what he has done!”

Alear nodded silently at the two of them.

“Foolish, but I’m not a bit surprised, hm.” Hyacinth gave a signal, as he did the cathedral doors shut from across the hall. “This grand cathedral will serve as your graves. Thanks to your impetuousness you have brought the rings unto my very hand.”

Alear did not react, she would stayed whether the doors shut or not.

“You’re a monster! That’s our father!” Alcryst pulled his bow.

“You’re going to pay for this. Here and now!” Diamant reached and drew his blade.

“You have lost your right to live past this Hyacinth.” Alear pointed her blade forward, as did everyone else. In an instant the hall turned into a violent and bloody mess of a battle.

The battle started and broke down into chaos immediately, The Elusian soldiers closed in from around the hall to face off against the various members of the group, Alcryst and Diamant immediately began to fight their fallen father while Alear charged Hyacinth.

However before Alear could strike, Princess Hortensia appeared and blocked her path. The girl’s fear had disappeared, replaced by sheer hatred. A red emblem appeared beside her, however instead of Lucina, it was Byleth, the emblem residing within the Ring of the Instructor.

The girl shot a ball of flames straight at Alear, halting her path, “You! Dragon! You killed my sister didn’t you!” The girl said with such rage.

Alear did not have time for this, “Out of the way now! I did not kill your sister.”

“Then where is she!? If she’s alive prove it!” Hortensia rage forced energy right from the emblem, manifesting into the lance called Luin.

“I have no idea where she is, now get out of my path!” Alear pushed forward.

“So you can kill my father like you killed my sister! I’m going to make you pay for what you did!” Hortensia struck at Alear with the lance.

Alear blocked with her blade, Hortensia was putting everything she had and then some into facing Alear while draining as much power she could from her emblem. Alear did not know whether Hortensia had learned how to draw power properly since their last encounter, or if she was forcing it through, completely unaware how she was doing it.

With surprising force Hortensia managed to push Alear back and attempt a strike at her. Alear dodged the full lance, however a slice of the edge managed to graze Alear, creating a small wound.

The wound burned and caused immense pain to her despite its small size. Alear knew the emblem weapons, she knew what that lance was made from, she was unnerved to her core when she first learned about Byleth’s Heroes’ Relics and how they were made, more importantly however they acted as powered up wyrmslayers, extremely dangerous to wyverns and more importantly to Alear, dragons.

Hortensia attempted a follow up strike while Alear was on the backfoot, however Alear managed to evade with ease, the girl was dangerous, but in this state she had no discipline to speak of.

Locking lance and sword again Alear turned to see the state of the hall, Céline and Alfred were battling against Goldmary and Rosado.

Alfred twirled his lance around and knocked Goldmary down hard using the lance’s side and followed by attempting a downward strike, only for Goldmary to roll away and counterattack. However Alfred quickly locked her sword and gave a sweeping kick knocking her down again, defeated.

Céline meanwhile blasted flame after flame towards Rosado, Who quickly dodged through the fire and brought his axe forward to strike Céline. But to Alear it was clear that this was calculated, just before he struck, Céline let forth the full might of her flames, and created a massive wall of fire that nearly consumed Rosado fully. Now covered in burned marks and with his outfit covered in cinder the retainer fell unconscious.

Looking back Alear swiftly pulled a dagger and viciously struck at Hortensia’s side with little precision but with plenty might.

“AH!” Hortensia pulled back in pain as the dagger struck her arm, Alear instantly began her assault, Hortensia flailed around Luin, But Alear dodged each strike and counter with a pommel slam to Hortensia’s jaw, knocking her to the ground.

Looking around further Alear noticed the sheer chaos that the hall had fallen into, the soldiers from the left and right attempted to fold Alear’s allies, however they were pushed back each time. Little formation existed on either side, some of her allies were engaged, while others were saving the charge. The cathedral’s chairs were throw all over, with some being broken in pieces. There were also several fires, presumably from Céline.

To the side Alear noticed the battle Alcryst and Diamant were having against their corrupted father, both clearly distraught.

“Father, was I a good son?” Diamant pushed his father’s blade away and struck back, “I wish I asked you that sooner. You instilled in me pride and strength. But most importantly… you gave me your love.” Morion soon recovered and cleaved his blade his ferocious power, “I should have told you what that meant…” Diamant countered and struck a powerful blow against Morion.

To the side Alcryst aimed his bow, “If some part of you is still in there Father… Just… thank you for everything, I love you, I always will.” He loosed his arrow which went straight through his father’s unbeating heart.

The fallen king collapsed, “ragh,… Strong of body…. Strong of… heart.”

Alear looked ahead to King Hyacinth and darted forward, before she could close the distance, King Hyacinth manifested a bow from his emblem, which he used to fire five arrows at once straight toward Alear.

Caught off guard Alear quickly broke into evasive movement and just barely dodged all five arrows, and instantly resumed her advance towards the king.

She attempted a swing at him however he quickly manifested the blade Mani Katti and struck back at Alear. Swinging her body around the strike Alear quickly riposted her dagger straight at Hyacinth, causing a small cut into his chest and drawing blood.

Before she could strike again, Hyacinth gave a kick to her stomach launching Alear back. Falling back Alear stopped her fall by shifting into an acrobatic cartwheel before landing on her legs, recovering instantly.

Alear charged and threw her dagger as she did, cutting Hyacinths face, as he recoiled in pain Alear rushed forward and slam her blade with force against the Mani Katti forcing it out of his hands where it immediately disappeared, He stumbled back in fear before hitting the altar.

“It’s over.” Alear stated without expression as she pointed her blade forward and prepared the final blow.

“Please no more, no more!” Hyacinth suddenly lost his composure.

Alear suddenly broke into sprint, intent on the kill.

“Gah!” Hyacinth gasped just as Alear’s blade was about to touch his neck.

However in an instant a barrier of dark magic appeared to force Alear back. Looking up she noticed the mage girl had appeared again, Immediately Alear’s eyes contracted like a predator at her new foe, “You…. the one who killed my mother… I rip you apart!”

The girl paid Alear no mind as she walked over to the shaking Hyacinth, “Oh thank you thank you I was nearly finished there.” Hyacinth said in gratitude to his savior.

“I’m not being merciful, merely pragmatic. The ritual was a success, the Fell Dragon will be here in a moment.” The girl explained with glee.

“He can move once again? That means the sacrifice worked!” Hyacinth said in response.

Alear began to breath heavily, she was too late, “no,… no… no, no, no,nononono.” This could not happen, she thought she had more time, but then she saw the approach of her once father, immediately causing every part of her to freeze in fright.

The Fell Dragon appeared in his humanoid form, he had unnatural purple skin, he had an elaborate crown that mimicked a set of horns, with a set of glowing wing-like things attached to his back. His set of red eyes gave off an intensive glare, with a third eye that buzzed around as if it could see one’s inner thoughts. Alear hid her fear as she always had around him.

Hyacinth knelt and then rose quickly as he spoke, “Haha… Lord Sombron!” He gave a nervous laughter as he did, clearly in as much fear as awe at his deity.

Sombron did not care for his display, instead feeling around in his new once more mobile state, “Hmm… It seems my power has returned because of you…” His Voice was the same snake-like tongue Alear had long grown accustomed to. Every word and every syllable demanded attention in her mind.

“It was an honor, my lord” Hyacinth gave a light bow, confident but still frightened to his core.

“And yet… I still hunger for more.” Sombron stated, Alear now knew what was coming, but she still did not move.

Hyacinth silently gasped, realizing what he was implying, turning quickly he gestured to Alear’s allies, “Please. My lord, devour these fools.”

That caused Sombron to laugh as he approached the king, “Hahaha,… Alas, I have a different meal in mind.”

“Huh?” Hyacinth looked back in silent shock. Alear’s heartbeat increased.

“Only sovereign blood will quell my hunger. You understand.” He grasped Hyacinth’s chin who did not move in fear, “I want your blood… and I will take it!” Dark power swirled around him and in an instant the man was replaced by a large snake-like dragon with a cobra-like mane with pitch black scales. Alear’s heartbeat was now all she could hear as her entire body was frozen.

Hyacinth attempted to run, only to be grabbed by Sombron’s tail grip. Sombron pulled the king back to him, and flicked his forked tongue for a split second, unhinging his jaw, and devouring Hyacinth in one swift bite. Alear did not react.

Everyone stared in silence after watching that sight, Hortensia now recovered walked over in shock, “AH! Father!” She had a horrified look on her face.

“I thought he and the Fell Dragon were on the same side.” Alfred said, although everyone’s voices had become white noise to Alear.

The mage girl gave out a sadistic laugh, “Hahahaha! Now that was entertaining.”

Hortensia looked at the girl, all her rage she had on Alear redirected to the girl, “What!”

The girl turned to Hortensia and began explain the twisted joy, “Hehehe, did you see his face? The Shock! The Betrayal!”

Hortensia walked over, “Stop laughing! What’s wrong with you?!” She shoved the girl away, knocking off her hood.

Alear looked at the girl’s face, immediately any attention she gave to the Fell Dragon disappeared as she now focused entirely on the girl. Long black and white hair, a childlike face, and deep crimson eyes. “V-V-Veyle, wh-w-what… n-no…nonono…. h-how d-did…wh-what w-why h-how,… wh-when……………..” Everything in the room, whether it be her allies, Hortensia, or her father, disappeared from Alear’s mind as she now focused on the face of her sister. She could not think, she could not see, she could not hear. The room had disappeared into an empty black void, with only Alear and Veyle occupying it.

“You irritating girl.” Veyle snarled out at Hortensia, conjuring dark energy with no effort which knocked Hortensia away and forced her unconscious, “You had to go ruin my fun… this is why I detest humans.”

Alear looked down at Veyle’s leg, noticing the bandage she gave her, it was the same. Everything was frozen,... everything was wrong.

Veyle turned to the group, “I should introduce myself. I am Sombron’s daughter. The Fell Princess.” Every one of her words echoed throughout Alear, overwhelming her senses as she remained unresponsive. “You may call me Veyle. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Alear did not respond as her mouth hung open. She continued to stare in shock.

Alfred noticed her despondent state, he turned to Veyle, he said yelled something at her to her but Alear tuned it out. She could tell it was rude and aggressively worded however, as she had to restrain herself to not strike Alfred for daring to insult Veyle.

Veyle responded to him confused, “Deceived her? We never even spoke.”

Alear tried to force a breath, instead she took two, and then three, and soon she began to hyperventilate.

“Enough idle chatter Veyle. Take the rings.” Sombron commanded his daughter.

Veyle summoned several corrupted, “As you wish, Father.”

Alear did not react to the corrupted, she barely noticed them.

Alear’s most base of instincts began to function again as she felt coming footsteps, wishing to look away from the grim sight she briefly looked over. Zephia and the two odd individuals who took away King Morion were now approaching, along with a fourth Alear had not seen before, a man in steel armor with purple accents.

“Well, well, well! If it isn’t the Divine Dragon and her merry band. Fancy running into you here.” Zephia pompously introduced herself as Alear paid her little mind, “You have made quite the name for yourself and your brutality you know, I didn’t expect you to have it in you, I’ve been pleasantly surprised.”

“I know you! You’re the wretch you stormed Havre De Fleur!” Alfred shouted at her.

“Wretch? Not much of a greeting that. But I guess I should introduce myself.” Zephia and the others stopped their approach, “You do have my apologies for my man’s actions, back in Firene.” She turned to Céline, “I heard it from a local rumor mill that Firene’s own sweet and caring princess burned him alive after he had already surrendered, while the Divine Dragon watched on.”

Céline just gave her a look.

“Well done, you do have my approval, I couldn’t have done it better myself. I must say the Divine Dragon’s army has more butchers than I would have expected. You have made this whole affair much less boring than anticipated.” Zephia gave a light bow as she said all that in a congratulatory tone, “As for who I am, my name is Zephia. I am a mage dragon of great power. And Lord Sombron’s humble servant in all things. As for my companions here, they are my dearest family. Together we are known as the Four Hounds.

“Hah!” The green-haired began to speak, “Family she’s says… She’s a dragon and the rest of us are humans. The name’s Griss and I’m not the prisoner-taking type.”

“Call me Marni. I heard we would be fighting royalty today,.. but you look like a bunch of losers to me.” The pink-armored girl said with glee.

“I am Mauvier. The pleasure is all mine. Lady Veyle told us much about you” The large man in steel armor said in a courteous way, giving a light bow as he did.

Alear stared at them for a moment in silence, she didn’t care. The world began unravel for her once again as she lost feeling. A chill ran down her spine, she instinctively felt her pocket where she kept the time crystal, it was gone.

Instantly Alear acted on the bad feeling, she felt where she was about to be struck, and repulsed Veyle with ludicrous speed, interrupting her attempt to pull away the Ring of the Hero-King from her.

“Hmph” Veyle was now back near Sombron, “The Draconic Time Crystal, of course you had it all along.” Veyle held up her five captured rings, “Sorry but I just had to take it back again, along with your allies rings, although you do have surprisingly good reflexes you know.”

Alear took a single step forward, her allies stared at their ringless hands but Alear hardly noticed or processed them or the rings. If anyone focused on her breakdown, she didn’t notice, she only saw her sister as she looked forward at Veyle once more, “Whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy….”

Veyle ignored Alear’s silent breakdown, instead she turned to her captured rings, “You got six eh, and even protected one of them, really I am impressed that you managed to repulse me ten times in a row. Father the rings.” The rings began to float away to Sombron, but Alear was still laser focused on Veyle, nothing anyone else did mattered.

“Well done,….” Whatever Sombron said after that was a blur, but Alear still realized what was happening when the invocations began to be called.

“Provide for us, Emblem of the Holy War!”

Alear did not react, still staring at Veyle.

 “Heh, what, still so in shock?” Veyle was starting to notice Alear’s intensive and unreasonable focus on her.

“Care for us, Emblem of Echoes!”

Alear took a step forward.

“Heal us, Emblem of Dawn!”

Alear lost more feeling.

“Free us, Emblem of Genealogy!”

Alear was about to cry. “Veyle please….please…..”

“Rise up, Emblem of Binding!”

Alear’s legs gave out under her, she fell on her knees as she did nothing but stare in horror.

Veyle was confused, “Why-…why are you so….”

The words, she didn’t know, not even their previous three encounters, she didn’t know. Alear felt sick, she left Veyle on her own, and now this happened, she never should have left her to go be with Lumera, she was just a selfish defect,…

“defectdefectdefectdefectdefectdefectdefectdefectdefectdefect…..”

Vander ran to her, “Divine One we must retreat!”

Retreat? She couldn’t, she couldn’t leave Veyle again, she had to stay, she had to. Even if it cost her life, she could not abandon Veyle again, “I c-c-c-can’t….”

“Alear don’t falter not now! You have to focus before things get worse!” Marth said to her, Alear felt like he was talking this whole time, she just didn’t hear.

“I-I s-said I-“

“Divine One, you protected one ring, if we don’t go now we will lose everything!” Alfred called to her, “We need go before we lose both the last ring and our lives!”

“Who cares if I die! I can’t leave…. I can’t… not now.” She continued her never ending stare at Veyle who’s confusion mixed with glee, her smile was not a thing like the sweet little sister Alear knew, but even still, she couldn’t leave her, not again.

“Divine One, I,… No…” Alfred went to grab her, forcing her off of the ground, “We’re leaving.”

“Let me go! Let me go!” Alear started struggling, causing Diamant and Vander to have to help restrain her. Even with all three holding her back she almost managed to overpower them.

 She had to go be with Veyle. Veyle needed Alear, Alear needed Veyle. She had to go be with her now.

“Alear, there will be another chance, but you will lose that forever if you stay. We lost the other emblems, we can’t fight. So we need to leave now!” Marth spoke to her.

Alear began to breathe again, she began to hyperventilate again. Her heart began to beat again, it began to beat too fast, “I….. okay…”

Alfred released her.

She turned to look at Veyle again, she had to force herself to not run over to her, just staring at Veyle caused Alear’s world to break down around her. She shook her head and forced herself to turn.

Before the hounds could react the group pushed them aside and escaped the cathedral, destroying as much as they could to slow down their pursuers. Alear constantly looked behind her to get whatever looks she could of Veyle. Every time she did she almost ran back to her.

The group made their way south as fast as they could, trying to get as far from the cathedral as they could.

Alear’s mind was shattered into pieces, she couldn’t stop her body from trembling. Her allies voices, the sounds of the pursuing corrupted and soon the falling rains all made no noise to her. She had survived, but she didn’t feel like she had lived.

She couldn’t breathe, not anymore.

She couldn’t leave Veyle, She couldn’t leave her sister.

Chapter Text

Alear : Southern Elusia

Alear and those who supported her ran, they ran as fast as possible to get away from Destinea Cathedral, and away from Veyle.

Swarms of corrupted chased them in pursuit, with many more being summoned as they retreated. With them losing five of their emblems they stood no chance of combating their new foes. The group was determined to get to Solm as fast as they reasonably could.

As they made their way south the ground they retreated through changed drastically, the falling snow turned to harsh rain, while the frozen ground turned into sloshing mud.

Alear kept looking back behind her, to see if she could get a glance of Veyle as she retreated, but there were just too many corrupted blocking her sight. Alear barely even registered the monsters, if this was any other time she would be frightened to her core by the sheer number of corrupted that were surrounding her. Instead however she did not feel fear for herself, she did not feel for anything that did not involve Veyle.

This was wrong, she couldn’t flee, she had to go back to Veyle. She couldn’t abandon her sister again, “I have to turn around, I… need to.”

She just barely managed to force those thoughts to the back of her head once again, but each time she thought of turning back she came closer and closer to actually doing so.

They continued on in their flight.

Soon the group reached a valley, Alfred took a look around before spotting and pointing to a bridge in the distance, “Look, if we can cross that bridge we can cut the ropes behind us and maybe then we can begin to breathe. What do you say Divine One?”

He turned to Alear to approve his plan, instead Alear just breathed heavily to herself, completely unresponsive.

Her allies looked at her with concern. She was trembling all across her body, she could not speak, she could barely even hear, everyone’s words just felt like white noise to her.

Diamant looked at her and then to Alfred, “We will go to the bridge, Prince Alfred you should take command until the Divine One recovers.”

“I can’t possibly do that; this isn’t my army.” Alfred said to his suggestion.

Several others also looked unsure, however continued looking at Alear’s current despondent state would quickly see everyone agreeing with Diamant, “I think that is for the best Prince Alfred, at least until we make our escape we need a proper leader.” Vander said as he looked at Alear’s broken form, still not responding, “Until we can rest, you need to take command.”

Marth appeared, he was the last emblem left, “Yes Prince Alfred, the chain of command means that leadership logically falls to you, please we need someone to give an order. Accept soon, we do not have any time to waste.”

Alfred took a breath and resigned himself to the leadership position, “Okay… I will, at least until the Divine One recovers. Everyone! To the bridge, we need to get out of here now!”

Everyone except Alear nodded to Alfred’s command, instead she just stumbled along with them, barely in control of herself, let alone the army.

The group made their way to the bridge, as they did Alear looked towards it. Seeing the bridge gave her an idea, an idea which restored some spring in her step, an idea that did not go away no matter how hard she tried.

The thoughts returned and this time they were here to stay.

The party reached the bridge, however the corrupted were beginning to close in on all sides, and the bridge was not stable or large enough to allow for everyone to go across at once.

Alfred turned to Diamant, “Diamant, you and your retainers go across first to establish a bridgehead, so that others can cross more easily.”

Diamant nodded before he, Jade and Amber made their way across.

Alear looked behind her, a new swarm of corrupted were coming down upon them. Without much thought she turned to fight them off, repulsing them with ease.

Looking ahead, Alfred spotted Diamant finishing his cross, “Alright, Céline now you go across now to provide support to Diamant, then everyone else can begin their cross.”

“Got it. Stay safe brother.” Céline and Louis began to go across the bridge while Chloe flew alongside them.

The second wave of corrupted reached them, “..Emblem… engage...” Alear rushed in, slaying one before quickly shifting to face another. However for each she slayed it was as if four more took its place.

“Alright, Yunaka, you get Jean and Anna across now. Stay safe.” Alfred told them after they withstood the attack.

“You got it, come on kids.” Yunaka called the two to come with her.

More corrupted started charging to them, Alear hovered in the front of the perimeter, her idea began to take form, she just had to feign normalcy until she could her allies away. She breathed and then quickly ripped apart the corrupted.

“Alcryst, go through now, we can’t stay here much longer.” Alfred said to Alcryst when they regained a moment to breathe.

“I-I are you sure, I should stay until last… Its only right…” Alcryst loosed more arrows at coming corrupted.

Alfred shook his head, “No Prince Alcryst, we need everyone to survive. Go now, your brother will need you.”

“I… okay, Citrinne, Lapis,.. let’s go.” The two nodded and followed him across.

Yet another large group of corrupted charged them. Alear continued her defense of the bridge. Veyle was all that was on her mind as she fought, she had given into the thoughts, she would return to her sister,… alone.

Alfred looked behind him noticing that Alcryst and his retainers finished their cross, “Alright, Vander go across with Clanne and Framme and take the Divine One, I’ll leave after.”

“Of course, Clanne, Framme start to go, come on Divine One.” Vander told Alear.

“I-I can’t, it would be best if I went with Alfred to cover him.” Alear told them in response, she could not cross that bridge, else she would lose her chance.

“It will be alright Divine One, you are in no condition to stay.” Alfred argued with her.

“I am the only one with an emblem, if I go you will be overwhelmed and killed... I-I’ll go w-with you instead.” Alear’s argument was quickly made but effective.

“I… alright fine, but stay with me please, we can’t lose you.” Alfred said as Vander reluctantly made his cross with the twins.

More and more corrupted approached, Alear used the last of her engaged power to wipe a few dozen out. Afterwards she disengaged.

“Alright let’s go! Everyone is waiting for us!” Alfred called to Alear and his retainers.

Alear nodded and followed Alfred over the bridge, even if she had no intention of fully crossing.

Etie and Boucheron went in the front, Alfred in the center and Alear behind him. Each step Alear took on that bridge was calculated with the distance she moved, slowing ever so slightly with each step she took, not enough for anyone to notice until it was far too late.

Alfred was now just about to finish crossing while Alear was still near the middle, “Divine One what are you doing!? hurry up!” She didn’t know who called her but soon everyone’s attention shifted from Alfred to her. It was time.

“I have to do this alone, flee if you must!” Alear turned around and ran back across.

Before anyone could even think of chasing her, she reached the start and pulled her blade against the bridge’s left rope.

“Alear! Stop this now!” Marth’s words passed right through Alear.

Alear ignored all the pleas she heard and cut the bridge rope; Alfred was pulled away before he could fall in the canyon.

Seeing that everyone was now across Alear grabbed the right side of the bridge’s rope and cut that to, causing the entire wooden bridge to collapse and cut Alear off from her allies.

“I must do this, I am sorry, but I can’t leave!” Alear yelled out before turning before she could hear anyone yell out in response.

She began to make her way back to Veyle, whatever the cost may be, Alear had to see her again.

Alear ran through the forest, avoiding the corrupted as she went, with it only being her now she was easily able to pass undetected by the corrupted, but she still had to be fast, before Veyle and the Hounds left the area.

She made her way through the mud and trees as Marth began to yell at her, “Alear what are you doing? you need to go back now!”

She ignored him as she went up a ledge, attempting to get a better view.

“Alear! Listen to me, go back now!” Marth was starting to get annoyed.

Still she ignored him, she noticed Zephia’s wyvern make a descent in the distance, she guessed that was where Veyle was. She made her way over, making sure not be spotted as she did.

Marth continued to try and get her to  turn back around, “Alear! You can’t reach her; you are acting irrationally! You are going to get yourself killed!”

Alear had enough of his whining, “SHUT UP!” He was caught off guard by her sudden aggressive tone, “I am going whether you like it or not, now shut up!”

Marth recovered quickly, “You are making a mis-“

“I said shut up!” Alear interrupted him, “I am going and that’s final! One more word and I will summon you again without prayer and make you be silent.” Alear did not care for what he had to say, she had to reach Veyle.

Her threat seemed to have worked, or perhaps Marth just saw the futility of trying to talk her out of this. He had an immense look of sadness as he disappeared into the ring.

Alear paid him no mind, she didn't care what he did. Now in silence Alear made her way to Veyle, she had to reach her sister. What she would do after that however…. She did not know.

Alear shifted through the forest until she spotted Veyle in an opening talking to the Four Hounds. Alear crouched down, she looked at them from on a ledge, none yet noticing her.

“Hmmm…” Veyle seemed to be in thought. Every time Alear saw her sister she wanted to cry, she never should have left.

“What is the matter Lady Veyle?” Zephia asked her. Alear knew, she just knew that Zephia was in some way responsible for Veyle’s current state.

“The Draconic Time Crystal, its gone, I had it until I didn’t.” Veyle answered her. Alear paid deep attention to every single one of Veyle’s words, and if she didn’t have the time crystal,… that gave Alear an opportunity.

“Oh it does that, every now and again it gets lost in the sea of time and space. Funny thing that.” Zephia explained before continuing, “It will turn up don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried about never seeing it again, I am worried about those worms reclaiming it, that can cause some problems.” Veyle was not a bit like the girl Alear was used to interacting with, she was sadistic, cruel, and brutal. Alear needed to figure out what was wrong.

“Even if they do find the crystal it will not do them any good, we will crush them with or without the time crystal.” Zephia assured Veyle.

“Of course we will. Now if only we could have gotten the Ring of the Hero-King and wiped them out when they were still there. But it’s no matter, we will simply hunt them down here, there is nowhere for them to run.” Veyle said to her in response. The cruel words unnerving Alear, this was not Veyle, this was someone else wearing her face.

Alear sighed to herself, she couldn’t wait any longer. She had hoped that the Hounds would leave so she could talk to Veyle alone. But in a moment it looked like they would all leave somewhere else, she had to approach now or she would miss her chance.

She had only one chance.

Alear got up, took a breath, and jumped from the small ledge. She was now face to face with Veyle and Hounds, all on her own.

Immediately the five looked at Alear, confused that she was now in front of them, “… Well now, what are you doing here? Are you really just that idiotic.” Veyle asked Alear as the Hounds readied their  weapons and began to surround Alear, there was no going back now.

Alear shook her head, “…What happened to you Veyle, when we last spoke… you were nothing like this.”

Alear noticed a smirk form on Zephia’s lips as Veyle thought for a moment, “What do you m- Oh, I see what’s going on. You met the “other me” didn’t you?” Veyle’s confused expression disappeared and turned into a vile smirk.

Alear’s bad feeling worsened, “”Other you?” Veyle what are you talking about? What do you mean?” Alear bottled up her most obvious grief, she could not falter, not now.

Veyle gave a laugh, “Hehehe, you see, there is an annoying little defect attached to me, when I sleep, she awakens and does who knows what. Let me guess you met her and became friends, and now you are here out of concern for me…. How pathetic.” Veyle’s explanation would have caused Alear to breakdown again if not for an intensive resolve she had, instead she would break apart over it later.

“….” Alear could not find words. She just looked down, she was to distraught, she was here, but she was somehow even more distant than before.

“You really are quite stupid aren’t you?” Alear gave a brief glance over at Marni who said that, “Well at least you were kind and brought us the ring, saves us the trouble.”

“Speak for yourself kid, I was hoping they would put up more of a fight and get some good hits on me.” Griss said to Marni before turning to Alear,  “Do you think you can give an effort to strike me good before we skin you lizard?”

Alear gave a quick look to Mauvier. He did not speak, although she could see the slightest hints of sympathy and sadness within him.

“Well now, since you went through the effort of bringing us the ring, how about you had it over now. After all your foolish actions have ended any chance of escape you may have had.” Zephia said to Alear.

It was true she had no escape; she could not take on all five, they had fully surrounded her, and she was too far from her allies.

She sighed, Alear knew she was about to die, at least she got to see Veyle again, even considering the controlled state she was in. It was what she deserved, Alear failed as her sister by acting so selfishly all those years ago. Now as penance she would die in the rain and mud within this valley of trees and stones….

“Stones...” Alear had another idea, an escape, and hopefully a way to one day free Veyle from whatever was chaining her mind.

She looked up at Veyle who spoke to her, “So, are you done moping to yourself, in that case how do you want to go about your final stand?” She prepared a ball of dark magic.

“No, I will not fight you.”  Alear shook her head, there was not a thing that could happen to make her fight Veyle, “I know that you are not the same person I met, but even still I cannot bring myself to fight you. Instead I propose a trade.” Alear just hoped this would work, it was her last chance, her last gamble.

Veyle look at her confused but gleeful, “Oh my, you have lost it haven’t you? And what would you have to even trade with, go on I’m curious.”

“I will willingly surrender and give you the Ring of the Hero King. In exchange you call off the pursuit of my allies.” Alear offered, she just hoped Veyle would take the bait. She wasn’t thinking too much about the safety of her allies, more she just needed a believable excuse to even offer this trade.

Veyle thought for a moment, trying to discern whether Alear was serious, “And what make you think you are in any position to bargain with me? I could just take the ring here if I so pleased. After all, you said you wouldn’t fight me.”

“I said I wouldn’t fight you, not your friends, I still have an engage charge,” She didn’t, “I could use that to swiftly take a few of you with me, is that really worth it.” Alear just needed to act as though she had a stronger hand then she did.

Veyle took in her words, she fell for Alear’s bluff, “Alright,…” She cast a spell which calmed the corrupted in the area, “Drop your sword.” She commanded Alear.

Alear followed the order and dropped Libération to the grass without any delay, causing Veyle to smile in response, “Marni go and get the ring now.”

“You got it Lady Veyle.” The girl pompously walked over to Alear and held out her hand with a smug look on her face. Alear willingly dropped her ring into Marni’s open palm. As she did Alear felt the ring radiate a sense of sadness. It didn’t matter, all that mattered was Veyle.

Marni walked over to Veyle, “Here you go, you can tell me how great I am later, Lady Veyle.”

“Of course Marni, we’ll talk later.” Veyle held the ring in her hands for a bit in satisfaction. Alear just needed Veyle to approach her, but if she didn’t then it was all for naught, “Well now, I am glad you could be so cooperative.” She walked over to Alear, “But now it’s time for us to go, don’t worry I am sure we can find a nice cell fo- Ah!“ She got just close enough.

Alear quickly moved through Veyle before anyone could react, reaching into her dress as she did and pulling from it a red stone. Her dragonstone.

The Hounds all prepared to strike Alear but it was too late, Alear activated the stone causing intense fell energy to swirl around her.

“Uh guys, what is she doing!? What is that stone?” Marni called out.

Zephia looked at what Alear was doing, she didn’t know how it was even possible, but she knew what was coming, “Everyone take cover, we can’t stop her!”

Veyle recovered from her disorientation, “Why you!” She conjured a blast of dark magic and launched it, but it was far too late.

In an instant the fell energy consumed Alear causing her to be shrouded in a plume of dark power, soon the smoke cleared, “RAGH!” A black snake-like dragon now was where Alear once stood. She had scales black as night, translucent glowing crimson wings, a pair of scarlet frills coming from her serpentine head resembling a cobra’s mane, a black tail that ended with a light red grip flowing in the air, a closed third eye, and a flicking forked tongue. She was the spitting image of Sombron in so many ways.

Veyle attack just bounced right off the seemingly resistant, clearly not at all divine dragon, she took a step back in shock, “H-How, did you… w-why are you…”

Alear interrupted her, flicking her tongue as she did, “Veyle…. I-I will find a way to free you,… then I will fulfill my promise I made to you so many years ago…” Alear’s new draconic voice sounded as much like a snake as Sombron’s did, just softer.

“Oh no you don’t!” Zephia cast a wall of flame at the dragon.

Alear swiftly angled away to avoid most of the flames and struck her tail out like a whip right at Zephia, knocking her away. She then quickly raised her wings and took flight, “Goodbye…. Veyle…..”

Veyle attempted another blast of dark magic, however it missed Alear as she flew away deep into the rainclouds.

Alear did not see what they did after, She began to make her way back to her allies. She lost Marth’s ring, she lost Libération, and she didn’t get Veyle. But she escaped.

Alear flew above cloud level for some time, she managed to spot her allies below for some time, she could not show herself in this form so she waited in the skies for the best opportunity.

Soon she saw them go into a small ravine for cover and rest, there were no corrupted around, partially because of how far they fled as well as Alear getting Veyle to call them off briefly.

Now no longer able to see her, Alear made her descent into a nearby mountain and shifted back into her human form.

Immediately the stress of transforming overwhelmed her. She felt pain all across her body, it was as if every muscle was screaming in agony, she had to stop herself from vomiting. Soon she collapsed, unable to hold herself up, she fell into the mud on her side. She did not know how long she laid there, her tears flowed with the rain, “Veyle,… I’m sorry,… I’m so, so sorry.” She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t feel. She didn’t live, she just was,..

”defect, defect, defect, defect,……………………………….”

She laid there in the mud and the rain alone, thinking those oppressive thoughts as the seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes to a full hour before she forced herself up and stumbled her way over to the ravine.

She no longer cried; all her tears were gone. To her everything that she was fighting for before was now pointless. She had only one goal.

Alear stumbled into the ravine, immediately catching Chloe’s and Amber’s attention.

“Divine One! You’re back, oh thank goodness, we all thought we lost you.” Chloe said as she went to help Alear up, clearly distressed by her deity’s sorry state.

Chloe’s yell caught the everyone else’s attention. Immediately nearly everyone else stopped whatever they were doing and came over to see Alear.

“Divine One! Don’t ever do that again!” Alfred said to her, worry written on his face.

“Why did you have to act so reckless?!” Diamant asked aggressively.

“I thought we would lose you; I don’t know how I would have ever faced Queen Lumera if we did.” Vander voiced out loud.

“Why do you not communicate with us when you decide on such foolhardy actions! You could have died, and then what?!” Céline practically yelled at her.

Alear heard several other people yell or talk to her, but she tuned it all out, she didn’t care, “Enough… Vander get the Atlas, we’re leaving.”

He gave out a hard sigh before nodding and pulling out the Atlas and handing it to Alear.

“Wait before we go Divine One, there is someone else here.” Alfred said as he stood aside, allowing Princess Ivy to appear along with her two retainers.

“Divine One.” She gave a light bow, Alear didn’t react. “I am here to request to join your forces, and I brought these,..” She handed Alear two rings, the Ring of the Princess Exalt, and the Ring of the Lady Of The Plains.

Alear took the two rings without any sort of expression, “I thought you said you would not take sides.”

“I did. After our battle I went to try and convince my father one last time, but instead I was too late…. Afterwards I went to try and find you, however I only found your allies.” Ivy explained.

“… Alright you can join. Everyone in the portal now.” Alear created the portal in front of her, wishing to leave and not caring for anyone not named Veyle.

“Wait! We can’t accept Princess Ivy; did you forget that she stopped us from getting to Father!” Alcryst yelled at Alear, “It’s because of her that Father is…. Is-“

“Enough, either get in the portal or I am leaving you behind to be devoured by the corrupted.” Alear harshly said to him. She did not care to hear any petty arguing.

“Bu-“

“The portal closes in five minutes, if you aren’t in there by then you are being left behind.” Alear didn't bother checking to see if Diamant or Alcryst’s retainers got mad again, let them be mad.

Gritting his teeth Alcryst went through the portal, as did everyone else, none talked to Alear, realizing that talk was futile.

Alfred was fourth to last to leave, “Divine One, what happen to Marth?”

“I lost the ring in my escape, along with my sword.” She did not elaborate.

Alfred looked like he was about to speak but instead he shook his head and walked through the portal.

Kagetsu went through no comment, but Ivy went to talk to her, “Did anything happen… Divine One?”

“Nothing happened,… I am fine,… two minutes.” Alear said coldly.

Ivy didn’t believe her, but Alear didn’t care what she believed.

Zelkov was the last, “I tried to get back the *rings,* however I failed to do *so* but I did get this.” He held out the Draconic Time Crystal.

Alear nodded, she was thankful to him, even if she did not show it, “Thank you, you helped more than you could know…. One minute.” She took the crystal from him.

Zelkov looked confused at her words, but quickly realized what everyone else had and went through.

Now alone again Alear took one last look around,

She failed. Failed to protect the rings, failed to stop her father, failed to act as a divine dragon, and most importantly she failed to protect Veyle. All because of her own selfishness.

She sighed, she was truly alone now, Marth was gone, and if they ever met again he would most certainly hate Alear for what she had done.

She went through the portal as it closed behind her. As she did she felt around the pocket she put her dragonstone in, content that she was in that way whole again.

Next time she met Veyle they would reunite for good,… at any cost necessary…..

“Stay safe Veyle. We will reunite, until then……………”

Chapter Text

Alear : The Somniel

The party was now within the Somniel, finally they had time to rest easy after the crushing defeats they were handed throughout the day.

The whole group was worse for wear, they were covered in mud, their clothes were torn, and their spirits had taken a significant hit. Alfred moved to speak first, “Alright…. Everyone how about we all go clean ourselves up and then,… we can discuss today. Afterwards we can get some much need rest.”

Alear didn’t argue, she was perhaps the worse off of all of them, after all nearly half of her was covered in mud, “Fine….” She left without further comment to go to her personal dressing and bathing room. Before she went, she placed the two emblem rings on one of the café tables.

Alear took a quick bath and changed out of her torn, muddy armor into her casual clothing, now she was washing her hair to get the grime and muck out of it. As she did she never once stopped thinking of Veyle. She failed entirely at being her older sister. She should have tried harder to get Veyle to come with her back at Florra Mill Town or the abandoned village. She should have run after her back in Elusia before she entered the cathedral. She should have never left her behind to go be with her adoptive mother in the first place.

“Would have, could have, should have,….. It’s all pointless now isn’t it.” Alear continued to clean her long hair, “Why, why did it have to be you?”

She took a breath, but no thoughts receded, in times like this she would turn to Marth, but he was gone, and worse he was gone because of Alear’s own actions. She was alone, there was no one to turn to, “Heh, it’s just like back in the day then.” She thought to herself before realizing, “Well no,... back then I had Nel and Rafal,… and Veyle to….” She stopped combing her hair and screamed into the mirror, she hated what she saw in the mirror’s reflection, she saw a sad, weak, pathetic, failure of a defect, nothing more. But then she saw something else.

She moved her hair a bit to get a better look, on the right side of her hair a solid red blob of hair had formed, that was the red side anyway but both of her frontal hair strands had been mixed red and blue, but now the one on her right side had been turned nearly entirely red.

“Wh-What?.... W-Why?” Alear held the strand of hair in place as a horrible feeling began to sink inside of her. She immediately had an idea of what had caused it. She pulled out her dragonstone and stared at it, it radiated pure fell energy. When she used it, it had felt like half of her body was at war with the other half. She thought back to what Marth said back when she was trying to use dark magic, she was blocked out of that because her new divine power rejected it. The draconic power she drew from the stone was in a way just a much more pure, powerful, and raw form of that dark magic. When she transformed the swell of fell power was likely corroding away the divine power that her mother gave to her, seeing it as an internal impurity.

She put the stone down as she collapsed her head into the palms of her hands, “This can’t be hap-…. It was,.. it was….” Her mother died to give her this gift, and it was slipping from her. She didn’t deserve the divine power, she never deserved her mother’s love, why did her mother even choose to love her in the first place? She was just a defective fell dragon,.. “defect,defect,defect,defect,defect….”

The thoughts were too oppressive, they were too much,.. “defect,defect,defect…”

She needed it to stop, “defect,defect,defect….”

She reached for her dagger, “defect!defect!defect!…”

It was getting louder and louder as she looked at her open palm, “Defect!Defect!Defect!....”

“DEFECT!DEFECT!DEFECT!DEFECT!...”  She sliced her dagger down onto her palm,……..

Silence, blissful silence….

Alfred : The Somniel

Alfred had finished changing from his dirty armor into the casual clothes he wore around the Somniel, after giving himself a quick rinse he went to prepare the meeting where everyone could properly discuss the events of the day.

Seeing that pretty much everyone was ready he went to retrieve Alear. He walked over to her dressing room and knocked on the door, “Um, Divine One, are you ready, everything is prepared now.”

He did not hear a response only some shuffling around for about three minutes until Alear opened the door, “Fine, let’s go.” She quickly left, as she did however Alfred noticed that her hands where covered in bandages. Worried he looked inside the dressing room, the washstand had blood stains in it, and looking a little further he noticed that a bin was filled with bloody cloth.

Alfred got a sinking feeling about what Alear was doing. He just didn’t know how to help her. He sighed, “Divi-… Alear please you need help, why can’t you see that?”

He shook his head and walked downstairs to the café, he wanted to help, but she wouldn’t let him in. Hopefully she would open up before she sank deeper into despair.

Alfred walked downstairs to the café, everyone was now there, all but a few had switched to their casual wear. Alear sat down at an empty table, she did not address or acknowledge anyone. Alfred sighed, it would be up to him to carry this, “Um, is everyone here, good, then lets discuss… today.”

“Perhaps it would be best to summon the two emblems first.” Céline suggested to Alear.

Alear did not respond, instead she wordlessly grabbed the two rings and said the invocations, “Sweep across, Emblem of Blazing! Reignite us Emblem of Awakening!” She stumbled a bit; it was fast but Alfred got the impression that it was a little bit harder for her to summon these emblems than it was before.

Two Flashes of white light appeared and then dissipated from the rings, now hovering were two new ethereal figures, Emblem Lyn, and Emblem Lucina.

“Thank you for summoning us, we witnessed everything from our rings there is no need to inform either of us on the current dire situation.” Lyn said to them all.

“Indeed, we both deeply regret having to fight you back when our consciousnesses were limited, but we will fight by your sides until the end.” Lucina continued.

“Hmph.” Alear crossed her arms, “You say that you regretted fighting us, and yet that is not what I saw on the bridge Lucina.” Her tone was harsh to the emblem, and her words confused those around her.

“Divine One what do you mean? Wasn’t Lucina not in control like Leif, Lyn or that other one were?” Alfred asked.

Alear shook her head, “Hortensia was not able to draw out Lucina’s power on her own, and with Byleth she was more filled by rage. Lucina willingly chose to empower Hortensia on that bridge. I saw her movements, nothing about it was forced. So what, did you decide that you rather be on that side or what?” Alear’s tone was accusatory.

Lucina sighed, “I admit it, I willingly gave power to the princess so she could escape.” As Lucina explained Alfred noticed Ivy wearing a face of gratitude, “My motivations were simple, I did not believe that the girl deserved to die, she was a young girl just trying to help her country, as misguided as that country was and still is.” Lucina looked down on the floor, “And maybe,… maybe I also acted with a bit of personal selfishness, from my short time with her, Princess Hortensia reminded me a fair bit of my aunt, perhaps I just didn’t want to see harm come to someone so much alike my family.” Everyone nodded, all understanding and accepting Lucina’s motivation, All except Alear.

She just looked down and muttered something to herself which Alfred could not make out.

Diamant turned to her, “Now that the emblems are summoned, we need to talk Divine One. Why on Elyos did you decide to run off like that, do you have any idea what could have happened.”

Alear stayed silent.

Diamant sighed, “You need to communicate with us, at times it is like you don’t even realize you are in command of an army.” He shook his head, “What did you even go and do?”

Alear thought for a moment before reluctantly answering, “I went to go and stop more corrupted from being summoned.”

Alfred could tell that wasn’t the full truth, “And how did you lose Marth and your sword exactly?”

Alear again began to think before speaking, “I lost both when I confronted the hounds, they managed to take the ring from me, and I lost my sword in my retreat.”

It was such a vague answer, Alfred knew there was more. But he realized that she wasn’t going to tell the full story anytime soon.

“Are we done now?” Alear asked, catching several off guard, after all it had only been a few minutes, and many still wished to discuss today’s events.

“We’re not.” Everyone turned to hear Alcryst speak, “Princess Ivy should not be allowed here, she will just stab us in the back later.”

Ivy did not respond to his accusation, “…”

“I thought we already settled this.” Alear said uninterested.

“We didn’t, how can you sit there and-“

“Alcryst enough.” Diamant interrupted his brother, “Princess Ivy is not to blame for what happened, that was the Fell Dragon and King Hyacinth. Direct your anger at them.”

Alcryst looked at his brother in shock, “Diamant, how can you say such a thing? She’s our enemy, can’t you see that.”

Diamant shook his head, “No, she not. Princess Ivy risked her life to get us those rings, without her we would be in an even worst position. We are in the worse straits we have ever been in,… I have ever been in.” Diamant looked down, clearly exhausted, “For now we must stand together if we are to have any chance at rebuilding.”

“I-I... You’re right Diamant.” Alcryst took in his brother words, as he placed his hand on his face, “It’s just… so hard to think that Father is…. gone. He always seemed like he would be there…. always be there to lead. He would encourage me so much and whenever he did…. I felt like I had accomplished something, like maybe I wasn’t worthless,… and now,… I’ll never see him again….. *sniff* *sniff*” Alcryst began to let out tears.

“I know,… I know, it is hard to imagine him gone.” Diamant looked as if he was barely holding it together, “To me I could never imagine anyone else sitting proudly on the throne, I-I am not ready. But… we must stand strong, or else even worst things will come to Brodia and Elyos. So we can’t give into despair,… that’s not what Father would have wanted.” Alfred noticed a single tear fall from Diamant.

Alcryst nodded, “Alright Diamant,… we have to fight, for Brodia,… for Father. We will kill the Fell Dragon and his spawn too, then maybe we c-“

“If we are done here then I am leaving.” Alear interrupted him, clearly frustrated at something he said. Alfred looked to see her hands were clenched.

Citrinne was fuming as she responded to her, “Would it kill you to be respectful and understanding to a grieving family for once!”  She herself had tears in her eyes.

“…, it seems like everyone here has family they are even allowed love….” Alear silently said to herself as she got up and stormed to her room, “If anyone needs me, go talk to someone else.” She snarled as she left to her room, slamming the door behind her as she did.

Alfred didn’t know where her words came from, but he knew there was pain behind them.

Everyone sat in silence after she left, Vander was the first to break the silence, “I fear the Divine Dragon is only getting worse.”

“What you do mean by getting worse.” Kagetsu asked confused.

“Right, you three wouldn’t know.” Alfred said to Ivy and her retainers.

“If it is too sensitive I will understand.” Ivy responded to him.

Alfred shook his head, “No, it’s fine, since you joined this army you have a right to know what’s been going on with the Divine One.” Alfred thought for a good place to start, “She been acting totally irrationally since after the cathedral, she ran off from us when we retreated and before that she was completely despondent. It started when she first saw that girl Veyle.”

“Veyle? Yes I talked to her once or twice, what did she do exactly?” Ivy asked.

“I don’t know, just seeing her caused the Divine One to breakdown,… although she wasn’t acting particularly well before this.” Alfred began to think. He noticed Lucina and Lyn were staying entirely silent.

“Veyle was the one who killed Queen Lumera, and is the Fell Dragon’s daughter. The Divine One seems to have befriended her without knowing that. Perhaps she is angry that someone she regarded as friend was responsible for the death of her mother. That might explain what’s happening.” Céline suggested.

Alfred thought for a moment, before deciding that wasn’t it, “No, she wasn’t acting like this when Queen Lumera first died and she first started acting like this around Florra Mill Town.”

Diamant quickly had a revelation, “Florra Mill Town,… is that not where the Divine One said she first met Veyle?”

Alfred quickly remembered and then nodded, “Yeah… She did say that, and she got worst after the abandoned town where we met Yunaka, I found her just standing despondently, she acted similarly after Florra Mill…. I am willing to bet she met Veyle there as well.”

Vander nodded, “In that case it is almost certain that the Divine One’s current state has been caused by the Fell Dragon’s daughter. What she did, we do not know, but we now know the source of the Divine One’s irrationality.”

“Agreed.” Alfred nodded, it made too much sense, looking around everyone else seemed to agree as well, “Princess Ivy, please share anything you know about that girl.”

Ivy thought for a minute, “I only ever interacted with her a few times, and never personally. So sadly I simply do not know much about her. But when she appeared to my father with the Four Hounds they began the process to revive the Fell Dragon.”

“Alright then.” Alfred looked around, everyone looked tired, he was tired himself, “Alright everyone, we can discuss this more later, for now we should rest. It has been a long and hard day; we have been beaten but not defeated. For now we need to rest and recover.” He thought about sharing what Alear did to herself in the dressing room, but decided to tell them later, he didn’t need to add more worries on them now.

“Okay, Clanne, Framme, lets go help Princess Ivy and her retainer get settled then you two need to get some sleep.” Vander said to the twins.

“I will stand watch; I can’t sleep right now.” Alcryst said.

Alfred was entirely sure, but accepted anyway, “Alright… Prince Alcryst.”

“If anyone needs help, you need only ask me, I am much less worn than you all and I have only now joined.” Ivy said to them all.

“I… might just need that help for some things Princess Ivy. Thank you.” Alfred felt bad about accepting that help, but he needed to make sure everyone could rest properly.

A few more words were exchanged as people dispersed to go  rest, today was hard, and tomorrow they needed to rebuild.

Alfred thought about Alear, he had to help her, but he felt completely helpless to do so.

Alear : The Somniel

Alear laid in bed, she couldn’t sleep. Every thought she had that she was once able to bottle up could not be ignored. She looked around, every time she felt as if she could see Veyle from the corner of her sight, from behind her bed curtains, near the piano, in the mirror, outside looking out the broken wall. It dominated her thoughts.

She buried her face into her pillow and started beating her side with her fist, the pain causing her to blur the images of her sister from her sight. With her tears dry this was all she could do.

She laid in her bed for hours, exhausted but incapable of sleep. The full moon was too bright, the walls gave off too much light. And her open pillar walls… She breathed, she could only see them as potential danger, after all it would have been trivial for someone to shoot her with an arrow,… her allies regarded all fell dragons as evil, if they already found out….

She got up from her bed, she couldn’t sleep here, she needed,… she needed to go read on the native flora of Gradlon.

Alear exited her room, making sure to make as little noise as possible. The café was now dark, and few were awake or active. Silently she began to make her way to the Somniel’s library, there was something there that she desperately needed.

She shifted quietly through the Somniel until she reached the library, once inside she went to the restricted section, filled with books that could only be taken with express permission, and never outside the library themselves. The stewards were not allowed to do anything but dust off the books here.

At the very end of one of the shelves was a book, The plants, moss, trees, and fungi native to the lands of Gradlon.

The book was uninteresting, its connection to the sunken land meant that few questioned why it was in the restricted section, but its mundanity also meant that few would ever have reason to read it, making it the perfect hiding place to Alear.

She opened the book and flipped page 120, a page on the Glassblood Amaranth native to southern Gradlon, taped to the illustration was a key. Alear took the key before placing the book back on its shelf.

Now she began to make her way to the undercroft. However as she exited the library, she began to focus as she heard footsteps and could sense two people nearby. Quickly she found a place to hide.

Ivy : The Somniel

Ivy had decided to help around with the night patrols around the Somniel, it was good for her to think and to familiarize herself with the Somniel. She was not with the group when they were defeated, but the day was still one of tragedy for her. She lost both her country and her father to the Fell Dragon. It was hard, and to now see the deity she worshiped and leaned on to get through some of the darkest points of her life in such a miserable state,… it made the night sky seem so oppressive.

She sighed and continued to walk around the unfamiliar floating island, it was wonderful to be in this holy land, even if the circumstances of her being here were nothing to find happiness in.

She quieted down as she heard footsteps approaching, she turned and saw Prince Alcryst looking at her, “Prince Alcryst,.. do you need something?” She had a good idea what this was about.

“…” Alcryst was silent for a second, “I still won’t forgive you; you know why.”

Ivy understood why he acting like this, “I understand,… I apologize for my role in your father’s death.” It was only right that she apologizes.

“I-… Y-You do?” Alcryst was shocked that she would be so sincere.

“I do. I know that a mere apology can’t heal your wounds, or really achieve much at all, but still I must take this first step, so that we may move forward. So yes, I am sorry.” Ivy knew full well the grief of losing a father, she lost one the same day.

Alcryst thought for a moment, “I-.. No, you’re right, I’m sorry for lashing out at you. And you also lost your father too,..”

“It’s fine really.” Ivy tried to reassure him.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did your father work to revive the Fell Dragon in the first place?” Alcryst asked her.

Ivy thought for moment, wondering if she should tell or not, “My father was put under stress by the constant invasions, the harsh demands and the occupation of the northwest strained our kingdom immensely, and not to mention the constant atrocities committed by the Brodian army. He tried to get the other nations to help us, but with the pact isolating us, that simply was not possible. So when the hounds and Veyle arrived and offered aid, he took it, for he had exhausted all other options.”

“I-I… I didn’t know Brodia was doing all that, and to have strained Elusia enough that they felt they had no other option….” Alcryst began to unpack things.

“it’s fine, you had no personal involvement. I blame the Fell Dragon and his daughter for what happened to my father, they caused him to go mad in his moment of desperation and then stabbed him in the back after they were done. I wish to do right by my kingdom and father’s memory. And to do that I will have vengeance on the fell spawn.” Ivy explained. She hated Brodia, but she couldn’t hate someone who had no idea about the worst things Brodia was doing. She was in a way happy that Morion was dead, but she wasn’t happy that a boy who loved his father dearly now had to live without him.

Alcryst thought about Ivy’s words, “In that case can we make an agreement? Together let us make sure that those responsible for our fathers’ deaths are held responsible for there actions. So that they can’t hurt anyone else.”

Ivy was surprised, she had hurt about Brodia’s extremely timid prince before, and yet on this matter he held one of the most determined resolves she had ever seen before, “I… Alright Prince Alcryst, together, we will end the fell dragons and wipe them from Elyos.” She now held a smile on her face.

“Thank Princess Ivy,… and I am so sorry with the way I acted, I understand if you don’t want to interact with me at all.” Alcryst began to revert to his standard nature.

“Heh, no it’s fine. Come on its time to continue our patrols.” Ivy felt the night begin to ease up. However not too far away, someone else began to clench her fist in growing paranoia.

Alear : The Somniel

Alear heard everything as she hid from Alcryst and Ivy, it made complete sense. All her allies wished to do was rid the world of the fell dragons. If she let them they would kill Veyle, they would kill her sister. And if they ever found out,… they would kill her as well.

A confrontation would come eventually, and she would be forced to choose between her current allies, and Veyle. It wasn’t much of a choice. If anyone tried to bring harm to Veyle,… Alear would do whatever was necessary to protect her,.. without hesitation.

She breathed, she could not trust anyone here, not anymore. She turned and made her way to the undercroft; there she could rest.

Alear silently moved through the halls of the undercroft, she did not know if anyone was down here, but she could not risk being spotted. She was very familiar with these halls and had great night eyes so moving in the dark presented little issue. Soon she reached the black door and pulled out the key she got from the library and unlocked it.

Moving through the door she quickly locked it behind her, she couldn’t let anyone see what was inside. The halls shifted from brown bricks to pitch black bricks, the area was even darker than the rest of the undercroft, there were two small rooms, a tiny library and tearoom to the left, one large storage room to the right, and straight ahead was another room, again behind a door.

Alear went inside the room at the end of the hall, she was immediately hit by a wave of dust, causing her to start coughing, however looking around in the room she began to feel a sense of calm and the ability to breathe even despite the dust.

It was her old bedroom, when she was first adopted by Lumera she faced constant assassination attempts by zealous servants who wished to rid Lythos of the fell child. Realizing this Lumera gave her the Somniel to live on, and made sure she could have this room to better match her natural environments. Hence why deep within the Somniel there was this little piece of Gradlon.

Alear walked around, the room had most certainly not been walked in for a thousand years, everything was covered in several layers of dust. She looked inside her armor dresser and found several sets of her old black and red armor. Closing the dresser she inspected other things, her bed was fully made, but again it was very dusty. She looked at her nearby dagger and sword stand, her old blades looked too rusty to really use. 

Opening her chest by the bed however she found something important, her Obscurité tome… She picked the tome up, immediately feeling its dark power. She placed it back, right now it was worthless to her, taking it would only add another variable to concern herself about.

She turned to the left wall to see the two things she mounted up there, Revanche and Représailles, the Axe used by Rafal and the Lance used by Nel. They were all Alear had left of either of them.

The two were the only of her siblings beside Veyle that Alear had ever truly gotten the opportunity to bond with, others either died to quick or were far too hostile. But not them, they went on missions together, and survived where others did not.

She remembered when Rafal taught her to make candy, She began to think of when Rafal was drowned.

She shifted her thoughts to Nel, and when she and her would speak the hours away, she thought of when Nel was burned alive.

She shook her head; she couldn’t think about this right now, it was too hard. Alear turned to her bed, and went to sleep. Some tears returned and the pitch-black room and constant stream of dust meant that she was able to avoid seeing Veyle in her sight, It was just enough that she did not need to hit herself for the rest of the night.

Alear laid for hours, not really sleeping but getting rest all the same. She did not know how long had passed as no sunlight could come into this room. Eventually Alear decided to get up from her bed, sneezing from the mountain of dust as she did. Still it was much better than the room on the surface, easier on her sensitive eyes, and less risk of assassination.

She took a look in her casual wear dresser, all black and red versions of what she was currently wearing. Closing it she decided that it was best if she just continued wearing white and blue, even though the appeal had long disappeared for her.

She took another look at Revanche and Représailles, she noticed how their golden sheen had disappeared, along with being covered in dust, grime, and rust. Not wanting the memory of her siblings to look like that she grabbed both and left to clean them.

Nel and Rafal deserved better.

Alear emerged from the undercroft, the sun was just rising, and most were still asleep or were just waking up. She began to make her way to the armory, She grabbed some rags, a bucket, and some weapon oil, and began to make her way to the fountain in the western part of the island.

She placed Représailles down as she got to work cleaning Revanche. As she rubbed oil around to clean the axe, she thought of Rafal, he was harsh at times and he did have sadistic tendencies on the battlefield or even around weaker siblings, but unlike the other ambitious fell siblings, he knew when to rein himself in, making him still approachable by those who knew him, which was sadly only Nel and too a lesser extent Alear and Veyle.

She wondered what he would say to Alear if he was here. He would probably tell her to stop moping around and get a hold of herself. It was a nice thought.

She turned to finish wiping off Revanche as she heard footsteps approaching, “Oh! Divine One, what are doing?’ It was Clanne.

She wanted to go back to her pleasant silence, “Cleaning.”

To her annoyance Clanne walked over and saw the weapons, “Whoa, I have never seen an axe or lance like that, where did you get those?”

Alear continued to clean Revanche, “They belonged to people I once knew.” She hoped he would get the hint.

He did not, “They are really cool, are you going to give them to the army for use?”

She thought for a moment, she was not well trained with either lances or axes, and she would never let anyone here touch either, “…No, these aren’t for anyone.”

Clanne looked a little disappointed, “Oh, so they are just ceremonial?”

Alear was getting frustrated by Clanne’s constant questions, and she was offended that anyone could view either Représailles or Revanche as merely ceremonial, after all they were some of the best made weapons from Gradlon, “No they are not ceremonial, both Représailles and Revanche are very powerful weapons, they are too special for me to hand out though.” She hoped her explanation would satisfy Clanne.

“Their names are Représailles and Revanche? I see, but please, even if they are just personal to you, you don’t need to clean them yourself, here I can help.” He grabbed Représailles, immediately triggering Alear.

She placed Revanche down, “Clanne put it down now.” She didn’t want his hands anywhere near Nel’s memory.

“Huh? No it’s fine, I’ve know how to- Ahh OW…!“ Alear quickly slapped him hard across his face, the impact of the blow disorienting him.

“Clanne, did I ask you to pick up the lance at any point?” She stared emotionlessly and with contracted eyes, terrifying Clanne as he recovered from the blow.

“I-I um, um,” He held his face, the blow causing an immense pain.

“Answer the question Clanne.” She began to approach until she was right in his face, her expression terrifying him.

Clanne started breathing, letting a few tear loose as he did. “…No…y-you.. d..didn-n’t, pl-please I-I’m s-s-sor-“

“Drop the lance now. Do not sully it anymore.” She did not blink.

As instructed Clanne dropped the lance on the ground. Alear continued looking straight into his eyes, observing him relentlessly.

Alear interrupted him, “Do that again, or tell anyone about either weapon, and that slap will be a weak comparison of what I will do.”

Clanne looked at her, it was one thing to see this side of Alear on the same side of a battlefield, but it was an entirely different thing to be the target of this side of her, “I-I… un-understood, I-I’m s-s-sorry” He was shaking all over, to afraid to move away.

“Get out of here now.” Alear said to him, she was entirely done with his presence now.

Clanne quickly ran away, too afraid to look back or to respond.

Alear paid him no more mind. She picked up Représailles and went back to cleaning Revanche.

After polishing them both to perfection their shine was good as new. Deciding that she honored Nel and Rafal enough today she snuck back into her room in the undercroft and hung them up on her wall once again. Cleaning them went smoothly.

Still, she wondered, what if Clanne did know what the weapons were and this was another attempt to undermine her. Her allies were utterly untrustworthy, she needed to keep an eye on them in case they knew. She thought for a moment before having an idea.

She needed to go and prepare a document.

Alfred : The Somniel

It was noontime when Alfred requested to speak to Vander in his office. He knew he needed to tell other just how bad Alear was deteriorating, and Vander was the best option to tell.

Alfred walked into the office and saw Vander beckon him over, “Please, come in Prince Alfred, what is it that you wish to speak about.”

Alfred sat down on a chair, “Sir Vander, I want to tell you something serious.”  He began to try and find what he was going to say.

“Of course, if there is anything I can do to help, feel free to ask.” Vander quickly realized that this was probably about Alear.

Alfred eventually decided to just say it directly, “I think the Divine One is resorting to self-harm.”

Vander looked shock, “I-I,.. what?”

“Last night when I went to get her from the meeting she had bandages around both her hands, and in her washstand there was blood, and in a bin there were bloody rags. I think she cut herself.” Alfred explained, it was awful for him to think about.

Vander thought for a moment, “I see… So her condition is worse than we feared. Have you told anyone else?”

Alfred shook his head, “No I have not, I thought it best to tell you first.”

Vander sighed and muttered something about Queen Lumera, “The Divine One is going through something awful, and as she keeps to herself and refuses the help of others I simply do not know how to help her. Prince Alfred, have you seen anyone properly befriend the Divine One?”

Alfred thought for a moment, “I have had a few positive interactions, but she keeps me at arm’s length, and everyone else is even more distant, I have never even heard her call someone a friend…. Actually she did refer to Veyle as a friend, and showed more concern for her than anyone else…”

Vander crossed his arms, “Hmph. That girl has done so much damage to the Divine One it's sickening. She is clearly the one responsible for her current state, not to mention she was the one who took Queen Lumera from us.” Vander’s words were bitter. “For now, all we can do is keep and eye on the Divine One and make sure she doesn't do something that she regrets, but aside from that, all we can do is pray she recovers.”

Alfred nodded; it was hard to feel so powerless at helping someone clearly going through more grief than he could possibly imagine, “Thank you for listening Vander. Do you need any help with anything around the Somniel?”

Vander thought for a moment, “It was no trouble, really I am glad you brought this to my attention. But no, I already have several tasks assigned to the twins, although speaking of the twins, Clanne seems to be really scared of something today, he has been increasing his workload and has been avoiding talking about whatever has him on edge. Perhaps you can go cheer him up somehow, the boy is clearly scared of something.”

Alfred nodded, “That’s just the task I was hoping you would have. Don’t worry I’ll go make sure Clanne is back to his usual happy self, its nothing a good workout won’t fix.” Alfred ran out to go find Clanne, the army was in horrible straits and Alear’s condition was only tearing it apart further, he needed to step in to try and keep as many people together as possible.

Yunaka : The Somniel’s Undercroft

Yunaka made her way through the Somniel’s undercroft, she was called by Alear who wanted to talk to her. It was quite weird, Alear didn’t really seem to be in the mood to talk to anyone, let alone Yunaka. And for whatever reason she wanted it done in some random storage room in the undercroft, “Yikes, why doesn’t she call me to a more happy, less dusty area.”

She made her way into the correct room and saw Alear sitting on one of the boxes, with a document in her hand, “Here I am Divine One. So what task do you got for little ol’ Yunaka?”

“You’re here, good, close the door behind you.” Alear stated without looking her.

Yunaka turned and closed the door as instructed, “Why did you even want to meet here, you allergic to sunshine and happiness or something?”

Alear shook her head, “No I just wanted to give you this task somewhere quiet, you never know when rats are in the walls.” Alear’s words began to unnerve Yunaka. “I need your skillset for a task.”

“Um sure, I’m your girl for stealthy business, whatcha need?” A pit was starting to form in her stomach.

“I need you to spy on the members in this army.” Alear said it as if it were the most normal, run of the mill request ever.

“….What?” Yunaka wasn’t sure if she heard her correctly.

“I need you to spy on the members in this army.” She just repeated herself.

Yunaka was in shock that Alear was even asking this of her, “I… But why though?”

“The people here are too untrustworthy, if anyone plans to put a knife in my back I want know first.” Alear explained with a blank expression.

“Oh no, I am being dragged into a paranoid girl’s crazy schemes, aren’t I.” Yunaka quickly knew she couldn’t enable this further, “Uh Divine One, I really don’t think you need to worry about that, and I am sorry but I can’t do this,  it doesn’t feel right for me to invade other people’s privacy.” She just hoped Alear would calm down after her refusal.

Instead she brought forth the document, “I would consider changing your choice Yunaka… or should I say Larimar.”

Yunaka stopped breathing when she said that, it shouldn’t have even been possible for that information to be found “H-How did yo-”

Alear interrupted her, “I am attentive. I started looking around after we first met, I guessed your profession as an assassin quickly.  When looking for a red-haired Brodian assassin it can be easy to follow even a small paper trail. If you know what you are doing it is not hard to find a match.”

Yunaka was in disbelief that Alear managed to figure her out so easily, “I-I,… t-that’s,…I” She didn’t know how to respond.

Alear interrupted her before she could process her thoughts, holding the document as she did, “So Larimar, how about you reconsider my request. If you choose not to I am sure this document will be quite valuable to a lot of people in Elyos, some of them in this very army. After All this group includes Brodian nobility and royalty, I am sure they would be very familiar with your crimes.”

Yunaka thought for a moment, she had no out here, and she severely doubted her ability to force her way out of this, “… Fine,… I will spy on the others. Just… don’t put that information out there, and... don't call me Larimar.”

Alear put the document down, “I am glad that you could see my view Yunaka. Do not worry, as I have leverage I can trust you now. Do your task genuinely and this will never be known by anyone, who knows after this I may even help you get rid of the paper trail fully. You may leave now, I will give you your first proper task later, until then keep your ears open.”

Alear took the document and left to go who knows where, Leaving Yunaka on her own. She took a breath, it was only espionage, nothing else, she had done much worse before. And if Alear would follow through with the olive branch she offered this may even prove good long-term.

Still she hated being used and blackmailed like this, but it wasn’t like she had any choice.

Yunaka left the undercroft, she couldn’t look at her friends the same way anymore, soon she would be responsible for a breach in their privacy.

She just hoped Alear’s paranoia would stay dormant before it would cause even more harm, but she knew people like this, it rarely got better, and usually only got worse.

Chapter Text

Veyle : The Path To Destinea Cathedral

Veyle and the Hounds made their way back to the cathedral after deciding that it was no longer possible or really even worth it to chase down their foes.

The five marched north as they all silently tried to figure out what they had just witnessed. It was Marni who broke that silence, “So…. What happened back there?”

Zephia sighed, she was clearly in deep thought trying to unravel the mystery, “She transformed into a dragon, Marni. What we are trying to figure out is how. That should not have been possible without the correct dragonstone.”

“So then, the stone she used was the correct dragonstone, duh.” It seemed obvious to her.

Veyle shook her head, “Then why did I have it exactly? I had that stone for a while, I never knew what it was or where it came from, I just assumed the defect grabbed it on one of her weird adventures. And another thing, why did she look like that?”

Marni looked at her, “You mean why did she look less like what you would expect a divine dragon to look like, and instead looked more like,… I dunno more like how I would expect you to look.”

“That’s it!” Zephia exclaimed, she figured it out, “I know where I saw her before,  “Alear,” she is another of Lord Sombron’s children, and one of your siblings Lady Veyle. That’s where I knew her from.” Immediately she caught the other four’s attention.

“’Wait what? What do you mean by “another of Lord Sombron’s children?” I thought she was Lumera’s kid.” Marni asked her.

“Please Zephia tell me more about this sibling of mine.” Veyle was starting to put the pieces together.

Zephia began her long explanation, “Alear was the name of one of the fell children during the war, I served with her a few times. She was cold and ruthless on the battlefield and carried out her father’s will with absolute efficiency. This brutal efficiency and efficient brutality is what caused her to live for so long while others perished. However near the end of the war she disappeared and most assumed she died, simply another number to be added on a list. That was until the very final battle when she reappeared on the opposing side, where she combatted her father and supposedly perished.” Zephia looked around, seeing that she had the full attention of all four, “I didn’t connect the rogue fell child and Lumera’s spawn because the details slipped my mind, there were just so many fell children around, they all kind of blended together with each other. I just assumed that she went in to fight her father, died, and then Lumera’s spawn finished the act. But now it makes more sense that the two are one and the same.”

Veyle got the full picture she needed, “That’s why she was acting so strangely around me, it wasn’t because of misguided concern for a random friend she made…. It was the worry an older sibling has for a younger… Heh, how utterly pathetic.” Veyle thought for a little longer, “Perhaps we were close, and that’s why I had the dragonstone, because she wanted to show how much I meant to her.” She had one of the largest smiles she ever had.

“It’s so sweet it brings a tear to one’s eye.” Zephia commented as she began to theorize, “I suppose she was adopted by Lumera in the interim between her disappearance and her return at the end.”

“I can’t believe that loser is Lord Sombron’s kid- Ahg ah!” Griss started flailing his hand around while practically salivating.

“Griss, stop putting your hand on the blades hilt, it will burn you if you are not a divine dragon. How many times must we tell you this?” Mauvier said to him, irritated.

“I know, this sword is great, the pain gets too much for me after half a minute of holding the hilt, I never even knew that was possible. What a find.” Griss reluctantly put the blade away in a safer place.

“If only a divine dragon could use that sword, then how come little miss rogue fell kid was able to use it?” Marni asked Zephia.

Zephia thought for a moment, “Alear use to have purely red hair, it was one of her most recognizable traits, the added blue was another reason I didn’t recognize her. When she fell asleep, Lumera was likely transferring her power into her, giving her the powers of a divine dragon and letting her use the sword. This is what likely what gave her that two-toned hair and heterochromia. Personally I like the red side more, it feels more natural on her. Blue clearly isn’t her color.”

“If that is true then maybe that’s why Lumera went down so easily. It took surprisingly little for me to kill her, what if most of her power went into trying to wipe away the fell energy from my dear sister.” Veyle’s smirk widened even further, if that was true, it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.

“Wait, I have a question.” Griss surprising seemed to have an observation, “If the hair and the eye was changed, why wasn’t the lizard form changed? Shouldn’t that be different to?”

“No of course not.” Zephia looked offended, “The “lizard form” as you call it is the purest form of a dragon, when we transform we tap into the most inner part of our being, a part that never changes. It doesn’t matter how much divine energy she had stuffed in her, she will always be a fell dragon, as that is the core of her being… Although,… when in the dragon form, one’s soul and body will actually do maintenance on itself, wiping away any impurities it finds. It would not surprise me if that after using it, her divine power is a little weaker.”

“Hehehehe, wow I really do just have the most idiotic sibling imaginable don’t I? Do you think she crying right now over her little baby sister being so different than she remembers? Heh, I bet her allies don’t even know what she is. Can you imagine that, proclaiming to loyally serve the divine dragons, when all you are doing is blindly following another fell dragon. Oh so many possibilities on how to use this information.” Veyle was giddy with excitement, she turned and looked around, Marni, and Griss shared her enthusiasm. Zephia continued to think and Mauvier just silently looked ahead. She didn’t like how Mauvier refused to acknowledge her.

Oh well today was a complete success, she obtained six rings. Even if the loss of the Ring of the Lady Of The Plains, and the Ring of the Princess Exalt were taken into account she was up four. And of course, she even got to see a long-lost sibling, she would make sure to be a good sister moving forward.

They continued on to Destinea Cathedral to go and see her father. He would most certainly be interested in this news.

The five made it back to the cathedral, as they entered the main hall Veyle saw her father standing with closed eyes in his humanoid form, waiting for them to return.

“Veyle…. Did you get the ring and eliminate the pests?” He didn’t open his eyes as he asked her.

“I acquired the Ring of the Hero King as well as the Divine Dragon’s blade. However they all managed to escape.” Veyle said to her father.

“Hmm, that is acceptable, with only two rings in their possession they pose little threat. For now we shall let them lead us to the Ring of the Radiant Hero, and the Ring of the Crux Of Fate. Bring the ring here.” He opened his eyes and held out his hand, urging Veyle forward.

“Of course.” Veyle walked over and dropped the ring in his hand.

“Shine on Emblem of Beginnings!” As he said the invocation, the silent red apparition appeared from the ring, Veyle noticed that there was a distinct miserable expression, she smirked at that, how sad that he was abandoned by one he trusted so.

“What do we do with the sword?” Griss asked, holding up Libération.

“Hmph, the trinket is of no value to me, denying it is good enough.” Sombron said with disinterest.

“Take it to my study, I might have some uses for it.” Zephia said to Griss before turning back to Sombron, “There is another pressing matter my lord, but perhaps this is best said with just me, Veyle and you.”

“Very well Zephia.” He turned to the other three, “Leave us now.” The three all gave bows and exited the hall, leaving only Veyle, Zephia and Sombron, “Now, what is it that you wish to speak of?”

Veyle decided to tell him, “When we were chasing them down we were approached by the Divine Dragon alone, she made the offer of us stopping our pursuit in exchange for the emblem ring and her personal surrender. That is how we got the ring and sword.” Veyle explained.

Sombron’s third eye began to buzz around, “Why is she not here then? If she surrendered why did you not bring her here?” His voice had the smallest hint of frustration, although few would be able to tell.

Veyle took a breath, she did not wish to speak of the way she was tricked, “It was a ruse, as I went to restrain her, she rushed forward and pulled a dragonstone from my dress. She used it to transform and flew away.”

She was about to continue but she was interrupted, “And why did you even have her dragonstone in the first place? And that trade makes little sense, the rings are far more valuable long-term, and this is out of character for a divine dragon.” His third eye was now looking straight at her, trying to discern if she was lying.

“I do not know where I got the stone, my theory is that she gave it to the defect attached to me a thousand years ago.” She quickly continued to make sure her explanation made sense, “When she transformed she looked nothing like a divine dragon, instead she looked like one of us. I believe she is actually another fell child…”

Sombron grew the slightest hint of surprise, his eye buzzing even fiercer, “Absurd, the rest of my children died during the war…. Wait,… Zephia did you collect the body of that one traitorous whelp after I slew her?”

“The girl with the crimson hair and eyes? I did not.” She confirmed before continuing, “I remember her, both have the same face, and same name, “Alear.” And when seeing Lady Veyle she was acting extremely concerned over her, even saying she would “free her.””

“In that case I retract what I said, next time bring me the body of that treacherous and defective snake. The fact that she still persists with her foolish opposition is revolting.” His eye looked around a bit more until he was satisfied and closed it, “Now go, With the king dead we must move to establish absolute control over this land, lest any troublesome worms begin to pop up. For now on, nothing in this kingdom happens without me knowing about it, and all resources are to be dedicated to war.” He closed his other eyes and returned to silent meditation.

Receiving the cue to leave, Veyle and Zephia both gave light bows and exited the hall. Veyle began to think of ways they could exploit what they had learned about her foolish sibling.

They met back up with the rest of the Hounds in the entrance of the Cathedral.

“So, what did he have to say about another of his daughters popping up from nowhere?” Marni asked them.

“He ordered us to kill her, nothing more. Although personally I feel that’s a bit of a waste.” Zephia responded.

“That’s not much of a reaction.” Marni commented, “I would think he would care more about this.”

Zephia shook her head, “Oh, that’s just the way he is. Anyway we have our orders, let them do the work of finding the last two rings, then we will swoop in and rip them away.”

“Gotcha Zephia, don’t worry I’ll wait like you wouldn’t believe, then you’ll give me so much praise.” Marni said happily.

“Hmph, you and your weird childish obsession with praise, when you grow up you’ll find punishment to be far superior.” Griss said to Marni before turning to Zephia and Veyle, “So, are we going to tell everyone we can about the dragon fraud. It would be easy to get them to fall apart.”

Veyle thought for a moment, “No.. for now we keep the truth under wraps, but we can prod them, adding a little more distrust bit by bit. We can make this easily blow up far harder for them if we take this slow instead of just telling them directly, after all why would they ever believe us? Instead lets slowly stew this so that their breakup is far more violent. And after they are done tearing themselves to shreds, we can just sweep away what’s left.”

“Heh, now that’s the sort of plan I expect out of you Lady Veyle, now if your sister proves fun that’s how I’ll know it runs in the family.” Griss commented with a smile.

Throughout this Veyle noticed Mauvier staying silent, he had a stiff face but it was clear that he was deeply depressed over the news, it annoyed her that he only ever had eyes for the defect, but as long as he did his job she didn’t care what he thought.

“Alright that’s enough, come we have plans to make, and we should get ready to go Solm after establishing control over Elusia from Illusiastad. Once there we can prepare our next move.” Zephia said to the other four.

All nodded and they began their trek to the Elusian capital to enforce their will. Veyle smiled to herself, everything had been going even better than expect. Besides the loose dragon and the Elusian crown princess’s betrayal, all had gone in their favor. All that now stood in their path was another of her faceless sisters. She would join the rest of her fallen siblings; she was nothing special. Still Veyle agreed with Zephia in a way, something about killing her and being done with it felt like a waste. Well it didn’t matter, all that mattered was her father’s will, nothing more.

She began to feel more and more tired, she would need to sleep soon.

Chapter Text

Alear : The Somniel’s Undercroft

Alear sat silently in her hidden room as she stared into her mirror. Everywhere she looked, whether that be the halls, the gardens, the café, the central square, the cliffside, and right now the mirror, she always managed to see images of Veyle from the corner of her eye. Right now she was sitting right next to Alear with a smile on her face, however looking over Alear saw nothing in the place reflected by the mirror. Not that she was expecting to see anything.

Sighing, Alear looked down to her open palms, bloody and cut, delivering the desired self-inflicted pain she had wanted. It hurt badly, but that was what she deserved for her actions and failures. The wounds would swiftly regenerate and disappear without a trace, then she could do it all over again. With her mother dead, Veyle out of reach, and Marth betrayed and abandoned by her, this was all she could do to silence the worst of her thoughts.

Shaking her head she began to get ready and put on her battlefield clothing. The group had rested in the Somniel for a few days to rest and reorganize. While doing this, they kept on scouting the local area from outside the ravine the portal was currently set too. For now the only thing they could do was begin to march towards the Queendom of Solm. There they could acquire the Ring of the Radiant Hero, and if they were fortunate, the Ring of the Crux Of Fate.

After finishing putting on her armor, Alear got up and made her way out of the undercroft, ignoring the apparitions of Veyle as she went.

Before she left, Alear spotted Yunaka coming down to give her report, “Yunaka…” She began to stare at her with cold and unreflecting eyes.

Yunaka quickly realized what Alear was waiting for, she shook her head, “I haven’t heard anyone say anything that would imply treason, Divine One.” She took a breath before continuing, “Divine One, I think you are being paranoid. Nobody here wants to betray you, why would you even think that?” Yunaka was not bothering to shift to the odd way she tended to speak in, likely seeing no point.

Alear snorted at that, “I know that someone will betray me in time, I have heard what they have to say,… one day they will show their fangs. I have been betrayed before, and I will not be caught unprepared.” Alear did not elaborate further, “For now refocus your effort on the Brodians. They are the most likely to be the ones to strike first.”

Yunaka clearly did not understand what Alear meant, or perhaps she just wanted to hear her logic, “Why the Brodians in particular?”

Alear shook her head, “The stewards are sycophants as are the Firenese to a lesser extent. The Elusians are too little and uncoordinated with the rest. Anna and Jean are kids who are completely disconnected from all this, they neither have the ability to or the want to do anything. This leaves the Brodians, hostile, large, connected, anathema to my ideals, and willing seek that glory if they can.” The Brodians had so far been the most aggressive of the group, Alcryst had been the one to call for Veyle’s death most constantly, something Alear would never allow.

“I see,…” Before she left however, Yunaka had one last question, “By the way, what happened to your right hair strand? I remember both strands being mixed red and blue, but the right one is all red now.”

Alear expected this to eventually come up, someone would notice the oddity. But she had no plans to tell the truth, “I don’t know what you are talking about, this is the red side of my hair, why wouldn’t it be red.”

“I,… weren’t the front strands mixed though?” Yunaka wasn’t buying it.

“It’s always been like this; you must be misremembering.” This was the strategy Alear had decided on if anyone asked, although she didn’t know what she would do if further use of the dragonstone removed more of her blue hair.

Yunaka clearly didn’t believe her, but that was fine, as long as no one knew the truth Alear could get away with lying, “….Well alright then. I will go do your task now, although I doubt it will come to anything Divine One. When you see that we can talk more.” Yunaka turned and left the undercroft.

Watching Yunaka leave, Alear began to think to herself, “Hmph, I see the daggers around me, even if they are still sheathed and unpointed.” She waited for a few more minutes before exiting the undercroft.

Turning around one last time another vision of Veyle stared back at her. Quickly she shook her head and the hall was empty again. No matter what, she had to continue on, lest Veyle always be imprisoned. She was losing her grip on all other goals.

The group was gathered in the square waiting for the final few to arrive before they set out for Solm. Alfred saw Alear approach, “Divine One, You’re here, good. We are ready to march out as soon as the order is given, we are packed and the scouts we sent have confirmed that the area around the ravine is clear. Although the corrupted are still searching for us so we should move soon before we have no way out.

Alear nodded, she hated the idea of fleeing further from Veyle, but until she could gain an opportunity she had to stay alive, “Then let’s go now. The sooner we get to the Solmic capital the better.”

Alfred nodded, although he continued to look concerned for her, “Alright, but what about the emblems?”

Alear answered that quickly, “Lyn can go to Princess Ivy as she is Elusia’s emblem. You can have Lucina.” She didn’t want an emblem right now; she didn’t want Lucina to be around to constantly try and talk Alear out of her path. And she also didn't trust herself to keep one after she stabbed Marth in the back, thinking about further pained Alear, especially since she had no one to blame but herself.

This surprised Alfred, he had expected her to take Lucina, “Wait, what about you? Don’t you need an emblem?” He looked worried for her.

“It would be wasted on me, it would be better if it went to someone else, I will get an emblem some other time.” She walked off not wishing to continue talking. She didn’t know if she was telling the truth when she said that she would get another emblem later. If the worse came then she could just use her dragonstone instead, although she did need to keep that secret.

Ivy and reluctantly Alfred got the emblems, after which the group departed the Somniel back into the ravine in southern Elusia. As they marched to Solm Alear saw images of Veyle the entire way. Neither trusting or wishing to be around the others Alear headed to the front and silently walked ahead, making sure to keep a good distance away. The world felt so much emptier.

Alfred : Near The Elusian-Solmic Border.

The group marched on through the Elusian countryside attempting to get to Solm, the mood was still dour with their recent defeat, Alear’s clear mental decline only further demoralizing everyone.

Alfred looked around; most were determined although many had clear doubt on them. Yunaka shifted her eyes around while staying uncharacteristically silent. Diamant wore a face of grit, but his eyes betrayed that, still very much affected by his father’s death. Citrinne glared with anger at the far off Alear. Clanne kept his head down while avoiding Alear wherever he could, the workout didn’t really help. Sighing Alfred realized that the army would fall to pieces if they couldn’t unify. The only real bright spot over the past few days was that Alcryst stopped antagonizing the Elusians, seemingly having buried the hatchet, Alcryst was now one of the most determined. There was also Ivy who was another cool head to help with maintaining the army, although many still had a hard time trusting her even if they were coming around.

His thoughts shifted to Alear who silently moved a fair distance away from the others. Alfred knew it would be futile to try and talk to her so he kept his distance. Alear was always distant, but after recent events she had been even more despondent. She was practically impossible to find in the Somniel, oddly she was never in her room. Any interaction that pushed her too much would result in her snapping at whoever was interacting with her. Louis kept following her around to observe her resulting in Alear turning around and pulling a dagger on him. Lapis confronted her over her interactions with Alcryst which turned into a screaming match, which Alfred was pretty sure got physical. And Alfred was reasonably sure Clanne’s current state was caused by Alear, although as Clanne didn’t say anything he was unable to confirm it.

Shaking his head to himself, Alfred and the rest continued to march in silence to Solm, few wished to speak, most were in thought or wished to move as fast as possible. He didn’t blame them; Alfred had been hit hard as well. Looking forward to Alear, he noticed she quickly looked around her as if she saw something, looking over he saw that the forest was empty. He remembered why he was so worried for Alear, the slow collapse of the group moved hand-in-hand with the decline of Alear’s mind.

He just hoped she would get better, he felt helpless to do anything to help.

The Elusian forests began to disappear into arid plains shortly followed by the arrival of the sandy dunes of Solm. As it was still technically winter, although spring would arrive in less than a week, it was not as hot as the Solmic deserts usually were. Still it was a change that many were not use to as shown by many starting to sweat.

Alfred remembered that Alear mentioned she lived primarily in very cold regions during her life, so Alfred had no real idea how she was effected by the heat, but again she was too far away to really tell.

“So how far until the Solmic capital?...And what’s Solm’s capital anyway?” Boucheron asked Alfred.

Alfred thought for a moment, “No idea actually, I always came from the west whenever I visited Solm. The capital is called Stellaperta, shouldn’t you know that Boucheron?”

“Uh,… sorry a lot of these capital names just sound made up.” Boucheron scratched his head.

Alfred could agree with that, “Yeah a lot of them have pretty on the nose naming, like “Open star” really?” Whoever came up with these city names really should have tried harder the more he thought about it.

Either way the group continued on, trying to get to Stellaperta, although they didn’t really know how to get there.

It felt like the group was going in circles, this prompted Ivy to call out to Alear, “Divine One, do you actually know where we are going?”

Alear didn’t respond to her, no one was able to tell whether that was because she was ignoring her or just tuned it out in her head.

“Unfortunately, I think we are lost.” Diamant said to Ivy and the rest.

“I have to agree.” Alfred didn’t know where they were going, and neither did anyone else.

In the distance Alear stopped looking around the area. Quickly the rest caught up with her. Still though everyone stayed silent and simply searched around the area.

“Hey! You guys don’t look like you’re from around here. What’s with the sour moods.” An unknown male voice called out, causing several to turn in surprise, “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, but when I saw you guys I thought to myself “Self they are lost.”” The man wore refined white clothing and was distinctly dark-skinned with black hair.

Alear didn’t register him at all, prompting Alfred to respond, “And who might you be?”

“I’m the guy. Here to keep the peace in Tullah Desert. The name’s Fogado.” The man introduced himself, “I am the captain of the Sentinels, it’s my duty to help people in need.”

“Ah, it nice to meet you Fogado. I’m Prince Alfred of Firene.” Alfred introduced himself.

Saying who he was shocked the man, “Wait what? You telling me that you are Prince Alfred? As in the crown prince of Firene? Here in my desert?”

“Yes I am.” Alfred nodded in confirmation.

“Ahh, I am so sorry if I came of as informal to you your highness.”

“Ah, don’t worry about, you don’t need to be formal with me.” Alfred was hoping he could get some information out of him, knowing someone with knowledge of the area would be invaluable right now.

“Don’t often hear of such casual royalty from the other nations, that’s cool. But hey, what brings you to my part of the world?” Fogado asked.

“Me and my companions were fighting in Elusia, but we were forced to retreat. Now we are trying to get to Stellaperta but we don’t know the way. If you could give directions it would really be appreciated.” Alfred asked him, although something about the name Fogado was familiar.

“Well it’s your lucky day then, I can do you one better than directions, I’ll lead you there. I can you get you guys to the capital in an instant.” He smiled as he gestured to follow.

“Really, you wouldn’t mind helping us?” It would be incredible to have a guide, but Alfred didn’t want to inconvenience a great guy like Fogado.

“I don’t mind. It’s all just sand out there. I rather you not have to deal with that.” He gave out a wide smile. Looking closer Alfred noticed Fogado had what looked to be stars in his eye pupils, it was subtly bizarre.

Still Alfred was grateful, “Thank you Fogado, I am glad to have your help.” Alfred quickly realized something, “Oh I’m sorry I should let my companions introduce themselves.” He gestured to the others.

“Thank you for choosing to help us, I am Alfred’s sister, Princess Céline.”

“Prince Diamant of Brodia. I am relieved that we gained the help we admittedly needed.”

“I-I’m Alcryst, Diamant’s brother and also a prince of Brodia I suppose…”

“Ivy, crown princess of Elusia. Thank you for the assistance.”

“Sir Vander of Lythos, I am the head of the Lythian Stewards in service to the Divine Dragon.”

“….Alear….”

“Hey, Don’t sweat it you guys. Honestly that’s a lot of big names right there, I am happy to help. Although I do have to go take care of an errand first.” Fogado said.

“Errand?” Alfred was curious about what Fogado was doing.

“More of a mission really. You see, some time ago these freaky creatures started appearing everywhere. As the captain of the Sentinels I take care of problems like this. Sorry about this, you all have a sit and once I am done I’ll get you to the capital.” Fogado explained.

Alfred immediately had an idea about what those creatures were and he did want to help out someone who was helping him. “Actually how about we help you, since you were so kind in aiding us.” He turned to the other, “Right guys.” Everyone nodded, except Alear who wasn’t paying attention and was instead looking off at the top of an empty ridge as if she saw something or someone.

“Well that would be great, my friends went ahead of me, let’s go meet up with them.” Fogado said. Alfred nodded and the group followed Fogado to go and lend a hand. As they left Alear shook her head at the ridge and followed along aimlessly. Nobody tried to talk to her even now that she was directly next to them.

The group following Fogado soon came across a field of corrupted. Looking over Alfred saw that Alear was uncharacteristically calm at the sight.

 “The problem’s even worse than I expected.” Fogado stated as he looked around for the friends he mentioned, “Hey there they are! Pandreo! Bunet!” He rushed forward to help the two currently fighting some corrupted. Swiftly they managed to take out the attackers, allowing for some breathing space.

“Fogado! You’re late, I was starting to think you wanted us to die out here.” An Orange-haired man in priest robes said.

“With any further delay, these creatures would have made a meal out of us.” Said by a blond-haired man in what looked to be an armored chef’s outfit for some reason.

“Sorry about that fellas. But hey I brought help.” Fogado gestured over to Alfred and the others.

“Help? what do you mean help?” The orange-haired man turned around.

“Get this Pandreo, I randomly happened to stumble upon Prince Alfred of Firene of all people, and a whole bunch of other royalty to boot.” Fogado said to the two of them.

Alfred swiftly introduced himself to the two, “Nice to meet you guy, I’m Alfred of Firene.”

“Wha? Prince Alfred of Firene? Fogado what were you thinking bringing foreign royalty here?” Pandreo asked Fogado in a hushed tone.

“Your eyes,.. they are like two ripe limes,.. perfect for the dry heat of the desert…” Said the blond-haired man who Alfred guess to be Bunet.

Alfred wasn't sure what to make of the odd comparison, “Um, Thanks?”

“Heh, I knew that would give you a little surprise. Anyway Prince Alfred there is an area over there with a better staging point. Perhaps we should start the battle from there.” Fogado said as he pointed to an area to the east.

Alfred gave the area and agreed with Fogado. “Alright that seems best. Let’s go.”

With that the group now join by the three Sentinels made their way to the new position.

They finished forming up as Fogado looked of the corrupted infested area, “let’s see here…. Uh oh! That’s really not good.”

“What’s not good?” Alfred began to look over the area.

“There are several groups of civilians surrounded. They aren’t in immediate danger right now, but that will change if we don’t do something fast.” Fogado turned to Alfred, “Listen Prince Alfred, you know your guys more so I will follow your plan for this battle.”

“Thank you for placing that faith in me Fogado, but I am not the one in charge of the army here.” Alfred said to Fogado. he had been speaking and had taken temporary command at the valley but he was still not the one in charge.

“Wait, who is the boss then?” Fogado began looking at the other royalty only to see them shaking their heads.

Seeing that Alear was still not really responding Alfred decided to nudge her. Reminding her of her position was in Alfred’s mind a good way of stabilizing her, “Err, Divine One…” He said in a hushed tone.

She looked at Alfred briefly before reluctantly turning to Fogado, “I am.”

“Oh yeah, Alear right? What’s your position anyway?” Fogado asked her.

“I am… the Divine Dragon.” Alfred noticed Alear having some hesitation when she said that.

“Wait what?! Why didn’t you start with that sooner? The Divine Dragon,.. here? What in the name of Lythos!?” Fogado seemed baffled.

“THE DIVINE DRAGON?! Did no one think that important to mention? Divine One I am so sorry if we offended you before with our casual speech.” Pandreo did look like a priest so it made sense that he would be the most awestruck by Alear’s presence. Alfred noticed that Alear got annoyed by Pandreo’s reverence.

“Aw of course. That is why you stood out, the royalty all presented themselves as high cuisine dishes, and yet you managed to still stand out as the main dish.” Bunet continued with the kitchen analogies.

“Are you all done now. I thought there were civilians in danger, or do you wish to keep ogling instead.” Alear may have calmed in recent days but her words were still venomous and her temper short.

“I-I,… no you right Divine One, I’m sorry we should focus on the civilians right now.” Fogado said, while Pandreo was shamed into silence by his deity. Bunet looked unfazed though, his mind still on food most likely.

“Alright so what’s the plan Divine One?” Alfred asked her.

“Go forward. Try not to die.” Without elaboration she walked away and drew her blade intending to go on her own.

“Wait Divine One…. She’s gone.” Alfred watched as Alear simply ran off and began fighting on her own.

“We need a more concrete plan than that.” Diamant said, clearly annoyed.

“Does she do that often?” Fogado asked.

Vander closed his eyes and responded, “Recent events have caused the Divine One to act irrationally, it was the work of a particular vile little girl.”

“I see,..” Fogado seemed to be observing more than Alfred first noticed.

“Anyway, Diamant is right, we need a plan…” Alfred looked around at the battlefield, the group, and the civilians, “How about this, Fogado and Ivy, along with the retainers and other Sentinels go north. Diamant and the Brodians go to the center. I and the rest of the Firenese will go south. The Stewards will hold the rear and reinforce if needed.”

“Alright that works for now. Let’s go.” Diamant said, still clearly annoyed by Alear running off.

Alfred look at the now far away Alear, already fighting corrupted soldiers. He sighed before gesturing to the Firenese to follow him south.

Jean : Tullah Desert

The Firenese group made their ways south, battling the corrupted along the way. Jean himself was healing from behind, he looked towards the nearby civilians in the distance, they were bundled up by a large rock for cover, now much closer he saw that many were injured from being harried by the corrupted.

Looking closer he noticed how bad of a shape some of them were in, if they didn’t help right now many would die even if the corrupted were removed. Seeing that the path was clear he ran over, “I’m going to go help those people!”

“Wait Jean! We still haven’t cleared the area!” Céline called to him, but he was already running off, “Ugh, Chloe go help protect those villagers and Jean before we clear the area.”

“Of course your highness.” Chloe said as she flew off after Jean.

Getting to the civilians was quick and without incident, “Hold on everyone, I’m a doctor.” Jean ran over and pulled his heal staff out.

“Oh thank you, thank you. Please, focus on the children first.” A man said, clearly injured himself although he was holding his hand to stem the blood flow.

Nodding Jean began to heal, but it was so much for one healer to do. Most would need bandages on top of the healing staff. There were about half a dozen critically injured, and another dozen in bad albeit not as pressing condition. Still Jean was determined. “Don’t worry,.. Hold on, just let me,…” He began wrapping a bandage on a kid that was about Jean’s age maybe a little younger.

The kid cried in pain as he did, “Mama,.. Mama, where are you?” Jean began focusing harder on helping these people. This heartbreak was something that he knew as a doctor he would have to face one day.

As he finished wrapping the bandage and began to move on to the other injured, Jean began to hear clashing of blades above. Looking up he saw Chloe battling several corrupted griffon knights, she was focus on protecting the skies for him and the civilians. He had to work harder now; even more were counting on him.

A few stressful minutes went by as Jean healed the injured civilians. As he did he noticed how the battle was raging across the area. He had no idea how the rest of the army was fairing, but he was even more worried for the other groups of civilians. If they were in as bad as a shape as this group was… Jean didn’t want to think about it.

Jean’s thoughts were soon interrupted, as he focused all attention on healing, a large group of corrupted began to charge forward. Looking up a corrupted soldier headed straight for him, “Gah!” He cried out, he and the civilians were utterly defenseless. He saw as the corrupted’s axe swung down at, He held his arms up around his face, terrified. It was as if the axe had struck him.

“….” Jean put his arms down to see the corrupted had stopped, a steel blade poking out of its chest, oddly the held axe was as if had not yet been swung. In an instant the blade was pulled out and the corrupted fell to the ground, revealing Alear behind it, her eyes focused yet lifeless, “D-Divine One…”

“Get back to healing,…” She turned back around to the now incoming group of corrupted as Jean reluctantly nodded.

Jean began to heal the wounds of the civilians once again. As he did he saw as Alear fiercely battled the corrupted to prevent them from getting to Jean and the civilians.

Two corrupted axeman charged in front of her, as they swung their axes Alear quickly parried downward with intense force. Using her blade she hooked the axes and forced them from her opponents’ hands, and then swiftly decapitated them both in a single slash.

More corrupted charged Alear in an attempt to break through, however she defeated all with ease. In particular though Jean noticed how recklessly and aggressive Alear was fighting. She didn’t throw her knives, rather she simply used them close range. She swung her blade with absolute force without care for the recoil to herself. A corrupted wolf knight even managed to throw a dagger straight into her stomach, she just ripped the dagger out while barely reacting aside from the initial grunt.

As Alear finished off the wave she gave a brief glance at Jean. He was unable to tell what she was feeling. However as she did a lightning strike struck one of the civilians.

 As Alear turned to face the assailant, Jean immediately went to check on damage, ceasing bandaging a minor injury as he did. The civilian was one of the few uninjured. He breathed a sigh of relief, if the lightning struck any of the injured there likely would have been nothing Jean could do. As it was though Jean focused on healing the burnt man.

As Jean stabilized the man he turned back to watch Alear. A corrupted swordmaster holding a levin sword, clearing indicated it as the striker.

Alear fought the swordmaster with reckless abandon, the corrupted shot blast after blast of lighting, Alear didn’t bother even dodging the full blasts, instead she angled her body to avoid the worst parts but was still constantly grazed by the electricity. Still she moved forward blade in hand.

She got into a sword lock with her opponent, the levin sword constantly radiating electricity at her, however she kept pushing into it without care for the damage it was doing to her. There were jolts of electricity flowing around Alear as she continued to use her strength to push the corrupted back.

Eventually Alear brought up her fist and slammed it against the corrupted’s face. The force of the strike broke off half of the face mask and knocked the corrupted away, completely disoriented. Alear just shook her hand after, Jean knew that the pain of breaking the mask like that would have badly bruised her hand at best, or broke bones at worst. Instead she simply didn’t react to the pain and approached her disoriented foe.

Immediately the swordmaster tried to swing back at Alear, only for her to parry effortlessly and carelessly with a single arm, jolts of lighting striking her side as she did. Getting close, Alear delivered a single powerful blow with her blade, knocking the corrupted to the sand.

The corrupted tried to get up, however before it could Alear slammed her heel on its head. She slowly pushed its head deeper into the sand as it cried out. Jean wasn’t sure if the corrupted could feel pain, he assumed they didn’t but it seemed that Alear was trying to prove that notion wrong. He looked at her expression, still generally emotionless, but now with the slightest hint of sadistic pleasure at hearing the corrupted’s cry.

Eventually however, Alear’s sadism disappeared back into nothing as she suddenly pushed her heal fully into the head of the corrupted, splitting apart the head as she did.

Jean’s looked away from the sight. looking around at the civilians, many of them looked at Alear with equal parts gratitude and terror.

“Jean! Are you okay?” Chloe called to him as she descended. She looked at him and then the civilians, “Oh wonderful, everyone is fine. Now these people can live their lives thanks to you.”

“….Thanks to me…. No no, please I was just doing as any doctor should.” In his mind Jean just healed these people, if it wasn’t for Alear and Chloe, they would have died,… Jean would have died. He thought back to when the corrupted swung his axe at him, he saw the swing, but when he looked again it was as if the swing didn’t happen in the first place, “Perhaps just a hallucination caused by fear…”

As he thought to himself, Alear walked over, caring the levin sword in her hand, “Jean… Why did you put yourself in harm’s way?” Her voice was monotone and her expression cold, although there was genuine concern somewhere in her voice and face.

“I needed to help these people; they would have died if I hadn’t helped…. I am sorry for causing you trouble Divine One.” Jean looked down at the man struck by the levin sword, healed, stabilized, and bandaged. Yet also burned, and struggling to breathe still. Jean needed to help people like this, to do what he could to help as many as possible.

Alear looked at him and then the people, many still clearly terrified of her. Eventually she turned back to Jean, “…Watch yourself more, I won’t always be around. And I would hate to tell your parents that I failed to keep you safe after they placed you in my care.”

Jean sighed; he didn’t disagree that he acted rash. “Of course Divine One, I am sorry.” He looked at her, Alear was bloodied, there were burn marks from the levin sword, and some areas clearly had bruised skin and broken bones, not to mention the still bleeding wound where the dagger struck, Jean quickly pulled his staff, “Here let me heal yo-“

Alear quickly interrupted him, “Save it for someone who needs and deserves it.” She turned to leave, but then quickly looked back at Chloe, “Here, hand this to Céline.” She threw the levin sword to Chloe who caught it. Before either could question her further Alear left to go fight the few remaining corrupted.

As Jean watched Alear leave Céline approached, “Jean, Chloe thank goodness you are alright. We finished dealing with the corrupted, are the civilians safe?”

“Yes they are, thanks to Jean and the Divine One. Oh here, she wanted me to give this to you for some reason.” Chloe handed Céline the levin sword.

“Oh my, a levin sword, this is quite the find. I must tell the Divine One my thanks for this gift. Where is she now?” Céline asked as she held the blade.

“She left already…” Jean looked to where Alear now was. She was too distant to ever get a grasp on, there were times when his father told him of people who needed help but refused and furthered their own self-destruction. It something that Jean had now come to understand, still looking around at the civilians, it was due to Alear that he and all of them had made it through today.

Alfred : Tullah Desert

After the Firenese finished off the remaining corrupted in the south they made their way to meet up with the rest of the army. Alfred saw as the stewards and the Brodians were talking, looking quite grim as they did. At about the same time the Solmic and Elusians also made their way over.

Now joined back up, Alfred asked what was on his mind, “Did everything go well, what happened, how are the civilians?”

Diamant turned to him, a bleak look written on him, “… The group of civilians we tried to get to was massacred before we could get there…. I failed….”

“I,…. that’s…” Alfred didn’t know what to say.

“Most survived in our area, but there were still several deaths.” Ivy said to them, a hard yet unreadable expression on her face.

“How about you Alfred, what happened to the civilians in the south?” Fogado asked him.

“Some are injured still, but thanks to Jean all lived.” Alfred explained. The fact that many of the other civilians perished made the victory today feel hollow.

“…. If only I could have been there…” Jean looked down, crushed.

Céline comforted him, “Do not blame yourself Jean, if not for you, many others would have died.”

“She’s right, this failure is mine and mine alone.” Diamant expressed, as he did, Alear finally made her way over.

Citrinne looked at Diamant, and then angrily at Alear, “Please Prince Diamant, you did what you could. If anybody bears blame then it is her.” She didn’t bother referring to Alear as the Divine One, “It was you who didn’t give us a concrete plan to work with. The blood of those dead are on your hands.” She didn’t hide her disdain.

“So it’s my fault is it? Do I really need to babysit you people every step of the way?” Alear said to Citrinne.

“You are our commander! Act the part instead of childishly running off!” Citrinne was furious.

“The other groups had most the civilians live, why couldn’t the Brodians do their part?” Alear retorted, her expressions were cold and accusatory.

“Why y-“

Jean interrupted, “Citrinne please, the Divine One’s intervention is the reason why the civilians in the south and I survived. She fought the corrupted while I healed them, if not for her…” He looked down to the sand.

Lapis spoke to Jean, clearly furious that he was seemingly taking Alear’s side, “That doesn’t mean anything, she likely just wanted to fight like the crazed lizard she is. And don’t speak to Lady Citrinne without prop-”

“Enough.” Diamant said firmly, “This failure was ours even if the command was unreliable. We need to stay united; fighting is only driving us apart further.” He turned to Fogado, “Captain Fogado, I must apologize for letting you down, I know this is the scenario you wished to avoid. I take full responsibility.”

Fogado looked sad, “Listen Prince Diamant, I do not blame you or anyone else here for what happened, you fought to protect my people, that enough is admirable. And if it’s any consolation, the fighting you guys did drove away many of the creatures in the north, which is what allowed us to save most of the people there.”

Alear looked as if she was about to speak but decided not to, instead she just silently removed herself from the area.

“Alright, the sun is coming down, let’s make camp. We can discuss things when we cool down. And we can begin our march tomorrow.” Alfred said. It would be best if everyone could settle.

“Agreed.” Diamant said, his eyes were closed and he radiated shame.

The group silently made camp.

The sun was now set over the desert, much of the group sat around the fires they created, some talking, most were silent, there was a certain dread in the group that had existed since Destinea Cathedral but had now been exasperated by today’s events, especially for the Brodians.

In the distance Alfred saw Alear, sitting on a rock well away from the group as she stared at something she was holding. Sighing to himself Alfred walked over to see her, “Divine One?”

“….Yes” She did not turn to him, instead she quickly put whatever she had back into her clothing.

Alfred didn’t know what to say to her anymore, she was so distant, and was quick to push him away, “I’m worried for you, I won’t press on anything that’s bothering you. But please understand that there are people here that are willing to help you.”

“….What do you want?” Alear didn’t seem to be willing to respond properly to what he said.

“I…. I made you these this morning. Please take them.” He handed Alear a bag of something.

Curiously Alear took the bag and inspected what was inside, “Candies… why would..” She picked up one of the round orange candies and looked at it with suspicion.

“You said you like sweets and spicy food, so I made spicy candy. it took me a while to get it right, but I think they turned out pretty well.” Alfred explained to her. After a while of thinking he decided that he would latch onto the one thing she ever shared with him.

Alear looked at him, almost as if she was trying to see if he had ulterior motives, which he did, they just weren’t malicious. After a little bit Alear decided to try the candy, “…., Its good….Thank you.”

“Listen Divine One, I won’t try and push anything on you, but please if you ever need help, you just need to ask.” Alfred said to her.

Alear looked down to the sand, “…My problems are my own, thank you for the candy Alfred, but this is something you wouldn’t ever understand. Please leave me now.”

“…I understand, goodbye Divine One. Please try and stay leveled.” Alfred walked back to the camp, it was the best he could have hoped for, but it seems that Alear would remain distant for the time to come.

Yunaka : Tullah Desert

During the battle and the march Yunaka had stuck close to the Brodian group, nobody really questioned why she, a Brodian herself would do so. This allowed her to observe them easily. Now she made her way over to report to Alear as soon as Alfred left her. “Uh, Divine One, I have my report.”

Alear stared across the night sky as she chewed on a candy, “Good, what did you hear?”

“Nothing much, most were badmouthing you, but there was nothing concrete.” Yunaka explained, she didn’t want to do this, but Alear had done a good job of twisting her arm, “Citrinne and Lapis were the most hostile, Prince Diamant as well, but he was more composed. Alcryst seems to agree with them, but he is more focused elsewhere. Jade is too reserved for me to tell, and I don’t think Amber even knows what’s going on.”

“What did Alcryst have to say in particular?” Alear asked, he seemed to be the most focused on by Alear.

Yunaka thought for a moment, “Well he seemed a bit angry at you, but most of his anger seems directed towards Sombron and Veyle. At least it’s not Ivy right?”

Alear muttered something that sounded like confirmation to  Yunaka. Afterwards she spoke, “Fine, that will be all for now.” Alear turned away from Yunaka back to the sky.

Yunaka decided to speak what was on her mind, “Um, Divine One. Why do you even believe that someone is out to get you here? Sure the Brodians don’t like you, but I don’t think they are plotting against you.”

“People here have already shown that they will strike when they desire to, in the future I know they will unsheathe the daggers around me, regardless of any friendship they profess to have.” She did not turn to Yunaka.

Yunaka thought for a moment, Alear’s refusal to elaborate meant that she could not tell exactly what she was talking about, instead she tried something else, “What about me, you seem fine telling me this, I feel like you wouldn’t if you thought I would strike you. So why are you trusting me, even a little?”

Alear stayed silent for a second before speaking, “You will not betray me, at least not yet. I can trust you because I have leverage. Thus we can be friends.”

Yunaka was in disbelief that this was what Alear considered friendship, “Err, Divine One, I don’t think that’s how friendship works….”

“It’s how it has often worked for me, after all if you share too much it can come back to bite you. Would you have ever shared the truth of your past with your so-called friends?” Alear said to her.

This caused Yunaka to think, “I guess you are right there…. But if that’s true that you can’t be close to someone without leverage,… how was your relationship like with your mother?”

Alear did not answer, instead she looked down and began to think.

“I’ll leave you to go over that. I’ll continue to do your spying until you realize what you are doing.” Yunaka turned and left, she felt for Alear in a way, she knew what it was like to have such deep-rooted mistrust. And the more she thought about it, the more Yunaka realized that her and Alear’s mistrust may even share a parallel source.

Alear : Tullah Desert

Alear watched silently as Yunaka left, what she said to her caused Alear to think. She never had any sort of leverage against her adoptive mother and Lumera never had any leverage against her. So why was Alear able to trust her?

Alear’s siblings could only ever be bonded with when leverage existed, preferably on both sides. That was one of the reasons why Alear was able to be close to Nel and Rafal. She saw as the two deeply mourned Nil’s death. Alear could have easily used that to expose their weakness to their father, thus giving Alear leverage over them.

Alear initially used that to get them to help her silently gain gifts and treats she could give to Veyle. However this wasn’t particularly smart as soon the two realized Alear’s own weakness in relation to Veyle, giving them leverage over Alear.

From that point on Alear was able to cleanly bond with the two of them, and none of the three thought it abnormal. Indeed they saw it as a safety net of their relationship, it was a benefit if anything. But no such leverage existed with either Veyle or Lumera.

With Veyle, Alear first started taking care of her after she returned from Brodia. The loss of so many of her siblings caused Alear to want to protect Veyle from all of that. So she did, unconditionally.

And with Lumera, she was simply kind to Alear, but the more Alear thought about it, she couldn’t understand why the two of them bonded so much. It made no sense the more she thought about it.

Alear thought about her sister and mother. The relationship she had with both now seemed to be a riddle she couldn’t answer.

She took out her dragonstone and stared into it, Alear stared back at her.

Chapter Text

Veyle : City Of Illusiastad, Inside The Royal Palace

Veyle looked at the silent hovering form of Marth, His eyes were closed, and yet she could tell how miserable he was, it shined through even more than the other captured emblems. No doubt it was due to the circumstances by which he had come into Veyle’s possession.

“Aw, poor thing. Abandoned and tossed aside by one you so dearly trusted. My dear sister really can be so cruel….” “Sister” The word was difficult for Veyle to properly digest. She had always believed that she was the sole survivor of the fell siblings. She did not know any of the faces of her long-gone siblings, and yet Alear felt familiar since the first time she first saw her. The two of them had to have been close. It was quite amusing to look back on Alear’s clear distress under that new context.

“Now then, how to use that against her,… Tell her friends and followers? Taunt her silently? What’s the right mix, and when’s the best time? So many possibilities, and so many ways to go about it all,….” She wanted to savor every bit of fun she would have with this.

As she thought to herself she heard footsteps approaching, “Lady Veyle.” Zephia asked her to gain her notice.

Turning Veyle saw all four of her hounds, “Zephia, what is my dearest sister up to?” They had already agreed not to approach for a while, but it was good to keep an eye on things.

“They passed through the border with Solm. They will likely try and get a hold of the Ring of the Radiant Hero. If our scattered reports are accurate, then the Ring of the Crux of Fate is also likely within Solm’s borders.” Zephia explained to her.

Veyle was elated at that, “So they are going after more rings, good.”

“Are we sure we shouldn’t go after them, I mean we suppressed the city faster than we thought.” Marni happily suggested.

“Patience Marni, let them find the rings for us. And there are still some rodents here that don’t accept us.” Veyle explained to her.

Marni nodded, “Oh okay, I kinda wanted a rematch, but I’ll wait.”

“Thank you for understanding Marni, you are such a treasure.” Veyle said in praise.

Zephia glanced over at Marni “She truly is. The pride of the Four Hounds.”

Marni looked thrilled at the praise she was receiving, “Aww, thanks guys, I love it when you two praise me like this.”

Veyle looked at Marni as she thought to herself. Marni was driven by the approval of others to the extreme, as long as Veyle or the rest of the Hounds would applaud her then she was thrilled to be here. Still even despite Marni’s battlefield sadism and approval of Veyle’s current state, she was the only other Hound other than Mauvier to befriend the defect.

She was immediately snapped out of her brief thought as Griss joined the conversation, “You’re such a child. It far more fun to be punished rather than be praised.”

Veyle looked at him with a smile, “Do not worry Griss, You will have all the agony you wish for.”

“Heh, that’s what I like to hear, the perks of the gig right there.” He said to her with a smile.

Again Veyle thought. Griss was more obsessed with pain than Marni was with praise. It was fantastic to see, always loyal, not a shred of mercy, no concern for himself or for others. Veyle was unsure if Griss even interacted with the defect more than he was once obligated to, so that was a clear point in his favor.

She turned to Mauvier so that she could finish her new thoughts about the hounds. “Mauvier, how would you like to be rewarded?” She already knew his answer.

“Nothing for me my lady.” He blandly answered her.

“You won’t even say my name… How cold.” It was frustrating beyond belief the way he treated her. Marni liked the defect but she was also committed entirely to Veyle. She had a feeling that Zephia was closer to the defect than she let on, but she kept that to herself and never once changed the way she looked at Veyle. Griss only liked Veyle and looked down on the defect. But Mauvier,… Mauvier only cared for the defect to the point of never referring to Veyle by name to her face. She wondered how he felt now that one of her siblings had shown such distress at Veyle’s state, looking at his face it was probably tearing at him. That put a warm feeling in Veyle’s heart.

Shaking her head she turned to Zephia, “Anyway. For now we wait, we watch, and then when the time comes…” She was interrupted by a pounding in her head.

“Lady Veyle?” Zephia said to her with concern.

It was happening more and more lately, “I have been awake too long.” It was infuriating that she had to share this body with a pathetic and lesser version of herself, “I must sleep. Here are your instructions. Take charge Zephia.”

Zephia took the papers Veyle handed her, “As you wish my lady.” She gave a light bow as she and the others left.

Veyle was now alone with the exception of the silent and will-less emblem. She would need to sleep soon, and when she did the defect would return.

Sighing to herself she thought about Alear, she wanted to see her suffer and yet… there was something else she felt she wanted…

Alear : Queendom Of Solm, Approach To Stellaperta

The group followed Fogado and the sentinels through the Solmic deserts on their way to the capital of Stellaperta. As they walked Alear had finally grown accustomed to the mirages of Veyle that appeared from beyond her sight. She now simply elected to ignore them, she figured she would be able to discern the real Veyle should they meet,… they would meet.

“Here we are!” Fogado said to the group, in front of them was now the city of Stellaperta, “Now all that’s left is to get the guards to open the gates to the palace.”

Alear had only been to Solm once before, and she and the siblings with her avoided major settlements when they did, so this was first time Alear had ever seen the capital, it was a massive city surrounded by the sands of the desert, it matched Havre de Fleur in size and as a trade hub.

“Thank you so much Fogado. You really helped us out. I will be sure that the queen knows how much you helped.” Alfred stated to Fogado, however Fogado simply walked forward, “Uh Fogado? What are you doing?”

“I'm talking to the guards, what else?” Fogado answered as he approached some watch guards.

“Huh, maybe he’s also here to meet the queen, for Sentinel business I guess.” Alfred theorized to the group before he turned back to Fogado “Hold on Fogado, wait for us.”

Alfred, Alear and the rest of the group followed Fogado through the streets of Stellaperta and into the royal palace.

Now within the palace itself Alear heard as Fogado announced his arrival to some guards, “Hey! I’m home!”

That caught Alear’s attention but she chose not to speak even if she now had an idea of who Fogado really was.

“Welcome home Prince Fogado.” A guard said to welcome him, immediately confirming Alear’s idea in the process.

“Prince? Did that guard say prince?” Ivy spoke.

“He did yes.” Alear bluntly answered her.

“Thanks for waiting folks.” Fogado said as he walked back to the group.

“Prince then.” Alear said to him.

“Ohh, did I not mention that?” Fogado asked putting his hand on his forehead.

Alear studied his movements, she concluded that he was very much aware that he didn’t choose to properly introduce himself before, “You did not. I would have preferred you did.” Her tone was sharp.

“Whoops, I’m sorry that I forgot,” He clearly wasn’t, “Right then, let me do this properly then. I’m Fogado, captain of the Sentinels, and the prince of Solm. Welcome to my family’s Palace.” He started to noticed Alear’s growing irritation, “Err, you wanted to meet mom, right? Mom! Visitors!” He turned and made his way further into the palace.

“I didn’t realize he was royalty…” Ivy stated as she looked confused.

“Not something you see every day…” Alfred turned to Alear with a worried look, “Err Divine One, can I make suggestion before we go meet the queen?”

Alear didn’t turn to look as she responded, “What?”

Alfred took a breath, “Listen, I don’t think it would be best if you were the main one talking. Maybe leave the bulk of the talking to me, Diamant and Ivy, It might go smoother if we did yeah?”

Alear thought for a moment, this offer was another piece of misguided concern Alfred had for her clearly. And yet at the same time Alear did not really feel like talking much at all, especially if the queen proved as headache inducing as her son was proving, “…Fine, go ahead with that.”

“That is definitely wise, until you can regain your composure you are likely to make a mess of things.” Diamant said to her with a mixture of concern, and contempt.

“I did not request any comment from you.” Alear pointily told him at that remark.

“Please let’s not fight, especially not in front of the queen.” Ivy said to try and break up the tension.

Alfred jumped into further help, “Yeah, there is no reason to be at each other’s throats right now.”

Diamant shook his head, “No your right, I should not have phrased it in that tone.”

Her head hurt too much right now, “Hmph… lets go.” Alear began to go further into the palace, prompting the others to quickly move ahead.

Alear and the royals entered the main audience chamber, leaving the rest of the group outside. Alear saw at the base of throne stood a dark-skinned, regally dressed woman who quickly introduced herself, “Welcome, welcome. Fogado already said who he brought; it is an honor to meet you Divine One. I am Queen Seforia.”

“Hello,.. it is a pleasure to be here.” It was possible, albeit difficult for Alear to put up this mask of normalcy.

“When Fogado said he brought not only the Divine Dragon, but also foreign royalty, well I nearly fell off my seat. So who else do I have the pleasure of meeting, I already see Prince Alfred and Princess Céline.” Queen Seforia said to them.

Diamant was the first to announce himself, “Hello your majesty, I am Prince Diamant, it was a long time ago when I visited Solm, so I understand if you do not recognize me.”

Queen Seforia looked at him in remembrance, “Oh yes Prince Diamant. You certainly have grown since I last saw you.”

“Oh and this is my brother, Prince Alcryst.” Diamant gestured to Alcryst.

“Oh um,… hello your um majesty.” Alcryst awkwardly said to her.

Ivy was the last to present herself, “Greeting your majesty, I am Princess Ivy of Elusia.”

That seemed to have surprised Queen Seforia, although Alear noticed that her movements were staged in a way, she was suspecting that Seforia was hiding how much she knew, “Elusia… I wasn’t expecting that when Fogado said who he brought.”

“Err yes. I know Elusia does not have the best relationship with the other nations.” Ivy answered with a hint of shame.

“Oh don’t worry about that Princess Ivy. That sure is a lot of names and introductions though. So why is it that you have visited Solm?” Queen Seforia asked.

Alfred responded quickly, “We came to gain Solm’s aid against the Fell Dragon Sombron, he had returned and has been wreaking havoc on our nations.”

“The Fell Dragon returned to life? Oh my I had no idea…” She clearly did, “Those creatures then, they were created by Sombron then?”

“They are called the corrupted. They have been attacking our nations quite badly. Have they not attacked Stellaperta?” Alfred explained and asked.

“Oh they did, but we chased them away.” Seforia stated.

“Wait, you got rid them on your own?” Alfred looked confused.

“You seem surprised. I am sorry to hear that the other nations have been having a harder time.” Seforia answered before moving on, “I must ask you Divine One. Is it true that Queen Lumera… is no longer with us?”

Alear did not like this being brought up, it was more painful as of late, “…It is true, yes…” She said in a hollow voice. Thinking about this only furthered her growing migraine.

“I see,.. I visited her many times, even you a few times as well. She was very gracious; it is hard to imagine she has left us.” She stopped to think for a moment, “You have my deepest condolences Divine One, naturally the Queendom of Solm will stand with you in the fight against the Fell Dragon.”

“….In that case I should tell you that I have come for the Ring of the Radiant Hero, entrusted to Solm by my mother. I need it.” Alear said, wishing to move on in her journey.

Queen Seforia nodded “Of course, I’ll go get right now…. Wait,.. Where was it again?”

“…” Alear closed her eyes. She felt frustration beginning build.

“I haven’t seen it in a while, Fogado do you know where it is? Seforia asked Fogado.

“Umm, no clue. Maybe it’s in the doodad drawer.” Fogado suggested, causing annoyance to form in Alear’s mind.

“Mhm, please wait here a moment.” Seforia went and left the room to go to the drawer Fogado suggested.

“Doodad drawer, really.” This was worse than Morion tossing around the Ring of the Young Lion. She gritted her teeth.

“Has it really been sitting around in a musty cupboard this whole time?” Alfred said, echoing Alear’s thoughts.

Queen Seforia quickly walked back in, “Oh you know what, I just remembered that Timerra took it with her.”

“Timerra? Who’s that?” Alfred asked.

“My sister, also the crown princess.” Fogado answered him.

“She always out doing who knows what. She been gone for days now.” Queen Seforia continued.

Fogado thought for a moment “I think she said she was going on a camping trip with her retainers if I remember, Oh that sounds great right now.”

Alear was now very much frustrated, “And where is it that she went.” She managed to restrain the worst of it though.

“I think it was the southern desert, in which case she would set up in the large oasis in that area.” Queen Seforia answered.

“Alright then,” Alear turned to leave, “Come on lets go.”

“You know, a trip to the oasis sounds like it is just what I need right now! I’ll go pack my things.” Seforia said with an eager smile on her face.

Fogado quickly turned to her, “Actually mom, how about you stay put?”

Seforia looked just a little disappointed. “Oh okay, you kids go on ahead. If you do find the ring, please summon it, I’d love to meet him.”

“Alright come on everybody, I’ll lead the way.” Fogado quickly moved to the head of the group as they left.

Sighing to herself Alear followed, the people here were extraordinarily irritating but far less harmful than in Brodia. But the heat made her want to leave.

Still she wondered how much of an act all of this was. A lot of the way they were acting was clearly genuine, and yet there was something more to the royal family clearly.

The group exited Stellaperta and marched south to the oasis Queen Seforia told them of. As they did, the sun began to set and soon night had arrived, making it far easier for Alear. She was not use to the heat of Solm.

Fogado must have noticed this, “Hey Divine One, I guess you are not good with the desert’s heat?”

Alear did not particularly want to talk at all right now, but if answering him got him to go away, “…. No, I am more used to cold regions.”

That caught his attention, “But where exactly? Lythos is pretty mild, and I’ve been told you aren’t a fan of Brodia, and I doubt it’s Elusia where you’ve lived. So where is this cold region you are used to.”

It was getting on Alear’s nerves how he was prying into things that did not concern him, “Keep your questions to yourself Fogado.”

“Oh don’t give me that. Come on, I want to know of a good skiing destination to visit. Oh or is it a tundra sort of snowy area?” Fogado continued to poke her.

She was starting to get mad as his questions that intensified her growing migraine, “Visit Elusia for your skiing needs, and stop putting your nose were it does not belong lest it end up broken.” She was not about to tell him that it was eastern Gradlon she was referring to.

Fogado sense her irritation growing, wisely he chose not to pursue his inquiry further, “Oh okay Divine One, keep your secrets. But one day you will have to show me where you’re from, I want to see just how cold it is.” He broke off from her to go talk to others.

Now walking alone Alear began to reminisce on eastern Gradlon, the mountain range that dominated the region were called the Picos de la Santa Sangre, it was an area that Alear found beauty in how harsh it was. It was unreasonably cold; the mountains went high past cloud level. Getting to the heights would present one with a beautiful view of the range, Alear remembered it well, patrolling the area and turning to see the frigid winds blow again the whole area as the sun shone on the range. The sunsets and sunrises were the most beautiful there.

Alear sighed, part of her was deeply sad that Gradlon was now but a faint memory, nowhere else felt like home in Elyos. She hated herself for continuing to hold onto this sentiment of that vile land.

She continued on the road; in the distance she could now spot the town next to the oasis.

As they got closer to the town Alear began to hear,… singing? “MEAT! MEAT! MEATY meat MEAAAT!” Alear was going to strangle whoever was screaming this racket, “Meaty, Meaty! Aw yeah, MEATY! MEATY!” Alear’s headache began to grow.

Alear was about to scream for silence when Fogado made an observation, “Hey I see a bonfire, that’s got to be her.”

“Who is making that horrendous racket?” Alear asked him, she needed to find whoever was assaulting her ears.

“Oh that’s Timerra and her friends singing.” He answered.

Alear had a feeling that was going to be his answer, now she really hated the Solmic royal family, “That is an insult to call that singing or music.”

“Oh true, they aren’t called the Racket of Solm for nothing, Hehe.” Fogado’s laugh only further increased Alear’s headache, “It sounds like they stopped though,… maybe an attack.” He turned serious.

Alear listened, indeed it was now blissfully silent, “Let’s go find out.” If it was an attack she would have to thank the assailants for helping her ears and head.

Running over to the area, Alear saw a dark-skinned and dark-haired woman in the strangest getup she had seen yet, which was saying something.

“Timerra!” Fogado quickly said to get her attention.

“Oh! Hey Fogado.” She cheerfully said.

“So you are the one who was making that damn racket. Try keeping your talent hidden instead.” Alear was struggling to stay even remotely cordial right now, this headache was making it difficult.
“Oh hey my singing is fine thank you very much, but hey you’re the Divine Dragon right?” Timerra said to her before continuing, “Fogado would not have come here unless he found you first.”

That immediately raised alarm bells in Alear’s mind, “What?” She started to realize that their chance encounter wasn’t really by chance, “Fogado you better have a good explanation…” She hated being deceived.

“Err,… um I…” He struggled with words.

“Oh um, we can talk about this later, we got bigger steaks to roast. These bandits started coming into the oasis!” She quickly tried to change the topic, “Here, it would help if you could summon this emblem real quick.” She quickly handed Alear the Ring of the Radiant Hero.

Alear took the ring from Timerra, and as she did she looked around the town. Sure enough Alear looked to see a large group of bandits begin to make their way into the town, “Fine… But after this is done, both of you have some explaining to do. I hate being deceived...” She said in a cold voice before saying the invocation,… “…Fight on! Emblem of Radiance!...”

A bright flash of white light shown from the ring, there now was the form of the ethereal figure. A large, bulky man with blue hair and modest field armor, “I’m Ike, make sure you use me wisely.”

“…” Alear breathed, like with Lucina and Lyn, summoning Ike felt more difficult than before, like it took more out of her than it used to. She managed to catch her breath before anyone took real notice, “Thank you Ike for your help.” She turned to Timerra, “Princess Timerra you can use Ike for this battle.”

“Thank you Divine One, I won’t disappoint you Ike.” She stated to the emblem.

Diamant and Alfred walked up to Alear, “Okay so what’s the plan?”

Alear came up with the only plan that made sense in her mind, “Kill the bandits, what else?” It was obvious to her as she pulled her blade and separated from the group. She heard groaning behind her as she did.

It didn’t matter, perhaps some spilled blood would help reduce this migraine of hers, and these bandits would be the perfect source.

Alear went alone to a sperate section of the town from the part her allies began to fight in. The town was starting to get overrun with the bandits. She saw as the marauders began to raid empty stalls and enter occupied houses, carry ill gotten gains from out as screams emerged in the wake. It was a revolting display of barbarity by the lowest forms of life.

Disgusted, Alear approached closer with her blade in hand, soon some of the filth noticed her, “Hey! Looky hear boys, we got a two-toned frea-” Alear rushed forward faster than the man could react, cutting her blade through him ease.

She looked up, several other bandits got over their shock and charge to attack her. Their little discipline posed little challenge for Alear. She let the first one swing his axe down, evading as she did. As the axe hit the ground she swiftly swung her blade at the bandits lowered arm, slicing it from it his body. “AHHH-“ She didn’t let him finish his scream as she followed up with a jab to his heart.

Two more bandits attempted a pincer attack against, but she effortlessly shifted around both strikes, slicing the bandits as they passed. One of the slices was fatal, the other was not. The non-fatal strike caused the receiver to fall to the ground, “Mer-Mercy-“ Alear walked up and swung her blade down without remorse.

Looking further into the town, the remaining bandits looking at her had their bravado replaced by fear. She began to walk forward. Quickly some bandits chose to fight, with predictable results. Alear moved with calculated movements uninterrupted by the attempts of opposition the bandits presented. One was jabbed as he charged. Two more were sliced to pieces, the last one lagged behind the others, seeing the others perish so quickly caused them to rethink their approach. They slowed and began to turn around. Alear did not let them though, she quickly threw a dagger at the bandit’s throat. Killing the cur as he choked on his blood.

The other bandits gave up any idea of overcoming the dragon. Quickly they began to flee with their gains, but Alear managed to catch up fast and start cutting them down. Their blood spilling onto Alear as she did.

One Bandit dropped his loot and tried to run faster. Alear simply threw a dagger at his back.

One dropped to her knees and began to beg, “Please, I’m s-“ Alear simply cut her down and moved on.

Another got cornered against a wall, he desperately tried to grab his sword to fight back, but Alear proved too fast for him to even get a grip. Her blade entering his skull right as he pulled his forward.

She continued to wander around the town, hunting down the filth as she did. She came across two bandits in an alley, they were taking out valuables from a house. Two children, One older, one younger were crying next to a corpse as one of the bandits was raiding the house, and the another approached the children . Alear quickly intervened, before either bandit could react Alear’s blade was protruding from the chest of the one approaching, “Ugh!” the bandit collapsed as his partner charged Alear from behind, she quickly turned and sliced her blade across his neck, causing instant death.

The older child looked up, coddling the younger as he did, tears in his eyes as he looked to protect his younger sister, “Th-th-thank y-“

“Hold her close, and get to safety.” Alear interrupted, she couldn’t sympathize more with this pair of siblings. Which was why she couldn’t stay to comfort them. She looked back at them for a brief moment, the older brother began to move his sister away, pushing through his own grief as he did. Next to them an image of Veyle stared blankly at Alear. Shaking her head Alear turned away. She left to continue her slaughter.

As she mercilessly butchered the bandits she noticed the townsfolk look at her with equal parts gratitude and horror. None thanked her, instead they simply continued to cower in their homes. This was fine, perfect even, it allowed Alear to continue to paint the sands red without interruption.

As she did so, she heard a new group of bandits incoming, “What the hell has you all so frightened,” A bandit in blue garb came out followed by several others with panic written on them. He saw Alear alone amidst a field of bandit corpses, “Uh,.. um…” He was clearly frightened by the blood covering Alear and her sword.

Before he could think further, Alear casually approached, “Are you the one in charge here?” Her voice held no trace of emotion.  

He pulled his axe and suppressed his fear, “O-Of course, me and my brother run this band, and you-“

Gaining her confirmation, Alear drew two daggers in her open hand and tossed them quickly at the bandits surrounding their boss, implanting the blades into their chests, the others lost composure and fled, leaving just the leader.

The leader quickly raised his axe and attempted to fight back, “Err,… I can’t let my brother down,…” the bandit said to himself, but Alear was uncaring for this one’s miserable and worthless life. She effortlessly parried each of his axe swings, clearly despite the differences in build, Alear was far more physically powerful.

The bandit soon grew exhausted fending off Alear and lagged behind in his movements, something Alear was quick to exploit. She swiftly cut his knee and forced him to the ground on his other knee, “Argh, I-I pl-ple-“ She didn’t wait to hear his plea before slashing her blade over his neck, decapitating him.

She was about to leave to go find the other leader, but then she looked back on the now separated head and thought about what he said regarding his brother being the other leader. She walked over and grabbed the head before leaving.

Alfred : Oasis Town In Solm

Alfred and the rest of the group fought in a different portion of the town away from Alear, saving and protecting the townsfolk as they did. They at least had more time to come up with a proper course of action this time then back in Tullah Desert when Alear abandoned them.

He heard Timerra begin to talk to Fogado, “Hey Fogado, does the Divine One really just run off on her own like that?”

“Yeah, she did the same thing when I first met her, apparently she’s unwell right now.” He answered her.

“Huh. Weird,…” She simply noted.

“Dragons truly are so unique, aren’t they?” Said by one of Timerra’s retainers, a blond-haired woman riding a massive wolf. Alfred learned her name to be Merrin.

“It certainly is something.” Said by the other retainer, a short orange-haired girl named Panette. Curiously she looked a bit similar to Pandreo, Alfred wondered if there was any relation.

Soon they managed to clear this part of the town of bandits, as they did however a new wave led by a man in purple garb and an axe came in, “I see a bunch of meddlers have entered me and my brother’s oasis. You’ll pay for this.”

As he rushed forward, Céline prepared her new levin sword, “Hmph, as if.” She loosed a harsh strike of electricity from the blade, knocking him back.

“Surrender! Or else we will be forced to end you!” Alfred called out to him. He rather not kill if he could choose, but this man’s death would not cause him to lose any sleep.

He got up from the attach, “Hah, sorry but surrendering would set a bad example to my little bro.”

Before he could charge again a new voice came out, “Your brother likely can no longer take example.” Alear’s unmistakable cold voice came from behind the bandit leader. As he turned to her,  she tossed head right at him. Alfred looked behind Alear and noticed the trail of corpses she left in her wake. Her clothes, skin, hair, and sword were all drenched in blood.

The bandit leader looked down at the decapitated head, “T-Totchie? I, ho-how, no, no…” He looked back at Alear, who gave him a blank stare, Alfred began to cringe at what was about to happen, “YOU! I’LL MAKE YOU PAY! FOR TOTCHIE!” The bandit leader charged Alear with what Alfred had to have assumed was all his might and determination, yet it wasn’t even close to enough, Alear simply angled away from attack and then slashed her blade at his side, causing the bandit leader to fall on his face to the sand,

He turned over and looked at Alear, who still did not emote in the slightest , “Y-You’re a m-monst-“ Without letting him finish Alear raised her blade and slashed downward onto the bandit’s skull, ending his life.

Ignoring the looks on her allies Alear calmly walked over, her stare was blank “The town is clear now. Now then, Fogado, Timerra. What have you two not been saying to me?” She didn’t seem to mind the blood covering her.

“Umm,.. I umm..” Fogado could not seem to find his words at the sight.

“Listen, um Divine One, we did know everything about the Fell Dragon, and Fogado was sent to find you at the border. We were just trying to protect our country incase of deception.” Timerra quickly explained, also clearly frightened by Alear.

“Even if that meant the death of the rest of Elyos, which in time would have also meant the death of Solm?” Alear was irritated even if she did not show it.

“It’s not like that, we were making sure you weren’t a fake, that’s all…” Timerra quickly added.

“I see…” Alear began to think…

Timerra began to talk more to Alear, “…Thank you Divine One for helping this town, even if it was extreme you did help the people of Solm, so I know I can help you. Which means I will tell you where Solm’s other ring is.”

That caught Alear’s attention, “The Ring of the Crux Of Fate.”

“Yes that one, it’s at the Nor-“ she was interrupted by a messenger.

“Your highnesses!” The messenger called out.

“Huh what is it?” Timerra asked.

“Hortensia, Princess of Elusia breached the royal palace.” The messenger announced.

“Oh,… Oh” Ivy looked a bit disheartened.

“How did she even get in? We have to save mom!” Timerra quickly shifted to a determined mood.

“Okay we will, once we get everyone gathered and prepared we can set out for the palace.” Diamant suggested.

“Alright, yeah that’s a good idea, most of us are exhausted right now. Sorry Timerra, can you give us an hour to prepare?” Alfred asked her, he felt bad for making her wait when her mother was in danger. But they were in no position to march to the palace and get into another fight without at least a small breather.

“Agh, okay, just be quick.” Timerra was clearly worried but she understood their situation.

Diamant turned to Alear, “Err, Divine One, how about you go wash up and change? And while you’re at the Somniel you can grab the supplies we’ll need to make this go faster.”

“…. Fine,” Alear grabbed the Atlas from Vander and disappeared from the area to the Somniel alone.

Waiting for her to leave, Diamant turned to Alfred, “Prince Alfred, we need to talk.”

He was confused, especially since Diamant seemed to have tried to get Alear to leave before speaking, “Um, what is it Prince Diamant?”

“It’s about the Divine One. She’s not stable as a leader. You need to take temporary command again, this time until she recovers for good.” He bluntly stated.

The suggestion surprised Alfred, “Wait what, I can’t do that. This is her army.” It felt wrong to subvert Alear like how Diamant was suggesting.

Diamant shook his head, “And it will continue to be her army, but right now letting her be the one at the helm will only steer this force to destruction, you don’t need to take full command, I just want someone to turn to when she runs off.”

“Why does it need to be me. If it’s because of rank it could easily be you, Ivy, or Timerra.” He really didn’t want this role.

“Hey, I literally just met you guys, don’t try and throw the leadership role at me.” Timerra quickly said to Alfred, her tone offended.

“I joined recently as well, and there isn’t enough trust or connection with me to make a proper leader.” Ivy explained.

“You have been around since the beginning, and you are a connecting presence Prince Alfred. It can be no one else.” Diamant explained, “If I, or anyone else took command, then the divisions created would only drive this army further apart, which is what I want to prevent. Because this force is the best chance we have of defeating the Fell Dragon.”

To Alfred’s surprise, it was Vander who chose to stand by Diamant’s suggestion, “Prince Alfred,.. I agree with Prince Diamant. And by doing this you would be taking a burden away from the Divine One in a time when she needs less of one. Please.”

Alfred thought for a moment, it was true. If Alear continued running off, then more incidents like Tullah Desert would happen, “Is this really what everyone wants, for me to take command when the Divine One is absent?”

Looking around even the skeptical who would have preferred someone else take command were moved by Diamant’s words, nodding to Alfred to take command. Although strangely Yunaka observed attentively at the whole conversation, when she noticed Alfred looking at her she quickly grew a forced smile and also began to nod. Looking back Alfred sighed, “Okay,… If the Divine One runs off, or is unavailable. I will take command of this army. But I will not be leader when she is around, or claim leadership of this force in anyway outside of those circumstances.”

Everyone nodded at that, content in the choice.

Soon Alear returned, cleaned cloths, hair, and skin, as well as some supplies in hand. No one told her of the decision that was made in her absence, “Alright, let’s go now.” She said as she moved ahead from the group. Walking alone and in front as she tended to do.

Alfred hoped he would never need to use this new power the group voluntarily gave to him. But he knew that as long as Alear was unstable, someone would need to keep the army together.

The group began to make their way back to Stellaperta to confront Hortensia. Alfred noticed how Ivy’s distress began to shine through.

Chapter Text

Ivy : Approach To Stellaperta

The group made their ways to the royal palace in Stellaperta, on the way Ivy couldn’t help but worry about Hortensia. She had not seen her since the two of them departed to attack Brodia. Leaving her behind on her own was something that still haunted Ivy throughout the days since joining Alear.

Now Hortensia was left to lash out, a danger to both herself and to others. Ivy had to get there to find her sister and make sure she would be safe.

“You’re worried for her.”

Ivy snapped out of her mind as she turned to see who had said that. To her surprise it was Alear who had said it. She looked at Ivy briefly, her eyes were unreflecting and cold before turning back ahead, “Am I wrong?” She asked Ivy with a blank voice.

Ivy shook her head, “No, you are right, I am worried for Hortensia.” That was an understatement, she was terrified for Hortensia.

“It is because she is all you have left.” Alear said as if it was the clearest thing to her.

Alear’s words confused Ivy, “…What do you mean?”

Alear was silent for a second before explaining, “You have been thrown out of your country, your father is dead, and your other siblings are gone. So you wish to defend and support what you have left. That being Hortensia.” Alear took a small breath before finishing, “Your mind is focused on its worry for your little sister, taking center stage over anything else.”

Ivy was shocked, it was as if Alear had read her mind, “…. Yes… how did you know?” It was eerie how well Alear seemed to understand Ivy’s doubts.

“…I am… observant.” Alear seemed to hesitate.

Ivy wasn’t satisfied with Alear’s response. “I see…”

“I am not blaming or criticizing you…” Alear quietly said to Ivy. She briefly mumbled something that Ivy couldn’t make out.

Ivy shook her head, “I never said that you were. I am just curious how you seem to understand what I am going through on such a level.” It didn’t make any sense; it wasn’t as if Alear had any siblings.

Alear turned to Ivy, she opened her mouth, “…” but then quickly closed it. Shaking her head Alear moved to the front, away from Ivy.

Ivy knew not to pursue her further, that would be a good way to get snapped at by her. Ivy had agreed with Diamant when it came to giving Alfred the leadership role, but she still felt for Alear. How could she not? The faith Ivy had in the Divine Dragon is what got her through some of the darkest points of her life. To see that deity so near,… it was exhilarating,… and yet also unnerving with how unlike Ivy imagined her to be.

Still, Ivy felt a sympathy to and from Alear that she couldn’t quite place. And this conversation had only confused her further.

Sighing to herself Ivy looked on ahead. The sun was beginning to rise as Stellaperta once again came into view in the distance. Hortensia was near, Ivy couldn’t fail.

The group had made their ways through the city and into the palace, Ivy noticed several perimeters formed by the guards outside and within the palaces. Timerra quickly went to talk to one of the guards, “What's the situation, has anything happened? How’s mom?” She was clearly distressed.

The guard turned and gave a small bow, “Ah, Your Highness. The Elusian Princess tricked us, we thought she was with you but just got lost, so we let her in. Now she is holding up in the throne room with Queen Seforia.”

“Has she done anything?” Timerra quickly asked.

The guard shook his head, “No, she has threatened to kill Queen Seforia several times but has not done so. Instead she has been demanding that you and more specifically the Divine Dragon come to her.”

“She wants the rings.” Alear said plainly.

“Most likely yes….” Ivy was deeply worried for Hortensia. Her lashing out could only end badly.

“… Lets go then.” Timerra said before moving ahead before stopping and turning back to the guard, “Make sure nobody enters or leaves the palace.”

“Of course your highness, I will tell the others.” The guard confirmed before leaving to pass along the order.

Timerra turned to the group, “Alright lets go, we need to get to Mother now.” The group nodded, with the exception of Ivy whose mind was focused on Hortensia, and Alear who always seemed to be thinking about something else.

Either way, everyone followed Timerra to confront Hortensia in the throne room. A pit of worry had planted itself into Ivy’s stomach.

The group headed by Alear, Timerra, and Ivy ran into the throne room in the palace, it was there that Ivy saw Hortensia, alone with Queen Seforia. Ivy tried to prepare herself for this all throughout the night and day, and yet it was still so difficult to see.

“Finally! Took you long enough.” Hortensia spoke with scorn. Her fear and audacity was gone, replaced by hatred and doubt.

“Let her go!” Timerra yelled at her.

“Yeah I don’t think so. And don’t you dare come any closer. I’ve got an Emblem Ring; it’d be so easy to kill her.” Hortensia threatened in response.

“Sorry everyone. I didn’t realize she was still on Elusia’s side.” Queen Seforia said with an apologetic tone.

“So you got in by yourself?” Alear said blankly.

“Uh-huh, I told the guards I’d been separated from Ivy, and they let me right in.” For a moment Hortensia’s characterized bravado had returned to her, “Now you’ve got a choice: hand over the rings or I kill the Queen.”

Ivy realized she had to intervene, “Hortensia, please don’t do this.”

Hortensia looked at her, she had been avoiding looking at her since they first entered, “Ivy! It’s been a while…. I-I thought that you… you were d-dead.” Hortensia shifted back to sadness, “I was relieved when I heard that you made it,… but now,.. what? Your with them?” her voice was filled with despair.

It was too difficult for Ivy to find her words, “Well,… I..I…”

Hortensia continued without waiting for Ivy to explain, “Since Father sacrificed himself, Elusia has been ruled by Lord Sombron and the Hounds.” She began to breakdown, “But you? You abandoned us-… abandoned me…. And then took sides with that murderous lizard. You’re a traitor Ivy! A stinking traitor!” she began yell.

Ivy began to see just how unstable Hortensia had gotten in her absence, “Please listen to me Hortensia,… I have not betrayed anyone….-“

Before Ivy could continue  any further Hortensia quickly interrupted, “I don’t want to hear another word out of your double-crossing mouth!” She turned to Alear, “Just give me the rings right now!”

“No that would be stupid.” Alear said emotionlessly to her.

Hortensia looked baffled at Alear’s blank response “Wha- I’m sorry did I not make myself clear? Hand them over or I kill th-“

“I heard you, and I said that it would be stupid. That’s my only answer.” Alear’s uncaring response shocked those around her, “If I gave you the rings then there would be far more damage dealt to the world than if you killed Queen Seforia. And besides, in that scenario Queen Seforia would be killed anyway due to the Fell Dragon wanting sovereign blood. So why would I ever choose to give you the rings?”

Alear made sense to Ivy, even if it was cold and based purely on logos. The idea that Alear would willingly sacrifice Queen Seforia was concerning though.

“I-I agree,… If I,… if we let those rings go to the Fell Dragon then my people are doomed.” Timerra spoke with determination, even if she was also unnerved by Alear’s logic, “So threaten us all you want, but you’re not getting the rings, because I stand for Solm.”

Queen Seforia nodded, “There she is, the future queen of Solm…” Her voice expressed pride. She nodded her head to further encourage Timerra away from any doubt.

Hortensia’s began to go into a full breakdown, “What’s wrong with you! This is your mother! You’re supposed to be scared! Why can't you see that! Cry already! Give me what I want!” Hortensia began to unravel, “What I need, I need those rings. It’s the only way to bring Father back.” Ivy saw as Hortensia began to cry.

Ivy had to respond, “Hortensia,… He’s gone. You saw the Fell Dragon murder him. There’s no way we can bring him back. Please see that.” Remembering hurt, it hurt a lot for Ivy.

Hortensia looked at Ivy, tears flooding her eyes, “You don’t know that! I must try, to save Father and Elusia… I just want to put things back together… to make everything as it was before all of this.”

Ivy began to tear up as well, this was more difficult than anything she had to face before, “Hortensia… I know how you feel, ple-“

“No! Stop trying to get into my head, all right!? I’ll kill her! I’ll do it!” Hortensia quickly retorted; her tears were falling down her face.

“You won’t. If you know that pain… of losing a parent.” Alear said to Hortensia. Ivy noticed Alear express herself for the briefest of moments.

“…I…” Hortensia began to retract into her mind.

“Well? Get on with it then. If this is what you really want.” Seforia said to her.

“I… I….” Hortensia put her hands over her eyes, her crying now uncontrollable. “*Sniff* *Sniff* *Sniff* *Sniff*” She fell down sobbing.

“Ivy… She needs you.” Alear said to Ivy. If Ivy had looked behind at her she would have noticed Alear begin to show the slightest amount of grief herself.

Ivy nodded and approached Hortensia as she wept on the floor “It’s going to be all right Hortensia, I’m here for you, and I always will be.”

Hortensia looked up, “I-Ivy?...” She looked at Ivy, her eyes red and watery.

Ivy smiled back, “it’s okay… sister, it’s okay.” Throughout the sorrow, there was a newfound happiness that Ivy had never experienced before.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to cut this reunion short.”

Alear : Solmic Throne Room

Alear felt an odd sense of relief watching the two sisters reunite, it gave her a form of hope that she had not felt in a while. Then Zephia ruined it.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to cut this reunion short.” Zephia said haughtily as she came from behind Hortensia.

Alear’s faint smile disappeared into pure scorn at the triggering sight of Zephia. She never liked Zephia, but recently she had grown to utterly despise the woman. “Zephia…” She said the name with pure contempt.

She looked at Alear, “Oh why hello there,… “Divine One,” it’s so nice to see you again. I do want to thank you for helping us gather so many rings, you are quite the helpful little naja.” Alear quickly understood Zephia’s subtle taunt.

“…” Alear balled her hand into a fist as she seethed to herself. If Zephia wanted to, she could unveil Alear’s lie right here. Instead she didn’t, and that was unnerving to her.

Zephia gave an infuriating wink at Alear before turning back to Hortensia, “Now then, Princess Hortensia…. Taking a ring without permission? And then sneaking off? Naughty, naughty.”

“Ah!” Hortensia made a single step backward as she got up, Alear could tell that her fright had returned to her.

“Lord Sombron and Lady Veyle’s orders were quite clear, to wait and watch. Oh and your retainers by the way? They tried to stop us. They failed.” Zephia said to Hortensia, smiling as she did so.

With that Hortensia’s resolve also returned, “Where are they!? Where are Goldmary and Rosado!?”

“Oh I sure you’ll find out later. Now then, we weren’t planning on moving this early, but since we are here it would be a shame not to return with a few souvenirs.” Zephia tilted her head away, “Wouldn’t you agree, Marni? Mauvier?” On cue the two Hounds walked in alongside Zephia.

The sight of more of Veyle’s jailors only added to Alear’s growing fury, “You… heh….” Her frown began to turn into a smile.

“I did not expect breaking into the impregnable Solm Palace would be so easy.” Mauvier stated.

Marni turned to Zephia, “Zephia what do we do with the Queen now, kill her?”

“No Marni, Lord Sombron will want to savor every drop of sovereign blood.” Zephia explained with a smile.

“Ah, I gotcha.” Marni waltzed over to Queen Seforia and moved her away. Several Elusia soldiers also appeared, seemingly also broken in alongside the Hounds. They took ahold of the Queen from Marni before beginning to leave.
“Mother!” Timerra quickly grabbed her lance and charged at Marni, only for Zephia to loose a bolt of magic at her, pushing Timerra away, “Ah!”

“Hmph.” Zephia turned back to Hortensia, “What a good girl you are Princess Hortensia. You came all this way to get the rings for Lord Sombron. Now that we are here we’ll help finish what you started. Let’s kill them all and head back to Elusia with the rings.”

“I… But… I…” Hortensia began to look down, nervous and conflicted.

“Come my dear, take command would you.” Zephia slowly approached her, “If we take the rings then we will be so close to having all twelve.” She waved her hand in front of Hortensia.

Alear began to get a feeling of what was happening, she started watching attentively.

“So… Close…” Hortensia looked nauseated, “And… then… Father can be…”

Zephia’s smile grew, “That’s right my dear, with all of the rings King Hyacinth will be resurrected, and then all will be as it was.”

“Right… All as it… was…..” Hortensia suddenly collapsed before pulling herself back up, “…” She turned to look at the group, Alear quickly took notice that her eyes were exact shade Veyle’s were, “I will kill them. I will take the ring. It’s the only way to save Father.” She stated in a daze-like state.

“Hortensia? Snap out of it Hortensia, please!” Ivy looked at Hortensia, panicking as she must have guessed what was happening.

Alear though was fuming, whatever this was it had the same source as what was puppeteering Veyle. However the fury soon turned to laughter at the display, “Hehehe…”

“Divine One… Are you okay?” Timerra asked her. Her and the others’ faces were filled with concern at Alear’s quiet laughter.

Alear thought for a moment before looking at Zephia and the other hounds, Zephia was smiling, Marni wasn’t paying attention, and Mauvier was stoic with hints of pity and shame. “Heh, no it’s nothing, just thinking to myself.” She turned to Ivy, “The magic comes from Zephia, disrupt it and Hortensia should be freed.”

She looked at Alear, half troubled by her, and half scared for Hortensia, “I… Okay.”

Alear looked to the group, “Everyone, knock out Hortensia if you can, but cause as little harm as possible to her. Kill any Elusian soldiers on sight,… no prisoners.” She looked again at the Hounds, “And keep them alive. I want their deaths to be slow and painful….” She cast a wicked smile at the Hounds as she drew her blade.

Zephia matched Alear’s smile, “Oh my, now that isn’t very divine of you now is it? Heh, oh well, lets see if you can back that up. Sad that Griss isn’t here to hear you say that though. He would be salivating at your threat.” Zephia whistled to call forth her wyvern, “Now then, shall we, little serpent?” She held out one her hands at Alear and pulled a levin sword with the other.

“Hmph.” Alear pointed her blade and wordlessly charged Zephia. As she did several fights began with her army against the other Hounds and the Elusian soldiers, with Hortensia nominally in command.

Alear, however, was focused purely on Zephia, what she did with Hortensia proved that she was the one behind Veyle’s condition, and for that she would make her bleed.

Immediately Zephia’s wyvern flew up and backwards away from Alear, shooting blasts of lighting with her blade as she did.

Alear angled away from the core parts of the lightning as she rushed forward, sparks hitting her sides as she did. She jumped and attempted to strike at Zephia, only for her to rein the wyvern to angle away from Alear’s strike. As she did so Zephia loosed a lightning strike from her sword, hitting Alear and launching her into another room.

“*Cough* *Cough*” Alear grabbed her fallen blade and pulled herself up. As she did she looked to see Zephia fly over.

The smirk she had only furthered Alear’s growing fury. “Aw, am I being too rough?” Zephia got her wyvern to land before jumping to the ground. After another whistle the wyvern flew upwards and began to stalk behind Zephia, “Is this better my dear?”

With a frown Alear pointed her blade and ran at Zephia. Instead of shooting lightning at her, Zephia simply waited for Alear to strike, parrying her as she did. As the swords clashed sparks of electricity began to hit Alear.

Alear put weight into her arm to try and force Zephia away, “Aw, don’t want to be too close? I’m sorry.” Zephia said before moving her free hand in a motion to strike Alear with an Elwind, the harsh winds pushing Alear back. “Well now Lady Alear, don’t you feel that this is all a bit much?”

Alear looked at Zephia, “…What?” She didn’t like where this was going.

Zephia’s smile widened, “Oh don’t be like this. Come now, why do you choose to continuously try and be a divine dragon? You are clearly not meant for it with how you are acting, and that’s okay. You’re plenty good as a fell dragon.”

“…” Alear decided that she wasn’t even going to dignify that with a response.

“So cold. I’m sure Lady Veyle will be saddened at your unwillingness to return to her.” Zephia feigned disappointment.

Her bringing up Veyle only further incensed Alear, “DON’T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME!” She angled her blade at charged Zephia.

“Heh.” Zephia smiled before parrying Alear and quickly moving away. Their duel continuing as the two fought each other in the midst of the ongoing battle in the palace.

Ivy : Solm Palace

The battle raged on in the palace as the army attempted to fight off the Hounds and Elusian army. It was in this battle that Ivy faced off against the dazed Hortensia.

“Hortensia please, listen to me!” Ivy was distressed, she had never once thought she would be forced to fight her sister like this.

“Ivy, why fight me? I only want to bring Father back.” Her voice was monotone and controlled, nothing like the real Hortensia. She brought Luin up and attempted a swing at Ivy who quickly countered by casting an Elfire to block the swing and keep Hortensia away.

“Hortensia listen, this isn’t you, please snap out of it.” Ivy’s breathing picked up; she couldn’t hurt Hortensia no matter what.

“Ivy, why can’t you see that this is the only way to save Father. Don’t you miss him?” Hortensia broke through the flames and began to swing the lance at Ivy.

Managing to ward off Hortensia with magic Ivy continued to try and get through to her sister, “I do Hortensia,.. I miss him every day. Which is why I can’t lose you as well.” Alear was right when she said that Hortensia was all that Ivy felt she had left.

“You won’t lose me Ivy, just help me bring father back. And then everything can go back to how it should be.” Hortensia said, continuing to try and strike Ivy as she did.

“…I…” Ivy couldn’t handle this; it was too much for her to cope with.

“Ivy, dodge now!” Lyn warned her. Looking where Lyn was looking Ivy saw as Hortensia’s emblem pulled a whip-like blade and made a wide strike with it towards Ivy.

“Ah!” The sword lashed across the room, with Ivy only narrowly managing to angle away from the attack.

“Ivy you need to focus! You can’t do this with your mind clouded.” Lyn told her, attempting to encourage her, “For you, your friends, your kingdom, and your sister you can’t lose sight.”

Looking at her country’s emblem, her words had resonated within Ivy, she had to do this, “Okay,… Emblem Engage!” As she disappeared into Ivy, Lyn gave a reassuring nod to her.

Now in pristine white clothes, her hair turned bright green, and ethereal wings hovering behind her, Ivy looked at her sister, “Hortensia, if you can hear me, know that I love you, and know that I will free you here and now.”

“…So you don’t care for me or Elusia…” Hortensia stated soullessly at Ivy, preparing her lance as her emblem looked on just as flat as her.

“I… No, I’ll free you and then we’ll talk, you and me. I promise.” Steeling herself Ivy was determined to free her sister from this spell.

Alear : Solm Palace

Alear and Zephia continued battling each other as they moved through the palace. Whenever Alear began to overwhelm Zephia with her strength and swordsmanship Zephia would counter with her magic to repel Alear. It was a frustrating loop.

As Alear was repulsed yet again she decided to swap her strategy, drawing three daggers in her hand she tossed them straight at the Mage Dragon, only for Zephia to loose an Elsurge to break up the daggers’ toss, scattering them harmlessly across the floor.

Attempting to make the most of it, Alear immediately charged Zephia, only to enter another sword lock with her.

The two looked at each other through the flying sparks of the levin sword. Zephia stared at Alear as if she was discerning something, “Hmm,.. if I remember right, you were one of Vermillia’s correct?”

“…” Alear scowled at the use of her birth mother’s name.

“Your eyes… I’m correct then.” Zephia’s smile widened, “I do remember her quite well, we were second cousins you know. Hmm, I suppose that does make the two of us distant family as well.”

“…” Alear started to try and break the sword lock, she decided that the best way to win was simply to ignore Zephia’s taunts.

Falling back Zephia continued to talk, her eyes closed as she thought, “You know, your mother was an extremely talented mage dragon, the way she wielded magic was a sight to see. I understand why your father favored her as a mate.” She opened her eyes to analyze Alear, “You are partially mage dragon, so why not show it? Where are the flames to ignite the room? Where is the lightning to disrupt your foes? Where’s the winds to create a mighty tempest.”

“…” Alear kept the pressure up, She was stronger than Zephia, and a better sword dueler, if she kept this up she would win.

“You choose to ignore me, well then,…” In an instant Zephia manifested a powerful Elsurge where Alear was, the magic ripping through Alear, the pain destabilizing her. Using this opportunity created, Zephia broke off the sword lock and created a lightning slash with her blade, hitting Alear straight across the chest, sending her across the room and forcing her to the ground as she hit a wall in the corner of the Palace.

Disoriented Alear looked to see Zephia casually walk over to her, a smug smile on her face over her victory, “Oh right, I remember now. You were one of the most pure blooded of the fell children. Your mage blood is nonexistent. You only take after your father.”

Alear gritted her teeth, however she do little to move, electricity jolting through her, causing immense pain.

“Well it’s okay, you still have your dark magic to use, that should be even more powerful if anything, so why don’t you use it?” Zephia asked as she bent down to look over Alear who continued to not respond, “Oh of course, how could I forget? That divine power Lumera gave you counteracts it, doesn’t it?”

Looking away from her Alear looked to see the nearby Elusian soldiers begin to fall into a rout as the Solmic guard and her allies broke their forces.

Zephia also looked at the battles outcome, “Ah I see that we have failed, what a shame.” She looked back at Alear, her face showed that she didn’t truly mind her apparent loss, “I do apologize Lady Alear. I am saddened to have harmed both a distant cousin and one of my Lord’s sweet little daughters. I am sure we will see each other before too long. Until then, do stay safe would you, I would hate for you to be harmed your highness.”

As Zephia turned to leave several Solmic guards approached her, “Halt-“ She simply blasted them with a Thoron spell, the power killing them instantly.

Zephia whistled to call her wyvern which landed to allow her to mount it. She turned back to Alear, “Goodbye your highness, I hope our next meeting can be more cordial. Now I must go find my children, Marni in particular does tend to get herself into trouble you know.” With that Zephia flew off, leaving Alear to herself.

As she lay there Alear felt as the jolts flowed through her, the pain only added to the shame of her loss, “Defect, defect, defect…” She began to beat her side to add to the pain.

She did this until Alfred made his way over to her, “Divine One! Are you okay?”

Alear didn’t register him at first, “Defect, defect, defect…” She muttered the phase under her breath.

“Divine One?” Alfred seemed concerned at Alear, Although recently that seemed to be the only thing people looked at Alear with, pity.

Finally noticing him Alear looked up, “… Alfred.”

“Are you okay? What happened?” He began to couch down next to her to check on her wounds.

“I loss. That is all, I will live.” She began to pull herself up, breaking through the pain, “How’s the battle?”

“The Elusians and other Hounds are fleeing, and Diamant and Fogado went to go and save Queen Seforia. When I came to find you Princess Ivy was still fighting with Princess Hortensia.” He explained, his face however still pitied Alear, it was irritating to see that emotion given to her.

“Let’s go” Alear began to go back to the throne room, stumbling as she did, her hand clutching one of her sides, blood coming from her mouth.

“But Divine One-“

“I said let’s go.” Alear simply kept moving forward, what else would she do? After all, she went through and felt far worse before.

Ivy : Solm Palace

Ivy used her newfound speed to swiftly outmaneuver her  controlled sister. The emblem with Hortensia had immense power to control the flow of battle. The speed granted by Lyn however allowed for Ivy to better find space to move.

The emblem sent another lash of his blade at Ivy, who swiftly created illusory doubles to cloud her true movements, the whiplash striking the doubles as Ivy moved away. With this she was able to evade the blades.

Now in a good position Ivy loosed a wind spell straight at Hortensia, the wind pushing her back. Ivy refused to do anything more harmful to her.

“Ah... Ivy,.. Why are you hurting me? I thought that you loved me…” Pain still resonated from Hortensia through her dazed state. The hurt broke Ivy’s heart.

“…” Ivy was about to speak before simply loosing another spell at Hortensia, this time managing to push her into the wall of the throne room.

Hortensia tried to get up, only for Ivy to hit her with another blast of wind, and then another, making sure that she stay grounded. Each time she loosed a spell Ivy felt pain at the harm she was causing. Still she kept striking with wind until Hortensia finally stayed down.

The engage broke off as Ivy walked over to Hortensia. Now sitting next to her Ivy pulled Hortensia onto her lap. Hortensia opened her eyes after struggling to do so. To Ivy’s relief the red was gone, replaced by the soft pink she never thought to ever think much about, “Ivy…. Wha-“

“Shh, it’s okay Hortensia. Everything is okay now.” Ivy pulled Hortensia close as she embraced her, “I was so worried. I am so, so sorry for leaving you.”

“Ivy… I’m-I’m sorry for attacking you, I don’t know what came over me, I felt imprisoned in my mind, I tried to stop… but I just-just kept attacking. I just wanted to stop but-but I,.. couldn’t. I was so scared.“ Her words were crippled by fear and shame.

Ivy took a breath, “It’s okay, I’m okay,.. you’re okay. Now it will be alright.”

“I… I should leave with the soldiers…” Hortensia said as looked to see the Elusians in retreat.

“No, if you leave you will only become an instrument of the Fell Dragon’s designs, stay with me, please.” Ivy did not want to be separated from Hortensia again, she didn’t know if she could handle a second fight.

“But, I was the last person left at Illusiastad, without me, who will lead the people? Who will take care of the country Father left behind?” Hortensia was conflicted as she began to pull away from Ivy.

“You will only be puppeted by them again. Elusia is no longer in our hands.” Ivy stated to her, “The Fell Dragon is the one who now controls Elusia. We can’t go back, not now.” Ivy missed her kingdom dearly.

Hortensia turned her head, looking at nothing in particular“… The palace, the only home I have ever known…. The little nook where I would have tea with my friends,… the gardens where you and I would read together,… the library where I studied nonstop,… the stables where I meant my pegasus… Even Rosado and Goldmary are gone,.. everything feels so,.. cold.”

Ivy struggled to hold back her own tears, “I know, I know…”

Hortensia turned back to Ivy, “Okay Ivy,… I’ll join you, so that someday we can return, together.”

Ivy smiled at that, happiness returned to her at Hortensia’s words, “We will return, I know it.”

The sisters pulled themselves off the ground before turning to see Alear watching them in the entrance to the room, she looked downwards.

Ivy made her way over to Alear, ‘Divine One. Are you,.. okay? ” She noticed how badly wounded Alear was.

“I’m fine. Its,.. good to see that you are reunited with your,.. sister.” Alear was expressing a side of herself Ivy had not seen since joining her.

“Thank you Divine One, for helping me reunite with her, it means so much.” Ivy said to Alear, she was still unsure what to make of Alear.

“Um, Divine One?” Ivy looked to see Hortensia talk to Alear, she was still frightened by the dragon, “You should,.. um, have this.” She handed Alear her Emblem Ring.

Silently Alear took the ring from Hortensia, “The Ring of the Instructor,.. thank you.” Alear turned to leave before looking back at the sister, “I’m glad that you two are together again.” With that Alear left the throne room to go elsewhere.

Sighing to herself, Ivy had found Hortensia, and yet Alear remained as much an enigma as ever. She didn’t know if she would ever truly understand the dragon.

She and Hortensia left to go talk with the rest of the army, after seeing that everyone was fine and that Queen Seforia was okay the army followed Alear to the Somniel. Ivy needed a nap, but she decided to spend time with Hortensia instead.

Baker Woman : Town In The Queendom Of Solm

Night came as the local baker began to close up after another long day of running her business. It had been a fairly successful day for the bakery. Still the woman saw as her customers were in increasingly bad spirits, the troubles of Elyos only seemed to get worse with time. What with the war between Brodia and Elusia reigniting and spreading to Firene, and there were those corpse-like creatures that were attacking small towns as well. Many were even saying that the Fell Dragon had returned to life, absurd. But it showed how bad things were at the moment.

Shaking her head the woman left with a bag of bread and other of her bakery’s products to eat at home. It was important to still enjoy the good things in life, less one get overwhelmed by the negative.

Walking through the quiet streets of the town the woman headed for home, “*Sniff* *Sniff*” The sound of someone crying came to the woman’s attention.

Deciding to investigate she went into a small alley. Beside some boxes the woman saw a small girl crying to herself on the ground. The girl was young and looked quite odd. Her hair was the length of her body and was oddly two-toned with black and white. Her dress was white with light red and blue accents. She didn’t wear shoes, although strangely she had a pair of shackles on her legs.

“*Sob* *Sniff* *Sniff*” She continued to cry, not noticing the woman at all.

The woman decided to try and figure out why she was crying, “Um, hello there, why are you crying?”

The girl pulled her head out of her arms, tears going down her face from her watery violet eyes, “Wh-who are you?”

“Me? My name is Crossett, what’s yours? She wondered where this girl’s parents were.

“I-I’m Veyle…” Veyle looked down again, tears continued to fall.

“Veyle,.. that’s a lovely name. Why are you crying Veyle? Where are your parents?” Crossett didn’t want to see this girl in such a poor state.

“… I’m alone, my mother died, and my father is… distant.” She continued to cry, “I’m c-crying because-because when I woke up today, my stone was gone.” Veyle explained.

So many things went through Crossett’s head, the girl’s mother was dead. What did she by “distant” when she mentioned her father? And what stone? “Um,.. I’m so sorry to hear that Veyle, was this stone important to you.”

The girl nodded, “Yes, yes it was. It was my sister’s. When she left she gave it to me and said that as long as I had it she and I would be reunited with each other. And now it’s gone… I don’t know where I dropped it. *Sniff*” Explaining it only made the girl cry more.

Crossett didn’t know how to help her, “Do you live around here?”

Veyle shook her head, “No, this was just the closest town when I woke up. I don’t live anywhere.”

Crossett had no idea what the girl meant by that, she had no idea how she could even make this better, “… Your sister, what was she like?”

Veyle turned to look at her, “Well,.. she was always kind and protective, she would bring me candy and make me food. She was busy a lot of the time but she always made time for me when she could. She could be a bit cold, but she was kind if you knew her. But then one day she left… and she gave me the stone to remember her by, that was all I had from her…  *Sniff* Will-Will I… ever see her… again? I’ve searched, so long…”

Crossett closed her eyes before pulling a bread loaf out of her bag, “Your sister sounds like a wonderful person. I’m sure you and her will see each other again. Until then you should eat, you must be hungry right?”

With caution Veyle took the loaf from her, “Thank… you.”

Crossett smiled before turning again to her bag, “Hold on, I should also have a brownie as well…” However when she looked again where Veyle was, the alley was empty, with no trace of the girl.

Crossett stared for a moment, unable to determine whether it was a hallucination or not, the missing loaf gave evidence to it not being one.

Sighing she turned again to leave for home. As she walked Crossett thought of her own sister who she hadn’t seen in a while. She decided to go and visit her tomorrow, the bakery could be closed for a day.

Chapter Text

Alear : The Somniel

At the end of the battle Alear created the portal to the Somniel and left before talking to Queen Seforia. She decided that there was little benefit for her to stick around and hear what she had to say. And her wounds proved enough of an excuse not to be there.

She headed for the ring vault with the recently acquired Ring of the Instructor. Once inside she said the invocation as she prayed, “Teach us, Emblem of the Academy.” The emblem appeared in the burst of light created, with the unnatural fell energy cleansed. Again Alear struggled to breath for a moment as she was drained of energy.

“Hm, Thank you Alear for freeing me. But why leave alone?” Byleth asked her. He looked at her inquisitively, she could tell he noticed that she was having difficulty summoning him.

“…There was simply no reason for me to stay. That is all.” Alear didn’t feel like talking to Byleth anymore than she had to, she wanted to avoid the emblems as much as possible, and besides, Byleth was the emblem which she disliked the most for how much he tended to pry and lecture others.

“I see,..” He clearly wasn’t satisfied with Alear’s answer. He was analyzing her for some annoying lecture later, Alear could feel it, “Well okay then… Before you go, however, I must ask, how is Princess Hortensia? I lost even my limited cognizance when she was knocked unconscious.”

“She is fine nothing looked serious, and I doubt Ivy used any truly harmful spells against her. Right now she just needs some rest and to spend time with her sister.” Alear stated. She was happy for the princesses, although also envious. Still she was more focused on the miserable feeling of shame from losing to Zephia.

“That’s good, I bonded with the girl during my time with her, and she reminds me of some of my students.” Byleth expressed. He simultaneously refrained from talking about his old students and also never seemed to shut up about them. It was another trait Alear didn’t like.

“Well that’s good, she can be the one to use your emblem ring then, since a bond has already been formed.” Alear said. She didn’t really manage who had what rings, it was easier just to let the others figure out their own bonds with the emblems.

Byleth put his hand under his chin, thinking about Alear’s suggestion, “Are you sure? I’m sure there are others who could make use of my talents. You don’t have an emblem; you could use my ring.”

“Sorry but that would result in me having to touch one of your vile “Heroes’ Relics” Which I rather not even be in the same general area as.” Alear turned to leave, she was long done with this conversation, “If you excuse me I have important things waiting for me.” Byleth didn’t respond as Alear left the vault.

Alear really dislike how the emblems treated her, always pitying her, and treating her as if she needed their guidance. The events after Destinea Cathedral proved that she and them ought to remain as separate as possible.

After leaving the vault Alear made her way up to her dressing and bathing room. As she took her bath she stirred bitterly at her loss to Zephia.

After finishing her cleaning and putting on her casual clothes she grabbed her dagger and made her routine clean cut across her palm, it didn’t make her wince and it wasn’t nearly enough to silence her thoughts, so she made a parallel cut, and then two more.

Blood began to spill into her washstand.

The pain was necessary, she deserved worse for her selfishness. The way she abandoned her siblings was abhorrent and the atrocities she committed made her no better than the Hounds.

The cut burned, her opened flesh screeching where the dagger made its marks. Still she barely reacted to the growing pain.

Her betraying and sacrificing Marth as a disposable pawn was worse in a way. She and him had formed a strong bond and friendship. That wouldn’t return when they meet again,.. if they met again.

The wounds on her left hand weren’t enough, she opened her right palm as she made the same identical cuts.

Veyle’s current state was due to Alear cowardly abandoning her for Lumera. Why did she even deserve Lumera’s love when none of her siblings got a fraction of fraction of love,.. or was it love? Maybe Lumera just pitied her. A sad, pathetic, weak girl bleeding out in the snow,.. was that the only reason? Was that the answer to Yunaka’s question?

Either way, the world didn’t seem to care to punish Alear for her vile transgressions, proving just how arbitrary it was. If the world refused to reprimand her, then she had to do it herself.

The blood covered her palms as it spilt from the wounds. This would fade in time, sooner rather than later, leaving no trace that any cuts were made. When she woke up tomorrow she would simply remake the wounds again.

Sighing to herself Alear began to wrap bandages around her hands, and as she did so she looked into the mirror. What reflected was something that didn’t deserve happiness, didn’t deserve love, didn’t even deserve a name. She was a fell abomination that barely deserved to live.

 Zephia was correct, her mage blood was irrelevant, she was always arguably the most fell of her siblings, when people said fell dragons were evil that applied as much to her as it did to her father.

She finally left the bloodied washstand to go to her room in the undercroft, she hated how bright the Somniel was during the day.

Alear made her way through the Somniel, as she left for the undercroft she saw as the rest of the army had appeared through the portal. Already they dispersed, some talking in the café, others left to go and rest or clean up. She picked up the pace to avoid having to speak to anyone.

She went through the undercroft and to her room with no interruption. She knew that the group was starting to notice how little time she now spent in her original room, and how much more time she was spending in the undercroft. Still, it was problem she could sort out later, even if the others were suspicious they would not confront her over it.

She made it to the room through the black door, she spent little time looking around, instead she went to her bed and curled up in some blankets. She had been slowly cleaning the room and removing the dust from the room, making it more breathable.

The room let next to no light in, Alear doubted that any of the humans could see a thing in here,.. well maybe Yunaka could. Alear however saw fine, she didn’t how much of that was because of her fell nature, or because of how dark Gradlon temple was. It was likely a combination of both.

Sighing, Alear turned over on her side and pulled out the dragonstone. She began to look at it mindlessly, the piercing crimson made itself known in the dark room, it was power incarnate, Alear however would never dare call it beautiful. The stone was her in way after all.

Looking at it was akin to looking in a mirror, not just a mirror that reflected an image. Instead it was a mirror that reflected everything about Alear, her soul, her power, her identity, her dreams, and her fears. It was all consuming when she stared at it. Looking into the stone closed the separation of it and her, or rather just ‘her’ would be more appropriate to describe it.

Alear stirred in her misery as she stared at the stone with no interruption for hours. She wondered how much longer she could hide what she really was from the group, it couldn’t be much longer. And when she was revealed,... what then?”

Lucina : Somniel Ring Vault

Alfred entered the ring vault to place the rings in their displays. Timerra and Ivy had given him Ike’s and Lyn’s rings to place in the vault.

As he placed the rings on their allotted displays the emblems began to appear, “Alright there you guys go, is there anything else you need?” Alfred asked.

Lucina shook her head, “No, thank you Prince Alfred. Your offer is appreciated though.” She had come to admire the way Alfred was always seeking new ways to help those around him. It was a trait that reminded Lucina of her father in a way.

“Okay, well if you do need anything you can always ask me. Oh and it’s nice to properly meet you…” He looked at Byleth inquisitively.”

“Byleth. Just Byleth is fine.” Byleth answered in his standard monotone voice.

“Got it, it’s good to have your aid Emblem Byleth.” Alfred turned to Lucina, “Before I go, do any of you know what the Divine One is going through, and how I could help?” His face turned much grimmer.

Lucina thought for a moment, she looked at the other emblems who all silently agreed with what they knew her response would be, “I have a faint idea,.. but it is extremely… sensitive.” She wasn’t close to Alear but she knew where her current instability came from.

“I see. It’s just that I know she has been cutting herself. And when we went to check on her she kept muttering the phase ‘defect’” Alfred explained to her, his general happy face disappearing entirely.

Lucina had a feeling about what Alear was doing to herself, she had seen several fell children attached to her coping the same way. And she of course knew what the phase ‘defect’ meant for  Sombron’s children, “That is,.. concerning. Sadly I am not well connected to Alear to have much of an affect.” She turned to the others before continuing, “We will see if we can come up with something to help her. But for now  if you want to help, the simplest way is to continue to bond with her.”

“Bond with her? I’ve been trying to do that, but haven’t made much progress, that’s why I’m turning to you.” Alfred said depressed.

Lucina nodded, “But you have made some progress. I’ve sensed it Alfred, she does see you as a friend even if she would never admit it.” Lucina thought for a moment, even before Alear became unstable after the cathedral and even when Lumera was still alive she was a very difficult person to form a connection with, which is what made Alfred’s noteworthy albeit limited progress notable, “Just continue your course of slowly befriending her. In my experience with dealing with Alear, she tends to calm when being around those she knows care for her, even if she is terrified of letting people in.”

Alfred thought for a moment, considering Lucina’s words, “… If you think that’s best then I will try my best to befriend her.” His grim look transformed into a more determined one, “I will try and come up with something, thank you for telling me.” With that Alfred turned and left the ring vault, leaving only the emblems.

The emblems waited for Alfred to leave. Assured that no could hear them the emblems began to discuss Alear and the events surrounding her.

“How has Alear been?” Ike asked.

“Not well, she’s been belligerent to those around her and has been acting aggressively.” Lucina explained to him, she wished she could do more for her.

“She seems to be improving a little, I saw her have a positive interaction with Princess Ivy.” Lyn said to her.

Lucina shook her head, “Did you see how she slaughtered those bandits, or her visceral hatred against the Hounds? Moments of calmness are not the whole of her current condition, nor was her initial aggressive instability. She has cooled somewhat, but she is still in total despair.” Alear was going through an unpredictable cycle in her psychosis, but at the moment she had at least settled into a calm state when things were quiet.

Lyn closed her eyes and reluctantly nodded, “I suppose you’re right, I guess I was just gasping at a good sign.”

Lucina turned back to the room, looking at nothing in particular, “I do feel somewhat guilty at pushing the responsibility of getting her to open up onto Prince Alfred. But Alear tends to be so distant from others,.. especially us.” Marth was the only one to ever truly connect with her, although Sigurd, Corrin, and Eirika and Ephraim had been closer to her by way of having connections to those Alear was close to.

Lyn nodded in agreement, “Agreed, if we were the ones to push her then she would only lash out. We would do more harm than good. If Marth was here then maybe we could do something. Sadly that is not the case.”

“How did Alear lose Marth’s ring?” Byleth asked after staying silent and observing, “I saw as the group lost the other five, but I didn’t see Marth get lost.”

“From what I understand Alear ran off alone to confront the Hounds when they were escaping Elusia, she lost Marth’s ring and Libération in the process.” Lucina explained, it didn’t entirely add up and she knew that Alear wasn’t telling the full story.

“I see, I imagine there is likely more to that story?” Byleth again asked, he was clearly thinking about something.

“Most likely, yes.” Lyn answered for Lucina, “Do you have any observations Byleth?”

“I will have to think about it more, but when she made her aggressive comments at Zephia and the other Hounds at Solm Palace,.. I couldn’t help but be reminded about one of my students and the way he tended to act during a particular dark period of his life.” Byleth explained. He thought again before continuing to explain, “The circumstances and much of the specifics are different, but the aggressiveness and self-imposed isolation do match. Although hers is more mild, and she can at least interact with others if need be.”

Lucina took in what Byleth had to say, “Well then, it is unlikely that we can do much other than give advice to those around her. Although I suppose the quickest and easiest way for her condition to ease would be to reunite her with Veyle.”

“But would those in the army even accept that? After all, all they see is the Fell Dragon’s evil daughter who killed their deity.” Lyn expressed, clearly doubtful.

“If they learned about her and Alear’s relation they might be able to accept her, of course they would first have to accept Alear’s own identity.” Ike added, he seemed somewhat uncharacteristically unsure.

“I can see why she is so distant. Nobody would work well in her situation. Especially not someone with her upbringing.” Lucina was no stranger to the unexpected complexities of fell dragons, but Alear twisted it in a way Robin never did.

The emblems continued to discuss Alear, not getting any closer to understanding her further.

Hortensia : The Somniel

Going through the created portal and into the Somniel was an experience that Hortensia had never once expected or thought about in her life. The idea of entering the home of the Divine Dragon, the one who slaughtered her soldiers in Brodia and who Hortensia, until just a little bit ago, believed killed her sister, well it was a frightful thought.

The floating island was beautiful, it wasn’t a thing like the royal palace in Illusiastad that Hortensia had lived in. Still she couldn’t help but feel unnerved, while never a particularly devout fell dragon worshiper, Hortensia had still believed in holiness of the Fell Dragon. Now here she was in an important center of the rival Divine Dragon. She felt alone and confused.

“It’s quite nice, isn’t it?”

Hortensia looked over to see Ivy, “It is, I knew that the Somniel was an island in the sky, but it’s breathtaking to see in person.” She smiled, she was confused, but she was reminded that she wasn’t alone.

Ivy nodded, “Yes, when I first came here it was a wonder to see. And now you’re here as well. Come on, let’s go find you something to wear. Then we can go walk around and chat.” Ivy had one of the biggest smiles Hortensia had ever seen her sister have.

“Okay then. There better be something cute to wear.” Hortensia and Ivy walked off, as they did Hortensia wondered about Rosado and Goldmary. Their absence was a reminder about how much she had left behind. Still seeing how happy Ivy was, well it made her feel that they would get through this.

After finding Hortensia a nice red jacket to wear, Ivy changed to her simple indigo dress. Afterwards the two Elusian princesses left to wander the Somniel.

Before leaving properly Ivy walked over to an old looking man in the plaza, who she saw in knights armor before, “Sir Vander can I make a request?”

Vander looked over at Ivy, “Of course Princess Ivy, what may I help you with?”

“Can you arrange quarters for my sister, preferably near my own?” She requested.

“Do not worry, I have the twins resting right now but when they get back I will have them prepare what Princess Hortensia needs.” He answered before turning to Hortensia, “I must say I am happy to see you with this force now Princess Hortensia. If you have any requests please feel free to ask.”

“Thank you um, Sir Vander. You’re so kind.” It was strange to say the least. She didn’t know anyone here other Ivy, well there were Ivy’s retainers, but Zelkov was creepy and Kagetsu was weird.

“Come on Hortensia let’s go to the café, you must be hungry.” Ivy said to her.

Nodding the two entered the café, she curious to see what there was to eat. Although Hortensia was getting unnerved that she had yet to see Alear. She was still terrified of the dragon, and the fact that she was near and yet nowhere to be seen was keeping Hortensia on edge.

Pushing it back into her head they walked to the desk where a large brown-haired man was standing, “Hello Princesses, I am on kitchen duty right now. Can I get you anything?”

“Hello Louis, let me think,.. How about some apple pie.” Ivy said. Hortensia was happy with that; it was something the two had many times.

“Of course, take a seat and I will be with you.” Louis left to the kitchen as the two went over to one of the tables.

Hortensia felt as the light breeze hit her, it was a pleasant feeling. Her whole life had been upended in just a few weeks. The halls of the palace felt like a lifetime ago.

“I know, I feel it too.” Ivy said to her, apparently reading her thoughts.

Hortensia sighed, “How do you handle it? Everything we know is gone,.. my retainers are gone,…. Father is gone… So how are you able to get over it so quickly.” It was hard.

Ivy shook her head, “I haven’t gotten over it,.. I think about it all the time.” She looked up, “I can’t stop thinking about all the things I never said to Father. And the palace,.. I used to hate it, now though I now feel an overwhelming longing.” She looked back at Hortensia, “I’ve cried over it you know.”

Hortensia was shocked at that, she could never imagine Ivy crying, “You have?!” She couldn’t even fathom it, but to see her sister showing weakness…

“I have yes, many nights I have cried myself to sleep. But do you know why I continue? Why I can get up in the morning? It’s because I have a duty to restore the country Father left behind, and I have to believe that things can get better. And to see you here,.. I can’t help but feel that that belief is verified.” Ivy expressed a soft smile on her face. Yet Hortensia could feel that there was grief in the smile.

To hear Ivy express herself like that, it was never something Hortensia had seen before. It filled her with not a warm feeling, but it was close to one. She thought about her own grief, and the fierce denial she was in the days after that let her to attacking the Solmic royal palace. She was a fool for it…

“Sorry for the delay, but here is the apple pie as requested your highnesses.” Louis walked over and placed the pie in the center of the table, interrupting Hortensia’s thoughts “If you need anything else please give me a call.” He gave a light bow and left for the desk.

The smell of the pie was lovely. She had so many memories of enjoying apple pie with Ivy, her mother, their father, and their other siblings. It was comforting, and she needed that.

“Come on now, before it gets cold.” Ivy said to her. Looking over Hortensia saw that Ivy already cut slices for them as Hortensia was thinking to herself.

Hortensia smiled, things were going  to get better, they were going to restore their country, she would see Rosado and Goldmary again. And Father would rest easy once they corrected his mistake. They had to, and they would, because things would get better.

The two enjoyed the pie as Hortensia’s doubts faded from her, even if every bit of the grief remained.

Céline : The Somniel

Céline walked through the Somniel; she had been looking around for Alfred. She hadn’t seen him since he took the Emblem Rings to the vault. It was nearing sunset when she found him in the orchard, thinking as he looked across the sky.

He didn’t notice her as she walked up from behind, “Alfred… What’s on your mind now?” She noticed that he was down a lot more lately.

He turned to look at her, “Oh hey Céline, I’ve just been thinking about how best to approach the Divine One.”

Céline was not at all surprised by that answer, it would have been more unexpected if he said anything else, “I see, and why have you decided to put your mind to that cause today?”

He seemed to hesitate before answering, “Well when I took the Emblems to the vault they told me to try and continue to befriend her as the best way to get her to calm.” He looked down at the ground, now having a faint frown, “It’s just that I have no idea how to do that, everything I have tried before hasn’t worked.”

Of course this was what worried him, “Well what about that candy? You stayed up several nights learning how to make it, and after you gave it to her you said it went well.”

He nodded, “Well, she accepted and thanked me for it. But that was it.”

“Well then do that again, it seems like you made some progress the first time, so a little bit more progress ought to be good yes.” It seemed obvious to her.

“I suppose so, but I wasn’t able to truly interact with her in a way that made any real progress.” He answered, still looking down.

“Hmm…” Céline began to think, “Oh I know. Why don’t we make dinner for her, then you and I can sit down with her and have just a quaint little talk.”

He looked up at her, “I suppose that could work, it would have to be something she would like to eat though, meaning either very spicy or very sweet. And I warn you she has really extreme metrics for what she considers sweet and spicy.”

“I can handle it. We don’t have to make it today, rather we should try and learn a dish and recipe, I’m sure we can learn quickly enough. We are going to be here for a few days so we have time.” Céline told him. This wasn’t how she was planning to spend this time, but she was actually quite interested in learning this skill and helping the Divine Dragon. She did want be closer to her, she felt an affinity with Alear.

Alfred’s smile returned, seemingly agreeing with Céline’s plan and reasoning, “Alright I’ll go to the kitchen to set everything up and you go find a cookbook, we can figure something out I’m sure.”

Nodding Céline went off to the library while Alfred went to the kitchen.

After preparing everything the two of them began to look through the cookbooks Céline had found, “Hmm, instead of dinner, how about we make a confection.” Céline suggested.

“That could work, it’d be easier than something spicy, and it would be more doable to make it extremely sweet.” Alfred said in agreement with her suggestion.

“Alright, now then, what do we make. I suppose a simple cake would do.” She looked at the ingredients Alfred began to take out. In particular, she noticed that he directly took a bag of sugar out of one of the pantries, “Alfred we have sugar already on hand, it’s in that small jar.”

He shook his head, “Oh I know, but trust me when I say it’s not enough, we are going to need to triple the amount used in any recipe we find, minimum.”

“My word, is her tastes really that extreme, I thought it was an exaggeration.” She knew Alear liked sweet food, but even she had to have a limit.

“Apparently she needs lots of sugar just to taste things.” Alfred picked up the book and analyzed some of the recipes, “And I doubt any of these will suffice.”

“A lot of these recipes are delicate. Too much sugar will ruin other aspects. We will need to figure out what works.” Céline began to realize that this would take a while. She hoped no one would get mad at the large amounts of failed cakes they would inevitably create.

“If I need to come up with my own recipe then that’s what I’ll do. This is what I’ve trained for.” Alfred said with an unreasonably determined look for what he was doing.

“I’m sure you have Alfred, I’m sure you have.” Céline rolled her eyes as she prepared herself for the long night ahead. Thankfully they had plenty of time and ingredients to figure this out.

A few hours later the two seemed to have created a good test cake, as it was cooling Céline looked over as she heard someone enter. “Ah, Bunet, what brings you here?”

Bunet quickly donned a smile, “Ah why hello Princess Céline, Prince Alfred. I came to see the kitchen. I was curious to see what the Somniel had. I must say I didn’t expect to see either of you cooking by yourselves. Do your retainers not handle this for you?”

Alfred shook his head, “Usually, but we needed to learn how to do this on our own for what we are doing.” Céline agreed with Alfred, it wouldn’t do if they got someone else to do this for them.

Bunet looked curious at that, but before questioning them about it he turned to the cake and inspected it, “Well from first glance you seem to have done a good job, is it ready for décor?”

“Oh this is just a test to figure out where to improve.” Alfred answered him, “Oh I know, can you help us test it?”

Bunet nodded, “Of course I can help with that, I’m always happy to help with the advancement of culinary talent.” He cut a piece of the cake and took a bite and began to chew, “Mhm *ack* *cough* so,.. sweet *ack*” his face began to contort at the taste, which was a good sign. “Why-why would you make it so sweet?”

“Well, we do need it to be sweet.” Alfred answered.

“For what reason, there is such thing as balance in food you know? Just because it’s a cake doesn’t mean you put that much sugar.” Bunet still looked as if he hadn’t recovered from the sweetness, “I can’t imagine any human’s palate would agree with this crime against baking.”

“Ah, but have you considered that this is not for a human to begin with?” Céline retorted. They were making this for Alear and her bizarre taste.

Bunet caught on to who she was referring to, “Does the Divine Dragon truly enjoy this level of sweetness? I find that hard to believe.”

She shook her head, “She apparently does so. And as a chef yourself can you not fathom differing taste, especially how a dragon may differ from a human?”

Bunet took that in, “Hmm, I didn’t consider that. Oh my, how can I have not have thought of that.” He looked distressed suddenly, “I am sorry your highnesses but I must take my leave to figure out this dire misstep I have made, my integrity as a chef is at stake.” With that he left do who knows what.

“Well that was weird, but yeah this cake is a flop.” Alfred said as Céline saw him chewing on a slice. “Well it doesn't matter; we do this until we figure it out.” He said before regathering the ingredients to try again.

Céline sighed, this was going to take a few attempts, “Perhaps some more butter maybe?”

Alcryst : The Somniel Training Yard

Alcryst loosed an arrow at the training target, it struck just off center, proving inadequacy once again. He sighed as he saw all the arrows, all on the ring surrounding the center, all misses. It was to be expected.

He was about to draw another arrow as he heard footsteps approaching, turning he saw Diamant, “Oh Diamant, I’ll leave so you can have the training area to yourself.”

Diamant shook his head, “No it’s fine, I’m here to talk to you Alcryst. How have you been doing?” He had a look of concern.

The question came as a surprise to Alcryst, he didn’t know what brought it on, “Um me? I guess I am doing fine.”

“It just that you have been more distant since… since the cathedral.” Diamant was hesitant to specify further, but Alcryst understood what he meant.

“I’ve just been more focused is all, that’s it.” Alcryst looked down, “I just thought that if I were stronger then maybe,.. maybe father would still be here…”

“That wasn’t your fault, you fought hard and true. It was out of our control.” Diamant said, taking a moment to regather his thoughts before continuing, “I’ve been worried for how you are holding up. I feel you are unfairly blaming yourself.”

Alcryst shook his head. He didn’t know who he blamed, he had already decided he was being unfair to Princess Ivy, he was starting to detest Alear for her insolence, but it wasn’t her fault either, she clearly didn’t like the Brodians or Father, but she still helped, even for different reasons. He supposed it was simplest to blame the Fell Dragon, but what could he hope to do to confront something that powerful? “I’ve just been trying to get stronger. To avenge father, and make sure it never happens again.” That he decided was all he could do, so he had to put everything he had into it.

Diamant took in Alcryst’s words, almost as if he was inspired by them, “That’s,.. that’s great to hear from you. In that case perhaps the two of us could train together?”

“Oh no, please that’s not necessary Diamant. I’m sure I would just get in the way. You can find a better training partner then me I’m sure.” Alcryst was worried that he would just make a fool of himself.

Diamant sighed, but donned a soft smile, “It is you who I want to train with Alcryst. And besides, I have to get stronger to, for the same reasons as you. Please you wouldn’t get in the way.”

Alcryst was still nervous, but he did kind of want to train with his brother, “Well alright then… I sorry if I mess up.”

“Alright then, let’s start. Let’s see if I can dodge your arrows.” With that the two Brodian princes trained throughout the night.

Yunaka : The Somniel

It was afternoon when Yunaka was lounging around on the tree near the stables, not really doing much other than simply observing those around her. It had been a few days, although outside the Somniel it would have been a dozen hours or so. 

Her routine was chaotic, but sensible, to her at least. Train, eat, lounge, talk to others, eat again and then lounge again. All in random intervals. Sometimes she would do her lounging sessions right next to each other and count them as separate sessions. Other times she spilt her segments into multiple smaller ones and count it all as one. It was a pattern that didn’t seem like a pattern to any but her, and she liked it that way.

She never let any of this time go to waste though, she observed and intently listened to conversations. None had noticed her, the others probably didn’t even know they were in her earshot, after all she rarely shared that her hearing was nearly as good as her eyesight. It was a skill that she was using far more in the service of Alear’s paranoia.

That’s what Yunaka would do, she would listen for information from the conversations on the Somniel. She would sort out anything that would mention Alear in negative light, and then she would report it to the Divine One.

As she thought to herself she saw what she had been waiting for since they came back to the Somniel, Clanne walking over with a nervous look on his face, “Um Yunaka? The um,. The Divine One asked for you to see her.”

She got up from where she was sitting, “Why thanks for telling me, I’ll be there lickity-spilt.” Clanne was always the one Alear sent. He always seemed to do as Alear asked, with as few as questions as needed, and he was both very loyal, and utterly terrified of her to ever let anyone know that Alear kept meeting with Yunaka.

He nodded before scurrying away to go do something else, he knew to keep his questions and suspicions to himself. Either way Yunaka made her way to the undercroft. A pit had formed in her stomach she was dreading this particular report, the only silver lining being that Alear waited long enough for Yunaka to figure out what she would say.

Yunaka was there when the army went behind Alear’s back to give command to Alfred when Alear was doing anything rash. It was an agreement that she did understand and even agreed with, even despite her understanding of Alear, or perhaps because of her understanding.

Whatever her personal feeling though it was something that she knew Alear would be interested in, perhaps it would even add further confirmation in Alear’s mind that she was being targeted.

At first Yunaka considered lying to Alear and not telling her what happened. But Yunaka decided that it wouldn’t work. After all Alear was able to ascertain that Yunaka was lying just by talking and looking at her when they first meant. She would see through any lie, and then best-case scenario Yunaka would lose any ability she had to limit the damage Alear was doing. And worst-case scenario Alear would reveal her lie.

The only real option Yunaka had was to tell Alear the truth but try and get her to understand it without appearing as if Yunaka supported the decision.

The best way for the group and by extension the world was reconciliation, which meant Alear needed to stop with her bizarre actions, and the others needed to understand why she was doing what she was doing in the first place. And that meant Yunaka needed to understand Alear more, hence why she did as Alear asked to get closer. Even despite her conscious.

She was about to enter the undercroft when she heard footsteps approaching, “Hey Yunaka. Are you going to into the undercroft?” Yunaka recognized the voice as Alfred’s.

Quickly she put on her upbeat persona, “Oh hey there Prince Alf. Yeah I was just going to go enjoy the spooky ambiance down there, you know how it is.”

“Heh yeah, its neat down there. Anyway if you see the Divine One can you tell her to see me and Céline in let’s say three hours?” He asked her with a smile on his face.

She had heard about his and Céline’s attempts at creating a cake for Alear, it good to know that she wasn’t alone in trying to get Alear to open up. She decided to hide what she knew about from Alear, “Yeah sure thing, I’ll tell her if I see her. I’m sure she’s down there. Where else does she go?” Nowhere was the answer. She only left the undercroft to watch the sunsets and sunrises and once to get some water and weapon cleaning supplies. She didn’t even know where she slept down there.

Alfred smile dropped ever so slightly, “Yeah I guess she doesn’t leave much…. Anyway thanks ahead if you find her.” Afterwards Alfred turned and left back to the café.

Yunaka silently sighed to herself “Alear, why can’t you see that people care about you?” She shook her head and entered the undercroft and made her way to Alear.

For the good of the world Yunaka hoped that Alear could eventually see reason.

Yunaka made her way through the undercroft, making her way to the room she gave her reports to Alear in. The whole area was maze-like, only a few members of the group tended to spend much of their time here unless they were in the storage rooms, but the undercroft went across the entire Somniel. And the deeper you went, the darker and more confusing the layout got. The only one who could truly freely navigate the place was Alear, although Yunaka and the stewards also could feel their ways through.

Entering the room, Yunaka quickly noticed that it was empty. She went to one of the wooden crates and sat down and began to wait for Alear.

A few minutes passed as Alear entered the room, Yunaka looked at her hands, bandaged as expected. Her eyes and face showed no emotion, but neither were empty.

“Yunaka, what do you have to report?” Her voice was orderly, she allowed not a hint of feeling through.

Yunaka began to recollect everything she heard that Alear would be interested in, “Lapis and Citrinne don’t call you by any title, only calling you a ‘lizard’. Diamant and Alcryst have been more polite but they still speak of you unfavorably. Vander has continued to suggest that you are mentally ill.”

Alear thought about those reports, “Nothing unexpected. Continue.”

“Right, let me think. Merrin and Timerra keep asking around about you, I think both are just trying to figure out what’s going on but Merrin seemed especially interested as she wrote even the smallest things down. Bunet also for some reason kept asking what you tended to eat, for some reason he seemed very distressed about it.” Yunaka explained, she was delaying with small reports.

“Trivial. Continue.” Alear did not blink once. She knew that Yunaka was delaying, Yunaka could tell.

“Hortensia seems like she is still afraid of you, she also had a conversation with Citrinne where both called you overly violent.” Yunaka told her, she was running out of the small stuff, she just didn’t want to say the inevitable.

“Again, meaningless conversations.” Alear’s eyes unnerved Yunaka, the red one in particular looked like it could stare into her soul, “You have something major to report.” It was said as a statement of fact rather than a question.

Feeling as though she could no longer delay, Yunaka decided to just it directly and brace herself, “Well, you see. Back when we were at the oasis and you went to the Somniel briefly, Diamant pulled the group behind and,.. suggested that um, that Prince Alfred would take command of the army when you ran off alone.” Her words were carefully chosen to make it seem as palatable as possible to Alear.

Alear continued to show no emotion as she processed what Yunaka said, her eyes shifted from being still to rapidly shifting around at Yunaka. It was a strange sight, one that Yunaka couldn’t help but feel she had seen somewhere before.

A few tense moments that felt like eternity went by before Alear’s eyes went back to being still and she spoke, “Did Alfred take command when we were at the palace?” She was eerily calm.

“Um,.. sort of. The battle happened so quickly that no command was able to take hold, but I recall him giving a few orders. I’m pretty sure it was agreed that he was only going to take command when you were unavailable, that’s all he seemed comfortable to do.” Yunaka answered, she hoped she was doing a good job making this seem reasonable to Alear.

Alear mused to herself, Yunaka had no indication what Alear was thinking. She heard loose droplets of water falling to the ground as she waited for Alear to respond. “And it was Diamant that first suggested it yes?”

“Err, yes, yes it was. He wanted you to leave so he could offer it to Alfred without your knowledge.” Yunaka explained, she decided to pass blame onto Diamant, little could be lost, they were already hostile to each other.

“And why Alfred for that position?” Alear’s questions were simple and to the point. Leaving no room for stretching the truth on Yunaka’s end, she could only paint it in better light.

“I think it was because Alfred was here early and a lot of people like him, and he is a prince so that also helps I suppose.” The ‘I guesses’ and the ‘I suppose’ were so that Yunaka could distance herself as far away from what was happening as possible.

Alear closed her eyes, a few moments passed as she thought. Yunaka’s heartbeat increased as she worried whether or not she did a good job.

Without warning Alear opened her eyes, “Very well then. That will be all Yunaka, thank you for the report.”

Yunaka looked at her puzzled, she was expecting a bigger reaction, either a condemnation of Alfred and Diamant or calmly asking Yunaka to keep an eye on them, “Do I um, spy on Alfred now?”

“No, continue what you were doing as you were.” She said with the barest hint of disinterest. Yunaka had started to notice the slightest hints of emotion Alear would display, which was why she was creeped out when she couldn’t see anything, still she felt like she could breathe now, Alear’s coldness wasn’t as draining now.

“Well alright then Divine One-“

“Alear, call me Alear. Or Lady Alear if you must add formality.” Alear said to interrupt her.

Yunaka raised an eyebrow, “I um, sure? But why me? You never ask others to do that.”

“I don’t mind what people call me, but with you it feels wrong when you call me ‘Divine One’ for some reason. I prefer either my name or my proper title.” She said to Yunaka, with a slight emotion that Yunaka couldn’t quite place.

Yunaka did notice one oddity though, “What do you mean by ‘proper title’ I thought Divine Dragons were called Divine One, not Lady or Lord right?”

Alear turned barely nervous, “Well,.. I mean,.. forget it, just call me Alear that is all. Did you have anything else to say?”

Yunaka recognized an attempt to change the subject, the Lady title thing was something to keep note of. She however didn’t press Alear on it, instead she remembered Alfred’s request, “Oh um, Prince Alfred and Princess Céline asked me to tell you to meet them in three or so hours.”

“Over what?” Alear asked blankly.

Yunaka knew about the cake thing but decided not to say that part, “I’m unsure.” It was a straight face lie that she knew Alear could see through, but it wasn’t that bad if she did.

She looked at Yunaka for a moment, “Okay then, tell them I’ll be there for whatever they want.” She turned and left.

Yunaka saw as she went the opposite direction to the rest of the undercroft, which was odd since the only thing that way was the locked black door- “Well I suppose that’s where she always is.”

Yunaka sighed, she knew not to pursue, not that she really wanted to. She left the room to return to the surface. She couldn’t tell whether or not she was successful in calming Alear. She hoped Alfred’s and Céline’s cake project would go well.

Alfred : The Somniel

It was night as Alfred and Céline waited for Alear in a room adjacent to the cafe. Once the two settled on a recipe they remade it and gave it simple decoration. The cake they created was a double-layered chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting all across its sides and top, with chocolate shavings on the sides and chocolate sprinkles on top. It was an abomination that should never have been created. It was simple by design under the understanding that Alear would appreciate something simple and not grandiose, that she would enjoy this for being heartful and sincere.

Eventually Alear enter the room. Alfred looked over at her hands, her hand were clear, not a bandage or wound to see. Which meant they had already healed or she would make the cuts later. He shook his head to push that to the back of his mind.

Alfred walked over to greet Alear, “Divine One! You came.”

She began to analyze him, “What is this about?”

Alfred turned around, and nodded to Céline, “Me and Céline made something and we thought you would like to try it.” He decided not to show this to be premeditated, Alear would probably figure that out for herself.

Céline brought out three plates with the cake slices on them, “We wanted to try and learn to make a cake on our own, since as royalty we had never done so ourselves.” That wasn’t entirely true, but it was better than saying that it was for Alear outright.

Céline set the cake slices on the table, “Come on Divine One, I think you’ll like it.”

Alear walked over to the table as Alfred and Céline sat down. Alear inspected the cake for a moment before cautiously sitting down and looking at Alfred, “You thought that I would want to try this?”

“Yeah, it’s our first successful one. And well, I wanted an outside opinion. And you like sweet foods, and you tried that candy I made you so you seemed like the best option.” Alfred said to her as he took a bite on a piece of his cake, he held back a grimace from the sheer sweetness of the cake, on top of the chocolate they had tripled the sugar in cake recipe.

Alear looked down at the cake slice, Alfred held his breath as he waited see whether or not she would try it, with some caution she eventually did pick up her fork and ate a bite of the cake, “… It’s…” She chewed as Alfred tried to figure out whether she was enjoying or not, her face gave little indication, “This is… like what mother use- I mean it tastes good, I like it.”

That was unexpected to Alfred, both he and Céline looked at her as she tried to backtrack on what she was about to say. Both silently agreed to pretend they didn’t hear it, “I’m,.. I’m glad that you enjoy it Divine One.”

She hesitated before giving a nod, she looked grateful that neither of them pressed her about what she had accidently said. The three of them silently ate their cakes. The sheer sweetness of the cake was probably not going to sit well with either Alfred or Céline later, but it was worth it.

For some reason, Alfred felt a strange connection to Alear. For all his life he had seen her sleeping form as something to be worshipped, a guardian of holy reverence. Seeing her awaken form was something entirely different though, she was her own person with her own deep-rooted issues and troubles. Some that Alfred could understand and some that he could not. Either way he wanted to support and understand her. He no longer saw her the same way as he did when she slept, but she was even more fascinating in a way.

Alear finished her cake slice when Céline and Alfred were barely halfway, even though both of them took larger bites. She looked down at the empty plate and simply stared, she clearly enjoyed it even if she hid exactly how much she did, but she also looked confused now.

“Um Divine One, there is more if you want some.” Céline said politely to her.

Alear shook her head, “No I’m fine, I don’t like to eat to much food like this, it’s bad for you in too large amounts.” She looked at the two of them, before shifting to Alfred in particular, “Why are you so intent on befriending me?”

Alfred was surprised at the question, “I mean… I just like yo- I mean I want to understand you.” He hoped she didn’t take to much notice about that first attempt.

She looked at him, “…Understand me? What do you mean,.. by that?”

Alfred tried to find proper words when he turned to Céline who was staying silent as she observed the two of them. He turned back to Alear to try and answer her, “When,.. when you were asleep I visited you dozens of times, each time I would tell you about what had happened between each visit. You felt like a real friend that I could speak openly to. But I always wanted to know what you were truly like, since you know, you never could respond to me. So now that you are awake, well I wanted to,.. get to truly know you,… is this arrogant of me, I’m sor-“

“It’s not arrogant of you. I-“ Alear looked as if she was about to say something before she once again pulled away, “No, you are fine Prince Alfred, use your efforts on anyone else. Not someone like me, I don’t deserve it.” She turned her voice down and briefly muttered, “I never did.”

Alfred saw where this was going and he quickly tried to salvage it, “Please don’t say th-“

“I have to go, I’m sorry. Please stay away. You’ll only get hurt, and I’m underserving anyway.” She quickly got up and sped away from them.

Alfred was about to go after her when Céline spoke, “Alfred no, let her go.”

He looked at her in disbelief, “But Céline, I have to-“

“No you don’t, we did what we could for right now, don’t sour it. We did good today, there will be more opportunities later.” She calmly said as she took another bite, “And come finish your cake.”

“Okay, your right, as usual.” He stumbled over to the table and sat back down. He didn’t like it but Céline was correct. He made progress, he couldn’t tell how much but he made progress.

He mused on Alear, He felt something for her that he could name. It wasn’t like his friends in Boucheron or Etie. Nor was it like his family in Céline or Mother. It wasn’t even how he viewed Alear or Lumera as divinity. Rather it was something new, and unexplainable to him.

It was just something else to add to his fascination of Alear.

Alear : The Somniel’s Undercroft

It had been nearly two days since Alear met Alfred and Céline. The encounter terrified her in a way she couldn’t explain. She curled up in her bed and had barely left her hidden room since, not even to see the sunset on the third day, or the sunrise on the third and fourth day as she tended to do.

Rather she just stayed in her bed, her mind on the encounter. She knew for a fact that she didn’t deserve that sort of attention or admiration. She felt something terrifying when she heard Alfred talk, it hurt more than anything else.

So here she was, hiding away from the light until duty demanded she return to the sun’s sight. The darkness of the room made her feel safe, like nothing could take her by surprise here. She knew she scheduled to meet Timerra in about an hour, but she didn’t want to leave, she couldn’t bear to see any faces.

Eventually after savoring every second of time she had, Alear got up, put on her field armor, and reluctantly got ready to meet Timerra.

Alear walked through the undercroft and into the Somniel’s surface, making her way to the room Timerra asked to meet her in. It was now midday, people were preparing to set out in a few hours. They gave themselves four days to rest and reorganize and now they were about to leave again.

As Alear walked into the room she saw Timerra looking at a map of Solm. She looked up to see Alear, “Oh hiya Divine One. I’m just studying the location of the Northern Fortress.”

“That’s where the Ring of the Crux Of Fate is?” Alear asked. She put on a mask of formality and composure.

“Yup, it’s an abandoned fort that we used during the war a thousand years ago, it was meant to protect the capital from attacks from Gradlon. Once Gradlon sank though there was no real need for the fort, so it was mothballed and then later converted in a place to hold the Emblem Ring in secrecy.” Timerra explained.

Alear nodded as she looked at the map Timerra was looking at, “How was it converted exactly?”

“It was abandoned and made to look as if it had already been pilfered multiple times over, afterwards my ancestors spread rumors that the fort was haunted, ooooh. That way nobody would enter, nothing to be gained in going to a haunted fortress.” Timerra gleefully said.

“I see,..” It was ingenious Alear had to admit, no wonder it was thought to be lost to history, “How long will it take to march there?” She wanted to get to a country that didn’t burn her skin as fast as possible.

“A few hours, if we go in a few hours like we agreed we should be there right as the sun sets.” Timerra answered her before continuing, “Afterwards we can go along the coast until we make it to Firene.”

“Will you and Prince Fogado continue with us after we leave Solm?” Alear was curious about this, she hadn’t stayed long enough to hear if Timerra chose to come or not.

“Yup, I have to do my part to make sure the world is safe from the Fell Dragon. And you guys are the only real way to do that. For Solm I represent in the battles ahead.” Timerra drifted to a more determined state, one that Alear preferred over what she was usually like.

“Very well. Alert the others that we leave in two hours, and grab Ike’s ring from the vault. It’s your responsibility to protect that ring now.” Alear turned to leave.

Before she could leave, Timerra began to inquire, “Before you go, can I ask you something?”

“What.” She was ready to leave.

“What has you so,.. troubled. I’ve asked around a lot but I wanted to here from you. Is it really this Veyle girl?” Timerra asked, immediately causing Alear to cringe at the mention of Veyle.

“Do not prod into things that do not concern you. And do not mention her name to me.” Before Timerra could question her further Alear left, but not before her mind shifted once again to Veyle.

She wondered how she was. Was she doing okay? Did she have somewhere warm to sleep, she wasn’t wounded was she, did she have enough to eat? Was she sad about the missing dragonstone? And if so, how sad?

She shook her head, Alear wouldn’t let harm or suffering come to Veyle ever again. Next time they met, they would be reunited, this time for good.

No matter what.

Chapter Text

Alear : Gradlon Temple, 1000 Years Ago

Alear walked through the ebon halls of the temple, her heels creating an echoing clicking noise. little light was let in, the occasional windows were made from red and purple stained glass, tinting whatever came through, which wasn’t much to begin with. It was an environment that demanded one adapt oneself to survive its harshness.

Alear had mixed feelings about the subjugating darkness. She was born in it, lived in it, and yet she knew if things stayed how they were she would die in it. So many of her sibling already had.

She looked ahead, her expression betraying no feelings. Ahead were other siblings walking through the halls parallel to her, their expressions were the same, unreadable. Some of them use to be compassionate, some used to be sadistic, but all who remained figured out what Alear figured out long ago, neither helped, pure callousness was the only real option.

The halls were more and more empty every time Alear returned, she wondered if they were now below a hundred siblings. She made no expression, any doubt was a sign of weakness.

It used to be bearable, she bent to it all and made do with the reason she existed. She was a weapon, a soldier with the sole purpose to kill in the name of her sire, wanting for anything else was the realm of the defects. That acceptance was the reason she had survived so long.

But things had started to change. First Rafal had drowned, or he was simply killed with a blade, it was hard to tell which killed him first. Then Nel in a rage attempted to avenge him, only to be burned to death. Both perished right in front of Alear, she gave one tear to each, but nothing more. Perhaps they could have made it to the end, but they didn’t so it wasn’t worth thinking about.

When she came back the more ambitious siblings saw vulnerability in that Alear was now alone. She lost more of her siblings afterward, she shed no tears for them, others would have seen that. She doubted any of them would have made it to the end anyway.

She continued to go on missions as if little changed, and yet she couldn’t get Nel and Rafal out of her mind, she increasingly couldn’t get any of her siblings out of her mind. She was increasingly crushed, she began to see images of her fallen family in the corner of her sight. She even hallucinated fighting  an identical self one time in the midst of some odd events that were taking place in the Picos de la Santa Sangre.

But when she awoke from the hallucination, she met her. Queen Lumera, her ultimate enemy. The Divine Dragon simply woke her up after showing concern. Alear thought of attacking her, but she couldn’t, the kindness that she gave to her struck something deep within the fell child. They promised to meet each other again later and the two departed.

When she returned Alear was blamed for what happened. She was valuable and skilled enough that she was only put through a mere two hours of torture, she was recovered enough to continue fighting the next day, but she couldn’t get her meeting with Lumera out of her head.

So they met once, then twice, and then a dozen more times. And on their last meeting Lumera made an offer.

Two weeks ago

Alear walked through the small grotto where she and Lumera agreed to meet again. It was evening as Alear spotted the Divine Dragon Queen, she was serene, her presence emitting calmness. Alear saw her petting a fox, the wild animal not frightened at all by the dragon.

Walking over the fox quickly turned at Alear, the fox studied her for a moment before choosing to flee. Lumera gave a slight frown at that before turning to greet Alear, “Ah, don’t worry about that, I’m sure he was just frightened by your sudden presence.” Alear didn’t quite believe that interpretation. Lumera noticed Alear’s doubt, quickly she changed the topic, “I am pleased to see you my dear. I do enjoy our conversations.”

Alear did as well, even if she had a hard time expressing that, “I-I do, t-to.” Her stoic demeanor had a hard time keeping itself together around Lumera.

“It’s okay. Did you have a hard time getting here by any chance?” Every time they met She expressed concern for Alear, it was something that Alear simply wasn’t used to, finding one’s way on time was the bare minimum.

“It was no issue, I snuck out easily. Nobody spotted me.” Alear was certain of this, she knew the patterns of her siblings and the corrupted, it was no issue for her to move undetected.

“I’m glad.” Lumera retracted from her standard serenity as she looked as if she was struggling to say something, “Listen, Alear. How much longer do you think you can continue to sneak out?”

The question confused Alear, the concern in her voice was something she had grown used to with Lumera, it was an oddity with her, “I mean, some of my brothers and sisters are getting somewhat suspicious.” It was true that some were increasingly questioning her, but she was so efficient with getting her tasks done that few pushed her on where she was at times like this.

“I see.” Lumera continued to look as if she was trying to find proper words, eventually she just decided to say what she was thinking, “Alear, how would you like to come with me, to Lythos I mean?”

“…What?” The request made little sense in Alear’s mind, why would Lumera want her there?

“I... would like you to come with me, not to meet up but to… be a family.” She looked deeply nervous as she made this request.

“But why… why would you want me to come with you? Why me?” Alear was trying to wrap her head around Lumera’s confusing request. And what did she mean by family?

Lumera closed her eyes, “I feel… I feel a connection to you, ever since I found you in the snow. I kept wanting to meet you because you have been the first person I have truly connected with in a long time.”

Alear felt a connection to, but she couldn’t believe that Lumera did as well,  “But I am a fell dragon and you are-“

“Yes I know, you and I are different. But I have come to care for you. And I can no longer bear the thought of you being in the clutches of the monster you call a father. So please, for you and for me. Come with me.” She held out her hand as she gave a soft, pleading smile to Alear.

a warmth filled Alear. It was defective yes, but she desperately wanted to take that hand, but something was stopping her from doing so, “I..I c-can’t…” She took a step backward, away from Lumera.

Lumera’s face dropped, her eyes reflected sadness at Alear’s hesitation. Quickly though she regained composure, “I-I’m sorry if I was being too sudden with this. But please think about my offer. How about, let’s say two weeks. We can meet again, then you can choose, if you refuse I will no longer bother you.” She looked at Alear, hopeful, yet tense.

Alear didn’t want to stop talking to Lumera, as defective as that made her, but she had to think about this, “O-Okay, two weeks, and I’ll tell you my answer.”

“Alright then my dear. Goodbye, I’ll see you soon.” Lumera took on last melancholy glance at Alear before slowly walking away. Alear’s instincts and duty told her to stab Lumera in the back, she was vulnerable and trusting, it was the best bet Alear had of killing the Divine Dragon. And yet instead Alear turned away and left. Something else told her not to, and that always triumphed against her instincts when it came to Lumera.

Present

The encounter had been on Alear’s mind since it happened. The next meeting was soon to happen, and she had to make a choice, stay with her father and siblings, or flee to Lumera. Should she ever be found out, then her proven usefulness wouldn’t save her from being throw to the corrupted as many of her siblings had. It was no real choice at all.

She turned the corner of the hall, the nearby corrupted looked on ahead as if they were statues, but she knew better, they watched and observed everything that moved within their sight, making sure to sniff out weakness. It would be her end if she stayed. Her time in these halls were up. The love she felt for Lumera was compounded by her wish to stay alive. If she chose to stay she doubted if she would make it through the week.

She passed by the last group of siblings, they were a pair of sisters she didn’t know, she tried to remember names and faces, but once one passed into the hundreds it became impossible to do so, especially since most perished.

The two gave her no trouble, they clearly knew her. One passed Alear with no issue. The other, however, expressed a small amount of fear, she would be dead by the end of the month.

Alear wondered if any of her siblings could make it to the end, even the strongest seemed to break in time.

Eventually Alear made it to her room, the spartan room allowed little personality, just pure function. She replaced her daggers with fresh ones. She grabbed her obscurité tome and a fresh sharpened blade.

She went to her bed, she crouched down to under it, and moved the boards holding up the mattress. Between the boards and mattress was where she hid Revanche and Représailles. She couldn’t bear to leave either behind. Keeping them was perhaps the first sign that she was a defect. But she needed something, anything to remember Nel and Rafal.

Now that Alear had everything she needed she left. She took one last look at the room, it was sparse, it was drab, but it was one of the few places she could be to herself in all her years.

She had one last stop to make, she began to head for Veyle’s room. With a bag of candy and her dragonstone in hand.

Veyle : Gradlon Temple

Veyle laid in her bed, she was constantly told by Alear not to leave her room when her other siblings were active, though oddly there seemed to be less and less of those siblings in the halls. Every time she asked Alear where they had gone she had just avoided the question. There was also Nel and Rafal, Alear kept saying that they were on a long mission, but it seemed like they were gone too long.

Alear herself seemed even more detached than usual. Veyle knew something was going on and she desperately wanted to help, after all, wasn’t that what siblings were for?

*Knock* *Knock*…..*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Veyle’s thoughts were interrupted by the rhythm, quickly she got up to greet Alear. She unlocked the door to see the expected blank look of her sister, “Alear! Here, come in.”

Alear followed Veyle in before turning to lock the door, “Veyle,.. how have you been today?” She sat down on the floor.

Veyle noticed hesitancy in Alear’s voice. She followed Alear by also sitting down next to her, “Fine… is something the matter?”

Alear shook her head, “No, nothing. Here I got you these.” She handed a bag to Veyle.

The bag held a truly large amount of candy within it. More than Veyle had ever seen in her life, “How… how did you get this much?”

Alear didn’t seem to want to answer that, “Oh you know…”

Veyle didn’t know, but she decided not to press her about it, instead she grabbed two pieces and handed one to Alear, “Here.”

Alear attempted to refuse but all it took was for Veyle to give a pout for her to reluctantly take the candy. As Veyle ate the candy piece a swell of heat was released into her mouth. It was if the candy was biting her tongue, “Wha- what is this, ah..”

“It’s spicy candy, I found a lot of the ingredients needed to make a lot.” Alear explained, she chewed her own candy with little issue, “I’m sorry if you don’t like it…” She showed a slight sense of sadness.

“No, no. Its good, I just wasn’t expecting it.” She quickly ate a second and began to chew more slowly, as she did Veyle found she actually quite liked it, “It’s good, thank you for making it for me.”

“You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoy.” Alear said, showing the slightest smile.

The moment went on as the two sisters sat and quietly ate the candies Alear had made. Eventually though, time demanded to move again.

Alear got up, her stoic feature loosening, showing doubt and sadness through, “Veyle… listen, I have to… to go away.”

Veyle was confused, “What do you mean ‘go away?’ Go where?”

Alear looked away, guilt on her face, more emotion than Veyle had ever seen before on her, “I’m going on mission, it will be a while before we can, see each other again.”

“You mean like Nel and Rafal?” That had to be it, Father must have something important that he thinks Alear can do.

Alear looked nervous, clearly hiding something, “I… yes. But don’t worry,… we’ll see each other again.”

Veyle didn’t want Alear to leave, “But where are you going?”

“I… I can’t say that… I’m sorry.” Alear didn’t want to leave Veyle, She pulled out her dragonstone, “H-Here, take this.” She handed the stone to Veyle.

Veyle looked at the crimson stone for a moment, her eyes reflecting in the surface of the gem as Alear looked away, “But-But why? Don’t you need this to turn into a dragon? Why give it to me?” Veyle couldn’t fathom why Alear would choose to give her the stone.

“So you have something to know about me. As long as you have this it means that I am still alive, and one day we will be reunited.” Alear said to her as she pushed the stone onto her, she looked as if she was pleading with Veyle to take it.

Veyle thought for a moment, tears coming out of her eyes, Alear really was leaving her, “Okay,.. But promise me something. Promise me that you and I will see each other again.” She held out her pinky finger, refusing to take the stone.

“Veyle.. I-“

“Say it!” Say that we will see each other.” Veyle pushed her finger close to Alear as she made her demand.

Alear sighed, reluctantly she held out her own pinky finger and wrapped it around Veyle’s, “I promise that we will see each other again, and then we can spend all the time in the world together, you… and I.”

Veyle nodded as she finally took the stone from Alear, tears coming down her face, she didn’t want to say goodbye. Alear silently moved her hand across Veyle’s face, wiping away her tears.

The two stretched what little time they had left as they stared at each other, Veyle’s wishfully and Alear longingly. But again the clock ticked away carelessly.

Alear turned away, “G-Goodbye Veyle, we will see each other, I promise you…” Veyle could have sworn she heard a sniffle coming from Alear, even if she couldn’t see it.

“G-Goodbye, s-sister.” Veyle began to clutch the stone. So many of her siblings had disappeared, and now Alear was leaving too. The world felt darker every step Alear took to the door.

“Goodbye. Lock the door behind me” Alear unlocked the door and left, Veyle saw her shift back to her stoic self as she left.

Veyle did as Alear told her and locked the door. Afterwards she fell into her bed, Alear was gone with only her stone and the bag of candy left behind.

Veyle looked into the crimson stone, it felt as though Alear never left her as she stared deep into it, but it was not close to a substitute.

The minutes turned to hours turned to days turned to weeks turned to months after the last meeting between the two sisters. The candy Alear had given her had slowly disappeared, Veyle savored every single piece, she came to love the spice even more than sweet candy. Eventually though even the large bag dried up. She deeply missed it when it did.

The dwindling number of siblings moved on as things were. All had accepted that Alear was gone, another one who simply did not make it. A death that meant as little as all the ones who came before her.

But Veyle knew different, the stone remained as clear as it was when Alear gave it to her. So she knew she was out there. Just waiting for Veyle to find her, or for her to find Veyle.

The siblings dwindled to less than a dozen as Veyle held onto hope. Alear was alive, somewhere.

Father and the last siblings perished and Veyle was moved to Elusia. But somewhere Alear remained as the stone remained.

She was placed in the care of a temple of fell worshipers, they proclaimed her the last fell dragon, they were wrong. The stone had not a single scratch.

Eventually Veyle was placed into a deep slumber, the stone to her chest as she fell asleep. When she awoke the first thing she saw was the fact that Alear was somewhere to be found.

The second thing she noticed was a man who looked at her with amazement, “Um hello. Who are you?”

He quickly shifted to a more reserved state, “… I am Mauvier my lady… You are… awake…”

Veyle looked at him, “I am, I am awake…” She held up the stone, “Are you awake as well, sister?”

“Yes you are… May I do anything for you my lady?” Mauvier asked her as he studied her to see if what he was seeing was real.

Veyle thought about refusing to ask for anything, but then she heard her stomach rumbling, “Do you- do you have any food?”

“Hmm, I have some candy I keep, but I’ll have to find something more filling.” He answered as he handed some candy to Veyle.

She took the candy, looking at him and then it cautiously. She ate one and chew, and felt as it burnt her mouth and bit her tongue, “S-spicy…” A warmth filled Veyle’s heart.

Mauvier looked worried, “I apologize my lady if you dislike spicy foods-“

“Don’t worry, I really like spicy foods, it reminds me of someone.” She held up the dragonstone and looked into it.

Two hearts had holes in them as she looked into the stone. Somewhere they were desperately waiting to be filled.

They would see each other again and be reunited.

No matter what.

Chapter Text

Alear : Outside The Solmic Northern Fortress

The Group had made their ways through the Solmic deserts north from Stellaperta and towards the Northern Fortress where the Ring of the Crux Of Fate awaited them. Once found they would need to confront the Fell Dragon and the Hounds if they wished for any more of the rings.

Finally as the sun set across the desert they had arrived. Alear looked at the abandoned fortress. It was quite large as it dominated the area, parts of it had collapsed due to premediated neglect. The gray and dour structure gave an ominous presence.

“There it is. The Northern Fortress, oooh. Hope none of you are scared of ghosts.” Timerra cheerily said.

“G-Ghosts?” Ivy put on a strong face but clearly didn’t expect that.

“It’s a made-up story by Solm’s royal family to prevent locals from investigating…” Alear said to Ivy as she looked ahead and analyzed the building, quickly she made note of something, “The corrupted are here.” She no longer allowed her fear of the corrupted to show in the slightest, that could be reserved for her mind.

“Wait what?” Timerra looked where Alear was looking, “I… are those the corrupted? I can’t tell.”

“The Divine One is right, I see them to.” Yunaka said as she moved to the head of the group, “Yeah, I suppose it wasn’t as well hidden as we all thought. Nothing can be simple I guess.”

“Hey! We hid the ring for nearly a thousand years, give us some credit yeah?” Timerra said with a slight offended look.

“Its no matter, just remove them and we ca-“ Alear was interrupted before she could finish.

“Look, someone’s in there!” Yunaka quickly said as she pointed forward.

Alear looked where Yunaka pointed, barely she was able to make a figure out, “I see. Lets go, perhaps they are the reason this place was found, or perhaps they are just a bystander. Either way.”

Alear moved forward, prompting the others to follow her.

The group managed to move into the entrance of the fort undetected by the agitated corrupted. Now closer Alear spotted the person who had gained the corrupted’s attention, a tall man with long black hair and wearing Solmic dancer’s garb. She saw that he was now cornered by incoming corrupted.

Alear turned to the group, “Hold my flank, I am going to question that man.” She drew her blade and moved into the open, the rest of the army also drawing their weapons and preparing for battle on her orders.

The corrupted instantly spotted the group as they moved into their sight. As her allies began to fight, Alear herself moved up to where the man was surrounded. A corrupted charged her only for her to jab once and instantly kill it as she moved forward uninterrupted.

There were two corrupted cornering the man. Before either could strike him however, Alear swiftly stabbed her blade in the back of one. The other turned to her in surprise right as she tossed a dagger right into its head.

Finished she looked straight at the surprised man, her eyes unblinking and cold, “You there, who are you? You seem to have agitated them.” The noise of the battle her allies were fighting echoed behind her.

“Who are you?!” The man said to her.

“Alear, again who are you and why are you here?” Her voice monotone as she continue to question him.

“I am Seadall, I am a traveling dancer, my cards told me that unexpected help would arrive, I presume that is you?” Seadall asked.

“What do yo- oh I see, you’re a fortune teller, how quaint.” Fortune telling was joke to her. The idea that one could understand the world through a piece of paper pulled randomly was foolish at best and deranged at worst.

Seadall didn’t look too offended at her clear dismissal at his profession, “Ah well, moving onto your question, I came here to practice my dance. When I did I heard a voice coming from this ring.” He showed a sliver ring with a pure white gemstone in the middle, Alear immediately recognized it as the Ring of the Crux Of Fate, “I believe it to be a young princess who fell victim to a curse. How awful.”

“Hmph, not exactly.” Alear swiped the ring from him before he could react.

‘H-hey-“

“Don’t worry.” Alear said dismissively before saying the invocation, “Bare your fangs, Emblem of Fates!” A flash of light erupted from the ring, out of it came a tall woman with long sliver hair and matching sliver scaled-armor.

“I am Emblem Corrin, it is wonderful to see you again Alear.” Corrin said kindly as Alear got over the toll of lost energy.

“And I as well..” It wasn’t genuine. Corrin was closer than most emblems to Alear, her presence reminded her of Rafal. Add on to the fact that Corrin herself was a dragon. It was all so disruptive to Alear’s mind.

“My word, you freed her! And,.. you two know each other?” Seadall asked in amazement, not catching Alear’s hidden discomfort.

Corrin glanced at him and smiled, “Indeed I am one of the twelve Emblems, and Alear is the heir to the Divine Dragon and the future ruler of Lythos and Elyos.” The heavy introduction immediately caught Alear’s ire. Those were roles that she neither wanted or asked for.

Seadall turned to her, “Truly?! The Divine Dragon?” His surprise turned to nervousness, “D-Divine One please I apologize if I wa-“

“You’re forgiven, lets move on.” She didn’t need to hear this repetitive routine of reverence and false worship. These people worshipped the Divine Dragon, they didn’t worship Alear. If they knew the truth their devotion would turn to hatred, that was what made it false.

As Alear turned away from Seadall she saw the group enter the area, Alfred walked up to her, “Ah Divine One, we finished defeating the corrupted.” He turned to Seadall and Corrin, “And who are you? And is that the Emblem?”

“Ah my apologies, I am Seadall, I am honored to meet the Divine One’s companions.” Seadall answered.

Corrin also introduced herself to Alfred, “I am indeed the Emblem of Fates. Seadall here helped protect me from the corrupted.”

“Right, now that introductions are over lets leave. We have no more business here.” Alear was ready to move on from Solm to whatever misery that the world had in mind for her next.

Alfred shifted to worry, “About that Divine One, the doors we used to enter closed behind us and we can’t open them again, we think there are corrupted mages using magic to seal us in.”

The solution to that inconvenience seemed obvious to Alear, “There are people on wyverns and pegasi here, can’t they just fly over the wall and take out the mages?”

“We tried that, but there are way to many archers outside covering the mages. Its impossible for Ivy or Chloe to get past.” Alfred answered.

Alear turned to an entrance that lead further into the fort, “Then we go around. Seadall you take Corrin’s ring.” She handed the ring over to Seadall.

As he took the ring from her, Seadall had a look of shock, “My word, to entrust me with the protection of one of the Emblems of legend, I-I will do my very best, I promise you.”

Alear paid him little mind, He wasn’t an enemy and had simple motivations. Plus he had the strongest bond with Corrin by default.

The group gathered and made their ways deeper into the fort, now accompanied by Seadall and Corrin. Alear began to have a feeling that tonight wasn’t going to go the way any had expected.

The corrupted had swarmed the entire fort it seemed. They had gone through a door, going from openair to fully within the rotted fortress. Inside were numerous corrupted that spotted and charged at them through the haze.

“Hold on, I got this.” Corrin released some of her power around Seadall, the energy spreading out and clearing away the haze. As she did the group took out the exposed corrupted with their magic and arrows before they could reach them.

With the room now clear, they all moved up. To the right was a large, locked door that led further. Yunaka stepped up, “Don’tcha worry, I got this.” She pulled a lockpick and began to unlock the door.

As she did, Corrin turned to Alear and began to inquire, “Alear, why do you not have an Emblem? Where’s Marth?”

Alear sighed, of course she wasn’t done explaining herself, “Gone and lost. There was failure in your absence.” She turned back to looking at the door.

Corrin quickly realized what Alear meant, “I see… I am sorry that I wasn’t-“

“Drop it, you weren’t there so you share no fault.” The only one with fault was Alear herself.

“Alear…” Corrin began to pity her. Alear's blood began to boil at that.

Before she could respond Yunaka raised her fist in accomplishment, “I got it! That’s little ol Yunaka for you.” She pushed the now unlocked door open, prompting the group to go through.

The next room was a hallway filled with hazy miasma. The corrupted within charged forward at the group. At this point the group had long become accustomed to dealing with the mindless soldiers. They awaited the charge to approach before immediately counter-charging and breaking the disorganized beasts, felling almost all with ease.

A swordmaster at the end was more strategic, using the miasma to cover itself, it was likely working out a way to injure them. That was the thing about corrupted, they fought with no sense of self-preservation. It would try to kill one of them before it was felled.

Alear moved parallel to it, readying her blade to counter whatever it decided to do as the others began to surround it. With little warning the swordmaster finally chose to turn slightly and rush to Hortensia who was standing just a bit to close, “Eep!” Hortensia quickly stood back in fright.

Before it could strike her though Alear quickly moved in the way and riposted with force, breaking the corrupted’s stance and allowing for her to quickly slay the beast before either it or her allies could properly react.

“*Huff* *Huff*” Hortensia was breathing heavily at the near death.

“Hortensia! Are you okay?!” Ivy ran up to her with deep worry on her face. She knelt down to check for any injuries.

“I-I’m okay…” She turned to Alear, clearly she was still very much afraid of her, “Th-thank you…”

“It’s nothing, stay in the back for now on, you’re a healer.” Alear said before moving away from the two sisters.

The next door was opened by Yunaka much quicker than the first. The next room was far larger, still it was infested by the corrupted moving through the miasma. Alear noticed how more corrupted came in the room, it was likely that every corrupted in this area was converging on them.

“Uh guys? There are some more coming from behind us.” Fogado said looking back into the hallway.

“Let them, once in the open we can remove all the remaining corrupted and clear this place.” Alear said calmly as she moved further into the room.

More corrupted charged at her, she tossed a dagger at one before angling away and countering a second. Her allies began to also attack, Ivy threw an Elfire straight at one, launching it, Céline used her levin sword to follow up, killing the corrupted midair.

Alfred meanwhile charged forth on horseback to break the stance of one with a lance thrust, afterwards Lucina appeared to deliver a killing blow with her blade. Yunaka moved swiftly through the miasma before appearing on the other side to swiftly kill a stray corrupted.

With the corrupted now disorganized the whole force aside from a few acting as a rear guard struck through the room after Corrin dispersed the miasma once again. The charge immediately felled around two dozen of the soldiers. Resulting in them reaching the next set of doors.

Alear looked into the next room, she was able to make out another courtyard from beyond it, past it there were no corrupted in sight, “Everyone, move forward out of this room. Afterwards we can turn and defeat the remaining corrupted.

Those around her nodded and began to spread out into the room, battling corrupted as they went. As predicted no further corrupted appeared, meaning the only ones left was the small swarm behind them. Moving through the rubble Alear slayed the last one in their ways, allowing everyone to spill out into the courtyard.

The new courtyard was open, seeing that it was secure the group turned and form a defensive perimeter to await the last swarm of corrupted. It was about a dozen regular soldiers, four powerful warriors, and a few archers and mages that Alear guessed were the same that initially locked them in.

Ivy, Céline, and the rest of the mages began to blast shots of fire and lightning straight at their last foes as they attempted to push into the open, slaying most of the archers and regular soldiers.

Alcryst waited patiently as the four warriors enter into the courtyard proper, in an instant he loosed his arrow and hit a well-placed, perfect shot at one of them, striking the center of the face and killing it instantly.

Alear and Timerra quickly moved up and started battling one of the warriors each, while the rest of the group dealt with the last warrior and the remaining stragglers.

Alear attempted a swift strike to end the clash quickly, however the corrupted blocked her strike with its axe and pushed her back with force. As she fell back, Alear quickly tossed a dagger which struck the warrior’s side, slowing it down but not killing it.

Alear immediately resumed her assault, with her reflexes she managed to easily dodge the warrior’s axe swing. Using the new opening she quickly jabbed her blade through the corrupted’s armor and through its skin and bone. Finally slaying the foe.

She looked up, Timerra managed to repulse a strike by her foe with her lance before giving a light counter, creating an opportunity for Ike to appear and give a powerful slash across the corrupted’s chest.

The rest of the group surrounded and repeatedly struck the last warrior until it finally went down with a lance thrust from Alfred. Diamant meanwhile charged the last remaining mage, managing to dodge a blast of flames as he closed the distance. Before the mage could loose a second spell Diamant gave a strong slash across his unarmored foe, finally ending the fight.

“*Huff* *Huff* Did we,.. did we get them?” Alfred asked, out of breathe.

“I do believe so yes. That seems to be the last of them.” Alear answered, she saw no way any notable amounts of corrupted could remain.

“Some could be hiding in ambush…” Ivy suggested to her.

Alear shook her head, that wasn’t possible, “Corrupted are mindless beasts, they require handlers to utilize complex tactics. As soon as we made ourselves known, all would have charged us without second thought. Any remaining didn’t charge us because of inability, not some desire for an ambush.” Corrupted were easy to deal with once one understood how they worked. Of course knowing how they worked didn’t make Alear hate them any less.

“In that case we can rest here for the night. Lets start unpacking our camp.” Alfred said to group, receiving approving nods back.

“We should still have a large watch, a stray here or there seems possible.” Diamant said to add to Alfred’s order.

“Hmph” Alear would rather keep moving during the night, but she didn’t care enough to oppose either order, especially since everyone was already unpacking, including the pots and pan, clearly getting ready to make dinner.

“Um, Divine One?” Seadall walked up to the disinterested Alear, Corrin beside him, she simply waited for him to continue, “May I ask to join your force, I wish to help with your journey. I heard you were fighting the Fell Dragon, whatever aid I can give I am prepared to offer.”

“Sure, go talk to Alfred and tell him that I said you can join.” As he left Alear looked away. She began to look upward at the night sky. She sighed as she did so. Today had been successful, but the success had felt more and more hollow since the cathedral. Like she was just going through the motions of what was expected of her.

The group had unpacked fully in the courtyard, a few on look out for any potential corrupted, but otherwise most were chatting with each other as they ate their stew. Alear however was not with them, as always she preferred a distance. She stayed on an opposite end of the courtyard, well away from light created by the flames.

She looked longingly at the stars in the sky. The endlessness of them echoed through her mind. She barely heard the distant crackling of fire and blurred chatter of her so-called allies. Those that surrounded her lived in a different reality, their lives would past with struggles that would and would not be overcome. They would face future traumas and victories. But it didn’t matter because they would past and Alear would not. Their lives would in time be a blink in the eye of her far greater lifespan. They couldn’t understand her and she could scarcely understand them.

She looked at the stars and thought of her siblings, if they were here then it wouldn’t really matter to her. They could move through the sea of time with her. But they weren’t so it really wasn’t worth thinking about the theoretical alternative to her loneliness,

Perhaps that was her punishment. Not physical punishment as she inflicted on herself but rather a mental one she would only understand more as the eons pasted. In that case was it even right for her to reunite with Veyle? Or was it a necessity that she do so to prevent that fate from befalling her and Veyle?

Question and doubt racked her head as images of her fallen sibling came in and out of sight. Some pitied her, Some look at her with scorn, some turned their noses, some smiled, and some had no expression at all.

She shook her head, this was nothing new, she breathed and they were gone. Before she could go back to staring above she heard footsteps from behind, “Um Divine One?” Turning she saw Alfred with a worried and pitying look.

“…What?” She said to him with an emotionless tone. She didn’t know what to think of the insistent prince, their last meeting still deep on her mind.

“Do you want to come eat dinner with us? There’s still plenty of stew.” He offered, he didn’t seem to expect Alear to accept that offer.

“No I do not.” She looked at him for a moment before asking something always on her mind with him, “Why do you constantly try to interact with me?  Why do you never seem to get the hint?”

“I do get the hint. I really do, but I can’t stand to see you by yourself in misery. I just want to help, that’s all.” He answered looking pained as he did.

The response hit something deep within Alear. It was just like on the Somniel when they had that cake. The way he was so genuine made it undeniable to Alear that he had not a malevolent bone in his body, it made her care for him in an unexplainable way. Which why she hated him choosing to be around her, “… You know not a thing about me, and if you did you would hate me. So just stay away, if not for me then for you.” She turned away and left.

He began to follow “Divine One I-“

“I said leave me be!” She turned again, “You just don’t get it, and you never will. If you want to help, stay away.” She practically snarled her words. Before turning and leaving the courtyard to go deep into the castle, not seeing the whole of Alfred’s reaction aside from brief startlement.

She heard him almost move to followed, however he stopped before he did. Which was good, the more she was around him the more she cared, and caring too much was the root of most of her problems.

She entered a new part of the fortress, the rotting gray fort echoed loneliness as she moved farther from her group. The isolation proved comforting.

Alear moved through the worn-down halls, there was no destination in mind, rather she just needed to be within her own mind. Her allies faces exhausted her, their mission dragged on and on, with no end in sight. Her mother’s kindness had long disappeared from the world, and those around her looked to her to fill a role she couldn’t hope to fill. It was endless and maddening.

She had a role and she had a desire but she couldn’t achieve both, and she wondered if she could fill either. She just kept on drowning in her endless doubt, what else could she do?

She looked ahead, standing at one of the entrances was a figure. Curiously she got closer, only to be disappointed by the fact that it was nothing but another image of Veyle, like all the rest she moved on without second thought.

“Alear? Is that you?”

Alear turned back, it was strange, none of the mirages could speak, rather they just stayed silent with only one unchanging expression that only shifted once a new mirage showed up.

“It is you, I was following those corrupted here and I wanted to warn if anyone was in here. Did you remove the corrupted?” Veyle asked as she awaited a response by the unresponsive Alear.

Alear looked at her, her face made numerous expressions, she looked inquisitively at her, and looked pleased to see Alear. But there was also a sense of sadness that she was trying to cover up, “Are you…. real?” Alear didn’t know what else to say, she realized what this was, but she couldn’t or perhaps didn’t want to believe it.

 Veyle looked confused, “What do mean? Of course I’m real.” Her face dropped, and looked at her strangely.

Alear’s breathing slowed, and her heartbeat increased, she didn’t know what to say with the sudden presence, “V-Veyle I-“

“Divine One! Where are you!?” A voice called out, one of group that she couldn’t make out.

Alear couldn’t let any of them see Veyle, quickly she turned to her, “Veyle I- ca- I mean-“ She shook her head, “V-Veyle do you t-trust me?” She struggled to keep eye contact with Veyle, her thoughts too unorganized.

Veyle looked at her strangely, “What do you mean?”

“I mean I-Look I must tell you something, but not here. Please just trust me on this, just this once.” Alear asked, she started turning her back, scared that someone would see the two of them. She had one shot at this.

“Aren’t those people calling y-“

“They can’t see you! Please, all I am asking is to trust me.” She looked at Veyle with pleading eyes.

Veyle looked at her, understanding Alear’s clear worry, “I… Okay Alear, I’ll follow you.”

Alear struggled to hide her joy, she turned and looked around, “This way, we have to hide somewhere.” She grabbed Veyle’s hand and moved through the fort, intent on getting somewhere her allies could not find her.

The two moved through the dilapidated fort. Alear was trying her best to hide how unstable she was around Veyle, but Veyle was starting to notice. Eventually the two went down a flight of stairs into an underground section of the fort. They entered a room where Alear found some seats, “Here this should do…” She moved a stool and beckoned for Veyle to sit down.

As Veyle nodded and cautiously sat down, Alear was saddened how Veyle was still cautious around her, but she understood why, really she should be deeply thankful that Veyle was even trusting her in the first place.

Now sat down, Veyle began to question why she was here, “Alright,.. what did you want?”

Alear struggled to find words to explain what she desperately wanted to say, “Look Veyle I-I… Let me ask you something, you said you awoke in areas that you didn’t know how you got to,.. who was it you last saw before you fell asleep?” Alear already had a good idea of what the answer was.

Veyle seemed confused, “Why would you want to know that?”

“Please just answer.” Alear asked.

Veyle reluctantly began to think, “Let’s see,..”

Before she finished Alear answered for her, “It was Zephia wasn’t it.”

Veyle looked up in both surprise and conformation, “Y-yeah, how did you know that? How do you even know Zephia?”

Alear shook her head, she felt like she could speak now, “Veyle I-I know,.. I know who you are… I know that you are a fell child…”

“*Gasp* How-How did you k-know…” She looked like she was about to get up and run away.

“Wait please! Please don’t go. I don’t mean you harm, just listen to me,… please…” Alear grabbed her blade’s scabbard and unhooked it from her belt before pushing it away, “Here see I won’t harm you.”

Veyle was calmed, but still terrified, “How did you know?” She began to breath heavily as her eyes darted around for escape.

“Veyle I’m-I… you s-see I’m…” She couldn’t form any words, instead she reached into her pocket, and wordlessly showed Veyle the dragonstone.

Veyle’s eyes lit up, the sadness she showed beforehand disappeared as she saw her greatest treasure thought lost, “H-How did you,.. get this?” Her fear halted as she got up and looked deep within the stone.

“I-I got it when I was running from the Hounds in Elusia…” Alear answered, she still struggled to say what she wanted to.

“Running from the Hounds? You mean Zephia, Griss, Marni, and Mauvier?” Veyle asked, not looking away from the stone.

Alear nodded, “Yes them, I suffered a lost at Destinea Cathedral. It was after you told me the directions, and it was after you fell asleep.”

“I see… so that’s why you have it… But why did you take it anyway?” Veyle asked, looking as if she was getting impatient with the fact that Alear had not yet given her the stone.

“I-I, I took it b-because-because I-I…” Alear couldn’t say, what if Veyle didn’t believe her?

“Just say it, why can’t you speak normally?” Veyle asked her, her old fear gone.

“Because I-I….” Alear realized what she could do, she closed her eyes and pulled the stone to her chest and concentrated, releasing a small amount of fell energy. It wasn’t enough to transform, but it was something that would have been impossible to do without the correct stone.

As she opened her eyes she saw Veyle stare at her without blinking, she was left speechless as she took in what Alear showed her with the stone, “S-Sis-s-Sister…..”

Alear nodded carefully as she looked down, “Veyle, I-“

Without warning Veyle lunged forward as she embraced Alear, crying as she did, “Its you! Its r-really you! After a-all this t-time! I’ve missed you so much! *Sob* *Sniff*”

Alear also broke as well, She embraced Veyle right back, letting the world stop in its place, “… I did too, I did too,… sister… *Sniff*” Tears that she had thought gone began to flow once again. She wanted this moment to last forever.

Veyle began to cry harder as she heard what Alear said, “I c-can’t b-be-believe it. “Why didn't y-you tell m-me?”

Alear remembered why she hated herself so much lately, she pulled away ever so slightly. Seeing Veyle’s face covered with tears as she looked up at Alear, “I-I was…” She realized what she had to say, “I was s-scared, I didn’t tell you,.. because I was scared, scared that you wouldn’t believe me,… scared that you would hate me…” She hated showing such vulnerability, but what else could she do. She was just glad it was Veyle that she was showing it to.

Veyle again hugged her, “I w-would never hate you,… Alear it is you, I re-remember now… I remember your face, I thought I lost it. I thought it was a coincidence with your name. But your face, and the stone…” Her hug tightened as she struggled to continue.

Alear hugged back, what else could she do? What else could she do…, “I’m s-sorry… Sorry for not telling you,… sorry for leaving you…”

Finally Veyle released her, “*Sniff*” She wiped away some tear so that she could see, “I-It’s okay… You’re here now, You’re here… You kept your promise… I’m so happy…” She smiled at Alear in a way that Alear had never seen before, causing Alear herself to give a soft smile back.

“Then I’ll make a new promise in it’s stead.” Alear stated as Veyle looked curiously, “I promise that neither of us will be separated again. I swear it… sister” Her smile widened. She did it, what she had so wished for had been given to her.

Veyle’s smile widened in parallel, “Thank you,… sister.” The two began to wordlessly smile at each other.

The blissful moment continued as Alear wished for it to continue as long as possible, unfortunately as with all things, time refused to stop as she heard the clock begin to tick again, “Divine One! Where are you?!” She just barely managed to hear it in the distance.

“Are those your friends? Let’s go meet them.” Veyle cheerfully said.

“No!” Alear said quickly, they couldn’t do that. All this time she hadn’t thought of the group at all. She was focused entirely on Veyle, giving no thought to anything else.

Veyle was surprised by Alear reaction, “Huh? Why not?”

“They know that you are a fell dragon Veyle. Please, if they see you they will attack.” Alear answered she began to look around to see if any could find the two of them.

“Oh…” Veyle looked down, a sense of sadness taking her, but then she looked up, “But… they know you,.. if you explained wouldn’t they understand?”

Alear shook her head, they would try and kill both if they knew the truth, that’s how they were, “They wouldn’t understand, they think I’m a divine dragon, not a fell. We can’t go to them.”

“But… How do you know that? What if they do accept you and me? Why not try?” Veyle held out her hand.

Alear sighed, she had to, she supposed, it wasn’t like she could just lock herself in the fort’s basement forever, “… Fine, but please, stay behind me and prepare to run if they do attack, okay?”

Veyle nodded and smiled, “Okay I promise, let’s go.”

Alear got up and took Veyle’s hand. The two began to make their way to the army. A moment that Alear dreaded was coming, a pit of worry formed in her stomach. But when she looked at Veyle a calming warmth filled her.

She didn’t know what would happen, but she had to protect Veyle no matter what. And a critical moment of that goal approached, announcing itself by a relentless drumming in her mind.

The two moved through the fort as Alear held Veyle’s hand, leading her back to the camp, taking care to avoid whoever were searching for her, she didn’t need a preemptive reveal to further complicate things.

Dread filled Alear, in contrast Veyle simply smiled, perhaps she was hoping to make new friends, or perhaps the glee of her reunion had not yet worn off. Alear too was overjoyed, happier then perhaps she ever was, but she couldn’t enjoy that. She just had to move on.

Eventually the two found themselves looking into the courtyard. Stopping, Alear looked as a few groups moved back to the main camp. She began to listen to what they were saying, “We couldn’t find her, sorry.” Fogado said as he talked to Alfred. He was with Bunet and Pandreo.

“No luck either I’m afraid.” Céline also said, behind her Chloe and Louis.

“Err, where could she beeeeee?” Framme asked disappointingly as she answered for Vander who just looked at her. Clanne was also with them.

Alear supposed those were the groups, “Are those your friends?” Turning to see Veyle ask that.

“They are yes.” Alear turned back, making sure to stay out of sight as she continued to listen.

“Has she ever done this before?” Timerra asked Alfred.

“She doesn’t like to interact with us. But only recently on the Somniel does she disappear for long stretches of time. But never outside the Somniel.” Alfred answered.

“Perhaps it’s a seasonal thing dragons do.” Merrin suggested with curiosity.

“No, Queen Lumera never did anything of the sort. I believe that this is just another symptom of the Divine One’s condition.” Vander said to Merrin before continuing, “I doubt she would have gone far, but we should find her, I’m willing to go on another search. Would anyone care to join me?”

“Ugh, this is why we shouldn’t have that psychopath in charge at all. She just runs off without warning or care.” Lapis aggressively said.

Vander turned to her offended, “My pardon?! The Divine One is not in the best place but I will not stand for this utter disrespect!”

Alfred got up to stop any further argument, “Alright now, let’s calm down now, we are a little tense, Lapis why don’t you go help manage our supplies. Etie, Boucheron lets go help search now.” He turned to Timerra and her retainers, “And how about you guys help as well?”

“Sure thing.” Timerra got off a rock she was sitting on along with Merrin and Panette.

“I’ll help as well.” Ivy stated as she walked over to them.

Alear realized that she could no longer delay. She looked at Veyle who nodded. Reluctantly Alear took a breathe and began to move into the open, Veyle behind her as they held hands.

Slowly the two came into view, “Oh Divine One!” Alfred looked at her in surprise, “We were looking all over for you!. Where were you?” He began to slowly approach as the others watched, having not yet seen Veyle, “We were so worr-….” Finally he noticed the smiling Veyle.

“I apologize, it wasn’t my intention to disappear, but I was occupied with something.” Alear blankly stated, she realized she had no clue how to explain this.

Veyle slowly walked up to the stunned Alfred, the others also spotting her, immensely surprised, “Hello, I’m Veyle, I remember seeing you before you went to the cathedral, Alfred was it?” She held out her hand urging him to shake it.

He just looked at her, Alear cringed at the stunned reactions, before Alfred could respond though, the others got over their shock, “Not a single move, Fell Princess!” Diamant said as he drew his blade.

“Here to cause more harm are you, what you did wasn’t enough?” Ivy pulled her tome.

“So this is Veyle huh.” Timerra asked as she cautiously moved with the others.

Alfred got over his own shock as he pulled away, “D-Divine One, why is she with you.” Veyle’s face dropped at the hostility.

Alear didn’t answer as she moved in between Veyle and the group, “Back away, all of you.” She put her hand on her blade in it’s scabbard, ready to protect her sister with force if need be.

Her protection shocked the others, “Divine One? Are you okay?” Céline asked as she drew her levin sword.

"I’m fine. Now back away!” She shifted into a battle-ready stance. This was going as well as she expected.

“Please stop fighting!” Veyle yelled as she came into view again, “Please, I know that you know that I am a fell dragon, but I don’t mean any harm.”

“Veyle! Move behind me!” Alear ordered her. Veyle didn’t understand the situation properly, Alear began to curse herself for not explaining more.

“Like as if we would believe you after all you’ve done! Not mean us any harm, Hah! Just like you didn’t mean Father any harm huh? You’re a lying snake.” Hortensia screamed with passion.

“H-Huh, what do you m-mean?” Veyle backed away as she was confused by Hortensia’s words.

“Don’t you dare act as if you don’t know! You used our father, and once you were finished, you just killed him, used as a sacrifice to fuel that monster you call a father. But you don’t care do you? And now you manipulate the Divine One? Do you act with the intention to make my blood boil?” Ivy snarled, each word growing her fury.

“Wha-What? I-I… Alear what is she talking about?” Veyle began to breathe heavily.

Alear was pained by this, she didn’t know what to do, if she said the truth how much harder would things become? Instead she gambled on a lie, “I don’t know. she’s confused maybe.” Alear turned to Ivy, “Why would you say that to her?” She hoped Ivy would realize that Alear was trying to calm Veyle down, of course that was never going to happen.

Ivy looked at Alear in utter disbelief, “D-Divine One, what are you saying!? You were there! What has she done to you?”

“She’s done nothing! I’m asking you to back away!” Alear answered, she began to realize how badly this was going.

“I can’t believe this! She Killed our father too! And your defending her! What’s wrong with you!” Alcryst began to draw an arrow. His face not hiding his hatred.

“Put that arrow away Alcryst, before someone gets hurt.” Alear drew her blade and pointed it at Alcryst. Her heartbeat was increasing as she kept one eye one the surrounding army and another on Veyle.

“She Killed our father! She’s the Fell Dragon’s daughter! Why are you so intent on defending her!? Would you really go against us?” Diamant asked her, confused and furious.

“… Yes, tell Alcryst to put away his bow if you don’t want to be the last of your father’s sons.” Alear firmly stood between the group and panicking Veyle.

“Alear, are they right? Did I kill their father?” Veyle asked her, terrified.

Alear hesitantly shook her head, “N-No, no you didn’t, they are just confused.”

“Divine One! You cannot possibly be serious, she killed Queen Lumera, your mother! How can you not see that? What spell does she have you under?!” Vander yelled, grief visible as he gave a death glare at the cowering Veyle.

“Wha-Wha, when did I- and what do you mean by ‘mother?” Veyle asked with growing confusion and terror.

“Listen to me Veyle, they don’t know what they are talking about, the people that died must have been killed by different people. After all how could you have killed someone without remembering it.” She gave a faked smile, trying to reassure her.

Veyle noticed the madness in Alear’s eyes, but her denial caused her to choose to believe her, “I-I,.. no you're right, I couldn’t have,.. I couldn’t have, right.” She gave a faked smile right back to Alear, hiding her doubt.

“Divine One! What is wrong with you!” Ivy yelled, “How, How can you stand by her after everything!? And now your lying for her? No this has to be a trick, she’s manipulating you somehow isn’t she?

Alear shook her head, “N-No-“

“YES!” Ivy turned to Veyle, “I swear your crimes will not go unpunished you oversized viper!”

“Don’t you dare insult her!” Alear yelled right back.

“Please Divine One! Why defend her, just tell us.” Alfred moved in the way, trying to understand the situation.

“She's being tricked Alfred, why else would she defend someone so despicable, the snake must be using her mental decline to further destabilize us. That’s the only explanation.” Ivy yelled as she prepared a spell from her tome.

“How hypocritical, did we not go through a ridiculous amount of effort to get Hortensia back just the other day, why would you defend a ‘despicable’ enemy yourself!” Alear yelled back, prepared to strike in retaliation.

“I Did So Because Hortensia Is My Sister!” Ivy Yelled, causing a fury to burst in Alear.

“AND VEYLE’S MY SISTER!”

“……………………………………………….” Silence.... Confusion....

Silence echoed through the courtyard. And confusion followed the echoes.

Alear realized the mistake she made as soon as the words left her mouth, it was something that could not be undone.

“…Divine One… wh-what do you mean?” Alfred said, as he digested what Alear said, but not believing it.

Alear pondered for a moment, all eyes looked at her, even Louis’s. What could she say,... the truth she supposed, “… Queen Lumera was not my biological mother, she found me a thousand years ago on death’s door. After a while she took me to Lythos and treated me as her own child.”

She let the comment rest as those in the group began to realize what she was implying, and then she continued, “You see, I’m not a divine dragon, I never was. My mother, my birth mother that is, was a mage dragon, and a mate to the Fell Dragon.”

Alfred took a step forward. The others shocked to their cores, “D-Divine One-“

“DON’T take another step forward!” She pointed her blade at him, as she backed away, pulling Veyle’s hand with her, who looked mournful now but made no comment, “And stop calling me ‘Divine One’ realize now that all this time you have been following and serving just another fell dragon.”

“… You deceitful snake!” Diamant readied his blade as he decided on raw fury.

“YOU! Ivy never should have trusted you, it makes sense now, on the bridge,.. you fell dragons just want to destroy all that’s good!” Hortensia yelled preparing her own spell.

“… It can’t be,… Queen Lumera say it isn’t so…” Vander looked down, his stoic demeanor collapsing at the fracturing of his faith.

“I-I,.. was my faith in you a lie,.. was all this for nothing….” Ivy dropped her book, ready to simply give up.

“I-… No it all makes sense, you waited for us to gather the last ring, and you came to kill us for it.” Céline stepped up, levin sword in hand, “All this time you just deceived us for your father huh, and to think I ever looked up to you…”

“….Heheheheheh, you see Yunaka?! Don’t you see I was correct, there were daggers the whole time, but you didn’t believe me, heheheheh!” Alear’s disturbed laughing echoed the halls as her fears were confirmed in her mind.

“I-I…” Yunaka stayed silent, not knowing what to say or what to do.

“S-Sister pl-please, w-what’s wrong? You’re sc-scaring me…” Veyle asked, terrified at everything happening around her.

“Stay behind me Veyle, I’ll make sure you’re safe…” Alear pulled out her dragonstone.

Lucina appeared, “Alear stop this!  everyone please put down your weapons, none of you are enemies-“

“How do you know that! She could just be deceiving you as she was us!” Alcryst yelled, as he aimed his bow.

“Everyone stop!” Alfred yelled as he turned to Alear, “Div- Alear please just explain, I just want to understand, but you won’t let me-“

“Do you want to understand? Then understand this!” Alear began to concentrate on her dragonstone, causing a massive surge of fell energy to begin to swirl around her.

Lucina turned, “Everyone back away now! We can’t stop her.” The fell energy began to swallow Alear and Veyle.

“Oh yes we can!” Hortensia yelled as she loosed a spell at the haze.

“At once!” Alcryst loosed his arrow at the same time, followed by Céline.

All three projectiles struck the widening fog, only to be absorbed or break harmlessly. In an instant the haze of fell energy dispersed to reveal a black dragon with translucent red wings and frills, with a black tail that end with glowing light red grip, and a now opened pure red third eye on its head. As the last fell energy left, the cobra-like dragon began to flick its forked tongue.

Any doubts whatsoever over whether or not Alear was truly a fell dragon disappeared, her resemblance to her father undeniable. Beside her was Veyle who had fallen on the ground next to the draconic Alear, “S-Sister, p-please…” Her plea fell on deaf ears as the dragon stared at the group, its full form becoming covered in shadows by the night and the distant flames.

“….Huh…huh…huh..huh” Hortensia began to hyperventilate, the line between her twin traumas being removed as she looked at the hauntingly familiar sight.

“Well, understand me now Alfred? This is what you wanted isn’t it?” Alear said, her voice echoing and snake-like. She now had confirmation of her great fear, now she had to confront it.

“…I-I… didn’t-…” Alfred began to back away.

“Didn’t what? Didn’t expect this. Was your understanding conditional perhaps? Were you hoping to help save a serene divine dragon from her loneliness, give me a break. I never let you in because I knew terror and hatred were the only options for you all. This, this right here is what I am, learn to understand that.” Alear said with the utmost scorn, she wanted to lash out, she wanted to hate Alfred, but she couldn't, every word of hatred was fabricated and had hurt something within her, so she buried it.

“I….” Alfred looked down at the floor, unable to respond.

“Stop trying to continue your vile lies HAGH!” Diamant ran up and jumped with his blade in hand, ready to give a powerful killing blow, only for that blow to harmlessly bounce off a created fell barrier around her. As he began to fall, Alear’s tail grabbed him midair, leaving him at her mercy.

She pulled Diamant up, and looked at him for a moment, she didn’t know how to continue, she didn’t know what to do in the moment let alone the future.

“Alear stop this please!” Lucina teleported right in front of the dragon’s head, “You’re making a mistake, you can’t undo this.”

“… I already can’t undo this…” Alear looked down at Veyle who looked at her with fear, internally she sighed before looking at Diamant and then the group. Wordlessly she threw Diamant to the ground, Alcryst immediately ran over to his injured brother, saying something she couldn’t make out as Diamant passed out, “Goodbye… And I’m… No let’s leave it at that…” She used her tail to grab Veyle and pull her up onto her back before raising her wings and taking flight.

The faces of her now former allies looked at her, the details fading followed by the faces and figures themselves, a new sadness gripped Alear’s heart.

Alear flew for some time before spotting a canyon with a river, making her way down she landed and then collapsed, the pain of being in this form returning and overwhelming her. Her insides turned as her mind was overwhelmed by a fierce migraine.

Soon she reverted to her human form. She struggled to get up and hide the pain, rather she just ended up coughing up blood. Her skin burned, her stomach ached, and her head felt ready to burst.

As she was wrought by pain on the canyon rock Veyle walked over, a deeply worried and horrified look written on her face, “S-Sister,… are you okay?”

Alear wanted to say no, no she wasn’t and she needed help, but she couldn’t ask that, not to Veyle. It was she who protected Veyle not the other way around, “I-I’m fine… Please j-“ She coughed up another splat of blood, “I,.. just need to rest.” Alear attempted to get up onto her feet but began to stumble.

Veyle grabbed her side and supported her to prevent her from falling, “Look over there. There is an indent in the canyon, let’s sleep there.”

Alear nodded and the two carefully made their ways over. To her utter humiliation, Veyle pulled her arm over her shoulder and helped support her as they walked, all before helping set her down carefully.

Veyle sat down herself in the indent, it was a small hollow part of the canyon wall, “Alear… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, you just wanted to ease tensions for everyone. If I wasn’t so idiotic neither of us would be in this situation.” Her mind went over all the possible ways she could have done things differently if she wasn’t so rash or overwhelmed by suppressed emotion. She laid her head down on a rock, she slept on worse before.

“Still though… I’m sorry that your friends rejected you,…” Veyle said as she laid down next to Alear.

“Th-They weren’t my friends, else they wouldn’t have reacted like that…” It was a lie, Alear didn’t blame them how they acted. she cursed this clarity, she could have used it back there, now its existence was only causing her regret.

“I see…” Veyle looked away.

“Veyle,.. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, I could have prevented so much if I had.” Alear answered, every option looked better in hindsight she supposed.

Veyle looked back at her, “It’s okay we are together now. And that’s what counts.” She gave a genuine, albeit worried smile.

Alear smiled back, “I suppose your right.” She didn’t know what the future held, but for right now she had her sister back.

“Heh” Veyle tilted her head down on Alear, “I love you sister…”

“I love you too… sister…” It was something that she had longed to say to Veyle, and for now she found a needed comfort in it.

The night moved on as Veyle drifted off into sleep, quietly snoring as she slept cuddled next to and on Alear, who slowly but surely drifted off as well, she had made her choice, and now she had to live  with it. But the issues of that were something that could wait for later, because for now at least she had Veyle to be with her. She shut her eyes and at last they stayed closed for a few hours.

She dreamed of her mother.

Chapter Text

Alear : ???

A pleasant breeze came in through the window, the Lythos noontime creating its regular bliss that it was known for. A nearby candle let out a mild scent of flora, Not overwhelming, but still enough to make itself known. The white halls of the castle radiated a certain calmness to its inhabitants.

Alear sat on a stool as she looked into a pristine mirror. Feeling and watching as her mother carefully brushed it for her. Her long pure-blue becoming more straightened with each stroke of the brush. She looked up at the mirror to see her mother smile softly as she carefully combed her daughter’s hair.

“There we go my dear. All done.” Her mother said as she placed the brush down on the table beside Alear, “Well take a look, you’re all ready now.”

Alear got up from her seat and inspected, her now straight blue hair matching her two blue eyes. She had a white dress, with ornaments adorning it. She smiled at the mirror. She loved how she looked.

“Well, what do you think?” Her mother asked, “Did I do a good job?” She had an awaiting smile, eager to hear what Alear had to say.

“I love it! I look so pretty.” Alear looked at the mirror and then at Lumera, it made her feel warm with how alike to looked.

Her mother’s smile widened, pleased to hear Alear’s approval at her work, “Well then, it’s time for us to go now. Come on.” She held her out hand to Alear.

Alear nodded and took hold of the hand. It was warm and soft, she felt safe holding it. It was weird though, she couldn’t remember where they were meant to go or why she was getting dressed, but she felt that as long as her mother was there everything would fine.

The two began to walk down through the castle. Eventually they reached the entrance, and as they walked through the doors of the castle Alear was stunned as she saw a massive crowd of people.

Tents were lined up in the distance, as children played merrily as their parents watched with amusement. Flags of nobility from each nation lined up as the highborns and merchants chatted away the day with whatever was on their minds.

Soon all attention began to shift towards the two divine dragons. People looked on with awe and wonder as Lumera and Alear slowly made their ways down, heading for where the royals were at.

She first saw Timerra, Fogado, and Queen Seforia with some Solmic guards and their retainers, “Queen Lumera! It is fantastic to see you, I’m always happy to go on a journey, especially if there are wonderful people to meet, and great foods to eat.” Queen Seforia said as she walked up and gave a light bow to Queen Lumera.

“And I am glad you came and are enjoying yourself.” Lumera smiled back, “Please once I meet the others we can talk more.”

“Oh of course.” Seforia turned to her children, “Come on, I hear the Lythians set up a buffet.”

“Buffet, Hooray!” Timerra yelled. Before running off alone.

“Ah… Don’t worry mom I’ll catch up to her.” Fogado made his way after his sister.

“Hm, heh.” Lumera smiled at the sight as she put her hand over her mouth, seeing her mother caused Alear to smile as well.

The two next made their ways to the Brodian section, Alear recognized Alcryst and Diamant immediately, soon Diamant look back and walked over, “Queen Lumera, Lady Alear.” He bowed sternly, “Me and my brother are here in my father’s stead.”

“Oh, could King Morion not make it?” Lumera asked, surprised.

“Unfortunately not, his injuries have not healed yet, that last battle took a toll.” Diamant said as he recounted events Alear was unfamiliar with.

“Well let’s just be glad that it will be the last battle that takes place.” Lumera serenely said, “You did well with that peace treat might I add, I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully, both here and as a future king.”

Diamant nodded, “Thank you Queen Lumera, I will strive to live up to those expectations. I will strive to keep peace with Elusia as best I can.”

“Don’t worry Diamant, you’ll do great. Unlike me I bet…” Alcryst said as he looked to the ground.

“Nonsense, you helped immensely, both with the treaty and as my brother.” Diamant reassured him, “And I’m sure you’ll continue to do great.”

“Heh, well I’ll try…” Alcryst began to faintly smile.

“Mind if I join in this conversation?” Alear turned to see Ivy and Hortensia walk over, “I am honored to be here. Like with Prince Diamant and Prince Alfred our father was also too injured to come.”

“Yeah, Father is pretty bed-ridden, but he’s recovering well. I-I’m glad nothing like that will happen again.” Hortensia added as she gave an unsure but genuine smile.

“As am I, I hope today can mark a new beginning of understanding in Lythos, can I count on your and Elusia’s support to make it happen?” Lumera asked, Alear didn’t know what was happening but she want this to move forward.

Ivy nodded, “Of course Queen Lumera. Elusia is ready to move on, and I hope Elyos is ready to accept us.”

“I will always accept those who wish to do good, regardless of the past.” Lumera answered with grace, “Now I must attend to our Firenese guests, so if you excuse me.”

“Of course, I hope to speak to you later today your majesty.” Ivy said before leaving with Hortensia.

Soon Alear saw the blue banners of the Firenese camp, in front she saw Queen Eve and Princess Céline, who soon introduced themselves to Queen Lumera, “Queen Lumera, I am honor to be your guest.” Queen Eve said.

“Of course, where would Lythos be without our closest friends in Firene? And soon I hope to spread that friendship across the nations of Lythos.” Lumera cheerfully said, it was something that Alear was drawn in by, could that be achieved? Through just watching her mother made her  believe it could.

As the two Queens talked Alear’s attention refocused as she heard someone else approach, turning she saw Prince Alfred, “Lady Alear! Queen Lumera! I’m sorry I wasn’t here for introductions. I was helping a family of merchants get their cart unstuck from some mud.”

“Oh Alfred, there are people whose jobs it is to do those sorts of things you know.” Céline said to him with frustration.

“Yeah but now those people can take longer breaks, plus that family gave me this as a thank you.” He pulled out a bouquet of blue flowers before turning to Alear, “Here you go Lady Alear, they look pretty with you.
Alear blushed as she took the bouquet from him, “A-Are you sure?” It was beautiful and she had done nothing to earn it.

“Sure, look, they match your hair and eyes, so of course you should have them.” Alfred said as he smiled at her, causing her blush to intensify.

The two looked at each for a moment before Alear heard something in the distance, looking over she saw a crowd gathered around something. Jeering, and throwing stuff at whatever it was, “What is going on? Let’s see what happened.” Alear began to make her way over.

“I’m with you.” Alfred said as he followed her.

Getting closer Alear made out who it was the people were surrounding. Veyle, she saw them throw rocks and insult her as she cried endlessly in the middle of the crowd, quickly Alear picked up the pace as she ran over, “Lady Alear! Be careful!” Alfred yelled.

“I can’t let them hurt her!” She yelled back. She turned back to the crying Veyle, Alear stood between the crowd and her sister, immediately earning the ire.

“Why are you defending her!?”

“Look out she’s a snake!”

“My lady move away!”

“You ought to be ashamed!”

“What would your mother say about this!?”

“Go away, stop hurting her all of you!” Alear turned to Veyle, she had not acknowledged Alear’s presence, she continued to cry relentlessly, Alear got closer, “Veyle please, it’s okay, I’m here now.”

Still Veyle didn’t notice, Alear began to inspect her as she knelt down, “Veyle… please look, it’s me,..”

As instructed Veyle looked up at Alear and opened her eyes, only for Alear to see her eyes were gone, and she was crying blood.

Alear fell back in fright, “V-Veyle?!” what was happening, what was this? Alear started to panic, quickly she turned back, she had to find her mother, she would know how to help.

However as she turned back she saw the entire festival in flames. Children were running desperately to get away from a swarm of corrupted who devoured their parents. The nobles and merchants screamed as their guards were torn to shreds.

The sky turned orange with smoke as the smell of blood filled Alear’s nostrils, the once jeer crowd had now become a surrounding pile of mangled corpses. She couldn’t understand what was happening, as she looked on at the horror, “Alear what’s happening?!” Alfred ran up to her.

“I-I-I d-don’t know, what ha-happened. Ev-Everything was fine a moment ago, but then I went to V-Veyle but her e-eyes w-w-“

He looked confused, “Who’s Veyle?”

“V-Veyle, she’s over-“ She turned around to see that Veyle had vanished from sight as the slaughter continued in the background.

“Alear, are you okay…” He asked her.

“I-I d-don’t know… where did s-she g-go….” Alear’s heartbeat increased as she closed her eyes, she felt so helpless.

She heard Alfred walk right up to her, “Alear listen, let’s go f- Ugh!” She heard him collapse in pain, opening her eyes she saw Alfred laying on his back, with a gaping wound in his stomach, “A-Alear,… why?...” His eyes were gone just like Veyle, just bloody holes remained.

“Al-A-Alfred….. how, did you,…” Alear couldn’t feel, confusion, bewilderment, grief, and terror swarmed her, leaving her unable to process anything happening, however she soon realized that the bouquet that she was holding had turned into a blood covered sword, which matched the wound in Alfred’s stomach.

“Huh…Huh…Huh..Huh It can’t, why….” Alear’s mind began to breakdown as she breathed heavily.

“There she is, the one who caused this!” Alear turned to see some guards charge her.

She waved her hands, “No, no, you have it wrong I didn-“

“Cease your lies! KILL HER!” The guards ran towards her, blades in hand as Alear cowered, as she looked again though, she saw as they had all fallen with vicious blade wounds ripped across their flesh. Her held blade only becoming bloodier, “M-Monster…” One of the guards muttered as he passed.

“How can… When did… I can’t have….” Alear started to stumble backwards, until she fell into a table. She struggled to get up, and as she did she looked at a sliver bowl giving off a reflection. Terror struck her as her blue eyes and hair had both been turned entirely a shade of deep red.

She panicked and as she did she noticed that her beautiful dress had been replaced by black and red nightmarish armor. He breathing picked up, she had to find Mother.

She hurried through the area, seeing piles of corpses and pools of blood everywhere she went, the bodies all with their eyes missing. She returned to the royal camp area, as she did she looked down at the massacre, Diamant, Alcryst, Ivy, Hortensia, Timerra, Fogado, and Céline all laid strewn across lifeless, looks showing terror in their last moments, looking closely at the grim sight Alear saw how there were the same vicious, and inhuman sword wounds. They were unnecessary, likely only made to further the pain of the victims. And again, their eye sockets were bloody pools.

Alear turned around and tried to find who did it, but no one, not even the corrupted were in sight. And then she heard an approach, turning Alear saw the horrified look of her mother, “A-Alear,… how could you? After everything,… was it all just a lie?...” Her mother began to tear up, hurt beyond all measure.

Alear put her arms up, she couldn’t have done this, she just couldn’t have, “No please! It’s not what it looks like, I didn’t-“

Her mother’s face shift to one of bitterness, “Enough! I see now that I never should have trusted you,… and to think I even saw you as my own child,… what a fool I was…”

“Mother please, you have to believe me!” Alear began to cry. What was happening? What was this? She wanted to curl up, she wanted to open her eyes and see that everything was okay.

“Believe you? Like I believed you were my daughter?! Like I would ever make that mistake again.” She turned to see the field of blood, “This is my fault,.. if I had just left you to die in the snow… then maybe….”

Her words struck Alear, causing her to breakdown, “P-p-please… I don’t k-know….” She fell to the ground and looked at her mother who just glared back.

“Hmph, I-“ Lumera was cut off, as to Alear’s horror a blade struck through her mother’s chest, revealing a red eyed Veyle behind her with a knife.

Alear was left speechless as Veyle waltzed by her, “Excellent job sister!” She gave a sadistic but genuine smile to Alear before turning to the massacred royalty, “Hmm, quite gruesome I see. I’m sure father will be pleased to see our work.”

“Wha-Wha do y-you…” Alear stared at her mother’s lifeless corpse.

“Oh don’t give me that… This plan of yours was excellent, now all that’s left is to rip off the rings from their dead fingers and we’re set.” Veyle smiled.

Something new was making itself known in Alear’s psyche, “R-Right,… Yes I know….” Alear pulled herself up and formed a vile glee within her, “All we got to do now is tell father what a good job we did of crushing the insects.”  That was it, that was what was happening. Of course it made sense. What else was Alear’s purpose after all?

“That’s the spirit sister,.. heh,.. you’re the best sister I could ask for…” Veyle said in a moment of sentiment.

A sentiment Alear shared as she took in the pleasant smell of fire and blood, “Of course, my dearest sister… I try my best, heh.” Alear turned back, quite satisfied with these events, she walked over to Lumera’s corpse before spitting on it, it was as she said it was her fault for trusting Alear. She turned back to Veyle, “Come on I saw some survivors running for the forest. Let go  butcher them, hehe.”

Veyle nodded as she and Alear made their way to the forest to finish the massacre. However, soon the world began to fall to pieces, slowly engulfed by a void, before all went black, and then white.

Alear began to stir awake.

Alear : Canyon In The Queendom Of Solm

Light filled Alear’s eyes as she struggled to awaken. She was still in a state of subtle panic at the fading nightmare, all of it was so real, even now she felt a tiny trace of sadistic glee within her, as horrible as it all was.

She sighed, at the end of the day, the nightmare was nothing special, she had similar brutal dreams lately. So many of them ended with her becoming an unhinged monster without a shred of remorse, killing those around her as they wept. It was an image that reminded her of some of her siblings,.. even her in a way, early in her life she was arrogant and prideful in her position. If she didn’t take the horrors of her time in Brodia the way she did, then she likely would have been just like that image of herself in the dream.

Finally she was able to see where she was as her vision unblurred. Pushing the dream to the back of her mind she pulled herself off her back. The canyon indent was in shade from the sun, looking around she noticed that Veyle was gone.

She struggled to get onto her feet, she needed to keep Veyle in sight. However she was sluggish, she took a moment to put her hand on her stomach, her body still ached, and her head was still in pain. But it no longer felt like her insides were torn up.

Alear slowly breathed and made her way out of the indent to find where Veyle had gone. The canyon held a river flowing through the center of it, a short distance from the indent which rested on a small elevation before reaching the towering canyon walls.

As Alear walked slowly on the river line, to her relief she saw Veyle standing in the river proper a short distance away, “Veyle.” She called out.

Veyle turned to see her, a smile forming on her face. Her calming violet eyes radiating a childlike joy, “Oh Alear, I was trying to catch some fish, I thought you would be hungry when you finally woke up.”

It was an endearing comment, but one thing did catch Alear’s attention, “How long did I sleep?”

“I woke up a few hours ago, you were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t want to wake you up.” Veyle answered, “But look what I caught!” She held up a river dace from its tail, “A fish!” She had an unreasonably happy look as she gave a wide smile. Proud of what she had caught.

Alear gave a soft smile, “Good job, Veyle. I’ll go start a fire so we can cook it.” She turned and began to gather some wood from dead trees in the canyon as Veyle got out of the river.

With a fire now started, Alear cooked the fish on a stick she found, doing so until it was golden brown. Moving to a rag she had Alear then gave the cooked fish to Veyle, along with some utensils she had with her, “Here Veyle, enjoy.”

Veyle looked horrified at Alear handing it to her, “Wha-no… This was for you.” She pushed the fish back to Alear.

Alear shook her head, she couldn’t stand to eat when Veyle hadn’t yet, “No, you’re clearly hungry, and I’m fine.”

Veyle began to pout, she seemed to remember how to get her way with Alear, “Fine. We’ll split it.” She looked straight at Alear who failed to resist it.

“Fine…” Alear grabbed the knife and cut the fish in two uneven pieces, before handing the larger slice to Veyle.

Veyle noticed it but must have realized that she wasn’t going to get any farther with the point, so she began to wordlessly eat her fish alongside Alear, who was satisfied with the outcome. Even if the fish tasted like ash to her.

As the two sisters ate, a conversation that was due to happen started, “Alear… where will we go now?” Veyle asked her with uncertainty, causing Alear to think.

She didn’t think much about that, everything happened so quickly that she didn’t know what she was going to do now. She wanted to hide away with Veyle, but as long as their father was out there neither were safe. But what could she do? “I… I don’t know,.. somewhere to hide for a bit I suppose.”

To Alear’s surprise Veyle did seem to have a suggestion, “How about this. Let’s go to Elusia to go and see Father.” Causing Alear to almost choke on her fish.

“Wha-What?!” That was a terrible idea on so many levels.

Veyle quickly began to explain her logic, “Well, I was hoping that once I found you that I could bring you to see Father so that you could help convince him that this war is bad. Once he realizes that, we can all be a family again. So let’s go.” Her smile showed that she really believed what she was saying, although there was some hidden doubt in there.

Alear got over her shock at the extremely naive suggestion and began to explain to Veyle, “Veyle… Listen this is probably not going to be something you want to hear but… Father is evil, he knows about the harm caused by the war, he just doesn’t care. If anything it being worse benefits him. That’s why I was fighting against him.”

Veyle’s face dropped, somewhere in her she knew that Alear was telling the truth, but she didn’t want to believe it, “Wha- No, Father just needs to see there is more than his war and power, I tried to convince him but I didn’t how. But you’re smart so I know you can get him to listen you. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you again.” She was perhaps trying more to convince herself rather than Alear.

“… He did see me already, he didn’t even recognize me…” She realized that she finally had to start sharing some of the many truths she kept from Veyle, “A thousand years, he used us as tools to get his way. That’s why so many of our siblings died…” Alear internally flinched at the bitter memories. It was still hard for her, let alone Veyle.

Veyle stayed silent, she must have come to that conclusion even if she was in denial over it, “… Did he really… I mean, is that why they all disappeared?...”

Alear nodded, as the same pain creeped back into her heart.

Veyle looked down, “… Even Nel and Rafal….”

Again Alear nodded, remembering them especially hurt. They were the last people Alear felt like she could confide in as equals and as peers. Their deaths were when Alear began to give up. Had she not met Lumera then she likely would have fully given into the void as others did.

Seeing Alear’s pain forced Veyle to finally admit it all, “… *Sniff*…. So we really can’t go to him….”

“No,… no we can’t. We would just die, or be used as pawns for his evil…” She didn’t know what would be the worse fate of the two.

“…*Sniff*…. Sister…. Please never leave me again,… You’re really… a-all I have, don’t I? *Sniff*” Veyle walked up and hugged Alear, who hugged back.

“I won’t, I promise,… you’re all I have too. *Sniff*” Alear tried to hold back her tears, but was only having limited success.

The hug broke off as Veyle looked back up at her, wiping her eye and forming a smile, “Then we stick together. Promise?” She held out her pinky finger.

Alear smiled back, wrapping her own pinky finger around Veyle’s, “…Promise.” She knew that whatever she did she had to protect that smile she saw.

“…Thank you sister,.. together,.. I know we’ll find happiness.” Veyle’s smile widened in contrast to her still flowing tears.

Alear nodded, they would be happy,.. no, right now they were already happy as they were together, they were just a bit terrified and uncertain. But they would be safe, “Come on, lets head for Firene. We can stay there until we figure this all out.” It was the best plan she had out of numerous bad options. And it was the best chance she had of keeping Veyle out of danger, plus summer was coming and Solm would become unbearable, not to mention it would be far easier to survive in Firene.

“Okay, let’s go,… what way is Firene?” Veyle asked.

Alear thought for a moment, “Well I’m pretty sure I just flew directly north, so we shouldn’t be far from the sea, which means we can just follow the river and we will reach the ocean soon enough. After that we can just follow the coast west.” That seemed the most practical way of getting to Firene.

Alear checked the bag she had. Within it held some emergency supplies, a waterskin, the utensils, some small bread rations, a few bandages, and a small pouch of gold. It was nothing that would last. Which meant they had to get to Firene as fast as possible.

“Okay lets go.” Veyle cheered up as she began to merrily traverse the river downstream with Alear behind her.

Alear was in the worst straits she had been in a while, but watching Veyle meant that she had been happier then,.. quite possibly ever. Still she began to think of her old allies, what would become of them, would they split? Or would they move on without her? And what of Father and the Hounds, they had to be planning something, and could Alear possibly hope to protect Veyle from them. The future held more questions than ever as Alear walked down the river with Veyle.

She felt like they were being watched.

Veyle : Canyon In The Queendom Of Solm

Alear and Veyle continued to follow the river through the winding canyon. As she did, Veyle made sure to continue to smile and show a sense of blissful happiness. Even if she was still drowned by confusion and fear.

So many things had been going through her head. The truth about her father, once placed in the far reaches of her mind had now been dragged into the forefront, demanding she finally acknowledge the truth she had always know.

And then there was Alear. Veyle had always imagined her sister to know how to get through things, but now she felt unstable. Like she was just as confused and fearful as Veyle was, if not more so. And she was clearly hurting, but as always, she was just too stubborn to let Veyle help as she wanted.

So she smiled, she noticed Alear looked calmer when Veyle was happy and acting carefree. So Veyle amplified her own joy, rooted in their reunion so that it could take the forefront in her expressions. All so Alear could feel better about herself and cheer up.

With Alear’s friends gone that was solely Veyle’s responsibility. Still something was buried in Veyle’s mind about Alear. When Alear denied she had anything to do with those people that died. Alear’s logic to convince Veyle made complete sense and logical, to basic reality it seemed like the only thing that could have happened.

But when Veyle heard the passion in those people’s voices, and when she saw Alear’s eyes… She said she believed Alear, but she couldn’t get the idea that Alear was lying to her out of her head. She wanted the truth, even though she knew it would hurt her.

Still despite it all, she smiled, smiled for Alear as the two of them trekked through the canyon. And after a few hours of walking, they decided to take a break.

Veyle climbed onto a rock in some shade and sat down. The heat had begun to get to her. Noticing this immediately, Alear walked up to Veyle, “Here” Handing her the waterskin.

Veyle took the waterskin and began to drink, it had felt refreshing. During her time in Solm she hadn’t always had access to water, usually she would find water in one town, move on, get dehydrated in the desert, and then enter the next town.

As she drank, Veyle looked at Alear, who was now pacing back and forth by the river as she thought to herself while occasionally looking around the canyon. Afterwards Alear began to inspect her hair in the water’s reflection.

Veyle had noticed that the red side had expanded over the course of the night. Now large parts of Alear’s hair in the back were red once again. Veyle was partially happy to see Alear’s hair return to what she knew it as, but Alear herself was unreadable with what she thought of it. Veyle made a mental note to ask her about the hair later, it seemed important, much like some other things Veyle needed to ask her sister.

Veyle began to think of what went through Alear’s head at times. she had begun to realize the true nature of some of the things Alear kept from her. And the more she learned and ascertain, the more she began to understand her sister, and her life outside of Veyle. She didn’t like it….

After she was done resting and thinking Veyle got up and walked over to Alear, handing her the waterskin. Wordlessly Alear took it and began to drink herself, emptying it. After finishing Alear took the waterskin to the river and filled it back up, “Alright,..” Alear put the waterskin away and began to look ahead, “I think we can still make some good distance, we shouldn’t be far from the coast now.”

Veyle looked ahead as well, the canyon just seemed to stretch on and on. Still at least they had a good path forward, she smiled again as the two continued on their way.

The sun began to go down in the sky as the two sisters made their way through the winding path of the canyon. They would rest soon before continuing through the night, both could see in the dark and there was no sense in wasting the much cooler hours.

Veyle began to notice that Alear was increasingly on edge, constantly looking around and moving her eyes, her hand was twitching next to her blades as she grew more and ready to fight if need be.

Veyle had never seen Alear in the field before, so she had no clue whether to trust her instincts or not. Still these were different expressions than the ones her sister made back at the fort.

Soon the events of the fort came to the forefront of Veyle’s mind. When Alear had transformed into her draconic from, it had terrified Veyle. The way she stood so imposingly half covered in shadow while flicking her tongue… Well it had reminded her of their father.

Despite that, the way Alear was acting before that was almost the complete opposite of her father. When her father looked at her he showed disinterest at best and contempt at worst,… that was if he even bothered to look at her in the first place.

In contrast when Alear looked at her there was a longing and happiness in her eyes, furthered by worry. But at the fort it was different, there Alear’s eyes showed madness in place of longing, and obsessiveness in place of happiness, and of course even more worry. It was why Veyle was choosing to place doubt in what Alear was saying back there.

For now though Alear seemed calm and relatively stable. So Veyle decided to place faith into both her and her instincts. As unstable as Alear may be Veyle loved her. If anything her sister’s instability made it even more necessary for Veyle to be around.

However as Veyle thought to herself, Alear’s instincts proved correct. “Veyle move!” Alear moved to the side of Veyle and pushed her down, right as a blast of lightning struck Alear where Veyle once stood.

Pushed to ground, Veyle looked up to see an injured but still standing Alear with her sword in one hand and a dagger in another.

Veyle looked cautiously to where Alear was looking, she now saw a figure standing on a precipice in the canyon. Immediately she recognized the green-hair and torn robes of Griss.

“You…” Alear snarled at the lone Hound. Veyle saw that some of the smoke from the electricity was still coming off Alear, she couldn’t tell if Alear felt the pain or just didn’t care.

“Well, well, well. This is quite the site, I see you two are reunited. I just saw you now and just had to greet you two.” He smiled. Veyle had bonded with the Hounds before with the exception of Griss, he was dismissive and unnerving.

“You’re a liar. You have been trailing us for a while.” Alear noted. Veyle supposed that was why Alear kept looking around.

Griss nodded at that, “Eh, yeah you’re right I have been. I was just trying to catch up to Lady Veyle, then I got near that fort and wouldn’t you know I see a black dragon fly out of it. Boy was I shocked.”

One thing that he said caught Veyle’s attention, “W-Wait,.. you were trying to find m-me… Why?” A pit formed in Veyle’s stomach.

“Oh well, you know. I was just told to keep an eye on milord’s daughter. And wouldn’t you know it, I encounter two.” Griss turned to Alear, “So I see the local dragon fraud got exposed for being the pit viper she really is. Or maybe you just finally decided to give up on the divine farce.” His smile reformed before jumping from the rock and into a shallow part of the river.

Alear also entered the river, the water not reaching half-way to her knees, “What do you want?” She didn’t hide her contempt.

“Hey-Hey, no need to be so belligerent. After all, are we really enemies anymore? You did just tell your old pals to hit the dirt and then showed the serpent side of you. Now that your done with your one-thousand-year temper tantrum, perhaps it would be best to go see your Pops, I’m sure he misses you.” His grinned widened. He was clearly enjoying taunting Alear.

“…Leave us be, or you can become a permanent feature of the canyon floor.” Alear wasn’t bothering to give a proper response.

“Heh, As good as that sounds, I was ordered to bring Lady Veyle back, so how about both of you come quietly.” He began to circle the river.

Alear began to circle as well while Veyle backed up and prepared a spell, “Not a chance. If you even try I’ll leave you a bloody mess.” Alear readied her blades.

“Heh, now that’s what I want to hear! You’re as fun as I would’ve hoped. Come on snake, rip me apart!” Griss began to salivate as he prepared an Elfire in his left hand.

Before he could even think to loose the spell however, Alear threw her dagger right at him. Griss angled away allowing for the dagger to strike his side, not fatal, but it had to have hurt.

Griss grasped his side, grinning as the blood flowed down, “Heheh, that’s good,.. Eh, I guess I’ll take the hint then. See Ya.” He jumped back up to the rock he was standing on.

Alear just looked at him, “…”

“Yeah I’m not going to win this,.. and it’s not like the defect will come with.” Griss stated before turning to Veyle, “And besides that side of you isn’t even helpful.”

Immediately Veyle was confused by what he meant, “Wha-Wha do you mean by that.” She took a step back.

His grin disappeared as he turned to Alear, “Oh,… you didn’t tell her… did you?”

“…” Alear held up her sword as her face dropped.

“Alear! What does he mean? Tell me please.” Veyle began to worry, what did he mean?

“You really are a complete disaster aren’t you? Complete with a healthy dose of callousness and bloodlust, truly a girl after my own heart. Ah well, have fun explaining all that to your baby sister, see you.” Before either could react Griss pulled out a rewarp staff and teleported away.

Veyle walked towards Alear, “Sister, what did he mean?” It was a vague statement by Griss, and yet something about it wracked Veyle’s mind.

“…. Let’s go…”

“No, you know something about it, does this have something to do with what those people were saying about me killing people?” Veyle just wanted to know the truth, yet Alear continued to coddle her. It was infuriating.

“…” Alear put away her sword, and walked over to pick up her thrown dagger, now coated in Griss’s blood.

Veyle stubbornly followed her, “Alear, just tell me please.” She loved her, she really did, but she hated the way Alear refused to ever tell her these things.

Alear sighed, not turning to look at Veyle, “Are,… are you sure?...”

Veyle nodded, “Yes, yes I am,… please…” She knew whatever the truth was, that it would hurt her. But not knowing hurt her far more.

“…. I don’t know every detail but…. I believe Zephia created some sort of artificial personality within you. That’s why you kept waking up in places you didn’t remember going to. You fell asleep, and the alternate self would take over.  I encountered her, or rather you in the cathedral, she was the one who killed those people.” Alear explained, her voice expressing deep hurt.

“…Wh-What?” Veyle couldn’t believe it, the idea that someone else was controlling her in-between those lapses in time… Or was she a different person, she had aggressive thoughts before… She didn’t want to think about that, rather she asked about an observation, “W-Was,… was that why you had the stone?”

Alear finally turned to her and nodded, “Yes… After I fled the cathedral,… I couldn’t stand to leave you, so I circled back alone. I confronted,… the other and the Hounds, I concluded what was happening and realized my mistake too late. But I managed to steal away the stone to allow for me to get away, and also let me prove our relation later.” Her eyes were closed with sadness and shame.

“…” Veyle looked down, she didn’t know how to feel, was she responsible or not? What would happen if the other came back? Was she a danger? “Per-Perhaps I should leave…”

Alear opened her eyes and moved towards Veyle with a worried yet attempted comforting look, “Please no. Stay with me, I can protect you from that. But if you leave, you would just continue to be used as a pawn in Zephia’s and Father’s schemes. So please… Please stay with me.”

It made sense, even if it still felt wrong,… so much had now happened and changed in so short of time, Veyle couldn’t hope to process it all, “…Okay,…” She wanted to say more but couldn’t find words. Rather she just looked away.

What Veyle saw in front of her however stunned her. The sunset had lined up perfectly, allowing for a perfect view of the resting sun. Alear noticed it too.

Wordlessly the two sisters sat down next to each other and watched the beautiful sight. Veyle was terrified of the future, and she had gotten good enough at reading Alear that she knew her sister was as well. Yet seeing the sunset in front of them made Veyle feel an odd calm, “Sister,… I am glad I’m seeing this with you…”

“…I am too, I am too…. I love you Veyle, and I’m sorry… for everything.” Alear began to hold Veyle close to her who quickly began too embrace Alear right back.

The two sisters watched the setting sun as they wordlessly understood each other. Neither knew what the future held, they had no friends and numerous enemies.

But both took comfort that they had each other.

After all, that’s what they had both had desired of above all else.

Chapter Text

Yunaka : Northern Fortress

The various members of the army sat around the ruined fortress as they began to digest what had happened with Alear, and the revelation involving her. Yunaka simply decided to sit in a corner by herself and twirled one of her daggers on the floor.

The others had all sat in their own subgroups trying to make sense of everything. Yunaka had no real group. She was Brodian, but she was both distrusted and distant from the other Brodians, which was fine, she wouldn’t have gotten along with them either. She was friendly with the Firenese, but they were too different for her to be in that group. She was often grouped with the stewards plus Anna and Jean, but beyond following Alear she had nothing in common with any of them.

She realized the only person she had a level of connection in this army was Alear herself, despite the blackmail, or maybe because of it. She still didn’t know what to make of that, Alear chose to bully her into her direct service, but also offered future assistance in exchange. And weirdly Alear treated Yunaka as a confidant, even if she did scare Yunaka at times. It was shady and underhanded, but it was genuine in its own twisted way.

But it didn’t matter now she supposed, Alear was gone and Yunaka was left to think about the whole mess. She didn’t know what to think of the divine…. fell dragon. Yunaka didn’t believe that Alear was evil. Unstable, psychotic at times, cold, underhanded, paranoid, sure all those, but evil? Not at all, even just a few hours ago with the big confrontation she seemed more concerned with protecting her sister and then later left with no great attack.

It just didn’t strike Yunaka as the actions of a malicious person seeking to deceive others. Rather they felt like the actions of a deeply troubled person wishing to protect someone they deeply cared for. She didn’t have the full story, but Yunaka had chosen to sympathize with the fell dragon, it’s not like Yunaka had a right to judge the pasts of others.

Still though, she doubted the others would take it the same way. Instead it seemed like everyone was taking it in their own unique way. Lucina had agreed to share what she knew, but she and the other emblems had demanded everyone take a few hours to cool off and reflect for themselves. It made sense, this way most could go into the story with an open mind, or at least as open as one could expect, plus Diamant still needed to wake up after he passed out.

 Alear had simply tested the patience of others far more than she had with Yunaka. She heard mumbling from the other corners, she had good hearing, but didn’t particularly care to listen to what the others were saying.

As Yunaka continued to think to herself she heard footsteps approach her, turning she saw Jean, “Oh, hiya Jean, what do you need?” She managed to put up her façade, even if it wasn’t showing as strong as was typical of her.

“Nothing really, I’m just wandering around I guess.” Jean said to her. He was similar to Yunaka in that he didn’t fit in as much, he was often with the other Firenese but he was still the black sheep amongst the royalty and nobility.

“What are your thoughts about it?” She didn’t need to elaborate for him to understand what she meant.

Jean stayed silent as he thought, “…When the Divine One came to my village she chose to defend us even though it would have cost her nothing. She then took me as a ward when I asked to join her. Afterwards she mostly just ignored me, but she still would keep me from danger on the battlefield. I don’t see how that would line up with a bad person,… I suppose I don’t really know what to think of her, although I guess I never did.” He looked to the ground.

It was a unique perspective, but the confusion was in line with the rest, “I see… Jean, if this causes the break-up of the army,… what will you do?” It was a question on Yunaka’s mind.

“Hmm, I guess I’ll just go back to my village. Princess Céline did offer to help me get back,… but I would rather stay and continue to help the world.” He answered her, he didn’t really seem to sure, “What will you do?”

“Oh you know,…” Yunaka herself didn’t really know, after she gave up being an assassin she drifted without real purpose Before meeting Alear and Micaiah she was just getting back from a smuggling run to transport goods to and from Elusia. It wasn’t fulfilling work, but it fed her and played to her skill set. She supposed she could go back to that. But being in this army gave her something she had never truly had, a purpose, and she didn’t want to give that up. Anything she would do would feel even more empty than before.

Seeing that Yunaka was unable to give a concrete answer Jean attempted to cheer her up, “Well the army is still together, so perhaps its best to think about that rather than the theoretical.”

Yunaka smiled at that, “Heh, I guess you’re right. You got a good head on your shoulders you know that?”

“My father always told me to focus on the now while giving thought to the future.” Jean explained.

“That’s some good advice, I just wish we could always keep that in mind.” It was hard not to get overwhelmed by either the present or the future, and the less said about the past the better.

Still the good thing about the future is that they would all find out about it sooner or later. And funnily enough that was also the bad thing about the future as well.

Yunaka wondered how Alear was doing, she was the only person that Yunaka couldn’t hear the thoughts of right now. Hopefully she’s getting good night’s rest and is getting along with her sister. Yunaka had decided that Alear wasn’t a bad person. And perhaps there was some explanation for Veyle as well, Yunaka had remembered the incident with Hortensia, perhaps it was the same and she was a victim as well?

All just speculation that would be proven and disproven with the march of time. They would find out sooner or later.

Alfred : Northern Fortress

The Firenese all sat together away from the rest of the army, each of the groups had been thinking about Alear in their own ways. And yet despite the proximity to the other Firenese, Alfred had chosen stayed silent.

“Alfred,… are you okay?” Céline asked him, her own anger had begun to dissipate as she thought more on the encounter and saw Alfred’s despondence.

Alfred thought for a moment, he tried so hard to understand Alear and befriend her, and now she was gone. Before she left she said such spiteful things to him. Still though, he didn’t hate her for it, he needed to hear what the emblems said, and even Alear herself, “…Yeah,.. I’m fine, just a bit shaken, that’s all.”

Céline looked at him with concern, not really buying that he was wholly fine, but she didn’t say anything further. She seemed a bit disconcerted as well, most of the group was,… except for Anna. She just asked if she should redirect the marketing of her Alear merchandise to fell worshiper communities instead.

Alfred looked over to the other groups, Diamant was still unconscious, and as expected Lapis, Citrinne, and Alcryst were furious with Alear, even Jade was somewhat beginning to agree with them, Amber still didn’t know what was going on though.

He turned to the Elusians. Ivy was simply staring at the ground motionless. Hortensia wasn’t much better, she was still recovering from a panic attack. Zelkov stood well away, and Kagetsu was trying his best to comfort both princesses to little success.

The Solmic group was less disturbed than the rest, not being as connected. Still though all simply sat around realizing that they would get their answers in a bit, expect for Bunet, he was questioning if he ought to rewrite his cookbook on divine dragon diets to fell dragon diets. Pandreo also looked disturbed that his supposed deity wasn’t who she claimed to be, still it was hard to gauge how much it affected him.

Finally he turned to look at the stewards. They had been hit perhaps the hardest. Framme seemed crushed as she looked at the stars, Clanne just looked at her, he had tried to cheer her up to no success. And the normally stoic Vander just looked to the ground. They had dedicated their entire lives to Alear, they needed those answers more than anyone else here.

Alfred leaned back into his own thoughts. He felt a sense of betrayal to learn that Alear was a fell dragon, he was always taught of the horrors and evils of the Fell Dragon of the past. To learn that Alear was the daughter of that evil rather than Queen Lumera, well it felt as though his world was turned upside down.

He considered himself pious in his faith, he remembered the dozens of times he prayed by her bedside as Alear endlessly slumbered. He never imagined she would open her eyes in his lifetime, but she did. 

And when she did she showed that she wasn’t a thing like he imagined. She was cold, distant, brutal, and efficient. Instead of fighting with bravery and honor, she fought with sheer pragmatism and even cold bloodlust at times. She was firm believer in breaking an opponent into dust to make sure they wouldn’t challenge again.

Still though, Alfred thought about some of her interactions with himself and others. Her tactics tended put focus on the preservation of life in her ranks, he thought about her comments on candy or the time he made her some cake. She could snap easily, but she focused more on the hatred she had for herself more than others.

And she seemed to truly care for Veyle. Alfred thought about the cathedral, the reason she was so rattled, the reason she was so irrational, the reason she declined so much in the aftermath, it was because of Veyle, her sister that she was scared for.

Alfred thought about Queen Lumera, she was beyond wise, she never would have treated Alear as a child if she didn’t truly love her. He was there to see Alear cry over her mother’s death. He had to believe that all of this had a sufficient explanation.

He chose to believe that Alear wasn’t evil, that she just wanted to protect those she cared for.

Alfred saw Diamant begin to stir awake, they would have an explanation soon.

After waiting for Diamant to get his bearings, the group slowly converged together. The emblems had appeared and all eyes turned to Lucina, awaiting the promised explanation. Even those who were more willing to give Alear the benefit of doubt like Alfred or Yunaka were eager to hear what the emblems had to say.

Finally once everyone was gathered Lucina looked around, “Alright…” She turned to the other emblems, “Should I explain or…”

“Go ahead,.. you’re the best one for this.” Byleth plainly stated.

“Okay then,… where to start….” Lucina didn’t quite seem to know how to explain it all.

“You can start by telling us if that viper is really the Fell Dragon’s brood.” Citrinne said with contempt for Alear, the incident only seemed to make the Brodians detest Alear more.

Lucina sighed at the harshness, “… Yes it’s true, Alear was born between a mage dragon and the Fell Dragon. And is a nearly pure-blooded fell dragon herself, Lumera chose to rewrite history in a way that the world would remember Alear purely as a born divine dragon, but in fact she was only adopted.” She waited for the group to digest the calm, but harsh and confusing truth.

It was a truth that Alfred had already accepted when Alear told them all so, and yet hearing it confirmed again by Lucina managed to hit him again. Why would Alear choose to lie like she did? Was she their enemy? It was these questions that wracked his mind.

“If you knew this, then why on Elyos did you not unveil her? So much damage could have been prevented. Without that snake’s deception then we could have already slain her father.” Citrinne responded, looking angerly at Lucina.

Lucian shook her head, “Alear defected from her father, she had nothing to do with the failure at the cathedral, she was no mole.” She breathed to calm herself before she continued, “As for why I or the other emblems didn’t say anything,… we were asked by Queen Lumera not to say anything,… and to prevent disunity in the group… Alear isn’t the trusting sort as you may have noticed.”

At this Alfred looked at her, he had to ask a question, “Besides the truth of her heritage,… was Alear on our side?” Hearing that Lucina vouched for Alear being innocent of what Citrinne was accusing her of gave Alfred some hope.

Lucina nodded, “Alear was always on your side. She was unstable yes, but she is someone who wants to do good. And she truly was against her father,.. I think today has shown that she is just extremely protective of Veyle.”

“I-I see…” Alfred believed it, but it was all so much to take in, he always imagined fell dragons as pure evil, but right now that notion was being challenged, as was his faith as a whole.

 Lucina looked at him as he thought, “… You must understand something,… during the war a thousand years ago, Sombron sired numerous children to be used as lieutenants to augment his armies of corrupted, they were called fell children. To him these children existed as nameless tools to be used and discarded as suited him. Replaceable and expendable, in which failure resulted in death, unless one had previously proven competent, then they could expect severe torture as a warning to further disappointment. And amongst that legion of his servile children was Alear, who was among the most fell and most competent….” Lucina began to look more and more grim as she explained.

Ivy finally decided to speak, “…. And when….. And when did,.. she meet Queen Lumera?” Her face was still covered in dry tears, her voice expressing deep hurt.

“I do not know the full circumstance, but Queen Lumera found Alear on death’s door in eastern Gradlon. Lumera did not originally know who Alear was, so she helped her out of simple kindness. After Lumera found out that Alear was a fell child she still decide to befriend her and convinced her to continue to meet her in secret. And after a while, Lumera convinced Alear to leave behind her father and come with her to Lythos. And eventually the two began to see each other as mother and daughter.” Lucina looked pained as she answered Ivy’s question.

“…” Ivy looked like she wanted to say something but couldn’t hope to find the words.

The rest of the group meanwhile stood in silence as they took in the story, still so unsure. But Alfred still had something on his mind, “Were… Were Alear and Veyle,… close?” He glanced briefly at Céline.

Lucina thought for a moment, “… I was only held by the fell dragons briefly once,…”

“Yes, yes they were.” Corrin answered for Lucina, “I was assigned to a fell child that was also close to Alear, one of her brothers. Multiple times I saw Alear with Veyle, she was constantly trying to sneak gifts and candy to her… Alear effectively acted as Veyle’s caretaker. Even if she did so in secret.”

That gave Alfred pause as he continued to think over it, still something was missing, before he could continue to inquire though, Alcryst asked for him, “If that’s true then why didn’t Veyle recognize Alear? And why would Alear, someone you say is a good person defend a vile thing. Don’t forget she killed my father,.. explain that!” His tone was harsh, but desperate.

“I don’t know,…” Lucina turned to Hortensia, “But remember, our enemy has access to mind control, is it so hard to imagine that Veyle was under a spell?”

It clicked to Alfred at that suggestion. Alear was a fell dragon, Veyle was her dear sister who she cared for, seeing her sister get used as she was had hurt her dearly. And when this group acted with such vitriol at that sister, Alear felt trapped, like she couldn’t hope to explain herself. All she could do was wallow in misery until an opportunity to get her sister back presented itself, which she took regardless of the consequences. At that realization Alfred now understood Alear’s previous behavior. He began to curse himself for adding to Alear’s strife.

“So we are just to assume that piece of trash is innocent?! That she should be forgiven? That she was a victim in all of this, just like my father?!” Alcryst yelled, tears started to flow down his face.

“I’m not saying to forgive her immediately, but please consider that she might have not even had control. When she was here, Veyle didn’t seem to understand or remember that she killed those people.” Lucina responded to him.

Hortensia now butted in, “Oh boo-hoo, the murder sisters had sad childhoods, how sad. How do you even know that the viper was controlled anyway?”

Lucina shook her head as she frowned at Hortensia’s words, “… I don’t,.. but I also believe in Alear and it would be remiss of me to not give Veyle a chance despite everything.”

Alcryst once again grew irate “But how can you-“

“Alcryst enough.” Diamant, silent until now interrupted the argument, “There is nothing to be gained by arguing the point, we don’t have the answers to this, so there is no further point to arguing.” He seemed somewhat ashamed.

Hortensia turned to them, “Well,.. it’s not like it matters, it’s not like this group can continue.”

It was a fair point, this was Alear’s army, so how could it continue? And yet, Alfred had to see Alear and besides, giving up would be worse, “We can’t break up, we have to find Alear, and giving up now would only doom the world.” He looked around waiting to see the others nod, instead they all remained silent, “…It’s fine I understand, I’ll try to find her by myself….”

“Don’t worry Prince Alfred, I’ll stand by you, isn’t that what retainers are for? Right Etie?” Boucheron said with a hearty smile.

Etie nodded, “Yep, you’ll always have us with you Prince Alfred.”

Seeing his retainers stand by him warmed Alfred’s heart, “Etie,.. Boucheron,… thank you…”

Looking over to the group he saw a hand raised in the middle, revealing Yunaka and Jean, “Listen Prince Alf, I want to find Alear too, and besides,… this cause is the first time I felt meaning in my little life, so I’m with you too.”

Jean nodded at Yunaka’s word, “Uh,… me too,… I joined to help people in this world,… and running away now and rejecting the Di- Alear for her heritage, would go against the doctor’s oath.”

Hearing Yunaka’s will and Jean’s humble ethic inspired Alfred beyond all measure, “Thank you, both of you,… I’m so glad that you two are with me.”

“Uhhh,… well alright I guess.” Turning, Alfred saw Céline, groan, yet she looked determined, “We did say to Mother that we would fight the Fell Dragon for Firene,… and I do wish to hear out Alear despite it all,… perhaps I was hasty to accuse her of those things.” She looked to the floor, “Chloe, Louis, will you come with?”

“Of course Princess Céline, I am ever at your service.” Louis said with dignity.

“Don’t worry, we can’t let the Fell Dragon continue, and we can’t give up on the Divine One for nothing right?” Chloe smiled at her own words.

“Tsk, Timerra…” Fogado nudged his sister’s shoulder.

“Ugh,.. your right,…” Timerra turned to Alfred, “Me and Fogado are with you, this group is the best way to combat the Fell Dragon, thus the best way to protect Solm and Elyos as a whole. So no, I won’t run away.” She looked down, “…. And besides… Solm values individualism and judging someone on their actions, not where they came from or who’s family they are a part of… writing Alear off just because she is a fell dragon is a betrayal of those values,.. so as future Queen of Solm, I have a duty to continue this mission.”

“Haha, yeah you can count on us Prince Alfred. Right guys?” Fogado said to his and Timerra’s retainers.

Merrin nodded first, “Heh of course I’m with you all, and I still need to finish my study of the Divine One, even if she is a fell dragon.”

Panette also stepped forward, “And I shall continue as well, it makes no difference what she is, we still need to continue this worthy fight.”

Pandreo looked still conflicted, any priest would when hearing about a deception of his supposed deity, “…Well, despite it all,.. I should give the Divi- er, Alear a chance, After all, Queen Lumera trusted her, and there have to be reasons why the Elusians worship fell dragons. And,.. I can understand an abusive parent…”

Panette looked at her brother, “Pandreo….”

“I endeavored to find out about the tastes of a divine dragon, and I shall do the same for a fell dragon, on my honor as a chef.” Bunet only seemed to care about his cooking, still Alfred appreciated the sentiment.

Alfred’s attention turned to Ivy and the Elusians, Ivy was the first to speak, “…I’ll go,… I need to hear from Alear,.. and I must recuse my kingdom from the clutches of the Fell Dragon.” Her face still showed despair and remorse.

“Hmph,.. I’m on board too, but don’t expect me to ever like those serpents.” Hortensia crossed her arms and looked away.

“I am here as *well* of course. I am Princess Ivy’s retainer *after* all.” Zelkov added, he seemed vaguely curious about this situation.

“And I shall come too. For no honorable person would run away from a fight or abandon their friends.” Kagetsu said in confirmation.

“Thank you all…” Alfred turned to the stewards, “And you, Vander? Will you and Clanne and Framme come with?”

Vander sighed, his face showing pain, shaken faith, and deep confliction. It looked like he had aged five years in the past five hours, “… Queen Lumera placed her faith in Alear,… and she chose to treat her as her own child… And I hear the Emblems defend her,… I will… place my faith in Queen Lumera despite it all.” Vander was trained from as young an age as Clanne and Framme were, Alfred guessed dedicating that much of one’s life to an individual would make a revelation like Alear’s be soul-crushing.

“Yeah, me and Clanne will be there too! We got to find the Divine One! Right Clanne?” Framme asked her twin.

Clanne looked flustered, “I um,… Framme you know she’s not the Divine One anymore, right?”

“That doesn’t change a thing, Queen Lumera said she was her child and cared for her, that makes her still a divine dragon in my book.” Framme responded to him.

“But,.. there’s still the possibility she was manipulating us…” Clanne had a frown on his face.

Framme shook her head, “Nuh uh, the emblems already vouched for her, and Queen Lumera could have never been tricked.”

Clanne was still reserved, but he seemed to be won over by Framme’s confidence, “… Alright,.. I with you, I’m also a steward…”

After the stewards all agreed, all eyes turned to the Brodians, “Well Diamant, Alcryst? Will you continue with us all?”

Diamant held his breath, “…I will continue to fight alongside you, if I returned to Brodia then I would be merely awaiting the corrupted to come and destroy my kingdom. To hide away would just bring strife to Brodia.”

Alcryst looked at his brother, “…Diamant… Your right, I will stay with you and the rest… I wouldn’t be able to face Father if I didn’t.”

Alfred was glad that they would stay with them, but he had to ask something, “Will,.. will you be able to make amends with Alear and possibly even Veyle?”

Diamant breathed, “… I don’t know,.. Alear was so disrespectful of Brodia,…” He began to think more, suddenly becoming horrified as he made a realization, “… I will,… I will try to hear her out.”

Alcryst sighed, “… I will never like Alear, and just looking at the sn- Veyle’s face makes me angry… But if she is innocent, I will do my best to put it aside.”

“Well as long as I don’t have to interact with either serpent beyond necessary, then I will put it aside.” Citrinne said, hatred still in her voice. Alfred supposed there was simply too much animosity for them to truly get along.

“Yeah, I’ll follow you Prince Alcryst. So long as neither snake is a threat to us, then I can stomach being around them…” Lapis crossed her arms and looked away, Alfred could sense there would continue to be problems, with all the group, not just the Brodians.

“On my honor I shall continue to stand at your side Prince Diamant. This changes nothing.” Jade said resolutely.

Amber looked around confused, “I still have no idea what’s happening, but as your friend Prince Diamant, I’m with you.”

Alfred smiled before he remembered the last person who had not yet agreed to continue to follow, “… Uh Anna? Will you also be with us, if not I can help get you to wherever you wish to go.”

Anna crossed her, “First of all, it’s Lady Anna. And second of all, yes I will continue to travel with you all. I still need to sell all of the Alear merchandise I made, plus I got a new idea to make a plush of that dragon form, oh that’s going to make me rich.” she started to rub her hands together, completely ignoring everyone around her.

With that everyone had agreed to continue to follow on their path, “Well… now that we can’t access the Somniel our first step should be to find and stock up on supplies. Perhaps we should return to Stellaperta?”

Timerra waved her hand, “Nahh, there are some towns and ports that should have all we need. They are on route and not too far away so we’ll be fine.”

That solved one concern for Alfred, “Alright then, we’ll head out in the morning.” As the group dispersed at his words Alfred thought of Alear, there were still so many questions and she was the only one to answer them. And he wished to see her again. He didn’t know what to think, he would find out when he met her again.

Lucina floated over to Alfred, “Alfred,… you did great, I was afraid that the group would collapse, but you held it together.”

Alfred nodded, but still felt inadequate, “Maybe if I had succeeded in helping Alear though she wouldn’t have fled…”

Lucina shook her head, “I already told you, Alear is an extremely difficult person in general, perhaps you understand better now why that is. But you did what you could, and I think it had a better effect than you think.”

Alfred found that hard to believe, “Are you sure…”

She nodded, “I am, Alear is just someone who is very protective of those she cares about, and if what Corrin said is true then Veyle was the one Alear was the most protective of. She likely would have fled with her regardless.”

Alfred thought through several ways that everything could have been deescalated or even never came to that point.

Lucina looked at his doubt, “Listen Alfred, you can’t change the past, trust me I’ve tried and was only theoretically and adjacently successful. What happened, happened. Looking back will only take away from moving forward. So when you meet Alear again keep your failures in mind and learn from them. That is the best we can do.”

It was stellar advice, “…I shall keep that in mind,.. and thank you for the advice Lucina, I needed to hear that.”

“Of course, in my own world I did have some experience with friends turning out to be fell dragons, so I would hope my advice is helpful.” She responded.

That caught Alfred’s attention, “Oh really now? Do you mind telling me that story.” He didn’t even know fell dragons existed in other worlds.

“Alas I cannot, it would take too long to go over the story.” She reverted to silence briefly before moving on, “For now know that you will do great as a friend and leader.”

Alfred nodded, “I’ll try my best, and I won’t let you down.” He looked up into the night sky, the sun would rise soon. He would find Alear, and then… he would find out what it was that he felt.

Diamant : Northern Fortress

The army dispersed into the induvial groups after both hearing Lucina’s story and agreeing to stay together. As the Brodians returned to their corner of the courtyard, Diamant began to go over what he had learned. He thought about when he charged Alear, he realized that he lost control of his anger.

He had chosen to direct his anger at the Fell Dragon and his daughter. And when Alear, already someone who sneered his kingdom and honor, turned out to have lied about being his deity while being another fell dragon herself,… it was infuriating. Yet after hearing Lucina explanation as well as letting the initial shock subside, it made Diamant rethink it all.

And then he rethought about what Alear had told him when he first came to the Somniel, if what Lucina said about the Fell Dragon having countless siblings was true, then that dragon child that a Brodian King mounted to wall, was likely one of Alear’s siblings. Alear’s hatred for Brodia made more sense now. Even if he still thought it unfair.

“Diamant…” Turning around, Diamant saw Alcryst begin to question him, “Why did you agree so readily?”

Diamant shook his head, “What else could I do, like I said there is little option but to continue for Brodia’s sake.”

Alcryst looked to the ground, “I know that, but how can you so easily put it all aside.”

“You said you would try to give Alear a chance.” Diamant knew his brother, that wasn’t entirely genuine.

“I know I said that, but I don’t know if I actually can. Just thinking about some of the things she said makes my blood boil, and the lest said about her sister the better.” Alcryst gloomily said.

Diamant nodded, he felt the same, no matter her past, it didn’t excuse everything, but still he regretted attacking her, “I know, I doubt I’ll ever truly trust or forgive her. But if her sister was truly trapped in her own mind,.. then I can’t on good conscience condemn either for being fell dragons, lying yes, disrespectful absolutely, but to blame them for their father’s actions… I can’t do that,.. even if part of me wants to.”

Alcryst looked up at him, “Heh, you’re a better person than me Diamant… I don’t think I ever could have come to that conclusion on my own…”

Diamant shook his head, “Don’t give me too much credit, I still gave into my shock and anger and chose to attack her. I now find myself deeply embarrassed by that.”

“Well she did turn into an evil snake dragon, right after acting unhinged. So I wouldn’t consider your response unwarranted.” Turning, both Alcryst and Diamant saw Citrinne walk up to them, “Mind you, all of this is assuming that the serpents are truly against their father. Which forgive me if I still hold reservations about that.”

“I know.” Diamant responded to her, a lot of this was choosing to take the most favorable possible view of both Alear and Veyle, “But I find it hard to believe that Queen Lumera and the emblems were deceived so thoroughly like that. And we do know that our foe has access to mind altercations, so Veyle being innocent is a genuine possibility.”

“Hmph,.. well I will still choose to be skeptical, besides even if all that is true, it doesn’t take away from Alear’s sociopathic nature.” Citrinne crossed her arms.

Diamant sighed, “Well, perhaps it’s good to have someone be more skeptical of it all. What do you think Alcryst?”

“Um,.. I still need to think about it, and I don’t think I’ll ever like her…” He said with some pain.

“I doubt any of us will ever like her, and she in turn, will never like us. I suppose time will tell though, as it tends to do.” Diamant looked up into the night sky, he wondered if his father was somewhere above watching them.

Ivy : Northern Fortress

The sun began to rise over the desert, light shining into the courtyard, soon the army would set off. And for the first time without Alear.

Ivy still couldn’t comprehend Alear being a fell dragon, it felt wrong. So much of Ivy’s life had been spent in secret reverence for the divine dragons, hidden from the eyes of the fell-worshipping courtiers.

For the sake of both comfort and rebellion in equal measure she turned to divine dragon worship. She became fascinated by both Queen Lumera and her daughter Alear. With Lumera, Ivy came to see her as a wise monarch who ruled with grace.

But it was always Alear who Ivy had been drawn to. The story of a lone girl defeating a great evil with selfless sacrifice. The books she read had never gone into too much detail with what she was like beyond her deeds. And yet that made Ivy connect even more to the story, always being able to implant her own ideas, sometimes with Lumera, sometimes friends and relatives, sometimes Elusian heroes of old, and plenty of times Ivy herself.

And then she met Alear in person, an aggressive, uncertain, and constantly stressed individual, she saw just how different Alear was than any of what Ivy had imagined. It was unnerving and yet also weirdly reinforced Ivy being able to see herself within Alear.

Alear was troubled and suffering from something others could not understand. It was a feeling of connection more real than Ivy just imagining herself in a vague role.

She remained allured to Alear, especially after she showed a deep understanding of what Ivy had felt over her worry for Hortensia.

But then the truth was revealed. Alear wasn’t a divine dragon, she was a fell dragon, just like the ones those terrible courtiers worshiped. Regardless of whether or not Alear was against her father, it still affected Ivy’s very identity in her mind.

“Ivy… are you doing okay?” Hortensia walked up from behind her.

Ivy turned to her sister, “…Yes I am, just… a little distressed that’s all.”

“Because you worshiped the divine dragons in secret?” Hortensia asked, immediately catching Ivy off guard.

Ivy was put onto the backfoot, she didn’t know that Hortensia knew about her deviant religion, “Wha… How did you,…” 

Hortensia just crossed her arms, “Well it’s not like you’re that great at hiding these things to those around you. I’m pretty sure Father even knew.” She answered, “But again, are you sure you’re doing fine?”

Ivy was stunned, she didn’t know how to properly respond to that, but she refocused on the last question. She knew deep down she couldn’t judge Alear on how she was born, but no matter the truth it still tore at Ivy, “…Yes… I think I will be fine,… in time.” It was a crisis of identity that Ivy knew she had to move past, and perhaps finding Alear would be the first step in that for her.

Hortensia look solemnly at her, “Well alright,… but if you ever need anyone to talk to, I’m here…”

Ivy smiled at that, “Thank you Hortensia.” Ivy was about to leave it at that, but then she remember the stress Hortensia herself was going through, “…But are you going to be okay?”

Hortensia looked at her curiously, “What… do you mean by that?”

Ivy shook her head, she had seen how Hortensia was affected by it all, “Well, you were scared of Alear, you were scared of Sombron. I imagine the sight of Alear’s transformation wasn’t great for you,.. you did start breathing heavily…”

Hortensia looked down, some terror returned to her eyes, confirming Ivy correct, “Well,.. it’s not that I’m scared, it’s just… Listen I don’t like either of the two snakes, nothing will change that… But well, this is the best way to return to Elusia, and you care about it so…” Hortensia started to fail to find words, “Oh you know what I mean, I’m leaving now.” She turned and left.

A small smile bloomed on Ivy, “Alright,.. And Hortensia?”

Hortensia tilted her head back at Ivy, “Er,.. yeah?”

“Thank you. For being here with me…” Her sister was a warmth Ivy needed more than ever right now.

Hortensia nodded and turned back, “… You too, I mean… yeah thanks for being with me too.” She began to leave for somewhere else in the fort.

Ivy’s smile continued, and when she felt that sense of warmth something finally clicked within her mind. The reason Alear knew her feelings so well, was because Alear had felt them for far longer. The feeling of missing one’s sibling, the feeling of worrying intensely for them,… the feeling of seeing them puppeteered by someone else…

Ivy sighed, she realized that she was first drawn to Alear because of how blank and modular the story was. But now that she knew more and more, a realer connection formed in place. Ivy didn’t know how to meet that feeling.

But somewhere out there was Alear, along with her sister, Ivy hoped that they were as happy with each other as she and Hortensia were.

Ivy’s identity was still in disarray, but she knew she would move on and rebuild it. She had to, for her kingdom, her friends, and for her sister. She couldn’t afford to just mope around in her mind for eternity.

In the distance she heard Alfred begin to call out and send people around to alert everyone, they would move out of the fort within the hour, and towards their destiny.

Chapter Text

Marni : Southern Elusian Flagship

Marni looked across the sea from the side of the ship, the waves were pushed aside as the Elusian Armada sailed west to Firene. There were two fleets in this force, a northern one led by Zephia, and the southern one, commanded by Mauvier and Marni. Once they neared the Firenese cost they would unite and strike Florraport before proceeding to conquer and raze as much of Firene as need be to bait out the false divine dragon and her idiot followers.

Seeing as the mighty cruisers followed the flagship caused excitement to go throughout Marni, It felt powerful. She recalled that the ship she was on was called the Queen Iris, named for some long dead Elusian Queen. The Queen Iris served as one of two flagships, the ship was among the largest and most modern vessels in not just Elusia, but all Elyos.

The Firenese had no chance of defeating them at sea or land, Alear and her allies would have to come out if they didn’t want to see Havre de Fleur burn. Once they met up with Griss and Veyle their victory would become a forgone conclusion.

She turned to look at Mauvier, who was looking as miserable as he always was, “Heh, at this rate we’ll be the first ones to Firene!”

“…” Mauvier stayed silent at her comment.

It was frustrating to Marni to see him be like this, he was quiet usually, but ever since the incident with Alear he had become somehow even more reserved and stoic, “Oh come on Mauvier, why are you so mopey lately? Is this about Lady Veyle and her weirdo long-lost sister?”

“… It is none of your concern.” He plainly stated to her as he looked across the sea.

“Ugh… See this is why I don’t like you, you never praise me, and whenever something somewhat sad happens to the other Veyle you get so depressing to be around.” He should be happy that someone great like Marni was even around him, but no, he had to focus on Veyle, and not even the fun Veyle.

He didn’t turn to her, rather he just continued to look at the endless waves, “Hmph,..”

Right as Marni was about to open her mouth again, an Elusian soldier ran to them in a hurry, “Sir Mauvier! Lady Marni! Urgent news.”

Marni turned to him, “Yeah what is it?” She couldn’t imagine what had the soldier in such a twist.

“Two soldiers have deserted the armada.” He said as he caught his breath.

It didn’t seem like a big deal to Marni, “Eh, leave em, two soldiers aren’t important. We’ll catch them later and flog them or something.”

The soldier looked nervous at her, “Um,.. but they stole an Emblem Ring…”

Immediately Mauvier turned to him, “What?”

Marni quickly had her attention shift entirely to this issue, “Who were they?”

The soldier cleared his throat and began to explain, “Um, it was Rosado and Goldmary. They stole one of the rings and flew away.”

“Which way did they fly?” Mauvier asked him, Marni could tell he wasn’t out of his endless slump, even if he was now focused on this.

“Um, south towards Solm.” The soldier said.

Mauvier looked back at the sea, “This ship and a few others will split off to go search for them, have the rest of the fleet continue on course.”

“Of course sir.” The soldier saluted and left.

“Ugh, and I thought those two were behaving themselves. When we find them they are in heaps of trouble!” Marni was infuriated that she had to go on this detour.

“Most likely yes.” Mauvier stated as he went back to staring at the sea, not looking away as new flotilla broke off from the main armada.

Marni could never really tell what went through Mauvier’s head, purple-eye Veyle was fine she guessed, but she didn’t seem that great.

Ah well, Mauvier was weird, nothing really new to her.

Alear : Solmic Coast

Veyle and Alear had finally, after going through the winding canyon, reached a point where the river spilled out into the ocean. Now it would only be a matter of heading west along the coast. The coast was filled with large, jagged rocks that provided cover and shade, and the proximity to the sea made the area far cool than the dreadful inland heat of Solm.

Still though, Alear dared not believe that the worst was over, she had no idea where either her former allies, or the Hounds were. Not knowing whether they were tracking the two of them was frightening. She did not feel anyone watching them as she had with Griss, but that wasn’t cause to rest easy.

“Let’s rest for a moment.” Alear said to Veyle, they had effectively been walking since the early morning, and it would be good to rest before moving along the coast.

“Okay.” Veyle responded as she sat down on a rock in the shade.

Alear walked over and handed her the waterskin, “Here, this is the last time we can use the river to refill.”

Veyle nodded and took the waterskin from her. Afterwards Alear turned and walked to the edge of the coast, feeling as the water touched her boots.

She began to think over recent events, going through the canyon felt static in a way, almost as if it had become a status quo onto itself. But now she had left it, and had realized that going forward, the canyon would be but a footnote at most.

It was a single step in a completely altered path, she was forced now to look at that coming path. Alear had realized that she had no concrete goal, no plan, and no idea of what to do other than get to Firene for an easier ability to survive.

She had a vague goal yes, protect Veyle and survive, but how would she go about that? Continue to fight her father? Hide away somewhere? Leave the continent entirely?

The last one seemed the least feasible and most attractive to her. She knew that the surviving mage dragons left Elyos to lands unknown, and there was even some scattered evidence (albeit questionable and unreliable) that some fell children fled as well. There were so many of her siblings that had simply disappeared so the idea wasn’t entirely unthinkable, but also she stopped herself from thinking about the possibility too much.

No, leaving Elyos wasn’t a real option to her, the seas surrounding the Elyosian ring were violent, preventing navigation, and the ocean was large enough that flight wasn’t a real option either.

However staying in Elyos was also complicated, as long as her father was around the continent wasn’t safe for either her or Veyle. She couldn’t hide, but how could she hope to combat him?

Alear shook her head, she had no answer, no idea of what to do or where to go. Once she and Veyle got to Firene she would have to think about what to do next.

This was all a feeling that Alear had never really experienced before, the idea of not knowing what to do. It was freedom in an empty void and it was imprisonment with no bars or chains.

When she served her father, she always had new orders to go on a mission or patrol. Her rest was limited and always came with the knowledge that she would be called upon again for a new campaign or expedition.

When she first came to Lythos she was left alone usually, but after a while she grew restless and started helping Lumera with small tasks before eventually deciding to join in the final battle.

And then when she awoke again she was tasked to collect the rings and put an end to her father again,..

She paused, Alear had just realized something. Her goal for the vast majority of her second life had been to collect the rings. A request from her dying mother…

The last thing her mother asked her was for her to collect the rings,.. and she couldn’t do that…

Lumera had put her complete faith in Alear as she passed,.. and Alear failed,.. and she didn’t just fail by chance or lack of skill… She failed because of her selfishness….

Thoughts began to come into Alear’s mind, harsh thoughts, the same thoughts, “Defect, defect, defect…”

Alear reached for her dagger and was about to open up her palm, “Alear? What are you doing?” Alear turned to hear Veyle call to her. She looked strangely at Alear as she held up her dagger.

Alear quickly put the dagger away, she couldn’t do that in front of Veyle, “Er.. nothing, I was just… checking if it needed cleaning…”

Veyle took the excuse, “Ah okay, I’m done now.” She held out the now empty waterskin.

Alear cautiously walked over to her, “Okay.” She took the waterskin from the smiling Veyle and walked over to the river.

“Did your dagger need cleaning?” Veyle asked her innocently.

The question caught Alear off guard, it even made her feel embarrassed in a way, “Umm,.. no it didn’t…”

“Oh okay…” Veyle leaned back as she began to look across the sea.

Having Veyle around her had begun to feel normal to Alear. Having her be so distant had felt almost a part of her life, but now Veyle was just casually around her,.. it felt strange, nice, but strange. But now Alear was getting use to being around her sister again.

Alear finished drinking the water and filling up the waterskin, it was time to move on, away from the river, a river that even if Alear didn’t know the name of, it had still carved a place in Alear’s ailing heart.

She looked briefly at Veyle, she was so focused on getting her back that Alear had forgotten about nearly everything else. Including the promise and connections she had made.

She felt,.. not alone, but cold,… very cold.

She wonder if somewhere above her mother was watching her. She hoped she wasn’t. Her mother would hate her if she saw Alear’s actions.

The two walked along the coast in relative silence before Veyle decided to inquire, “Alear… Are you doing okay?” She asked with a slight grim look.

Alear paused at the question, “I’m… I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

Veyle looked at her with a minor frown, “It’s just that you seem a bit… distant and depressed…”

Alear could tell that Veyle was partially blaming herself, “I am just still a bit shaken up, that’s all.” She didn’t wish to pass her problems onto Veyle.

Veyle looked like she wanted to say something but instead just looked at Alear,

The two looked at each other before Alear failed to keep eye contact any longer, looking away. As she did she got a brief glance of something moving in the sky, “Veyle get down.” Alear saw a wyvern begin to fly over, she was unsure if it saw them.

“Wha- Okay.” She looked and saw the wyvern too.

The two quickly moved to a rock to take cover, as they did Alear saw as the wyvern simply passed by. She noticed that there were figures on it, but it didn’t seem as if they had spotted them.

“Stay here.” Alear got out of cover as she warned Veyle. She tried to see if she could see where the wyvern was going, it seemed to be descending. She turned to see if she could see where it came from, as she did Alear spotted several ships come out from over the horizon.

They were Elusian.

Immediately Alear began to panic internally as she moved back to the cover. Questions swarmed her mind, perhaps that wyvern was a scout and this was a vanguard for a coming invasion. Or maybe Griss was able to report their general location. Alear didn’t like either option.

“Maybe we should go over to the wyvern. It looks like it’s landing way over there.” Veyle suggested as she pointed off in the distance.

Alear was taken aback by the suggestion, “Why would we do that? It would be best if we left as soon as possible.” Whether they were the target or just collateral was not something Alear wanted to wait to find out.

“Well if we go see the wyvern we can figure out who they are.” Veyle said to her.

Alear had to admit, it was good logic, and it could help determine how much danger they were in. She looked over the sea, it would be a while until the ships reached the shore, so this was their best opportunity, plus where the wyvern landed was in their path, “Alright, stay behind me then.”

Veyle nodded as the two got up and began to move through the rocks, making sure to not be in the open too long, lest they be spotted.

Goldmary : Solmic Coast

The past hour was harrowing for Goldmary. She and Rosado had not planned anything out, rather they noticed that the ship they were on faced open ocean and was near the Solmic coast, and that the ship’s Emblem Ring was unguarded for a brief window of time as the guards were mixed up in rotation. So with only a brief moment to consider everything, Goldmary quickly grabbed the ring while Rosado prepared his wyvern for flight.

And so now they landed on some random shore with no plan other than to try and find Hortensia, with a ring they couldn’t use.

It wasn’t great, but Goldmary was sure that with her brain and her brawn they would make do and rejoin with Hortensia. Really it was just a matter of finding her, she had to be somewhere in Solm.

She looked over to see Rosado inspecting his exhausted wyvern, “Yeah Buddy is going to need some rest before he can fly again.” Rosado said to Goldmary.

It made sense, they flew fast and long, the wyvern Buddy looked utterly exhausted, “Well for now lets move to safety, I’m sure we can get out of sight from any patrols.”

Rosado nodded, “Yup, I’m sure as soon as they found out we took the ring they wanted our heads on spikes.”

Goldmary thought for a moment, her head would truly make any spike shine, but it didn’t sound like something she wanted to happen, “True, they’ll be hunting us now. But hopefully we can meet up with Hortensia soon, I’m sure she is in a complete state without me around…” Goldmary frowned at the idea of how sad Hortensia must be.

Rosado nodded, “Yep, which is why we must find her and give her the Emblem Ring as fast as we can.”

Goldmary was about respond as she heard a voice come out of nowhere.

“Emblem Ring you say?”

“Oh sweet lord!-“ Goldmary and Rosado turned in quick panic at the unexpected voice. To her surprise, Goldmary saw the Divine Dragon Alear of all people standing right next to her. Quickly she began to panic internally, the sight of the dragon bringing back harsh memories.

Both drew their weapons as Alear merely stared at them, “You said that you two have an Emblem Ring, is that why those Elusian ships are chasing you?” Alear asked in unnerving monotone.

Goldmary stayed silent as she and Rosado began to back away, before either could respond though, someone even stranger showed up, Veyle, the Fell Princess and the one who sacrificed King Hyacinth, “Alear,.. who are they?” Veyle said as she cautiously moved behind Alear.

Both Goldmary and Rosado were stunned, the sight of both traumatizing dragons was one thing, but they were under the assumption that the two were rivals of a sort, but here they were, casually together, “Wha-What are you two doing together? I thought your were enemies.”

Alear didn’t blink, “We are not, that was a misunderstanding of our relationship and is none of your concern. Emblem Ring, now.” She said with a hint of force.

There was a creep of terror that went through Goldmary, as much as she hated to admit it, Alear was not someone she would beat in a fight. Especially not while Veyle was with her. It was still hard to believe, how could the Divine Dragon and the daughter of the Fell Dragon not be enemies, plus didn’t Veyle brag about killing Queen Lumera once? How could the two dragons not hate each other completely?

Rosado began to speak for the two of them, “Sorry but no. Like we would ever hand over something so valuable to you two.”

Goldmary got over her confusion, “That’s right, now tell us where Princess Hortensia is.” Fright moved through her body even if she made a strong show on the outside.

Alear just looked at them for a few moments, she showed little emotion but seemed confused that they were standing up to her, “…Last I saw her Princess Hortensia was with my former allies in a fortress to the southeast of here.”

Goldmary was surprised that Alear even answered her, her demand was a bluff, she was terrified of both dragons. But something did catch her attention, “Wait,.. why was Princess Hortensia with your weird friends?”

“And what do you mean by ‘former allies?’” Rosado asked, that was another question Goldmary had.

“Princess Hortensia joined the army after we fought in Stellaperta. As for what I mean by ‘former’. Me and my allies had a falling out over some innate differences.” Alear coldly said, her eyes had not blinked or broken eye contact once.

Goldmary was unsure whether to take Alear’s word, she didn’t trust either of the two dragons, one was an invader, the other a usurper, and both were murderers. Just being near them caused tension to grow in the air.

“What differences? Your friends decide they don’t want to be around a psychopath and a heartless killer?” Rosado asked with aggression.

Alear looked at him for a moment, “That’s not far from accuracy…” She shook her head, breaking eye contact for the first time, “But it is no matter, I told you where Princess Hortensia is, now give me the ring.”

“And how are we supposed to know if you are telling us the truth? And besides us giving you the ring was not in the cards.” Rosado said to her.

“I do not particularly care if you believe me or not, and I wasn’t asking…” Alear let the subtle threat lie.

Goldmary began to prepare her blade, however before any blows could come, Veyle began to join the confrontation, “Wait please, we don’t have to solve this with violence.”

That caused both Goldmary and Rosado to raise an eyebrow. Veyle was not the type of person to seek peaceful solutions, “… What game are you two playing?”  The confusion returned, Goldmary hated both for making Hortensia sad, but how could these two stand by each other?

Alear drew her own blade, “There is no game, this is just something that you would neither understand nor does it concern you in the slightest.”

Veyle looked distressed at the deterioration of the situation, she ran in front of Alear, “Wait please! Alear there is no reason for any of this, let’s just leave now.”

Alear looked down at her, her face loosening as she did, “I won’t kill them, but I need that ring, I can’t leave without it.” Alear looked back up at Rosado, her stance and face immediately hardening once again.

Goldmary couldn’t see Veyle’s expression, but she seemed to have accepted it as she slowly walked out of Alear’s path.

Both Goldmary and Rosado readied the weapons as Alear began to circle them, like a snake beginning to strike at it’s prey. Meanwhile Veyle just sat down on a nearby rock and looked off in the distance at the Elusian ships nearing the coast.

All sorts of fear enveloped Rosado and Goldmary, neither liked their chances against just Alear, and that was assuming Veyle wouldn’t get involved, but they felt they needed to try and fight.

“Just give me the ring.” Alear said annoyedly, she seemed to want to get this over with quickly, “I already told you where Hortensia was. You have nothing more to gain.”

“That’s Princess Hortensia to you, and I’d rather not help two people so awful.” Goldmary retorted, she glanced a pained expression from Veyle as she said that. But Veyle really shouldn’t have been surprised after everything she did.

“Fine.” As soon as the single word left Alear’s mouth, she struck. Before either Rosado or Goldmary could react, Alear jabbed forward, threating to puncture their defenses.

Goldmary moved just in time to parry Alear’s attack, only for Alear to immediately switch to flicking her blade forward with forceful, swift, and countless strikes. Goldmary was put purely on the defensive.

She knew by looking at Alear that these strikes were not meant to break her defense but rather just exhaust Goldmary into submission.

Rosado moved and tried to attack Alear’s flank, only for her to swerve to the side and slam her heel into Rosado’s knee. Causing him nearly collapse.

Goldmary used the distraction to go on the offensive, however Alear used the same fast blade flicks block the offense and almost immediately shift back into the exhausting strikes. It was at this that Goldmary realized just how outmatched they were.

Rosado recovered and looked at the deteriorating battle, he saw how Goldmary was starting to give into growing fatigue, he pulled the ring out, “Here you want this?! Then have it!” He threw the ring far from the battle, “Come on Goldmary! Let’s go.”

Goldmary reluctantly broke off from the duel, Alear did not pursue, rather she just continued her creepy stare, observing them.

Rosado mounted Buddy and reached out to Goldmary, who quickly grabbed his hand and mounted up as well. To both of their relief Alear did not pursue, instead she just looked at them as they began to flee.

Buddy finally after a snarl at Alear took flight, Rosado and Goldmary saw as the two watching dragons disappeared from their sight, and to the north the Elusian ships were increasingly nearing the coast.

“Rosado… why did you throw the ring?” Goldmary asked.

“Well I figured that the ring was what she was after, so if she got it she wouldn’t pursue.” He answered.

“I see…” It was disappointing that they had to abandon the ring they had so daringly acquired, she doubted anyone else could have matched Goldmary’s excellence in getting the rings. To throw that away to flee from two treacherous reptiles was disheartening.

Ah well it couldn’t be helped, the two needed to stay alive for Hortensia’s sake. They were just too precious to her.

Still though, the continuing confusion of why Alear and Veyle were together racked their mind. Both Rosado and Goldmary silently agreed to go southeast.

Alear : Solmic Coast

Alear stared at the two retainers as they flew away. She paid them little mind as she turned to grab the fallen ring.

As she walked over to where Rosado threw the ring, Veyle got up and approached her, “Alear… why did you have to fight them?” She frowned at her.

Alear sighed as she picked up the ring, “I just needed to get the ring, that’s all.” She held the ring up, it was a bronze band with a cyan gem. She immediately recognized it as the Ring of the Azure Twins. Memories of Nel came into Alear’s mind.

“But why did you need it?” Veyle asked her.

The question wracked Alear’s mind. Perhaps she still wished to try and follow her mothers wish, as impossible as that now was, “I… I promised someone important that I would collect the rings, that’s all.”

Veyle turned more sympathetic at that, “I see,.. and who was this person?”

Alear hesitated, she didn’t know how to express her relationship she had with her adoptive mother to Veyle, “…She was… like a mother to me…”

Veyle’s face dropped, “You mean… the one I killed….”

Alear shook her head, “Not of your own volition. You had no part of it, it was Zephia and Father who did that…” She would never blame Veyle for what happened.

Veyle closed her eyes, still believing she had blame to Alear’s dismay, “Can you… tell me about her…”

Alear thought about it, “… Later…” She looked off at the nearing Elusian ship, they would land within the hour, perhaps earlier, “Once we can get to Firene I can tell you about her, and we can finally rest…”

Veyle nodded at that, she looked saddened at Alear, but she seemed to have understood her.

The two began to silently continue on their journey west. Neither wanted to be here when the Elusians landed, especially not when they now had the object of their pursuit.

Alear looked at the newly acquired Emblem Ring, she considered summoning it, but decided to let it be dormant for a while. She didn’t want to face an Emblem right now. Still though, she did feel a bit more secure with it.

She wondered how her allies were doing, hopefully they could avoid or overcome the approaching Elusians without her. Although she didn’t even know if the group collapsed or not. She didn’t like not knowing these things. They created to many unknowns.

Chapter Text

Hortensia : Western Solm

The army had begun their journey west towards Firene. Even after they had all put aside their concerns and managed to stay united, there was still an air of tension and a feeling that it could all still fall to pieces.

Hortensia understood that she supposed, she had known that this group was built centrally around the image and will of the supposed Divine Dragon. To be separated from that leader would leave a hole that simply could not be filled even despite Alfred’s best efforts. But what happened was worse than simply losing an integral leader, that leader turned out to be someone who she did not say she was.

Hortensia was always terrified of Alear, but she knew how important she was, her absence combined with that revelation did irreparable damage onto the group.

She sighed internally, Hortensia was so unsure about all of this, but at the end of the day this group and its mission was the best way to return to Elusia,.. and Ivy was determined to continue onwards. So Hortensia supposed that her hands were tied with this.

She continued to think within her mind as they moved through the Solmic desert. They had been marching for a few hours after a brief stop to a town to resupply. She guessed they would soon take a rest. She hoped so, Hortensia was tired and drenched in sweat, as were most of the group.

However as Hortensia focused on her own thoughts, someone yelled to the rest of the group, “Look! Wyvern!” Turning she noticed the incoming wyvern.

The army halted as they looked at the approaching Wyvern. Some took out their weapons while others stayed still and waited for the wyvern and its rider got into view. Hortensia herself moved forward and attempted to get a better view, as the wyvern got closer an unbelievable yet welcome feeling went throughout her.

The sight of the distinct purple scales of Buddy the wyvern immediately caused Hortensia to move to the front of the group and started waving her hands, “Rosado! Goldmary! Over here!” All sorts of emotions came into Hortensia’s head, confusion of how they were here, and happiness that they were.

As the wyvern landed to reveal the two retainers, the other members of the army eased as the potential threat largely disappeared.

Goldmary quickly got off the wyvern, “Hortensia! It’s really you.” She ran right up to Hortensia as Rosado dismounted in the background.

“Goldmary!... How on Elyos did you find me?” Hortensia questioned how Goldmary even knew where to look for her.

“Oh it’s a long story and…” She looked at the rest of the group, “So you did join up with the Divine Dragon’s army,…”

Rosado walked up as well, “Well what do you know, Alear was telling the truth.”

Immediately that caught nearly everyone’s attention, “You met Alear?” Alfred asked as he moved to the front to meet the two retainers.

“Yes we did. She also said that she had a falling out with you guys.” Rosado confirmed.

Hortensia snorted at that, ”Well that’s an understatement…”

“When was this?” Alfred asked them.

Goldmary began to think, “Well about a little under an hour ago, near the shore, a while to the northwest.” She turned to Hortensia, “Listen Hortensia, it wasn’t just the Divine Dragon we met. You would never guess who was with her.”

Hortensia had a pretty good idea who it was, “Well… I’d guess Veyle was the one with her.”

Rosado and Goldmary both blinked in surprise, “Um… yes actually,.. how did you know?”

“You guys missed a lot since we separated.” Hortensia said.

Ivy now walked up to join the conversation, “Perhaps it would be best to rest right now and share stories.”

Alfred turned to her aghast, “But they said Alear was less than an hour away. We should go without any delay to meet her.”

Céline walked up to him, “Alfred… They traveled by wyvern to get here, plus Alear would likely already have moved on, and she and Veyle would be far faster than this group. They are likely far more than an hour away.” She explained with some pity.

“But…” Alfred tried to come up with some protest.

“Listen, if we hear out Hortensia’s retainers we’ll get a better indication of Alear and Veyle’s movements, just blindly going in a vague direction would be counterproductive.” Céline said to him.

Alfred looked to the ground, “I… Alright…” He began to look around the area, “Look over there, there is a cliff-wall we can use for shade. We can rest there and all explain what’s happening.”

Everyone nodded their heads and began to follow Alfred to the cliff-wall. Before they also followed Hortensia turned to Rosado and Goldmary, “I am so glad to see you two again, I struggled to sleep not knowing how you both were doing.”

Both retainers smiled at her, “Oh and I am beyond happy to be reunited with you my princess.” Goldmary said.

“Ah,.. I’m sorry that you were so worried for us Hortensia. But all things considered it wasn’t that bad. We were in solitary for a while but we were let go easily enough, and neither of us were hurt.” Rosado said to her.

Hortensia nodded, “Alright, come on. You can tell your story in the shade. It is too hot out here, I really don’t know how the Solmic folk can stand it.” She got nods of approval from her retainers for that statement.

Turning around the three followed the rest of the group to the cliff-wall.

Hortensia found herself a raised rock to sit down on within the shade of the cliff-wall, almost immediately she felt relief from no longer needing to be within the dreadful Solmic sun’s sight. After Goldmary and Rosado sat down the group turned to them, waiting for them to tell their story, “Alright Goldmary, Rosado, what happened?” Hortensia asked them.

The two looked at each other before Goldmary decided to speak, “Well lets see, where to start…”

“Start with what happened to you after I left.” Hortensia said, she knew the others were more interested in Alear, but this was something that she had to know.

Goldmary began to think before explaining, “Well after you left we tried to delay the Hounds but they eventually found out. They didn’t hurt us but were able to discern where you went. Um,.. did they ever catch up to you?”

The memory of being controlled immediately hurt Hortensia, “Um yes… Yes they did but we beat them back. That was when I joined this army.”

Rosado nodded solemnly, “Ah,.. I’m sorry that we let you down Hortensia…”

Hortensia shook her head, “No it’s fine,.. you two did what you could, please continue.”

“Well after being found out we were held in the castle dungeons for a bit in solitary. But eventually they assigned us to the armada. It was there that we noticed that the ship we were on was facing the shore, and that the ship was carrying an Emblem Ring. So Goldmary grabbed the ring while I prepared Buddy to let us fly away and escape so that we could find you.” Rosado explained.

That explanation immediately swarmed everyone with questions, Alfred was the one to speak, “What armada? And wait, you guys have an Emblem Ring?”

“Had, we had an Emblem Ring.” Goldmary stated, receiving several nods to explain, “We reached the shore easily enough, but Buddy needed to rest so we landed. It was there that we met Alear and Veyle. After she told us where you were, Alear demanded that we hand over the Emblem Ring. We tried to refuse and fight back, but…”

Rosado continued, “She kinda beat us to a pulp and so I threw the ring so we could escape. She and Veyle have the ring now… I’m sorry Hortensia.”

The story of their encounter with Alear and Veyle shocked nearly everyone, “Well, it… It could have ended worse…” Hortensia remembered the bridge, “I’m just glad you two came back safe…”

Both nodded at her, “Now, why were Alear and Veyle together? I thought they would hate each other.”

Hortensia looked towards Alfred to explain to them, she didn’t want to be the one to attempt to explain it.

Alfred looked at her for a moment before turning to Rosado and Goldmary, “Alright, so how do I explain,…” Eventually he decided to just rip the figurative bandage off, “Alear is,.. you see she is actually,.. a fell dragon,.. she and Veyle are sisters…”

“…What?” Goldmary raised her eyebrow.

Alfred took, a breath, “We were within a nearby fortress looking for an Emblem Ring, after we cleared out the corrupted within it Alear went off on her own, where she supposedly found Veyle. She went back to us with Veyle. We didn’t understand why Alear was with her and so everything fell into a heated argument where Alear eventually told us the truth and pulled out a dragonstone she used to transform into a draconic form.”

Both Goldmary and Rosado looked at each other before turning back, “And this dragon form,.. it was like Lord Sombron’s?”

Alfred nodded, “Yes… Black scales, glowing red frills, third eye, tail grip, forked tongue, and snake-like…” His description sent chills down Hortensia’s spine. She hated remembering that.

Both stayed silent before Rosado spoke, “Wait… If Alear is a fell dragon and Veyle is her sister… Does that mean that Queen Lumera and Lord Sombron… you know…”

Vander moved to the front, “By Lythos no! Alear was just adopted.” He seemed offended that Rosado was even suggesting that.

“Ah I see,.. that makes more sense.” Goldmary responded, “But if Alear is Lord Sombron’s other daughter… does that mean that we just returned the ring to the Fell dragon and the hounds…”

Alfred shook his head, “No you didn’t. The Emblems confirmed that Alear defected from her father long ago. She is against her father… She is just… distant from us now…” He seemed pained when he said that.

“I see…” Goldmary began to think about it all.

Céline walked up, “Well we now know that Alear has an Emblem so we should take caution when confronting her… I doubt she’ll take kindly to us if she see us as a threat…”

Alfred glanced at her, “R-Right… But at least it’s out of the Fell Dragon’s hands… or I guess it is in a fell dragon’s hands… but.. you know what I mean?”

Céline gave him a pitiful nod before turning to Goldmary and Rosado, “Now then,.. you two said something about an armada?”

Rosado nodded, “Yep, Elusia formed two massive fleets to sail west, I think it’s meant to conquer or raid the Firenese coast…”

A grim look overcame all of the Firenese, “We have to prevent that.” Alfred said.

“Agreed, where is the fleet now?” Céline asked.

“A small flotilla broke off to chase us but the main fleets looked like they continued west.” Goldmary explained.

“I see…” Alfred turned to the army, a hard look on his face, “We need to leave now. I can’t let that fleet react Firene.”

“And Alear and Veyle?” Ivy asked concerned.

Alfred looked downward, “… We have to move on without her, it seems she is heading to Firene as well. She can take care of herself, the innocent people of my kingdom cannot.” He closed his eyes, it was a difficult choice.

He received nods all around, some reluctant, some not. After gathering all their things the group moved onwards. Intent on reaching Firene as soon as possible.

Alfred : Near The Solmic Coast

The army moved westward to Firene, and as they did so Alfred couldn’t help but worry. Based off a few further questions he learned that the fleet Goldmary and Rosado were in was massive, and that it was only half of the overall Elusian armada. The damage that could be dealt to Firene would be unimaginable.

When the corrupted first appeared they devastated the Firenese countryside so much that they had no choice but to request aid from Lythos. But eventually they did manage to get the situation under control, however that was taking up most of Firene’s military resources.

Alfred found himself regretting the military polices of his forefathers. Firene was a kingdom that valued peace immensely, Previous kings therefore built the military around that. Firene had many knights and core man at arms regiments that were all very well trained, but there wasn’t much beyond that. It was a well-trained and elite force, but it was still the smallest army on Elyos.

The army was made in a way to discourage aggressive action by the Firenese monarchs while still being capable of defending against threats. But against a foe like the corrupted? It made it so that Firene was the most vulnerable country on the continent.

Before he left, his mother had begun to mobilize a greater force, but there was no infrastructure in place to really do so, Alfred doubted that much progress had been made yet.

Firene could not hope to defeat the Elusian Armada at sea, and if the Elusians broke through, they couldn’t stop them on land either. This all meant that the Elusians would have to be beaten back at the ports.

Alfred grimaced, the Elusians probably knew that too, but what choice did they have? His stomach began to turn. He regretted not being able to find Alear right now, but he was the crown prince, and as crown prince he had to dedicate everything to protecting his people.

He took a look around at the army, he would have to remember to thank everyone here profusely for choosing to help him protect his kingdom. He knew that their help would prove invaluable in the coming crisis.

Alfred looked upward from his stead, he could smell the sea, they were close to the shore now. The army had decided to go near the shore as that was the quickest path. Even if they encountered the search flotilla it would not slow them down as much as the other routes would. With that in mind everyone was preparing for a possible battle soon.

Soon the army moved into an opening from the small valley they were in, and in front of them was the sight of the Solmic coast, with several Elusian ships in the distance. Looking across the rocky coast Alfred saw numerous Elusian soldiers searching the area, looking for the two retainers and the stolen Emblem Ring.

Alfred turned to Goldmary and Rosado, “So that is the search party?”

Both nodded, “Mhm, this was also near where we met Alear and Veyle.”

“Perhaps we should go around, it’s best not to get into a fight that would only slow us down and exhaust us.” Céline said.

Timerra shook her head, “The whole border region between Solm and Firene is a mess of valleys, ridges, and canyons. Going around would require some backtracking and navigation through even more complex terrain. This is the fastest route even if we get into a scrap.”

“Right…” Alfred looked forward, he had taken command before, both of this army and small Firenese formations, but he had rarely been the one to start the engagement, especially not against another trained military force. He felt a creep of nervousness come into his mind. Alear was not here, she was both the irreplaceable leader and the greatest asset of the group. There were still questions of if the army could even survive without her.

He shook his head, Alfred had to try and keep this all together without Alear. He felt that all eyes were upon him, “… Everyone,.. there is no chance of moving through here undetected, and any other route would just slow us down more…” He thought about what Alear would do in this situation, “… Prepare to strike hard and fast, we will take the initiative and surprise the enemy before they can form proper resistance. We’ll strike all at once and stay together to avoid being defeated in detail.”

He received nods all around. Turning around Alfred couched his lance and prepared to charge. Around him the army began to prepare in parallel. He picked out a group of Elusians and proceeded to give a signal to charge.

The army broke from their cover and charged the unsuspecting Elusians.

Marni : Solmic Coast

Marni was starting to get frustrated,.. actually no, she was already very frustrated. The fact that she had to turn around and chase those two crybabies all the way to this deserted shore was one thing. But now she was still stuck here with no sight of either the ring or the two idiots.  

“Mauvier! Has your group found anything yet?” Marni yelled near the approaching Mauvier.

“I have not, perhaps we should move on to another part of the coast.” He calmly suggested.

“Ughhh…” Marni was starting to get a migraine, “Those two are going to really regret getting on my nerves like this. First they prevent me from getting to Firene first. Then they bring me to this forsaken beach. And now they refuse to come out and continue to keep me here! And to top it all off I am getting a bunch of sand in my boots, and it’s itchy!”

Mauvier just looked at her and didn’t respond to her complaints.

Marni turned to him, “Mauvier don’t you agree that those two are going to pay for doing this to me?”

“…” Mauvier didn’t respond, instead he just gave her a look.

Marni looked back, she didn’t know whether or not to continue to rant to him or not. She wanted him to nod and agree with her, but he just wasn’t responding, only adding to her frustration. Why couldn’t Mauvier see how unfair this all was to her?

She was about to open her mouth to speak again when a soldier ran up to the two of them, “Sir Mauvier! Lady Marni! An unknown force is attacking our forces!” He was out of breath.

“What!?” Marni couldn’t fathom a sizeable force being so near. This was an unpopulated and underdeveloped part Solm, it shouldn’t have been possible for the Queendom to counter their arrival so soon.

“What is the force comprised of? And where is it?” Mauvier firmly asked the soldier.

“I was told to report to you before we got accurate intel on who the enemy force is or what they are comprised of. I do know that they are charging aggressively from the east.” The soldier reported with some nervousness.

“Ugh! Just when I thought this day couldn’t get any worse! Tell the eastern search party to form up into a battleline and await reinforcement.” Marni ordered.

The soldier’s expression dropped, “Umm… Lady Marni… the units we had in that area have already been routed…”

Both Marni and Mauvier were immediately taken aback, “How!?”

“Th-The forces were disorganized and focused on searching the coast, they just weren’t prepared. And the enemy attacked quickly and with force.” The soldier sputtered.

“Hmm…” Mauvier began to think, “Order every unit we have to form a defensive perimeter in this area. And round up any routed soldiers from the eastern search parties and put them into the line.”

The soldier saluted and left to deliver the orders.

Mauvier turned to Marni, “You take a unit and move to the center. I’ll take some cavalry and head south.”

It was decent plan she supposed, and Marni didn’t have any ideas anyway, “Sure why not?”

The two Hounds left to their differing areas of the battlefield.

As Marni made her way forward she spotted some fleeing soldiers. She guessed they were routed soldiers from the east. Quickly she grabbed one of the cowards, “You there! What’s happening!”

The fleeing soldier turned white as a sheet as the Hound yelled at him, “I-er,..L-Lady M-Marni I-I…”

“Stop sputtering and tell me what’s happening!” Marni growled. She was starting to get mad at all these crybabies.

“I-I don’t k-know… They came so quickly we couldn’t even form a defense. From what I saw they looked similar to those people we fought at the royal palace in Solm…” The soldier said.

That quickly caught Marni’s attention, “The Solmic Royal Guard or the weirdos who follow the Divine Dragon around?”

The soldier didn’t seem to know how to properly respond to that, “I… think it was the latter…”

“Right… Go form up in the defensive line, if you run away again you’re getting flogged.” Marni prepared her axe and shield and moved forward, leaving the terrified soldier to move away from her in a panic.

Marni felt a surge of excitement in contrast to the growing frustration. If this was the Divine Dragon’s army then she now had an opportunity to take some Emblem Rings to make up for the lost one. Marni moved forward in determination.

After moving up, Marni finally got a good look at the enemy. The variance in colors and the recognized faces proved that this was the Divine Dragon’s army. Marni began to look around the area, for the life of her she could not find where Alear herself was. It should have been trivial to spot the easily noticeable hair of the Divine Dragon, and yet she was nowhere to be seen.

Marni silently gulped, Alear had a reputation and was very skilled. Marni hated knowing that she was around while being unable to keep an eye on her. An unnerving feeling went throughout Marni, she felt unsafe, like she would turn around and the rogue fell child would appear and bring about her demise. She tightened her grip on her shield and axe.

Beginning to observe the area, Marni noticed the opposing force had finally halted after savaging the eastern search parties. Marni noticed that they were beginning to split up, oddly it looked like the Firenese Prince was the one giving the orders.

She decided to move back into the defensive line, as much as she hated to admit it, she did not want to be alone when Alear finally showed up, and besides it looked like they were about to restart their offensive, and judging by the way they were forming, it was going to be a pincer movement.

Making her way back to the line Marni took stock of the situation. The Elusian soldiers had formed a strong line while using the massive coastal rocks to supplement to the defense.

Marni also took notice of the ground, there were several low-lying areas in the sand, she remembered quickly that these areas would flood occasionally as the tide came in, the water would generally reach up to just below one’s calf, although for her it reached her knees. The water would hinder them, but would hinder the attacking idiots more.

“Hopefully Mauvier can actually flank them properly.” She thought, she just needed to hold the attack in place and allow for Mauvier and his calvary to tear into them from the side. At least that’s what she thought the plan was, she realized that she never did ask what the full plan actually was.

She shook her head and took a look at the various soldiers under her command. Most were holding firm, and yet at least half were visibly nervous or unprepared, they would hold, but they clearly weren’t the best. Meanwhile, about a third were standing with strong discipline, they would hold well. Finally the rest were shaking and struggling to stay focused, Marni guessed these were the ones routed earlier, she imagined one good push would shatter these soldiers.

Marni began to curse in her mind, she remembered Zephia trying to get some of the more veteran forces for use in this force but wasn’t allowed to because the best Elusian forces were needed to defend against any attacks coming from Brodia. The death of King Morion caused the Brodians to ramp up their attacks even further in rage for their fallen king, they weren’t getting far. But it was enough that they were forced to keep most of the veteran forces along the borderlands for the moment.

Right as Marni continued to stew in her situation she heard something approach, turning around she saw that the enemy was finally renewing their attack, “Alright, I better not see any of you run away, or else you are going to be left on this shore when we leave!” She snapped at her soldiers.

At that moment the enemy force began to charge straight into Marni’s line. Immediately the two opposing forces began to fight. Marni held firm while her soldiers began to skirmish with their opponents.

The leader of this assault was the Brodian crown prince whose name Marni couldn’t remember. The incoming Brodians and others under his command struck hard against the Elusian line. The Brodians and others quickly proved to be the vastly superior soldiers, nearly breaking the Elusians line in several areas, still though, they were badly outnumbered and the Elusians managed to hold the line against the fierce and quickly counterattack.

As soon as the momentum of the Brodian attack ended, the prince called a retreat. Perhaps fueled by victory and bloodlust the Elusians broke from their line and charged the retreating force.

Marni herself was briefly overtaken by the thrill of victory, and yet it all felt too easy, before she could be fully overtaken by the same bloodlust she noticed a hit of yellow move around several seaside rocks. A sense of worry broke the growing feeling of elation in Marni.

She stopped in her track and instinctually moved away, right as she did the Firenese princess appeared to the left flank and created a heavy burst of flames that struck across the charging Elusians.

Immediately the flames broke up any semblance of order in the Elusians, the soldiers of lesser resolve broke and began to rout, while the veteran forces were too disorganized and began to break up.

The smell of smoke and burnt flesh filled Marni’s nostrils as she attempted to look forward at the situation, before the smoke even cleared the enemy force restarted their attack, this time it seemed to be led by the Firenese Prince, it also looked like it was the full army that was now attacking.

They began to battle with the Elusian veterans who had lost any semblance of organization, the battle was just a series of induvial engagements happening separately from each other, at least for the Elusians, the enemy seemed well coordinated in their strikes.

Before Marni had any more time to think, she felt the wind begin to change. Instincts came in and caused her to look upwards to see Rosado of all people dive at her with his axe.

Marni managed to raise her shield in time to block the powerful attack, the defense caused Rosado to recoil backward as his wyvern flew back up in the air.

However right as Marni lowered her shield, Goldmary appeared in front of her and slashed her blade at Marni. Quickly Marni managed to block the sword with the shaft of her axe. Now in a lock Marni moved her shield and bashed Goldmary to push her back.

With both treacherous retainers forced back, Marni took a good look at them, “You two! Oh are you both in so much trouble! Do you two have any idea how bad my day has been thanks to your little stunt?”

“Oh sorry I’m that you feel that way!” Looking up Marni saw that it was Princess Hortensia who said that while flying on her pegasus. Right as she did, Hortensia loosed a lightning strike right at Marni.

The lightning came too quick for Marni to properly avoid it. However Marni’s armor was easily able to protect her from the worse of the lightning, she would have to thank Zephia for enchanting her armor later.

Right as the lightning struck her, Rosado and Goldmary resumed their assault against her. This time Goldmary struck first, with Marni managing to repulse her blade with her shield before swinging her axe in an upward slash. Only barely did Goldmary evade the deadly swing, however in dodging Goldmary lost balance and nearly fell, she was forced to regain her footing.

Right after forcing Goldmary away, Marni turned to see Rosado diving at her again. Marni quickly angled just right, as she predicted Rosado slammed his axe against her shield, however right as he did Marni bashed her shield against him and his wyvern, causing him to lose his grip on the wyvern’s reins and fall to the ground.

Marni moved forward and attempted hack her axe against Rosado’s neck, however before she could, Hortensia shot another burst of lightning at her. The spell once again did negligible damage to Marni, but it slowed her enough to allow Rosado to roll away and pick himself up.

Now recovered, Rosado and Goldmary attempted to strike at the same time against Marni’s flanks while Hortensia prepared another spell. However it ended similarly to the previous attacks, Marni bashed Rosado away with her shield and repulsed Goldmary with her axe, the defense left Marni open to attack by Hortensia, but again the lightning barely registered against the armor.

However once again Marni proved far too slow to be able to press on her successful defense, her three opponents would strike her, fail, and then move away before Marni could counter.

The battle went on like this, the three were unable to deal real damage to Marni. But Marni was unable to take the initiative and was forced on the defensive, “Grr,… now would be a nice time to have an Emblem.” Marni thought to herself.

Seemingly having read her thoughts, Hortensia raised her hand, “Emblem Engage!” Emblem Byleth appeared behind Hortensia and merged into her while she was enveloped in a blinding light.

Once the light dissipated Marni saw how Hortensia changed, her hair turned bright purple and her cloths shifted into a white academy outfit with purple accents. Behind her were disconnected gold and light-blue ethereal wings.

She floated downward to Goldmary and Rosado and began to spin in a dance-like motion, “Allow me to demonstrate!” Energy radiated from Hortensia which began to shine off both Goldmary and Rosado.

Both retainers, now fueled by the Emblems power rushed at Marni. Once again Marni managed to push them back immediately, however both were now capable of immediately able to strike back again, seemingly not being slowed down at all.

Marni was still capable blocking, but she was starting to get exhausted. She would repulse the two attackers, and then they would immediately attack again. She felt herself begin to breathe heavily. They left her no feeling of respite.

As Marni was pushed back again and again, she glanced at the battlefield, the Elusian soldiers had all either fled or were dead.

Rosado slammed his axe against her shield again, this time Marni’s strength failed her as she was only barely able to push him away. And in doing so, her shield was lowered enough that Goldmary dashed forward in another strike right at Marni’s face, a strike that Marni was too exhausted to parry or block.

Marni closed her eyes right as the blade was about to reach her neck, however as she did Marni heard a scream of pain followed by a scent of flames. Opening her eyes she saw that Goldmary had been launched into a nearby cliff.

Rosado looked around, only for another precise blast of fire to hit him square in the chest and send him to the ground. Both Hortensia and Marni looked to where the fire came from to see Mauvier atop his white horse, with his couched flame lance.

“… Grrr…” Hortensia manifested a bony lance and flew straight at Mauvier in a rage. However Mauvier almost immediately proved the superior lancer, he dodged Hortensia’s thrust with ease, as if he saw the fast attack as predictable. As he did he brought up his fiery lance pointed it to Hortensia’s side, letting loose a burst of flames that shot her across the shore into another cliff-wall. The Elusian Princess was knocked out cold as she disengaged.

Mauvier turned to Marni, who was still struggling to breathe, “We are leaving… We can no longer stay here.”

“But this is our chance Mauvier! Think about how much praise I’ll get if we come back with some Emblem Rings!” She retorted, she couldn’t believe that Mauvier would choose to let this chance go.

“We are about to be overwhelmed, there is no chance for us to win this. It is best to cut our losses here.” He said.

Marni was about to continue to argue before she spotted a cavalier charge from behind Mauvier, “M-Mauvier behind you!”

Almost immediately Mauvier steered his horse behind and used his lance to block to incoming attack…

Alfred : Solmic Coast

Alfred had a hint of frustration that his surprise attack against the Hound had failed. He managed to move away before he could be counterattacked.

Soon Alfred and Mauvier began to circle each other. A tide had come in, water covered the hoofs and lower legs of both steeds, neither could charge fully in such conditions.

Alfred took stock of the situation, one last push would be needed to force away the Elusian army. Afterwards nothing would stop them from entering Firene. And if he could kill the two Hounds right here, then that would be a major blow to any invasion. With Veyle out of the picture it would only be Zephia, Griss, and the Elusian army itself that would pose threats.

“So I would assume that you now have the Emblem Ring?” Mauvier calmly said to Alfred. He continued to circle in the water.

Alfred didn’t know how to respond to that, they didn’t have the ring, but he had no reason to confirm that, “Hmph… And if we do?”

“It is my duty to make sure that those rings are collected by the Grand Fell Dragon.” Mauvier answered.

“Right… You Hounds need to continue to blindly serve your lord.” Alfred could never understand why any would choose to follow Sombron, although perhaps he now sympathized more with those that followed fell dragons in general.

“Lady actually,..” Mauvier muttered under his breath.

“What?...” Alfred wasn’t sure if he heard Mauvier right.

Mauvier shook his head, “Forget it…. Where is the Divine Dragon? She has yet to make an appearance.”

Alfred was again unsure how to answer that, “…..” He decided that silence was the best course of action.

“You choose to keep your lips sealed…” Mauvier had a brief look of concern, although Alfred couldn’t fathom why.

“Hmph” Alfred began to watch as the tide began to lower, soon he could resume his attack.

Right as the tide fell, Alfred prepared to strike. However Mauvier proved far faster, he dragged his flame lance behind him, and charged before turning and loosing the built-up flames right at Alfred.

Alfred quickly canceled his attack and moved to try and brush off the flames. He was only partially successful, the flames hit him and his horse, he was only barely able to keep his steed calm as cinders covered both him and the horse.

The flames were surprisingly weak, however sand was picked up in the gust of flames, adding sandy cinders to his skin and eyes. This badly sent Alfred off his balance, as well as making it difficult for him to see properly.

“Marni, it’s time to go!” Mauvier yelled to her.

“But-“

“No buts, we have to leave now!” Mauvier looked at other members of the army begin to approach. Even if Alfred was currently restricted the others were not. Mauvier and Marni were only minutes away from being surrounded.

“Grr,..” Marni looked around and reluctantly turned and made for the ships, she and the remaining Elusians used the coastal rocks to avoid being surrounded. Mauvier meanwhile screened them and protected their retreat.

Alfred recovered from the flames. He was about to charge them before Lucina appeared, “Alfred stop.”

He turned to the ethereal Emblem, “But now is the time to deal with the two Hounds!” Alfred had chance to deal a decisive blow against his foes.

“By the time we catch up to them they will have reached their ships. There they will be able to set up another defensive line, this time one with more will and backbone. We can continue on to Firene with no further hinderance. But if we charge them we risk unnecessary casualties, and it will further exhaust us and take away valuable time.” Lucina explained.

The argument had merit. Alfred took a breath, calming his battlefield bloodlust, “… Okay…” he lowered his lance and turned to his approaching allies.

Diamant walked up to him, “Prince Alfred, are you okay?”

Alfred was still a bit burnt, but otherwise was okay, “I’m fine. How is everyone else, and when can we move out again?”

“There were no casualties, although there have been some minor injuries, nothing that can’t be healed with a staff though.  Everyone is still gathering. I think we will be able to move on within ten minutes.” Diamant answered.

Alfred nodded, “… Alright… Thank you,.. Prince Diamant,.. for helping me.”

“Of course, I am here to fight for Elyos. I understand…” Diamant said.

Alfred again nodded before looking off at the horizon, the sun was beginning to go down, it would be night in an hour or two. He looked around at the gathering army, they were starting to reorganize. The Elusians meanwhile pulled back to their ships, as Lucina predicted they had formed a strong line, one more condensed than the one they had faced.

Alfred turned westward. He wondered about both the safety of Firene and Alear. He began to feel helpless as he couldn’t stop himself from counting the seconds, each moment felt precious and yet he could nothing. Even the quick reorganization felt like it took far too long.

He sighed, the weight of his position was beginning to become clear. Alfred looked up and tightened his grip on his lance, he was determined to move on.

Chapter Text

Marni : Elusian Flagship

The day had been one of dread for Marni. It was the day after the one she and Mauvier were at the Solmic coast looking for the lost Emblem Ring and the two treasonous retainers who stole it from under their noses.

After suffering defeat, the two Hounds fled back to the Queen Iris and made their way back to the main armada. Marni was quite glad that Mauvier had the foresight to only detach the  fastest ships for their search flotilla. The main armada was deliberately going at a slow speed so even the slowest ships could keep up and not scatter apart. It meant that they were easily able to catch back up and make up for their lost time.

All throughout the night and morning the flotilla expertly made their way west to the interception point where the two original fleets were meant to join together. And while they did Marni’s stomach turned, she really did not want to have to report their loss of an Emblem Ring to Zephia.

What was worse was the fact that they lost to the Divine Dragon’s army, when the false Divine Dragon wasn’t even there. The fell child never once decided to appear, even despite Marni’s mental preparations, Alear simply did not show up in any form. That posed a great mystery to Marni, from what she heard and seen it would be entirely out of character for Alear to put off battle and let her allies do the work.

So now Marni found herself questioning where Alear was and what was she doing during that battle. Knowing Alear’s true heritage added to the dread even if Marni wasn’t terribly afraid of Alear herself.

Marni shook her head and took a look around. She was in the ship’s cabin, it was nice and all, but still a bit too spartan for her tastes, plus the light rocking of the boat was starting to make her queasy. She decided to go get some sunlight on deck. Plus she wanted to see how Mauvier was doing, although she already had a pretty good idea.

Marni walked up a flight of stairs and found herself on the ship’s deck. The light of day immediately hurt Marni’s eyes, she had gotten used to the dark, but it was still better than the nauseating ship cabin.

She looked around the deck for a moment, sailors moved around preforming their jobs. Turning to the left, Marni was not in the slightest surprised to see Mauvier somberly looking across the sea from the port side.

“Mauvier… What is it this time?” Marni asked as she walked up. This time he looked even deeper in thought than usual.

“… Is this about how the rogue fell kid didn’t show up back there?” It was a question that was gnawing at Marni as well she supposed.

“…” Mauvier stayed silent for a moment before speaking, “That is… part of it yes… Something about her absence doesn’t make sense…”

Marni remembered his connection to Veyle, “Let me guess, you’re sad that Lady Veyle’s big sister is away from her.”

“…” Mauvier sighed. Marni was correct or at least nearly correct with her assessment.

Marni was about to continue when one of the sailors walked, “Lady Marni, Sir Mauvier. We have spotted the main armada on the horizon to the northwest.”

“Order the other ships in this flotilla to break off and join the rest of the fleet. Order this ship to move to Lady Zephia’s flagship.” Mauvier ordered as he continued to look off into the sea.

“Aye.” The sailor turned and left to deliver the order.

Marni took one last look at Mauvier before deciding to leave him to his ocean-watching.

Making her way to the starboard side of the ship, Marni looked out and managed to spot the armada on the horizon as the sailor said. She silently gulped, she really hoped Zephia wouldn’t get mad at her. The past few days already hadn’t been great.

After little over an hour the Queen Iris pulled parallel beside Zephia’s own flagship. A bridge was lowered down to allow for movement between the two ships.

Mauvier turned to a nearby ship officer, “Have the ship form up back in the fleet. I and Lady Marni will remain on this flagship for the remainder of the campaign.”

The officer nodded before leaving, afterwards Marni and Mauvier walked across the bridge. As they did Marni began to look around Zephia’s flagship, the deck was entirely empty with the exception of Zephia looking across the bow of the ship.

With both now fully on the flagship, their ship retracted the bridge and pulled away to join with the rest of the fleet. As it did, Marni and Mauvier walked up behind Zephia who had still not turned to look at them.

“Hey Zephia, we’re back!” Marni cheerfully said to her, she remembered that Zephia would be understanding to her.

Zephia finally turned to them, “Why hello Marni. I’ll admit, I was not expecting for you two to be here before Griss.”

“Griss isn’t here yet? What’s holding him up?” Marni asked, she thought Griss had the easiest job.

“I’m not sure, he was supposed to find Lady Veyle and join with us here, but I have had no sight of either.” Zephia mused before turning to Mauvier, “I heard you two had some trouble with Hortensia’s retainers?”

Marni silently gulped as Mauvier began to calmly explain, “Yes, the two retainers deserted our fleet. But not before stealing one of the Emblem Rings.”

Zephia reaction to that was unreadable for Marni. She just nodded for Mauvier to continue.

“We reached the Solmic coast and began to search for them. However after a couple of hours the Divine Dragon’s army appeared and fought us, as our forces were scattered around we were unable to form a defense and were routed back to our ships.” Mauvier explained, not making any expression while he did.

“I see, and I assume the retainers and the ring are both with Lady Alear now?” Zephia asked.

Mauvier sighed, “The retainers were indeed in the opposing army. We were unable to see the summoned Emblem but it can be safely assumed that they do have it now. However during the battle Lady Alear was nowhere to be seen, all orders seemed to be given out by the Firenese crown prince.”

“I see,.. that is strange, it’s not like her to shy away from battle and leave it to her underlings…” Zephia began to think to herself.

As she did so a lone officer cautiously walked up to the three, “Er, Lady Zephia, we have received word that Sir Griss will be arriving shortly.”

Zephia looked at him, “Fantastic timing, go back to your duties now.” The officer nodded and quickly left the deck to head for the ship hull. After he left Zephia turned back to Marni and Mauvier, “We will continue this conversation when Griss and Lady Veyle get here.”

The three Hounds watched as another ship connected a bridge to the flagship on the starboard side. This ship was far smaller than the massive flagships used by the three previously, the small ship’s bridge needed to be angled at a 45-degree angle for it to reach the flagship’s deck.

Marni saw as Griss walked onto the flagship before giving a disinterested signal for the smaller vessel to retract its bridge and pull back into the fleet away from the flagship.

Not missing a beat, Griss walked up to the other Hounds, “Yeah I’m here…”

Zephia nodded before looking around him, “And where is Lady Veyle? And why were you so late?”

“About that… There were some complications when I went to get her. Long story.” Griss answered.

Both Marni and Zephia raised their eyebrows, Mauvier meanwhile changed his expression to one Marni couldn’t quite place. A mixture of worry, shock, doubt, and a hint of anger, “Explain…” Mauvier said in a tone that matched his face.

“What Mauvier means to say is,.. we have time.” Zephia said as she crossed her arms.

Griss waved his hand, “Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Afterward he stayed silent and began to think, “When I was in Solm I was struggling to track Lady Veyle, but eventually I was led to a run-down fortress in the middle of the desert where I saw Lady Veyle enter. I decided to just keep a watch for a bit, and after a while I start to hear some heated arguing coming from the fort.”

“Arguing? Who was arguing, and what was it about?” Marni asked, this story was starting to get bizarre.

“I couldn’t really make it out, too far away. But I know that the people were the Divine Dragon Fraud and her pals. I’m unsure about what they were arguing about specifically, but I have a pretty good idea since not to long after I hear screaming and see a flash of red light, shortly followed by the same black snake dragon flying out of the fortress while carrying Lady Veyle.” Griss told his story causing the racking of the minds of the other three Hounds as they tried to make sense of it.

“… Huh?” Marni was floored at the story. Meanwhile Mauvier opened his mouth in complete shock and struggled to even respond.

Griss nodded at Marni’s confusion, “Yup. We were planning to manipulate the fraud and her pals in breaking apart. But it looks likes the two-toned freak beat us to it. It seems she decided to tell the truth, both to her friends, and her little sister.”

Zephia made enough sense of the story to begin to question him, “And what happened after? Where did they go?”

“I followed her flight path and made it to a canyon north of the fortress where they fled to. After I found them I decided to observe them for a while. The two walked along a river to supposedly reach the coast, and I remember hearing that they would try to get to Firene.” Griss answered her.

Marni had noticed that Mauvier still had yet to respond, instead it was like he was just staring off into space, the more information given only served to disconnect him further.

“When did you stop following them?” Zephia asked as she began to think.

“Near sunset, I figured that I should report this soon to you guys so I decided to leave. But not before I revealed myself and messed with the snakes for a bit.” Griss explained.

“What did you do?...” Mauvier finally spoke, with some thick scorn as well.

“Eh you know, shot some lightning at the defect to see how fraud would react. She was fast to, jumped in and took the lightning head on.” Griss just waved Mauvier off. Marni had to admit, something about that seemed a bit too jerkish.

“You…” Mauvier approached Griss, seemingly furious, for a minute Marni thought he was about to strike the grinning Griss. Marni had a feeling that was what Griss wanted.

“Enough!” Zephia moved into the middle, “No fighting each other, we’ll save that for the Firenese.” She turned to Mauvier and Marni, “You two said that Lady Alear was nowhere to be seen, I suppose we now have an answer to that.”

“And that’s why the Emblem wasn’t summoned either, those punks must have the lost ring, but without Whatsherface they can’t use it.” Marni said as she put the missing pieces together in her mind.

Zephia nodded at Marni’s theory, “Most likely, we should assume that the Elyosian army has the ring, and that Ladies Veyle and Alear are heading towards or are in Firene.”

“Well then, it seems we have nothing to fear, even if they block us in Florraport they can’t fight us back, because Alear was their best fighter.” Marni said, she was hoping she was going to get praised for this analysis.

Zephia shook her head, “I would agree with that assessment normally, but we have also lost our greatest asset in Lady Veyle. It’s an even loss.”

“Can’t you just turn on Lady Veyle’s alternative personality or whatever?” Marni asked, she thought that was the whole point of the two personalities. She briefly caught a scowl from Mauvier pointed towards her.

Again Zephia shook her head, “It is not something that happens on its own, I would have to be near her to use the spell. And considering how extremely protective Lady Alear is being, it will be a tall order.” She put one of her hands on her head, “I can’t believe Lady Alear would go this far… It’s completely illogical, we couldn’t predict she would do this,.. so I am at a lost on how to confront this… What do you think Mauvier?”

“…” Mauvier turned and left to a different part of the ship, seemingly no longer willing to talk about this.

“Hmph, he could at least be more pleasant about this…” Zephia crossed her arms and scoffed.

“… How do you think Lord Sombron will react?” Marni asked her.

“Indifference I would guess. Although he did invest a lot into Lady Veyle, so I doubt he’ll appreciate Lady Alear robbing her from him. Hmm….” Zephia began to retreat into deep thought.

“So,.. how do proceed?” Griss asked. It was something on Marni’s mind to.

Zephia turned to them, “… For now we will continue the attack, we will focus on gathering the rings and invading Firene. And if you see them, do not engage either Lady Alear or Lady Veyle, beyond necessary,.. especially not Lady Veyle,.. with how Lady Alear is acting, I do think it would prove hazardous to your health,… and besides, I want to observe them both more. If we handle this correctly, it may prove beneficial to us.” She turned around again, spotting Mauvier staring off the ship’s stern, “Hmm… and do keep an eye on Mauvier, he is so attached to the defect that I fear he may do something rash…” Once again Zephia went to thinking and ignoring the world around her.

Griss turned to Marni, “Welp you heard her kiddo, let’s go.”

“Uh right,…” Marni took one last glance at the far away Mauvier, he looked somehow even sadder. Normally Marni would question how that was even possible,.. but right now… she felt bad for him… And she didn’t know why…

Her mind shifted to Veyle, she didn’t know why she and Alear were so connected, in her experience siblings were just the worse,.. but something about their actions… felt new, at least to Marni anyway.

Marni followed Griss away from the ship deck, but while doing so she did somewhat hope Mauvier could be happier,.. and that Veyle would stay safe,.. purple-eyed Veyle was boring, but was nice enough she supposed…

Chapter Text

Alear : Kingdom Of Firene

The area and scenery around the two fell dragons slowly began to change as they moved from Solm and into Firene. The broken-up canyons and ridges flattened into plains with the occasional forest or low-lying hills spotted about. The sandy dunes disappeared and gave way to dry savannahs followed by pure-green grasslands.

The dreadful heat of sun also began to recede, as they shifted from going west to going north, the temperature became far more bearable and mild the further they traveled northward.

 It would be far easier to survive here, with the threat of the sun gone, water far more plentiful thanks to common lakes and rivers, and food easier to find in wild fruits and the wildlife.

The worse seemed to be over, and yet there was still an air of dread within Alear, She had no idea where to go or what to do. Her initial goal of getting to Firene seemed to have no follow up.

She thought about going further west, there were two significant mountain ranges in southwestern Firene surrounded by broken up forests. The whole region was underdeveloped compared to the middle of the kingdom where the vast majority of the population lived. And thereby it would be easy to hide in, and live in.

There were also some islands off the coast, one in particular was a large island that was practically uninhabited due to both being far from Firene’s core, and because most thought that it was haunted. All sorts of rumors abounded from that island, the one Alear heard the most was the idea that otherworldly Emblem Rings could be found there, despite some searching though nothing was ever found. Either way it would be another good hiding spot to avoid human civilization.

But all of this seemed like temporary measures, even if she found the best hiding spot for her and Veyle, neither could ever be truly safe, not with their father still out there. Especially now that they possessed an Emblem Ring.

She looked down at the Ring of the Azure Twins. She had not yet summoned it, instead she just fiddled with the ring. She wondered what Eirika and Ephraim were thinking of her right now, the emblems were sentient whether summoned or not.

However the ring made no noise, if one were to see it without the knowledge of what it was then they would assume it was nothing more than an ordinary, well-made ring. This caused discomfort in Alear, normally the rings would speak if one could hear. But the twins simply decided to remain silent to her.

Alear was left wondering what the two thought, they were aware, they had to be, so what did they currently think of Alear? Hatred? Pity? Fear? Shame? Disdain? All five? Or nothing at all? Alear did not know, so rather than find out, she decided to keep the ring inactive.

There was also a hint of fear of what would happen to Alear if she did attempt to summon the ring. A deep pain and loss of energy befell her when she summoned the previous few rings. She theorized it was due to the loss of divine energy she suffered after first using her dragonstone. And so what would happen after the second loss of divine energy?

She remembered what her hair had looked like when she looked at her reflection in the canyon river. When she first woke up after a thousand years, her hair was evenly split between red and blue, now the blue was only around a third of her hair.

So what pain would she experience if she tried to summon the Emblem now? It had to be greater than before, if she could even do so at all. There was an even deeper fear that she would be incapable of summon via prayer at all, that the Emblem would come out red and lifeless.

She didn’t want to find out, so she didn’t summon the ring.

The two continued onwards in their relative silence, it wasn’t as if neither Alear or Veyle didn’t have anything to say. Rather, they just didn’t know how to say it, or where to start, what they had to say had no beginnings or ends, it just was, and therefore it was difficult for both to speak to each other. So they continued as they attempted to organize their thoughts for one another.

Trees began to become more and more common, the roads started to be more maintained. And in the distance towns and villages were more often spotted by the two.

Alear especially took note of some of the town, very few were completely fine, most had some form of damage or repaired damage, and a few were outright destroyed, little more than ruins of what were once quiet hamlets.

Alear guessed this was due to the corrupted and their initial rampage at the start of all this. While the threat subsided at the moment, most of Firene’s resources were likely going to the war effort. Little remained for the countless and often nameless settlements, they were left to rot, not out of malice, but necessity.

“Stay unseen from those villages Veyle…” Alear said to her sister without turning to look at her. It would be best if the two remained at a healthy distance.

“But… Why?” Veyle asked her, confusion in her voice.

Alear briefly glanced at her, “… Many of these places were attacked by corrupted recently,… some people may mistake you,.. for the other if they saw… her…”

Veyle immediately knew what Alear meant, “O-Okay…” She found no further words to speak with, allowing for silence to resume it’s rein in the space between the two dragons.

Eventually in the distance the sun was starting to go down, Alear began to look around the area before spotting a small, forested hill to the right of them and away from the villages, “Veyle, we can make camp now… Over there will work.”

Veyle nodded, clearly tired from walking all day. The two made their way away from the road and towards the hillside.

Once there Veyle found a smooth patch of grass next to a tree and sat down on it. Meanwhile Alear began to scout the area around the hill.

The forested hill was fairly large, and it was a good distance away from any settlement. So Alear was confident it was a good place to rest for a while. Still though, this season tended to be filled with storms, it would be good for them to find better shelter for when those storms started.

Alear found a particular elevated part of the hill that faced the east, from there she had a decent view of the Firenese coast, right now it was empty, but Alear was still on edge, she did not know the destination of those Elusian ships. Judging by the winds, if they were heading for Firene, then they could be here as soon as tomorrow.

She also glanced a bit to the northeast, she was barely able to make out Florraport in the distance, if there was a place for the Elusians to make landfall, then that was it.

It was all the more reason to move on to somewhere safer. Once satisfied Alear turned around and headed back to where Veyle was resting.

When she returned Alear spotted a small pile of twigs and wood that Veyle had made, “Oh Alear, I am trying to make a fire.” She said with a light smile.

Alear nodded and knelt down before grabbing some stronger sticks, “Here, let me help-“

“No it’s fine, I got this.” Veyle created a small flame on her finger before igniting the pile of sticks to create a small campfire. A proud look etched itself onto Veyle’s face at the sight of her success.

Alear nodded and placed her two sticks into the fire. A small feeling of shame came into her mind, although one she couldn’t quite place, she quickly suppressed it though.

She did have to admit a feeling of jealously though, both her and Veyle were half mage dragon even if their mothers were different. But Alear took almost entirely from her father, the mage genes simply didn’t have a real effect on her she supposed. For all intents and purposes, she was a pure fell dragon.

In contrast Veyle was more mage than fell, her lack of the signature red eyes being the most obvious missing trait. She was still plenty fell dragon, but her mixed ancestry was more impactful than with the mere technicality as it was with Alear.

These stronger mage traits allowed for Veyle to be very proficient with anima-style magic, but she was also still fell enough to be very capable with dark magic.

Meanwhile all Alear could do was use dark magic, although then again she couldn’t even do that as of late. It all left Alear feeling a bit useless at the moment.

“What’s the matter Alear?” Veyle tilted her head as she looked at Alear.

Alear shook her head, “It’s… nothing, don’t worry.”

Veyle clearly didn’t believe that, “…No it’s not… Your thinking about something aren’t you?”

“And what would give you that impression?” Alear asked as she looked away.

“Well, whenever you are thinking about things you don’t want to share you get all mopey, plus you’re not making eye contact with me right now.” Veyle explained with worry, “You don’t have to bottle everything up, I’ll listen to whatever you have to say.”

“…” Alear sighed, part of her hated how well Veyle could see through her, and yet another, deeper part of her was thankful that she was able to, “… It is something I rather keep to myself… And it’s not important…”

Veyle frowned but nodded, seemingly understanding Alear’s reluctance, even if she didn’t agree with it. She looked upwards at the night sky, there was a new moon, making it so that it was all dark now, the fire being the only source of light besides the dim stars.

Veyle looked back down at Alear, “Sister,.. back there, on the desert coast I mean, you said you would tell me about that person, the one you saw as a mother…”

Alear gulped and nodded slowly, she supposed she did promise to tell Veyle when they were safer, “I… Yes… Where to start….” Alear began to think on where to even start.

“Well,.. how about you just tell me a bit about her, you don’t have to tell me everything right now.” Veyle said as a smile formed on her face.

Alear nodded, that was something she could do, “Well let’s see,.. her name was Lumera,.. she was the Divine Dragon Queen. She took me in after I left and started to treat me as a daughter.”

“What was she like?” Veyle asked her with a smile.

Alear began to think about what to say, “Well… She was very kind and beautiful, but also very strong. She would often walk around the Lythian cities, ports, townships, and even small hamlets incognito. Just so that she could understand what the citizens of Lythos were going through at that time.”

“She sounds like a great person, what did you two do together?” Veyle asked as she rubbed her hands next to the fire for warmth.

Alear continued to think, she felt some ease as she discussed this with Veyle, “Hmm… Well she tried to teach me how to play some different instruments,… she liked music a lot.”

Veyle smiled at Alear’s growing comfort, “Well, what instruments did you learn?”

“Let’s see,.. flutes, violins, a harp once,.. a flamenco-guitar one time as well, I liked the sounds of the guitar but I couldn't really get a handle on how to play it,… which is true of every instrument I tried,…” Alear frowned, she wanted to learn those instruments, but none felt right, and she felt a deep inability to play them at all.

Veyle tilted her head, “You couldn’t play them well?”

Alear nodded, “I just could never get the hang of them, I understood the instructions,.. but it always felt out of my grasp,.. although I did make progress on the piano.” The piano was the only instrument that Alear really felt like she could play.

“You can play the piano well?” Veyle began to smile at her.

Alear felt some nervousness at that ‘well’ was a strong word for what she was capable of on the piano, “I… I wouldn’t say that I could play it well…”

“But you can play it, and that’s more than I can say,.. I think that’s pretty amazing.” Veyle said with cheer.

Alear thought for a moment, she could play the piano yes, but she was limited in what she could do, anything but the simplest music was impossible for her…

“Um Alear, if we find a piano somewhere, can you play it for me?” Veyle asked her with a hopeful smile.

“Err… it’s not likely that we will find one that we can use…” There was one in her room in the Somniel, but without the Atlas she can’t access the Somniel to begin with.

“Well if we do, can you play it for me?” Veyle continued to ask.

“Well I mean I could, but I’m only able to play rudimentary songs with it…” Alear responded.

Veyle proved unfazed by Alear’s downplaying, “I don’t mind how simple it is, I just care that it comes from you.”

Alear finally relented to her, “… Alright… If we have time and have access to one,.. I’ll play for you…” Alear allowed herself to smile this time.

“Yay!” Veyle broke out into sheer enthusiasm at Alear’s agreement, despite the fact that they weren’t even likely to find a piano they could use. They were basically fugitives at this point and pianos were something that only the very wealthy really had any access to. And of course there were far bigger priorities for the two of them.

“And think, after this, you can learn how to get better at it! And maybe you could even teach me how to play as well.” Veyle began to scoot closer to Alear, getting more and more upbeat as she did so.

“Um-I,.. well… I guess I could yeah…” Alear began to sputter, this was making Veyle so happy that Alear didn’t want to shoot her idea down.

Veyle was now right next to Alear with a smile, “I hope so…” She began to calm, clearly she was tired, “Well I’m glad that you shared this with me, you look much happier when you did,.. please tell me more stories about you and your adoptive mother more later. I’d love to hear more.” Veyle rested her head on Alear’s stomach, basically using it as a pillow, not that Alear minded.

Alear nodded, receiving a smile from Veyle as she drifted off into slumber. Now all was silent around Alear, aside from her own thoughts, and the crackling of the fire next to her.

She began to think more about the piano, she so wanted to learn an instrument, and the piano was the last one Lumera began to teach her. She had made good progress in learning it. But then she went back into fighting.

She remembered that Lumera had promised to teach her more after her father was dead, however that promise failed to be met when Alear perished the day after. And now her mother could no longer help teach her… Alear looked down at Veyle to make sure she was asleep, once confirming for a moment she let out a few tears for the memory.

Again she looked down at Veyle and began to think with teary eyes. She had failed utterly at keeping the promise she made to her mother for Veyle. But when looking at the snoozing and peaceful Veyle, laying on her as a sign of trust and affection… Alear felt like she made the right choice.

But then she thought of her mother, and all the broken promises. All the memories and kindness given to her… Then suddenly she felt like she made the wrong choice, or at least the stupid choice.

Defeated by her own mind, Alear slumped against the tree she was laying on and started to drift off. She was tired, both literally and metaphorically. She knew she needed to sleep, she hadn’t since the canyon. But she knew she would suffer another awful nightmare. Those nightmares often came at random, but when in extreme doubt and confusion like she was now… It was a surefire thing.

She took one last look at the sleeping Veyle. Her soft snoring calming Alear’s nerves ever so slighting. And afterwards Alear closed her eyes, drifted off, and awaited whatever foul thing her mind had in store for her tonight.

Alfred : Kingdom Of Firene

The Elyosian army had been marching practically nonstop, only taking a few breaks and the occasional 4-hour sleep to ward off exhaustion.

Still though, even despite going as fast they possibly could, Alfred felt like it still wasn’t enough. A feeling that they would be too late, and that people, his people, would suffer for their lateness that they could not control any further.

It was a disheartening feeling, one that made him feel the weight of his position more than he ever had. Command of a few knights and some militia to round of up some troublesome bandits could never hope to compare to the stakes and responsibility of this.

“Alfred?...”

Alfred turned to see Céline talking to him, “Er… Yeah Céline?”

“You’ve been looking down,... you’re worried aren’t you?” She said, clearly down herself.

Alfred nodded slightly, “I am… It’s just so… stressful…”

“I understand… I feel the same way…” She responded as she closed her eyes.

Alfred thought for a moment as he looked as his sister, “Céline,.. may I ask you something?”

Céline at curiously, “What do you wish to know?”

Alfred looked around for moment to confirm no one else was listening to them, “Why,.. why do you resort to brutality on the battlefield?”

Céline thought for a moment, “… You wish for my reason so you can better understand Alear’s reason…”

She read him like a book, although he also did wish to understand her as well. But something about Alear’s and Céline’s battlefield brutality felt,.. unique to Alfred.

Céline noticed Alfred thinking and concluded she was correct, “Well I cannot speak for her… But in my mind it is a way to end something quickly and efficiently, along with warding off future troubles by example.”

“But don’t you think it’s all a bit… immoral?” He asked, he couldn’t ever comprehend why Céline often chooses the most savage way of winning.

She shook her head, “Morality has no place in war, only practicality. When we use morals in conflict we do so because it serves a purpose, usually to assure that the same does not happen to us. But if breaking those unspoken rules has benefits that outweigh the downsides… then it is one’s responsibility to put aside their morals…”

“But what about our decency and honor… Isn’t that too important to just throw away? Just because we are against them doesn’t mean the Elusians are evil.” Alfred said, for once he was paying attention to what went on in Céline’s head, and he didn’t know what to think.

“Oh Alfred… Of course most of the Elusians aren’t evil, most are decent people I imagine… But that’s not what matters. What matters to us is the war. And in war,.. and this is something Alear would tell you as well,… in war you fight to win.” Céline said with a determined yet cold look.

“But-“

“Honor is a made-up excuse for those who aren’t intelligent enough to think outside the box. We think of grand armored knights as the pinnacle of romantic warfare,… but a bodkin arrow and some mud tends to break that image in a most unglamorous way, so rather than adapt those knights will proclaim such as ‘unfair’ and ‘cowardly’… as if their opinion matters in the face of the far-off archer who had just proved martially superior.” Celine explained unchangingly.

“Okay… I get that view, but is it necessary to really use barbaric actions?” Alfred asked her. He began to think of the man she burned alive at the start of all this.

“Define barbarism.” She plainly asked.

The answered seemed obvious to Alfred, “Well barbarism is unnecessary brutality and savagery.”

She looked at him, “And what is brutality and savagery? And what measure is unnecessary?”

“…” Alfred began to struggle at that.

Céline didn’t wait for him to find an answer, “You see Alfred, all these terms are subjective from person to person. One’s experiences in life will alter one perception of life in a way that is not matched elsewhere, there will be similarities, but never exactly so.”

“But… didn’t we have similar lives,.. how can you have ended so different from me?” He asked, still struggling to make sense of this.

“On the base level yes, our lives have been similar… but perception of the same events… can be very different.” Celine looked away, seemingly unsure or nervous for the first time this conversation.

Alfred raised his eyebrow, “What… do you mean?”

Céline shook her head, “It’s… unimportant… I’d rather not say…”

Alfred realized there was something there, but he realized he wasn’t getting farther, “Okay then… But I still think we should keep ahold of our morals and values in war, lest we become the same as our enemies…”

Céline looked back at him, “Our enemies plan on killing untold amounts of innocents Alfred… I hardly think my use of fire against active combatants is remotely comparable…”

“I… Well I suppose that’s true… but I want to keep this war just… that’s all…” He said, feeling small as he did so.

“… Alfred let me tell you something, there is no such thing as a ‘just war’ war is in of itself an awful and horrible thing that cannot be just or civilized. There are however just reasons to fight a war…” She said, again with not a shred of emotion.

Alfred thought for a moment, and failed to respond.

Céline noticed that he was struggling so she continued, “War is inherently an awful and irredeemable thing,… and therefor it is best that we do not pretend it is anything else besides an awful and irredeemable thing. So it is best to wage as brutally and quickly as possible. After all what would you rather have, a month-long war of sheer misery and hell complete with every awful thing you could imagine, or a 20-year long slog that follows every rule we made up in our heads?” She looked to the sky and began to stare at the flowing clouds, “I know what I would choose, so what would you choose?”

“… I-“

“You don’t need to answer it now,.. or ever really… After all perhaps I am wrong about this all, and I am just a monster justifying my evil to myself…” Céline closed her eyes, she didn’t show it, but Alfred knew she was hurting.

“Céline I-“ Alfred didn’t know what to say. He himself was to confused to ever truly comprehend this.

The two walked in silence for a minute, the weight of their conversation on their mind, “Céline,.. I think that-“

“Prince Alfred! Princess Céline!” Both looked above to see Chloe flying to them as fast as she could.

Céline walked up to her quickly, “Chloe what is it?” neither knew what had her in such a worry.

“Huh… Huh…” She seemed out of breath, “To the north,… I spotted the Elusian Armada…”

Both quickly understood the severity, “What where!?”

“Off the coast near Florraport. They are still at sea,.. but they will make landfall soon…” She reported.

Both nodded as the rest of the army heard the situation, Alfred turned to Céline, “Céline I-“

“No Alfred,.. in times like this, you just have to take action, put your doubts asides, there is no more time for words.” She said as she began to move forward.

Alfred nodded, he didn’t understand everything, but he understood well enough for this, “Let’s go!” He yelled to the army behind him, receiving nods and confirmation as he did.

Turning back ahead Alfred began to move forward as well.

Alear : Kingdom Of Firene

Alear stirred in her sleep, feeling fear and pleasure in equal parts as the products of her detailed nightmares.

It went the same as always did, she started as the most honorable and divine version of herself before things would deteriorate. She would find herself the cause, and she would bend to a foul and monstrous other self that took joy in the suffering and misery around her.

Someone’s whose face Alear could not care to recognize fell onto the ground and looked at the red-haired fell child with deep fear as they tried push himself to get away from her, “P-Ple-“

Alear didn’t bother to let them finish, rather she just slashed her blade into their throat, blood was thrown everywhere as the wound was ripped into the neck. As some of the droplets hit Alear face she smelled the delightful scent of spilled blood. Proof of her superiority over an inferior bug.

Looking down at the fresh corpse, Alear tilted her head and squinted her eyes. The eyes had once again disappeared into bloody pool. But more than that, no matter how hard she tried, she could not make out who the corpse was, the moment she recognized some features, it was as if they shifted to something else entirely.

It was then that the world blurred around her, she paid little mind to the collapse of reality around, she didn’t even notice it really. But then she failed to think at all as the world went black.

The black void was replaced by a white emptiness and soon Alear opened her eyes to be greeted by the flowing trees and the rising sun. It was now the early morning.

Alear began to make sense of her surroundings as her dream-like sadism retreated to the deep corner of her mind. Looking down she noticed that Veyle was still very much asleep.

She looked like the complete opposite of Alear in this moment, quietly snoring as she laid on Alear peacefully. She was either having a good dream, or was dreaming about nothing at all. Alear did not wish to wake her so she laid back against the tree and just waited for Veyle to awaken.

As she slumped against the tree, Alear began to look around, the sun had not yet fully risen thus leaving the sky a murky blue. The fire had died out, the pile of sticks now being a burnt stack of charcoal.

Alear began to stir on her dream, what had they meant? Or was she mistaken for thinking they meant anything at all? Perhaps it was just a subconscious reflection of an aspect of herself she chose not to acknowledge. It would explain the lingering sadism she felt in the moments after waking up.

She continued to ruminate on the dream before she felt Veyle began to stir awake. Her snoring had stopped and she began to struggle to open her eyes. Finally after about a minute she fully opened her eyes, “S-Sister….”

“Good morning….” Alear said softly to her.

“Go-Good morning” Veyle said back with a smile, “What time is it?”

“I don’t know, but the sun hasn’t fully risen so it’s sometime in the early morning.” Alear answered.

“Uh-huh… So… what now?” Veyle asked.

“I… don’t know… perhaps we could look around some more before deciding on a new destination.” Alear suggested as she began to look around.

Veyle smiled at that, “Heh… You know, this was basically what I was doing before you revealed yourself. It’s just that now you’re here with me.”

Alear shared Veyle’s smile at that and nodded.

After a minute or two Veyle finally woke up enough to pull herself off of Alear, who was silently grateful that she could now stretch fully without disturbing her sister. With Veyle now standing up, Alear also got up from laying on the tree.

“Where should we start looking?” Veyle asked as Alear got up.

“We don’t really need to look around anywhere specific. I guess we could just walk around the forest, maybe find a spring or river and something to eat.” Alear answered as she began to observe her surroundings. Knowing this forest would likely help them a lot over the next few days.

“Okay then.” Veyle simply said as the two began to explore the area together.

It was noontime now as the two dragons continued to explore the forest, there wasn’t much interesting to see, but Alear was making a mental map of the area that could come in handy later. Plus it was nice to explore with Veyle, who seemed endlessly happy at all the things found in the forest.

“Ahh, look at that family of birds, it looks like the babies are going to leave soon…” Veyle pointed out at a nearby nest on a tree.

Alear looked at the nest and nodded, there was a large bird and several smaller ones sitting in a nest around each other. Judging by the smaller ones’ size, it was likely they would leave the nest in a few weeks or so.

“Aren’t they so cute?” Veyle asked her.

Alear nodded, “Mm-hmm” Alear had to admit, it was nice to see Veyle so happy at such a simple thing, it made the world feel a little less crushing, if only but for a moment.

So far they had largely found they were looking, the forest did grow plenty of fruit and had significant game to be caught if necessary, and they had found plenty of water sources. If they needed to hide for bit without moving around, then this would be the best area to do so in this part of Firene.

Still though, Alear wanted to go west for the time being, the farther they were from the kingdom’s core and the war the better.

As she thought to herself Veyle had moved on from her sight. As soon as Alear noticed this she turned to see Veyle looking out over the cliff facing the sea. Alear quickly sped-walked over to her.

Getting closer, Alear saw that Veyle’s once carefree expression had disappeared into one of shock as she stared at the sea. “…Veyle?”

Wordlessly Veyle pointed out towards the sea, following the direction Alear too fell into a state of shock, in the distance the Elusian Armada had arrived. Judging by the direction of the wind, then she was correct in her earlier assessment that they would land in Florraport.

Alear looked down at Veyle with a serious look in her face, “Veyle we need to go now.”

Veyle turned to her with disbelief, “B-But if we go now, th-then those people in the t-town-“

“There isn’t anything we can do for them.” Alear interrupted.

“But we can’t just leave them!” Veyle angrily retorted, catching Alear off-guard, not expecting for Veyle to act that aggressively.

“B-But-“

“The ships won’t land for a while, we have time to get there.” Veyle almost immediately went back to more calm tone, even if she was still being uncharacteristically forceful, “I thought you were heroic, so why don’t you want to help those innocent people?

Alear felt a deal of shame at that question, she just wanted Veyle to be safe, “…It’s just that-“

Veyle interrupted her again, “It’s just nothing!” Veyle looked like she was about to continue but instead just looked at Alear.

Alear felt the weight of Veyle’s stare, and she supposed she was right, “… Fine… We can go and warn people and help people get out of the city,.. but we will leave the moment the ships are about to land, and you’ll stay next to me the entire time. I can’t promise everyone will get out… But at least some will.”

Veyle nodded, “Okay that works… I just want to do something, not just sit around, or run away.” She looked to the ground with a sour look on her face.

Alear sighed, , “Alright lets go, time is not on our side here… But first…” She pulled the Emblem Ring out of her pocket, causing Veyle to observe her, “… Restore Calm, Emblem of the Sacred!”

For a brief second as the ring began to radiant its light, Alear felt no pain or disturbance at all, as if she would escape the recent distress caused by summoning the Emblems.

But that assumption was almost immediately proven wrong, as the light began to glow more Alear was beset by a wave of invisible pain across her body.

Veyle ran to her in a panic, “A-Alear! What’s Wrong?!” It was as if invisible lightning was striking her from every direction and searing her body in flames that did not exist. Veyle tried to help, but her face dropped as there was nothing she could do.

Alear poured more and more of her energy into the summoning, hoping to just get the Emblem summoned quickly. But for whatever reason it would not finish, instead the light lingered and the pain persisted and grew.

Veyle looked up and down, trying to figure out how to help, “Ah… Drop it! Drop the ring!”

“I-I… c-…c-ca-can’t….” Alear was barely able to think through the pain, and speaking proved next to impossible. But she knew that without this Emblem, then their chances of survival in Florraport would be considerably lowered.

“S-Sister just drop it! Please!” Veyle tried to grab the ring from Alear’s hand, but the overwhelming light made that impossible for her.

Alear herself was realizing that the Emblem wasn’t going to summon like this, she was about to just give up and let go of the prayer, and just summon Eirika and Ephraim red and lifeless. And yet she hated that option, to do that would feel like giving up fully. But Alear needed their power for her and more importantly Veyle’s survival.

An image of a conversation between her and her mother flashed before Alear’s eyes, the lingering image of her mother’s warm smile drawing all her attention.

“When you summoned Marth, how did you summon him?”

“I used the invocation, ‘Shine on, Emblem of Beginnings’ but instead of appearing red and without free will, he was his natural colors and could speak and everything.”

“I see, and when you used the invocation what was it that you were thinking of?”

“I wanted to save Clanne and Framme and felt that summoning Marth was the only option that I had.”

“When you summon an emblem keep thoughts like that close and the emblem will appear as they should.”

The pain had disappeared as the memory came into mind, but as it played its course, the pain resumed its endless onslaught. But now Alear knew what she could do.

She turned to see the still panicking Veyle, still trying to reach into the blinding light to remove the ring. Alear began to focus her mind onto her little sister, and prayed in her mind. Prayed that she would be safe. Prayed that she would be happy. Prayed that Alear would not lose her again. And she prayed that the Emblem could help her.

The pain slowly retracted, as did the light briefly before bursting into a completely totally enveloping one that dissipated almost immediately after.

The sudden increase in light caused both fell children to recoil away, Alear collapsed onto one knee and began to breathe heavily, relieved that the overwhelming pain was over.

Looking over to where the light was, two figures now floated. A blue-haired female in light-red armor, and a man in medium blue and grey armor, also blue-haired. Memories and knowledge rushed into Alear’s mind, these two were unique among emblems, two individuals sharing one ring.

The Female floated over to the still dazed Alear, “Alear…” She looked deeply worried for the fell dragon, “Are… Are you okay?”

Alear nodded, the pain was only illusory, there were no marks or physical scars, “I-I fine… Just dazed from the pain…”

Eirika smiled at her, even if her eyes showed that she still believed Alear needed some rest and help, “… Can you speak?”

Alear held up her hand, as the seconds went by she felt more balanced, “… Just a moment…… Okay… now I can.” She put her hand down, “… I suppose you know everything you need to?”

Ephraim also now floated over to her while Veyle walked over as well, “Not everything no.” Ephraim shook his head and glanced at Veyle and then Alear’s hair, “We have been in the dark since we were taken from Lythos… It was only when that girl Goldmary found us did we achieve enough conscious to take not of our surroundings.

“Alear… What happened?” Eirika asked with a worried frown.

Alear thought for a moment, “Things were… revealed,.. and got heated as a result, so I fled.”

Both understood her meaning, “I see…” Eirika looked like she wanted to ask more but stopped herself, “And right now you wanted to go and protect those people?”

Alear nodded, “… I wanted your help for that…”

Eirika smiled at that, “Well then let’s go then.”

 That caused Alear to blink, “… You have no objection? Even though-“

Ephraim shook his head, “For now all you have done is try and protect your sister,..” He glanced briefly at his twin, “… And now you wish to save those townsfolk, I see nothing wrong with that.”

Eirika nodded in agreement, “Yeah, and you even manage to summon us with our wills intact, even going through that pain to do so… I see no reason to go against you now,.. even if I believe you aren’t on the right path at the moment…” Her smile disappeared for a brief moment, replaced by a dark look.

Alear looked away from the two and finally pulled herself up, the phantom pain largely gone although not entirely, “… Alright then…” She looked at the still approaching armada and then to the defenseless port, afterwards she turned to Veyle, “Remember, we go in, we alert everyone we can, and get as many out as we can, but the minute the ships land,.. we evacuate… Understood?”

“Mhm-hmm” Veyle nodded in response.

“And after this… you can explain what happened to us.” Ephraim said sternly.

All in agreement, the now party of four headed for Florraport.

Alear looked forward as the port town came into view, the party had made their way as quickly as possible, and it seemed good that they did so. The townsfolk were in a state of complete and total panic as the hurriedly tried to hide or flee. Meanwhile the town guard and militia had been totally disorganized as they tried to figure out what to do. There did not even seem to be a functioning chain of command to even attempt a response against the incoming vessels, now just off the coast and soon to land.

Alear scanned the ongoing chaos to try and find someone with some form of authority. Her eyes eventually landed on a man giving out orders to nearby guards and militia, she guessed him to be an officer of some kind, “You there!” she yelled as she ran up to him.

He turned to see her, “Huh? Who are you? It’s not saf-“ He looked at Alear up and down before a glimmer of light came into his eyes, “D-Divine One…. Y-you’re you’re here?!”

Alear reluctantly nodded, she supposed she could still use that false image of her, “Not with the rest of my forces I’m afraid. But I can help with the evacuation.”

Before the officer could speak, one of the nearby guards turned to her, “Evacuation?! We can’t! This is our town, we have to fight!”

Alear turned to him, “Don’t be stupid! That is the largest fleet assembled on Elyos since the war a thousand years ago, any resistance is futile, you’ll just die without accomplishing anything.”

The guard was about to retort before the officer raised his hand to stop him, a hard look on his face as he closed his eyes, “… The Divine Dragon is right… We have to focus on getting as many out of the town as possible, and then protecting them afterwards. With the forces we have on hand,… we wouldn’t be able to slow them down… ”

The guard looked down, seemingly having accepted his officer’s and Alear’s words, “… Your right, I’m sorry sir… I’m sorry your grace…”

“Alright I’ll have those under my command go and try a round up as many civilians as possible and get them out of here. What will you do Divine One?” The officer asked.

“I will go to the docks and evacuate anyone down there, and fight off any vanguard forces.” Alear answered before making her way to the harbor, Veyle walking behind her.

“Understood your grace, you have my eternal gratitude.” The officer said before he and the guard left to carry the evacuation.

“Stay close Veyle.” Alear said as she looked forward to the harbor.

“I will.” Veyle responded, nervous yet determined to help.

Soon the two of them made it to the harbor, yelling for still remaining civilians to leave as fast as possible along the way. As they set foot near the docks, Alear saw as the first Elusian ship was about to land likely within the minute, “Veyle, can you disrupt that ship with your magic?”

Veyle looked at the ship briefly, “I-I think so…” She pulled her obscurité tome out and prepared the devasting spell in her palm before unleashing it against the ships side, the upward push of dark magic ripping through the hull and into the deck, tearing into wood and flesh.

The damage was clear as soon as the spell dissipated, the ship began to sink into the shallow waters, forcing other ships to take caution, both to avoid their fellow ship, and whatever fate befell it.

Alear turned to Veyle after the ship started to go down, “Alright lets go, that won’t delay them long.”

Continuing down the harbor the two alerted more and more people to flee the town. Soon they came across a group of people hiding in a port warehouse, “You all need to leave now!”

A woman walked up to Alear, “Bu-But we can’t! This is our home!”

Alear cut the woman off, “There are corrupted on board those ships I am sure, they will massacre you down to the last. Flee and you may reclaim your homes later, dying serves no purpose in the slightest.”

“I… Your right….” The woman turned to the rest, “Come on everyone, we need to go.” The civilians behind her all reluctantly nodding before leaving the warehouse and away from the harbor.

Before the civilians could fully leave however several Elusian soldiers landed on the docks and began to rush at them.

Alear quickly drew her sword and moved in between the soldiers and civilians, “Keep going, and don’t look back!”

The woman looked to and halt, “Will yo-“

“Yes, now go.” Alear said without looking at her. The woman nodded and continued to flee.

“Well looky here boys, we got ourselves a hero, why don’t you run along now girly, we got a city to pillage.” The Elusian soldier in charge said to her as he approached, “Multicolored hair and eyes huh? What kind of freak are you?” The man drew his axe and swung it in an intimidation tactic as he smiled.

Alear didn’t react an inch, rather she held her blade in her hand and just glared at him unblinkingly.

The man’s smile disappeared into a frown, “Someone’s a stoic, well how do you plan to take on twelve soldiers all on your lonesome?”

She didn’t bother responding, the man’s incessant need to gloat served the purpose of allowing the townsfolk more time to flee.  Alear made note of Veyle’s position away from her as she watched the unfolding confrontation.

The man continued to grow frustrated that Alear was not responding to him, “That’s it you’re dead, freak!” He pulled his axe up and charged, followed by his fellow soldiers.

Alear held firm as the soldiers charged her, before they could reach her. However, a pillar of pure darkness shot downward, tearing through her opponents flesh, immediately killing half of them, and wounding the other half.

Turning slightly, Alear nodded at Veyle before looking back at the wounded soldiers and moving towards them with her blade leveled.

The man, once so confident in his position, had a look of pure terror as Alear walked over to him. He was visibly bleeding from Veyle’s attack and did not seem capable of getting off the ground, “AH! Pl-“ Alear cut him off as she plunged her blade into his chest. She gave him no further mind as she moved on to kill the remainder of the landed soldiers, not flinching at their screams of fear and cries for mercy.

After Alear pulled her blade out of the last perished soldiers she breathed for a moment before looking out into the ship infested coast, more and more ships were beginning to unload the soldiers onboard. Alear turned to Veyle, “We have to go now, there is nothing more we can do.”

Veyle reluctantly nodded, “… Okay…” Both sisters made their ways out of the harbor, already was the area now deserted, both because of theirs’ and earlier evacuation efforts. Still though, Alear couldn’t help but to glance around and to feel terrible for any that had to be left behind in this soon to be burning town. The feeling that her surroundings gave her was the same sense a town that she would order burned a thousand years ago, the fire did not yet exist, but its presence could be felt all the same.

The two turned to head down the main street to leave the city, content in their actions. However that would soon prove more complicated as the sounds of approaching footsteps and the flight of a wyvern from behind would echo in Alear’s ears.

Alear came to a halt and internally sighed, “Of course they would be here…” She turned around to see Zephia’s black wyvern descend behind her, its rider looking at Alear smugly, “Zephia…” Alear practically growled the words, she had come to truly hate the mage dragon.

Zephia smiled at her, “Oh why hello Lady Alear, I didn’t expect to see you here, I see you’re reunited with Lady Veyle.”

Veyle had also turned around to see their new pursuer, “Zephia… Why are you here, why do this?”

“Oh Lady Veyle, this is all just business, you understand don’t you?” Zephia responded with a false kindness.

The other three Hounds now also came into view from behind Zephia, Marni and Griss on foot, and Mauvier on his white steed. Zephia briefly glanced at them before turning back to Alear, “Now then, on to the matter at hand-“

“Do spare me the trash that comes out of your mouth. What do you want?” Alear interrupted.

“Hmph,.. how rude… And here I was hoping for a nice and productive chat with you Lady Alear… But if you must know, we were just passing by, and to my joy, you two just happened to be here.” Zephia dismounted her wyvern, and elegantly dropped down to the street, walking ever so slightly towards Alear, “Come now Lady Alear, perhaps you and your dear sister ought to come home now, Don’t you think?”

Alear leveled her blade up and stayed silent, Eirika and Ephraim appeared to the left of her, weapons draw.

Zephia had brief moment of shock at the sight of the Emblem, “Oh? I see you managed to get a hold of the Azure Twins, how quaint, I haven’t seen them summoned since Lady Nel had them…”

The fire of Alear’s anger grew in intensity at the mention of her sister, “… Say that name again and I’ll rip your tongue out…” Her words were restrained yet also venomous and harsh.

Zephia closed her eyes and let out a huff of feigned sadness, “… Oh yes, you and Nel were also close… I do apologize if I upset you, but do understand I only want is best for you and Lady Veyle-“

“Liar!” Both Alear and the Hounds turned in shock to see Veyle’s outburst, “You tried to brainwash me and create some other person in my mind and have her do awful things! How is that best for me?!”

“Lady Veyle…” Mauvier looked down, his face showing complete shame in himself.

“Was it all a lie?! All of you? You were all just using me, and now you want to continue that don’t you?” Veyle screamed, tears beginning to fall, “… Even you,.. Mauvier,.. you were just using me too…”

“I...” Mauvier failed to speak or respond to her, a hidden pain striking him from Veyle’s words and rage.

Zephia meanwhile just gave a loose smirk that quickly disappeared into a facade of sympathy, “Oh come now Lady Veyle, I was just doing what was best for you and your father. He always wished for a child to meet his expectations, and I saw an opportunity to finally give him one.”

“Yeah and the other Lady Veyle is way less boring any way.” Griss stated, looking quite bored.

Marni however just looked at Zephia, and then Veyle and then Mauvier. Her expression having some measure of doubt.

Alear took a breath to restrain her growing rage. Plumes of smoke began to rise in other parts of the town, the torching had begun as the scent of flames made themselves known to Alear.

“…. I see now why my sister called you and Father all evil…” Veyle stated more to herself than anything.

“Evil? Now don’t you think that isn’t a nice thing to say Lady Veyle? I was always kind to you wasn’t I?” Zephia said to her, again with a faked expression of hurt.

Veyle looked at her directly, “No, I was always alone when I awoke, I see that now… But now I found my sister, so I don’t have to be alone again!”

“Veyle…” Alear looked over to her hurting sister.

Mauvier fell into further shame, to the point of despondence, the new disdain from Veyle hurting him beyond anyone else would truly know.

Meanwhile Zephia dropped her façade and looked at Veyle with condescension, “Hmph,.. well now, I do hope you know I am obligated to return you to sleep. Do cooperate now pl-“

Alear pulled her dragonstone out and began to draw in fell energy, “Try it and see what happens.”

Zephia briefly held a glimpse of fear in her eyes, “…There is no need for that my Lady… Let’s leave the question of Lady Veyle aside for now.” She composed herself quickly but could not stop occasionally glancing at the stone.

The fell energy stopped swirling on command and Alear pulled back her hand but kept hold of the crimson stone in her left hand while holding her blade steady in her right.

A new silence emerged as the standoff continued, neither side withdrawing, but also not wishing the disadvantage of the offense. The town around them truly falling into flames, Alear could have sworn hearing distant screams, no doubt of those who failed to flee.

Alear’s heartbeat was all she felt as she stared down Zephia, who was looking for some way to regain the initiative and overcome the overwhelming advantage of the dragonstone. The conflict now seemingly receding into the internal thoughts of Alear and Zephia.

Suddenly however, a new variable made itself known, “IN THE NAME OF THE KINGDOM OF FIRENE, WITHDRAW FROM OUR SHORES!”

The two fell children and the opposing Hounds turned to see a wave of approaching soldiers coming to confront them. Immediately Alear recognized her former allies approach, on the surface she was annoyed that they had caught up to her, but there was also a part of her that was relieved to see them, especially the leading Prince Alfred.

As Alfred approached with his lance drawn he turned in shock to see Alear, “Ah!- D-Divine O-One,.. Y-You,.. You’re here…” He briefly looked at Veyle with discomfort who recoiled from the sight.

“… Yes… Yes I am…” Alear turned back to Zephia who was now even more unsure about her situation. She briefly glanced at Ivy and Hortensia who had also walked over. It was then that her confidence returned to her.

Zephia turned to the new arrivals, “Oh why hello, I was not expecting anymore to show up.” Her smile wide and feigning openness and welcoming, “I was just having a friendly chat with Lady Alear and Lady Veyle, aren’t my liege’s daughters just the most adorable Rinkhals around?”

Alfred turned to her, “So you’re the ones behind this!”

“Well obviously we are idiot! But it was Lady Veyle that gave the order so…” Griss said to him quite boredly.

Veyle’s attention was immediately grabbed, “What!? No I didn’t!”

Alear glared at Griss who quickly noticed it and donned a smirk in response, “Oh yeah, before she went nighty-night, Lady Veyle ordered us to go and give Firene a good torching.”

Veyle fell back in disgust of herself, a great shame radiating her that caused her inability to respond.

Alfred and some of the others looked briefly at Veyle in a rage before he cooled off and turned back to the Hounds, “So then, Veyle really was being mind controlled?”

“Mind control is a strong term… All I did was enhance some of her natural fell dragon instincts and set her loose. Mind control implies that I added something that wasn’t already there.” Zephia said innocently.

Alfred turned to Alear, “So Veyle really never did any of that? Why didn’t you just say that when you sided with her?”

Alear shook her head, “I swear she didn’t do anything by her own will. And when I was protecting her from you all… I didn’t understand it myself and thought if I tried to explain it, you would either reject it and attack,.. or she would and flee…”

“Sister…” Veyle said beside her while looking to the ground.

“Divi- Alear… we can discuss everything after this all…” Alfred turned back to Zephia and pointed his lance forward, “I swear you wench, you’ll pay for this atrocity.”

“Hmph, and yet Lady Alear will never pay for her atrocities I presume? After all she did the same thing I am doing now to numerous Brodian cities, including the old capital if I remember right…” Zephia mused.

The Brodians glared at Alear, Diamant stepped slightly forward, “Is that… true?”

Alear didn’t bother meeting their gaze, “… Yes… I was the one who gave the order to raze Eisenalten a thousand years ago…”

The Brodians’ gazes intensified, Alear supposed that was still a touchy subject all these years later.

Before Diamant could respond, Alfred quickly intervened, speaking to the Brodians, Zephia, and Alear all at once while never moving his gaze away from the Hounds, “The difference is that they are burning a city now and do not care to change their ways, please they are trying to divide us.”

Diamant looked at him and then to Alear before turning to Zephia, “… You’re right Prince Alfred,.. we can… discuss this later…” He pulled his sword against Zephia and prepared himself. With varying levels of reluctance the others did the same.

The exception to the group being Hortensia, she had pulled her tome, but she was glaring with barely hidden malice at Veyle and Alear. Goldmary and Rosado were both behind her, looking at her with worry.

Zephia looked at them with amusement, “Hmm, well then… I do suppose it wasn’t going to end any other way… Princess Ivy, Princess Hortensia…”

Both Elusian Princesses turned to the mage dragon with suspicion at their names being called, “What?” Ivy said harshly.

“Heh, I just wanted to show you someone I am sure you will be excited to see again.” Zephia turned and nodded for someone out of view.

Ivy and Hortensia glared at her with confusion and a hint of worry, followed by them and everyone else’s’ shock at the new arrival.

Alear’s eyes widened at the sight of King Hyacinth walking in between the Hounds and towards them. Immediately she sensed some distressing aura coming from him, one that was familiar to her.

Hyacinth’s gaze was focused on his daughters, “Ivy… Hortensia… How wonderful it is to see you two again…”

“F-Father… H-How is th-this p-possible? Y-You d-died…” Ivy began to stutter in shock at the impossible sight. Meanwhile Hortensia was shocked into total silence as she stared with wide eyes.

“It is by the will of Lord Sombron that I stand here… Now please,.. why don’t you two return to me…” He stated, a certain coldness in speech.

Suddenly it clicked in Alear’s mind, “You’re a,… You’re a corrupted…” The aura felt the same, but different to her.

“He’s a corrupted?” Alfred glanced her before turning back to looking at Hyacinth, “But he’s so… lifelike…”

Alear nodded, “You’re right, I’ve never seen a corrupted so,.. undeformed,.. King Morion was the upper echelon of what my father is capable of, and my old siblings were even less advanced… Plus… this one can speak…” She couldn’t help but look at the walking corpse, now that she knew what she was looking at she saw how advanced this was.

“Heh, impressive isn’t it? The best work I’ve ever seen personally. Not even Lord Rafal was anywhere close to this good…” Zephia mused.

Alear turned to her and growled, “What did I say about keeping my brothers’ and sisters’ names out of your mouth?...”

Zephia chuckled at that, “Nothing specific if I remember.” She turned back to corrupted king, “I do apologize, I am still in state of admiration of the handywork.”

Ivy regained some sense, “Why?! Why would you do this?!” She tried to keep her eyes off her father, but failed to stop her eyes from moving to his direction.

“Why, I wasn’t the one who did this…” Zephia responded to Ivy but focused her sight on the still unresponsive Hortensia who failed to take note of the mage dragon, “The creation of corrupted is a skill purely in the domain of the fell dragons, much as I would love it for myself…”

“So this was Sombron then, I swear I will kill that serpent for this…” Ivy had tears running down her face as she struggled to restrain her rage and grief.

“Heh… Oh but what if I told you this wasn’t Lord Sombron… As great as he is, the creation of corrupted this advanced is a skill that he is incapable of…” She turned to Veyle, who sunk back, “No, the honor of this work of art goes to our very own Lady Veyle.” Immediately the everyone’s attention fell onto Veyle, who began to feel the sudden pressure.

“I-I…” Veyle looked at Hyacinth with renewed terror and confusion.

Before anyone could confront her, Alear jumped in to control the situation, “Veyle, are you  really capable of making corrupted that advance?” It was a marvel if she could, a horrific marvel yes, but a marvel nonetheless.

“…” Veyle looked around at the stares she was receiving, no one truly trusted her aside from Alear. The Elusians especially were looking at her with pressure and malice. Hortensia had managed to turn away from the gaze of her father and was now looking at Veyle with pure hate, “… Yes… Yes I am,.. I don’t remember making that corrupted, but maybe the oth- AH!” Suddenly Veyle was struck square in the chest by a powerful lightning strike, slamming her right into the wall of a building before slumping to the ground in pain.

“Veyle!” Immediately Alear rushed to get in between Veyle and the others before looking to see who loosed the spell. Marni and Mauvier were just as shocked, as was Griss to a lesser extent, but Zephia smirked at Alear before jerking her head towards the army crowd.

Looking at the crowd, Alear saw Hortensia holding her tome out in one hand with sparks coming off her other hand. Those around Hortensia had also turned to her in shock.

“… You… little snake! You do these awful things and then play innocent huh?!” Hortensia was crying as she started to yell at Veyle, “Well I’m not falling for it!”

“Hortensia stop!” Ivy quickly tried to intervene.

“NO! I’m killing her right now, to avenge Father!” Hortensia began to charge a second spell.

“Don’t you dare!” Alear yelled at her as she leveled her blade.

“Goldmary! Rosado! Get her out of the way!” Hortensia began to charge the spell further.

Rosado moved to protest, “Bu-“

“Just do it! I’m making Elyos a better place!”

Rosado and Goldmary looked at each other before looking at Alear and reluctantly charging her.

Predictably neither proved any sort of match for Alear. Both attempted to hit her in a pincer attack, only for Alear to quickly catch Goldmary in a sword-lock and sidestep Rosado’s swing with ease.

“Hortensia please stop this!” Ivy cried out desperately, the continue charge of electricity shooting out small bolts and sparks randomly in every direction, effectively creating a static shield all around Hortensia.

Veyle still had not gotten up, still being dazed by the back of her head slamming into the stone so hard.

Alear moved to break the sword-lock with Goldmary, forcing her back through sheer strength, this time she wasn’t going to bother exhausting Goldmary into submission, she neither had the time or room to care if the retainer got hurt or not.

As Alear forced Goldmary back, she sensed Rosado attempt another strike from behind her, suddenly Alear shifted her stance and fell back from the sword-lock, leaving Goldmary off balance and allowing for Alear to again sidestep Rosado.

However this time, as Rosado passed her, Alear reached out and grabbed his wrist, jerking him over to her and twisting it hard, “Ahh!” The twist broke Rosado’s wrist and forced to drop his axe and fall to the ground. He began to clutch his dislocated hand in pain.

At this point the static shield created by Hortensia had taken up the entire center of the street where she was, the others keeping away or standing against the Hounds for the failing security of the group.

Goldmary recovered and centered herself before charging at Alear once more, now on her own, her first two swings Alear easily angled away from, the desperation making both attacks undisciplined.

Alear angled back and swiftly slammed her sword’s hilt against the center of Goldmary’s face, the impact breaking her nose and causing her to become disoriented.

Using her new greater advantage, Alear grabbed Goldmary’s arm forcefully, the retainer not being anywhere close to being capable of overpowering the physical strength of the fell child.

As Alear grabbed Goldmary’s arm, she jerked the retainer over to her and tightened her grip, forcing Goldmary to drop her sword. Alear began to apply opposing pressure, causing Goldmary to immediately realize what Alear was doing, “W-Wa-Wait stop! Pl-Please d- AHHHH!” Alear stayed entirely silent as she forcefully broke Goldmary’s arm before dropping her to the ground. Once the retainer landed, Alear gave a swift kick straight to her head, causing Goldmary to give a quiet sob due to the sheer pain.

Without missing a beat, Alear turned and tried to get in the way of Hortensia and Veyle once again. Veyle was still entirely dazed, only barely able to move her head up to see what was happening.

Meanwhile Hortensia’s static shield had only continued to grow in intensity. The Elusian Princess exhausting every bit of magical energy both she and her tome had into a truly dangerous and unstable spell, “I’m going to wipe you out, for everything you have done to me!” She pointed her hand forward, directing the powerful magic straight at the still struggling Veyle.

Alear quickly ran to try and block it, however Hortensia had finished charging and prepared to loose the ridiculous charged spell.

It was then that Alear heard the galloping of a horse, and the dragging of steel and flames upon the street. Glancing behind her, Alear saw Mauvier move his flame lance across the street, dragging flames and sparks around it before twirling it upwards and letting loose a mighty burst of fire straight at Hortensia.

Hortensia was too focused on Veyle to notice what was happening. The second she pull her hand to let loose the power, Mauvier’s flame hit her directly.

Immediately the flames caused the highly unstable thunder spell to rupture apart, causing a massive magical explosion in the street. The sudden electric and fiery eruption launching Hortensia though the street, finally roughly landing some 50 feet away near the end of the street.

“Hortensia!” Ivy ran over to her now unconscious sister at the opposite side of the street, moving through the copious amounts of smoke in a panic.

Nearly everyone had fallen back from the explosion, sparks and cinders falling everywhere around them all, “*Cough* Veyle!” Alear moved through the smoke as well in parallel to Ivy, trying to get a hold of her sister.

“*Cough* *Cough* S-Sister?...” Veyle tried to get up, but fell before she could walk fully. Alear caught her before she could fall onto the ground.

“Mauvier! What are you doing!” Zephia demanded angrily, “I was planning something there!”

Mauvier ignored her and moved slightly towards Alear who had picked up the injured Veyle and turned to look at him, “Lady Alear,.. please get her away from here…”

Alear looked at him for a moment, the smoke still obscuring most of the street, turning the small area into half a dozen sections independent from each other. She didn’t know whether to trust the Hound or not, “… Why?...”

“… I cannot stand to see my Lady in pain any longer, please, she belongs with you. Now go!” Mauvier said firmly to her.

Alear analyzed him for a moment longer before looking down at Veyle, still coughing badly because of the smoke, and too dazed to anything more, “… Okay…” Alear turned and quickly turned to move through a street alley to get away from the coming battle.

“No you don’t!” Zephia pulled her levin sword and loosed a bolt of lightning at Alear.

Before it could strike her however, Alfred came out of the smoke and moved in the way, “Ah…” He protected himself best he could with his lance, but the lightning strike still dropped him to the ground on one of his knees.

“Alfred!” Alear turned in fright for the Firenese Prince, “Are you-“

“Yeah I’m fine, just please get out of here, I understand, don’t worry.” He said, pulling himself back up and pointing his lance at a frustrated, if also amused Zephia who was now aiming for a second attempt.

“Bu-“

“Just go!” Céline ran out of the smoke and swung her own levin sword at Zephia, interrupting the prepared strike and entering a spark-filled sword-lock with the mage dragon.

“Alfred,.. Céline… Thank you… I’m sorry… for everything…” Alear took one last look at them, both nodding to her.

Alear turned and fled the now soon to be intense battle, carrying an injured Veyle along with her. The once beautiful port town now entirely in flames around her.

Expertly did Alear move around through alleys with speed and efficiency, managing to avoid the soldiers and corrupted she came across.

Their was so much adrenaline in her system that her flight all became a blur. The difference of seconds and minutes becoming mute. Time itself lost all meaning as Alear made her escape with Veyle.

At some point, at some time, Alear cleared the town and entered the countryside, but she kept running and running. Using every bit of stamina she had, to get as far as physically possible away from Florraport.

Finally, as her legs felt like they were screaming at her to stop and rest, Alear spotted an abandoned barn, utterly exhausted at this point, Alear made her way to it and entered the barn to find rows of haystacks.

Sighing Alear gently placed Veyle down on one of the haystacks, before nearly collapsing herself. Just barely did Alear catch herself onto the haystack, breathing heavily as she did.

Veyle turned to her, still in some pain herself, “S-S-Sister… I’m… I’m sorry…”

Alear continued to breathe, “It’s… It’s okay, you didn’t do anything wrong…”

“But… I was the one… who made that corrupted… Maybe that girl had a right to be… mad...” Veyle said disheartened.

Alear shook her head, “No… it wasn’t your fault, you were used… and those that used you are the ones to blame…” Alear’s strength began to give out, and she slumped to the floor at the side of the haystack.

Veyle meanwhile just looked at the ceiling, part of her wanting to believe Alear, and part of her still blaming herself, “… Sister?”

“Yes?” Alear began to regain a sense of reality as her adrenaline wore off.

“… I love you… and I am glad I am with you…” Veyle said quietly.

Alear looked up and breathed, “Veyle…”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being here with me, I love you too.”

“…”

“…”

Chapter Text

Alfred : Florraport

“Alfred… Céline… Thank you… I’m sorry……” Alear voice was low as she spoke, Alfred was unable to hear the quiet end to her sentence. But he understood what she meant and what she wanted to say. After one last look and a nod, Alear fled the now intensifying battle while carrying the injured Veyle with her.

After the two fell dragons fled through the alleys Alfred turned around to see Céline and Zephia sword-locked with their levin swords. Céline, however, was being pushed back, the electric sparks irritating her while having no effect on Zephia.

Seeing this, Alfred gripped his lance and attempted to strike Zephia’s flank. However, the mage dragon with almost no reaction time pushed Céline away with a renewed force of electricity, right as she did so Zephia stepped back, causing Alfred to overshoot his lance strike, before loosing a bolt from her blade right at him, launching him at Céline and knocking them both away from her.

“Ugh… sorry Céline…” Alfred shook his head and pulled himself up from the ground. The smoke from the erupted spell still flowing in the street began to fill his lungs, making it harder to breathe.

“I’m fine…” Céline muttered as she too pulled herself up, she focused her attention on the smirking Zephia who was watching them with mild amusement. Alfred could sense a growing ire in his sister as she stared at the dragon.

Before any of the three could make any further moves, several pillars of ice manifested between the disorganized Elyosian army and the Hounds. Turning, Alfred and Céline saw as Seadall ran through the smoke, with Corrin beside him aiming her blade where the ice appeared, “Alfred, Céline, we have to regroup!” The Emblem yelled.

Lucina appeared beside Alfred, “I agree, we are too disorganized right now.”

“R-Right… Let’s go…” Alfred turned to see Céline grimace silently before reluctantly turning to follow them.

The three and the emblems made their way through the domineering smoke covering the street, it made itself known throughout the area, when Alfred looked up, he saw that the smoke plume peaked at over a hundred feet into the air above them. Cinders and sparks still moved in the air as well, irritating Alfred’s skin as he ran through the street.

Finally, they made it to the end of the street, other members of the army had scattered around in the chaos, trying to figure out what to do. After a confused few seconds, Diamant ran up to Alfred, “Prince Alfred! There you are.”

“Prince Diamant, what’s happening?” Alfred asked him.

“I-I’m not sure… The explosion disorganized us quite badly. I have been trying to gather everyone, but everything is so… messy…” Diamant explained, still looking somewhat panicked, however he was doing a good job of keeping reserved.

Alfred began to think as he looked around, “There! You see the building?” He began to point to a large building at the end of the street, “I know there is an enclosed park behind it, we can reorganize there. Go out and gather everyone you can. You too Céline and Seadall.”

“And what will you do?” Céline asked.

“I..I am going to check on Ivy and Hortensia,” He had spotted Ivy holding Hortensia near the building.

He received nods from all three before they left to gather everyone. Turning, Alfred made his way over to the Elusian Princesses. Ivy was currently holding am unconscious Hortensia up as she checked for injuries, “Um Ivy... is she…”

“She’s fine, there are some bruises, but otherwise she is just unconscious.” Ivy preemptively answered him, her voice and expressions still struggling to remain composed, “Can we take cover somewhere?”

Alfred nodded, glad that there were no serious injuries, “Behind this building is an enclosed park, we are moving there to reorganize and figure out our next move.”

Ivy nodded silently as she got back up, now carrying her sister in her arms. Wordlessly she entered one of the alleyways and into the park, Alfred followed as did an increasing trickle of the rest of the army.

As he did so, Alfred began to look around at the town, the smell of fire and steel continued to permeate the air around him. A pit of worry formed within him as he buried a thought about the rest of Firene should they fail here.

As soon as the fear emerged though was it pushed away, replaced by an equal if not greater determination.

Marni : Florraport

Marni had been relatively silent as she watched events unfold in front of her, seeing the drama had been quite amusing, but also a bit sad. Now she was looking at Zephia somewhat worriedly who was just blankly staring at the newly created ice pillars, clearly there was a quiet rise of frustration in the mage dragon,

Turning behind her, Zephia saw the rest of her Hounds walk up behind her. Paying no attention to Griss or Marni, Zephia looked straight at Mauvier, causing both Marni and Griss to focus their attention on him as well. Not at all to Marni’s surprise, she saw that he was staring off in the direction the fell children fled.

“Mauvier! What were you thinking?! I was trying to do something there!” Zephia barely contained her ire.

“…” He looked at her but didn’t respond.

“…” Zephia thought for a moment, “You know what? No, we will talk about this later, but mark my words Mauvier, this won’t be forgotten.”

She turned to Marni and Griss, almost immediately regaining her composure, “Now then, prepare to strike, properly this time, I want this troublesome mob wiped away here.”

Griss put up his hand, “Heh no worries, these chumps won’t last five minutes, I’ll try and extend it to see if they can get a good few hits.”

“… Griss, do you like... ever think of anything else besides pain.” Marni asked him. She had gotten used to Griss being Griss, but it really got repetitive at times.

“Nope.” He bluntly said as he walked away to some other part of the town.

Turning back to Zephia and Mauvier, Marni saw as Zephia took one last deriding look at Mauvier before mounting her wyvern and heading somewhere else.

There was also the corrupted Hyacinth who had just sauntered off, not really caring, or even really being aware of the brief confrontation or following one-sided argument, rather he just lifelessly followed whatever directive given and had no true thoughts about anything. Marni supposed he had now gone off to carry out whatever directive Veyle or Zephia had given the corpse.

That left just Mauvier and Marni standing in the street, a wave of… something, certainly not something she feels very often, came over Marni, “… Um… Mauvier, are you… going to be alright?”

He finally stopped looking and turned to her, “… I am fine, it is not myself I am worried for.”

Marni tilted her head, “… You really like the de- I mean other Lady Veyle don’t you.”

He stared at her for a moment, “… There is a battle going on Marni, this is neither the time nor place.” He steered his horse and took his leave.

Marni looked as he left. Now the last person in was shortly ago a very crowded street, it was oddly haunting yet beautiful, a sole empty and tranquil avenue in a city currently alight. Really if Marni was a poet or something, she would probably be able to find some meaning in it.

Marni looked off in the direction Mauvier was looking, it wasn’t very interesting, to her it was just a bunch of smoke, even if the smoke wasn’t there, it wasn’t like you could see the fleeing fell children.

After a few more moments she noticed that the ice pillars were beginning to melt, deciding she didn’t want to be here when they melted fully. Quickly she turned and began to leave to gather her unit.

Ivy : Florraport

Ivy continued to hold Hortensia in her lap as the final stragglers of the Elyosian army found their ways into the enclosed park. She paid none of them any mind, rather her focus was on Hortensia, still unconscious but luckily not injured.

When Hortensia was first launched away by the eruption caused by Mauvier interrupting her spell, Ivy flew into a blind panic as she ran as fast as she could to get to her, ignoring the chaos happening behind her.

Once Ivy got to Hortensia, she found her completely unconscious on the ground. As everything happened behind her, all Ivy did was sit down, hold Hortensia up and just sat there with her.

She did that until Alfred had come up to her and told her to get to the enclosed park, and so now, some ten minutes later here she was, watching as the last few people made their way back to the group.

And now here she was, still with Hortensia, and half watching as Alfred and the rest were struggling to come up with some sort of plan. Time was not on their side; the growing smell of smoke and steel made that clear enough.

“…Maybe we could attack along this avenue…” Alfred was pointing towards a map as he and the rest tried in vain to figure something out.

Céline shook her head, “No look right here, we would be easily flanked from here…”

“You’re right… How are we supposed to do this?” Alfred asked, looking more and more desperate.

“Maybe we could pincer them right here?” Timerra suggested, pointing somewhere on the map.

Diamant shook his head, “Splitting our forces would be disastrous, we are already severely outnumbered. We must stay together and try to defeat them in detail.”

“But there is nowhere to do that, we attack one part of the enemy, and all others would converge against us.” Céline said to him.

Alfred began to think, “What if... What if we focused on striking at the Hounds.”

Céline turned to him, “That would help, but just removing the commander doesn’t end the battle.”

Lucina appeared, “No Alfred is on to something, in a disciplined force the damaged caused by the removal of the commanding officers can be mitigated by the middle and lower officers if they are competent and fast acting…” She turned to Ivy, “Princess Ivy, what is the state of the Elusia officer corps?”

Ivy began to think, realizing that she had to act she placed Hortensia down gently and walked over, “… Terrible... there were several purges and that was before Sombron and the Hounds seized full power, I imagine it is now even worse.”

“Which means this invasion is completely reliant on the Hounds, remove them, and it is just a mob with no direction.” Lucina surmised. “Even the inexperienced and unbloodied Firenese army and militia will easily mop them up.”

“Okay, but how will we get to the Hounds?” Timerra asked.

“Like Diamant said, we defeat them in detail, we gather everyone, we puncture the Elusian line and rush the Hounds. We can’t hold a line ourselves, so we won’t even try.” Lucina explained.

Alfred thought about it as he looked back down at the map, “… That will be risky... But maybe it’s our best option.”

Corrin appeared this time, “Listen Prince Alfred, you have to be confident, else you’ll lack the proper conviction and will for this to work. The average individual in this force is far beyond in quality than the average Elusian soldier. But that means nothing if we can’t act on that advantage.”

Alfred looked up at the emblem, and then the map, and then finally those around him, “You’re right… Everyone listen up, we have to attack, and we have to attack now. The Firenese army and the militias are coming, but we have to stop as many Elusians from landing as possible, and to do that we have to break the command.” He looked back down at the map, “The Hounds and the corrupted King Hyacinth are our targets, everything else is a distraction. Eliminate them and we can win the day.”

Even as Ivy winced at the mention of her enthralled father, she couldn’t help but feel the ignition of a fire in her heart. And glancing around, she wasn’t alone in that feeling… But still, could she face her father here?

“Alright then, but what about Princess Hortensia and her retainers?” Fogado asked Alfred and Ivy as he looked towards the fainted Princess and her injured retainers.

“H-Hey I’m still good to fight.” Rosado said, still clutching his disjointed wrist.

After briefly looking at the retainer, Alfred shook his head and turned to Ivy, “How about this, you take your sister and your guy’s retainers and take position with the militia and guards at the gates.”

Ivy thought about it, it was necessary that Hortensia and her injured retainers get to a safer location, with the whole group attacking together and without a line, an unconscious Hortensia would just be dead weight and only put her in greater danger. And then there was her father…

Seeing that she was thinking about it, Zelkov turned to Kagetsu, “Kagetsu, get the *Princess* and let’s get *going*”

“No” Ivy stated firmly, she wanted to take Hortensia and just stay out of this battle, but she couldn’t. She had to help free her father’s trapped soul, and she had to take responsibility for her people’s actions. As much pain as it caused her, she had to stay and stand her ground here.

Alfred looked at her, nervous and sympathetic, “Are-are you sure? You don’t have to be there when... when-“

Ivy interrupted, “Your wrong, it hurts me, beyond all else… But that is why I must be there.”

Alfred shifted to a look of reluctant understanding, “Alright… If that is your choice… Who will take Hortensia then?”

Vander stepped up, “I would volunteer myself as well as Clanne and Framme.”

All looked towards Vander, Ivy immediately suspected that this was an excuse to get the twins out of the surely intense fighting. She happened to agree with it.

Alfred nodded, “Alright, take Hortensia and her retainers to the gates, afterwards, help the guards defend it long enough for the army to arrive.” Of course, there was also the threat that should it not be defended, then they would be surrounded with no hope of retreat. But Alfred wisely did not mention that possibility.

“Ahh... But I want to stay and fight.” Framme pouted.

Vander shook his head at her, “Learn to understand your role in the heat of battle, lest you endanger both yourself and others.” After speaking he walked over, picked Hortensia up and placed her on his horse, “Clanne, Framme, let’s move.” Reluctantly the twins followed behind, along with the stumbling Goldmary and Rosado.

Ivy watched them until Hortensia was out of her sight, it was hard to let go and leave her protection to others, but she had to do this, for both their sakes.

As Ivy thought to herself, Alfred looked down at the table and Byleth’s ring, “Since Hortensia isn’t available, who should take the ring?”

“Perhaps Diamant? The Brodians don’t have an emblem for their group.” Céline suggested.

Byleth appeared, “That would be logical, but I recommend we start to move quicker. We are burning too much time; we must take the initiative soon.”

Diamant didn’t argue, “He’s right, I will take the ring for the battle.”

Alfred nodded, “Very well.” He turned to face everyone, now reorganized and ready as they all ever would be, “You all know the plan, stay together, focus on the Hounds and the corrupted King Hyacinth. We’ll make sure they are beaten back into the sea!”

A roused cheer came from everyone, expect Ivy, she remained reserved, instead she wordlessly whistled for her wyvern, who soon came flying in. As she mounted it, the Elyosian army moved out in force.

Flying up, she took in the visceral sight, the flames had only grown farther and higher. The Elusian soldiers spread out like ants as they carved their ways further into the city. A distinct smell of cinder, steel and just ever so slightly, blood.

It was horrid, but also, strangely beautiful in the worst way possible, as if Ivy was looking upon life in its purest and most monstrous form, it was… unexplainable, it just was.

Clenching her teeth and focusing, she began to hover above the group, ready to provide aerial support, and if necessary, direct battle.

The proper fighting began almost immediately, a group of Elusian soldiers crossed paths with the Elyosians in an intersecting avenue. With both Ivy and Chloe signaling from above, the rest of the group was easily able to suddenly crash into the Elusian flank, scattering most of them near instantaneously, leaving only a scarce few of strong discipline to fight back.

As the majority ground force battled the stragglers, two wyvern knights suddenly surprise attacked Ivy and Chloe in the air. Both managed to avoid the strike by weaving away in just the nick of time.

Ivy reoriented herself and began rein her wyvern away to widen the distance from her opponent, all while charging a Thoron spell in her palm. The wyvern knight began taking evasive maneuvers in response while still trying to angle for a second attack by gaining attitude, clearly going for a dive bomb. Something Ivy began to mirror, but still made sure to stay a bit below.

Suddenly the wyvern knight ceased climbing or evading, clearly indicating his attack was imminent. Within a second the wyvern dropped into a dive; the knight’s axe angled near perfectly for a strong blow against Ivy.

It was a great display of skill and experience on the part of the knight, representing years of training with the axe, and bonding with his wyvern companion. It was a true shame, Ivy allowed herself to muse. Because at the end of the day, she was better.

Right as the wyvern knight dropped, Ivy also dropped into an even steeper dive, going right under her opponent and firing her spell, the electric beam  going straight through the beast’s heart and into the chest and then the head of its human companion, killing both instantly as they crashed onto the ground, the rider still gripping the reins of his mount even as the axe dropped from his hand.

Ivy looked briefly at her fallen opponent; her hands now once again stained with the blood of her rightful subjects. A silence wrought the Princess’s mind. Looking around the burning town again, Ivy reminded herself of her country’s captivity. And in that moment, she had question, “What will remain after?”

As quickly as the question appeared, she buried it, that was the future and now was the present. To the left of her, Chloe had dealt a killing blow to her own opponent. While below Ivy, the last Elusian soldiers in the former column had either fled or been killed.

After a few hand signals, the Elyosian force reorganized quickly and moved through the town again. Not bothering to pursue further, the group carried on with their single-minded plan, unimpeded by distraction.

Ivy pushed aside her doubt and continued alongside them, knowing full well what kind of pain would await her at the end of this street in front of her.

The Elyosians continued their puncture attack with vigor. Striking quickly at individual Elusian units before swiftly moving on before they could get encircled or flanked. It was a style of attack that lead them near the docks and away from the gates.

As their force moved, Ivy kept a hawk’s watch in the sky, and when they got into a fight, she either kept the skies clear, or provided aerial support from above.

This rhythm continued vigorously, even as there seemed no end to the Elusian force. A question on Ivy’s and everyone else’s mind was where are the Hounds?

It was that question that had left Ivy scanning the area, still though she saw little movement. A few Elusian soldiers were here and there, but the hounds were nowhere to be seen in the mess of streets.

Suddenly Ivy heard a loud eruption from below her, immediately causing her to start franticly looking around as ember and smoke began to spew in the street.

Finally, Ivy looked downward, just barely could she make out Griss walk out from the smoke that he had supposedly created. And hovering silently beside with him was the ethereal and reddened form of Celica.

A brief air of chaos broke out in the Elyosian force as they moved to counter the newly arriving Hound. Céline in particular was enraged by the sight of the enthralled Celica, and promptly moved forward against Griss, levin sword in hand, “Either give her back you disgusting blackguard, or I’ll rip her from your corpse!”

Griss smiled at Céline’s threat, “Or what princess? Are you going to give me Nelucce treatment if I refuse? Oh I hope you do.”

As the words left Griss’s mouth, Céline immediately charged at him, loosing bolts from her levin sword as she did. Ivy and the rest moved to support Céline in her attack, with Ivy beginning to charge a thoron bolt in her hand.

However, right as Ivy moved into attack, a wave of flames struck her side, disorienting her and causing her to break her spell.

 Ivy quickly managed to regain control of her wyvern, but barely a second later, her assailant broke through the created smoke and attempted to strike Ivy.

Only barely did Ivy manage to rein her mount away from the narrow attack, causing it to overshoot. As she did so, Ivy saw clearly that her foe was Zephia herself, along with the reddened Sigurd behind her. As the mage dragon passed Ivy, she gave a glancing and confident smirk. Almost immediately did Zephia validate her confidence, quickly flicking her levin sword towards Ivy before she had any time to react, striking Ivy with a jolt of electricity and forcing her to recoil away.

Disoriented, Ivy struggled to regain full control quickly, in that time, Zephia simply flew down into the street in a blitz and began an aerial harassment of the Elyosians, completely bypassing Ivy’s watch.

Before she could move to chase down the mage dragon, a mass of Elusians sprung out from every alley, causing a near immediate collapse of order in both ranks as the two forces devolved into induvial fights where strategy held no place.

Stunned, Ivy realized what this was, the Hounds had struck them in a surrounding attack, hoping to take them all out at once. On one hand this was terrible as it could lead to disaster. But on the other hand, this was perfect as it played into Lucina’s and Alfred’s agreed-upon strategy. A decisive moment was now at hand Ivy realized.

Immediately upon Ivy’s realization did she begin to weigh her options on how to help get them all through this, careless magical bombardment would do more harm than good, and furthermore, she was still scanning the area for her father, he had yet to make an appearance in the sudden assault.

Even as she scanned for him though she could not find a trace, even as Marni and Mauvier appeared on the other side of the street and joined the chaotic and messy fight. However before either could take the initiative, they were swiftly countered and slowed by Diamant and Yunaka, both clearly holding a grudge at the sight of Roy and Micaiah following behind the two Hounds.

“Ivy.” A firm call of her name was heard, turning Ivy saw the now appeared Lyn staring at some other part of the town.

Following her sight Ivy saw a wave of more Elusian soldiers making their way towards the street where the battle was converging. And at the head of the approaching force was a sight that terribly hurt the princess, but did not at all surprise her, her father.

A string of expected emotions began to strike at Ivy in that moment, but even if she expected them, it still hurt her deeply.

Lyn glanced at her sympathetically, “You don’t have to confron-“

Ivy cut her off, “You’re wrong, I do have to confront... it. At the very least so that he may find peace and freedom. And besides…” Ivy looked down at the mess of a battle below her, right now it had turned into a stalemated slog with no way for her to productively intervene in a meaningful manner. Looking back at the corrupted meanwhile showed that it was trailed by the enthralled Leif, that combined with the additional soldiers would be enough to break the ongoing stalemate below in favor of the Elusians and Hounds, and Ivy was the only one in position to prevent it.

Lyn looked at her and then at the corrupted Hyacinth, seemingly realizing the same thing Ivy had, “I see… I am with you Ivy, always.”

Ivy silently nodded at those simple yet comforting words. She took a breath, moved forward in the air, and began to prepare a Bolganone spell from her tome, hoping to end this quickly.

Steeling her heart, Ivy began to pull her wyvern in an upward arc as she drew power from her tome, a small yet extremely dense flare formed in her hand as she approached the outer dock where the soldier were coming from. Once high enough, too high up to see any detail, Ivy arced downward, releasing the spell as she swiftly plummeted before pulling back up from her dive bomb.

The flare almost immediately expanded to a massive ball of hellish flame. Quickly did the soldiers notice the imminent doom, desperately did they try and flee or take cover, but only the furthest and quickest were able to flee the sudden deadly attack. In only seconds after release, the Bolganone made contact with the earth and violently erupted, spewing smoke and flames across the immediate area.

“*Ack* *Ack*” Ivy tried to cover her mouth, but smoke still poured in, making it as hard to breath as it was to see the aftermath of her seemingly successful attack. Circling around in a descent, Ivy began to survey the damage, she saw a few burned corpses and managed a glance at some lucky fleeing soldiers, but as the smoke began to clear she saw no sign of the corrupted, not that it was something she really wanted to see.

As Ivy descended further until her wyvern was just above the ground, Lyn suddenly appeared in front of her, her attention focused behind Ivy, “Ivy dodge!”

The warning had come right in the nick of time for Ivy as the moment she instinctively pulled on the reins and tilted her head, an ethereal green lance passed by her head, narrowly did it strike off a strand of her hair as it shot pass, so close was it to her. After the lance passed all Ivy could do was watch it puncture into a nearby house before immediately disappearing.

Once her heart began to beat again after the near miss Ivy slowly turned around to see a sight that she knew was coming.

“Ivy…” The corrupted voice was calm and emotionless, it matched her father mannerisms perfectly. But still there was something lifeless and shallow to it.

“… Father…” Ivy stared at the corrupted for a moment before settling her wyvern down onto the grass they were on. So many things had entered Ivy’s mind as she looked into the corrupted, memories both big and small, good and bad, some she had always kept with, and others that she had long ago forgotten.

Some memories were of the harshness and callousness of her father, a man who dedicated everything to his throne, at the cost of everything and everyone else. Someone who had no time for those around him unless they had some practical benefit they could offer.

Other memories were of the moment he had tried to be more than that, when he tried to genuinely connect with Ivy, Hortensia and their other siblings. Rarely did he succeed, but he did always try.

As she looked in front of her, the details around her began to blur, the smoke kept pouring from the burnings, the sound of the still engrossed battle kept ringing in her ear, and the sight of Lyn staring down Leif as they waited for the next move. All of it had blurred. Ivy wondered for a moment if this is what Alear felt when seeing Veyle.

Ivy took a breath and let all her thoughts disperse, “I regret that the last weeks and farewell were so sour between us, and I… regret that I could not change your mind…”

The corrupted scarcely reacted, “This need not be our final farewell. I can appeal to Lord Sombron, and you can be welcomed back to your home.”

Ivy saw right through the words, yet still she could not deny that there was a part of her that wished to be convinced, “… No, you are not... you... I cannot... will not cling to your shadow…” Ivy thought back to the day he had left her behind to cover his retreat back to the cathedral, a particular emptiness had haunted since, but now she felt as though she had an answer to it, “As much as this hurts… I am... grateful for this, grateful to finally say goodbye and thank you. I swear to you father, that as Elusia’s queen… I will surpass you…” A swell of determination stirred in Ivy as the words left her mouth.

For a second Ivy saw as the corrupted shifted, a moment passed where its eyes and face showed both pride and shame, as if the real Elusian king broke through the corpse. But the moment proved fading, its expression again became lifeless and its eyes dull. The shift back warned Ivy well enough as she steeled her grip on both tome and reins. Her instincts prove correct as less than a second afterwards, the corrupted drew forth another lance from thin air and threw it towards Ivy. This time her preparedness made it far easier to pull away and have it pass her by.

At the same time though, Leif moved forward a lightning speed, sword leveled and aimed towards Ivy, quickly though did Lyn intervene and lock blades with her fellow emblem.

Ivy pulled up and began to loose her spells at the corrupted, rotating between Elfire and Elthunder in an attempt to end this quickly, however the corrupted possessed her father’s nimbleness and managed to easily avoid every attack with ease as it darted around and began to angle for a better position.

“Ivy, now is the time.” Lyn said to her, still locked but waning in her struggle.

Ivy nodded at that, quickly did she make note of her surroundings and its movement before raising her hand up, watching as the Ring of the Lady of the Plains began to radiate its warm light. A split second later the light enveloped Ivy as Lyn faded into her, greatly enhancing the princess the same way as in Solm Palace.

Almost instantly and without flinching did the corrupted draw a forced power from Leif, creating a crimson glow around it as it charged Ivy. This power manifested in it jumping upward and drawing forth its lance yet again, aiming for its great attack.

In that moment, Ivy quickly used her new power to create four of her faked doubles from the wind as she moved away in the air.

The first double met a near instant end as the lance punctured through it, both lance and double disappeared on contact.

The corrupted pulled forth an axe from the air instantly and struck a second double down, again did the weapon and double vanish.

Now with only two fake protecting her, Ivy angled for attack as she drew the Mani Katti from the wind. As she did so the corrupted pulled a summoned blade and cut down yet another double.

Finally did the corrupted land back on the ground, as it did so it pulled forth a bow and took aim at the remaining two targets, one on the right, and one on the left. After a brief moment of deliberation, it loosed an arrow on the right. That same moment, both Ivys began a mirrored strike, both swords aimed for the kill.

As the next second began, the remaining double vanished with the arrow and bow. The second ended with Ivy’s flight ending a short ways away from slashing in one swift motion at the corrupted’s side.

After stopping her flight, Ivy glanced at the emblem’s blade, its edge was now covered in thick tar-like black blood, at that sight she knew she had succeeded. Turning around, she saw as the corrupted clutched its cut side before falling backwards into the grass.

Turning back around, Ivy disengaged with Lyn and motioned to whistle to her wyvern, ready to move on.

“Ivy…” A subdued voice came from behind her, immediately catching her attention and a figment of hope within her.

She carefully turned to see her collapsed father, struggling for breath as he grasped his side, “F-Father?” With some hesitance, she made her way over to him, the nearby sounds of battle fading away.

Once she was next to him, she crouched down and began to speak, “Father… can you hear me? Are you there?”

He opened his eye, the hollowness in them was gone, once more did they show some life, painfully he nodded, “Yes… yes I can, I feel as though the chains that have bound me have finally been broken,.. thank you… my daughter…”

Ivy looked down, a small amount of joy and pride was drowned out by a feeling of great sorrow, “Father I… I am-“

He cut her off, “There is no need to apologize, I am the one who needs to do so, *cough* I am sorry, both to you and Hortensia. I gave the Fell Dragon and his Hounds power because I believe they would deliver salvation from the Brodian invasions… I realize now that they brought Elusia even greater ruin. And for that I am sorry, to you, to Hortensia, and to Elusia and her people…” His words seemed to hurt him even more than his wounds. He turned to Ivy, “Tell me, is Hortensia okay? I saw… I saw what happened…”

Ivy nodded, “She is, she fell unconscious but otherwise has no major injuries.”

He turned back to staring at the sky and breathed a sigh of relief, “I am relieved beyond all measure… At least I go with the knowledge that both of you will be fine…” He turned back to Ivy, “Ivy, promise me something.”

She looked at him curiously for a moment before responding, “What do you wish?”

He stared for a second before answering, “When you rule, remember my mistakes, and never repeat them, for your sake, and for the kingdom’s. Lead your life, and lead Elusia with no regrets as I now face…”

She felt something growing inside her before nodding, “I will, I promise.”

“Thank you…” He raised up his hand that was clutching his side, no doubt pain began to swell as the same tar-like blood began to spill out. Beckoning for her to take it, Ivy grasped his hand in her palm, “Now then, go forth… take your rightful throne, and lead Elusia into its new dawn……” He used his last motions to slip off the Ring of the Sage Lord into Ivy’s palm.

Ivy had closed her eyes as she held his palm, although she had not seen it, she knew the exact moment he had passed. Once he had done so, she began let loose her tears as she held the now lifeless hand.

Lyn had just silently watched as Ivy grieved, knowing to just allow her to do so.

Ivy did not know how long she spent there; time had lost its meaning in those moments. After some time though, Ivy had felt something lightly graze her hair, she paid it no mind until it happened again and again and again. Finally she looked up into the sky, it had begun to drizzle, a light rain had begun to pour into the burning town.

Before Ivy had any time to think further, she heard some distant cries, “The Firenese, they’re here! Everyone flee!”

“No we can fi-“

“We’re routed”

“Fall back”

Ivy mused on the yells, she supposed they had won, her tears had begun to dry, and now she must carry on.

She took one last look at her fallen father and made a silent vow to him before picking herself up. And after some hesitation, she made her way back to the group and to Hortensia.

It had kept raining. And it was only falling faster. And yet still, that distinct smell of cinder, steel and blood was still there.

Chapter Text

Alear : Firenese Countryside

It must’ve been a few hours since Alear had managed to reach the barn. She heard as the rain continuously pounded the roof she was staring directly at. There were some little changes in light, but that rain made it hard to tell anything about the exact time.

Still she knew that some hours must have passed as she laid on the barn’s floor, next to the haybale that Veyle had now been asleep on. No matter how she tried though, Alear was unable to sleep, she was just too on edge to close her eyes for an extended period of time.

Eventually she sighed internally and quietly pulled herself up off the ground. Once up Alear looked at the sleeping Veyle, the wound she had received was mostly regenerated, but the process of the draconic regeneration was an exhausting one and Veyle had little training nor had the survivalist instinct to prevent her from sleeping like a rock in the aftermath. With that in mind, Alear decided that it would be awhile before Veyle woke up.

Turning around, Alear left the barn, immediately she felt the rain begin to fall onto her. After a few moments she judged the rain not to be powerful enough to drown out her thoughts or voice. Once she confirmed that, she began to walk around the area, not with any real activity in mind, really it was just to break up the monotony of laying on the floor as she had for the past few hours.

After a bit of walking, Alear walked up a small hill, near the barn. The elevated position had allowed her to get a good view above the tree line, she could even see Florraport in the distance. The first thing she had seen was that it was raining across the whole area, the clouds had seemingly extended the whole Firenese central-west coast. Had the populace not had to abandon their homes and farms the farmers would likely celebrate this weather.

After a bit of internal musing, Alear had noticed to her relief that the Elusian armada had evacuated the shore. This had to have meant that her former allies had succeeded in their mission. Still though, their apparent success had not stopped her from thinking herself a failure and a coward for not helping. Although it wasn’t like if she could go back that she would make a different decision, though maybe she would try a different approach first…

Shaking her head, Alear reminded herself that thinking of what-ifs were a waste of precious time and energy. The only thing that it accomplished was cause further doubt and pain, something she already had plenty of, so no need for more.

Minutes had passed as she had gone back to taking in the cool and rainy atmosphere. Some people she knew or known didn’t like the rain, others loved it, personally she liked it, not love it or anything, but she liked it well enough so she might as well enjoy it. It was a nice time to think for one.

And thinking was something she needed to do right now, more specifically thinking about the pass week or so. Not too long ago was she with that group that had formed around her, with a concrete goal that she and them were working towards. And then suddenly she had found Veyle, and here she was with neither of those things.

The fact that the Elusians and the Hounds had been beaten back was only a temporary comfort. She knew, and she knew well that it was a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ would she and Veyle be dragged back into this mess. Although really it wasn’t like they ever really left it to begin with.

“*Sigh*” Alear had felt utterly powerless, she was an incredibly talented swordswoman, a fantastic knife-thrower, well-learned in both practical and academic knowledge, before her divine power she was a decent spellcaster, and of course she had her dragonstone with her as well. All skills she had developed since childhood in an extremely spartan existence.

Still though, it was not enough, it was never enough. She felt like she was right back in the same position she was in a thousand years ago, a scared girl honing her skills not to see the end of the tunnel, but rather to just delay the inevitable end as with the rest of her siblings. Frankly it was all a fluke, an error with the hands of fate, a source of cruel amusement by whatever higher power there is. Her survival was and is a myth. One that no matter what she tried, would end.

At that realization, Alear had quickly ceased to think, some siblings had followed that trail of thought, it was trail that always ended in their deaths, and deaths that weren’t by accident or another’s hand. And for all her skills, perhaps Alear greatest ability was learning from observations of the failures of others, and she had long learned of that particular path which had taken more than a few of her family.

As Alear began to refocus her mind she began to look up into the clouds above, she began to feel as the rain let up ever so slightly, not enough to really notice unless you were paying attention to one’s surroundings.

After a few moments of staring off into the sky, Alear felt as the ring on her hand began to warm up, followed shortly by the sound of an emblem appearing. A few more moments passed by as Alear did not turn to see the Emblem.

“Um Alear…” Eirika asked finally.

Alear turned at that, “Yes?”

“Do you… want to talk?” she asked with concern.

“About what?” Alear questioned, she knew that this conversation was inevitable, the Emblems were extremely predictable.

“Umm… I…” Eirika struggled to find a start.

“You want to tell me that my current path is terrible, yes?” Alear finally answered for her.

Eirika winced at that statement before shaking her head, “You know that’s not what I want to say.”

“But that is what you mean.” Alear stated bluntly.

“Well I…” Eirika looked the ground trying to figure what to say.

As Eirika was thinking, Alear preempted her about something, “Why is it just you here? Where’s Ephraim, doesn’t he have an opinion that he wants to share?”

“Oh well… he’s not really the type for this sort of conversation you know? So we decided that it would just be me here.” She answered before shaking her head, “Oh but that that is not the point, its just… Why do you feel the need to run away from your allies, you clearly wish to go back to them. Why not just… talk it out?”

Alear thought about that as she glanced away. She did wish to go back yes, but she saw no way to truly reconcile herself with them. Conflict she felt would be inevitable, even despite the efforts of Alfred or Yunaka, the incident with Hortensia proved that, “I think both of me and them would come out worse off, that is all.”

Eirika tilted her head curiously, “So… what do you intend to do then? It’s not like you can end this conflict by yourself.”

“… Lay low for a bit I suppose. I don’t really see a better option, and who knows, maybe something will happen that will allow me an opportunity to do something meaningful.” Alear answered, it wasn’t a great plan, but sometimes survival was about taking the least bad option.

Eirika frowned, “I see…” She didn’t really seem enthused but seemed to at least somewhat understand Alear’s perspective.

With the conversation seemingly over, Alear began to look around aimlessly again before finding herself staring off at the barn.

Eirika noticed this and gain an air of sympathy, “… You really care about her don’t you?”

Alear closed her eyes and breathed, “… Let me ask you something… What happened after Nel died?”

Eirika looked at her confusedly, “You mean, where my ring go in the aftermath?” After Alear nodded in conformation Eirika began to think, “Well let’s see, Emrald took us to Lythos and gave us to Queen Lumera, where we stayed until you came.”

Alear flinched at the name, she knew exactly who Eirika was referring to, “Emrald being the leader of the mages that killed Nel yes?”

“Umm… Yes… listen Alear, I know you have every reason to hate him and the other mages, but he didn’t mean anything by it personally. He and the others just wished to protect their own, that is all.” Eirika answered nervously.

Alear shook her head, “It doesn’t really matter, he is dead now, so debating morality is pointless.”

Eirika looked down at those words, “I suppose that’s right, I guess it’s not like he is around to defend himself to you… No human can stand the test of time in the end…”

Alear turned around and stared directly at Eirika, her eyes unblinking and focused, the sight immediately causing Eirika to flinch somewhat, “Oh you are mistaken, he never got the chance to take that test.”

“… What… do you mean?” Eirika nervously asked.

Alear breathed internally as her memory of that day came flooding back, “A month or so after Nel’s death, I found out that he was back in Brodia, I hunted him down relentlessly. In the middle of night, when he was traveling, I entered his camp, slaughtered his company and forcefully woke him before he could even awaken.”

Eirika’s nervousness turned into horror as Alear told her story, “You mean, you killed him…”

Cautiously Alear nodded, “When he awoke I started to stab him in not-fatal areas, his arms, his legs, you know. But then I began to scrape at his face and head, not deep enough to kill but more than enough to leave a mark and cause immense pain. And pain there was, he screamed and screamed, at first begging me to stop, but then he lost any coherence. Once he did I started striking his chest and throat and stomach.”

Eirika’s horror finally turned to disgust and anger, “But… why… why focus on causing pain? Was his death not enough!”

Alear did not flinch or show any emotion, “It probably was,.. but when I stabbed him and heard his screams, I felt something that I hadn’t in so long,… passion I believe is the word. For so long I had been empty, and it had always been so cold… but in that moment brought on by resurgent sadism that I hadn’t felt in years… It was something that gave me… something…” She began to look upwards into the rain, well aware of her sadistic nature she was born with, “So I kept going, and going, and going,.. but then I looked down, and I found he was dead, and monstrously disfigured. And in that moment of lucidity, my sadism vanished, and I felt emptier than ever.”

Eirika’s disgust dissipated somewhat, only nodding for Alear to continue.

Alear closed her eyes as she continued to think on the day, “The emptiness caused by that event did not go away, I still live with it. I realized well after that all I really wanted was for Nel to come back, so I could have someone, anyone to talk to and lean on. And when I looked down, and saw the bloody mess I had created, not gaining a thing by creating it, I realized that Nel wasn’t coming back, and that there was nothing to do but accept that with no further closure….”

For a moment Eirika just looked at her, not being able to tell if some of the water rolling down Alear’s face were rain or tears, “… Why tell me this? You clearly have been keeping this to yourself,.. so why…”

Alear shook her head, turning back to Eirika, but not opening her eyes, “I… I don’t know… Perhaps I just wanted to express that I am sick and tired of losing those I care for… And now it feels she is all I have left… So I can’t bring myself to leave her or put her in danger.”

“I… I understand… Just please be aware of those around you…” Eirika looked like she wanted to say more but decided not to, still shaken by the gruesome tale.

Alear opened her eyes and nodded, after a few more seconds she turned and continued to wander around.

Hortensia : Florraport

Hortensia’s mind had begun to turn as she regained a sense of consciousness around, after a few more moments she struggled to pull her eyes open. At first she failed to properly comprehend her surroundings while her head felt like it was being crushed, so she laid there for what felt like ten or so minutes, although it was hard to tell.

After a while, Hortensia had begun to look at her surroundings, she was in some type of building, looking at it closer she guessed it was in Florraport. Some of the windows were broken, but the building was in otherwise in good shape.

The next thing she had noticed was that she was on some type of stretcher bed, not too long after she saw that she wasn’t the only one, the whole house had been converted to hold the injured of the army. Looking around she saw that both Goldmary and Rosado were near her, but also that several others too in different parts of the house, although she wasn’t able to see how many.

Immediately she realized that she had passed the battle over, causing a sting of guilt to hit her, after all who knows how many injuries she could have prevented or at least healed.

At that realization Hortensia had laid back down, her head still pounding, when she heard a voice, “Oh, uh Princess Hortensia, you’re awake.”

Tilting her head Hortensia saw as Rosado said that, “Hey Rosado, you’re not injured to badly are you?”

He shook his, “Nah, just my wrist, they said it’s a bit dislocated but with a healing staff and some time it won’t last.”

Hortensia nodded at that, of course the fact that his wrist was even broken in the first place was partially her fault, “… I’m sorry Rosado, if I hadn’t told you and Goldmary to attack it wouldn’t have happened at all.”

He shook his head, “It’s all right, you were angry and rightfully so… and well I am your retainer…”

That didn’t make it better, remembering the sight of her raised father still created hatred in her heart, but at the same time she saw her actions with a new clarity, one that made her realize all the harm she had caused to those around her. It didn’t really seem worth it anymore.

Seeing that Hortensia wasn’t calmed by his words, Rosado again spoke, “Listen Hortensia, you were angry, and you made some mistakes, that’s fine, we all make mistakes, but they don’t make us lesser for them.”

“… Thanks Rosado, I needed to hear that.” She didn’t feel much better, but she still appreciated it, “By the way Rosado, did… did the battle end? What happened after?”

Rosado looked up, “After you fell unconscious we retreated, me Goldmary and you were evacuated to the gates by the stewards while everyone else went back to fight the Hounds. After a while the Firenese army showed up and helped push the Elusian army back into the sea. That was a few hours ago now.”

Hortensia nodded, “Was,.. was anyone…. Hurt?” She felt ill as she asked that, the fear of someone dying was stronger than ever, rivaling the fear she felt for Ivy back at the cathedral, partially because if someone did die, then she would be partly responsible for it.

Rosado looked right, understanding her double meaning, “No one died, although some got pretty badly injured, but it looks like everyone will make it.

A wave of relief came over Hortensia, the fear she felt somewhat eased, still her overall guilt remained, “And what… what about Father? Do you know what happened… with him?” A new round of dread reappeared in her mind.

Rosado turned more sympathetic at her question, “… I don’t know, I was only told the basics of what happened. Maybe you could ask Princess Ivy.”

Hortensia nodded before pulling herself up somewhat, her body and head still aching, she looked around again before spotting a Firenese cleric, “Um, miss?”

The cleric looked over towards her, “Oh Princess Hortensia, what can I do for you?”

“Can you um,.. tell my sister I am awake please?” Hortensia asked politely.

The cleric nodded, “Of course, I’ll go get, until then sit tight and don’t exert yourself.” After speaking the cleric walked away.

With that Hortensia laid back down and waited for Ivy, she wasn’t here, which meant she wasn’t injured. That was at least another small relief to Hortensia.

Hortensia felt as she waited for somewhere between five and ten minutes. Silently she was terrified of the coming conversation, fearful of the news about her father and his fate, a fate she already knew.

As she tried to keep those thoughts contained, Hortensia heard as the door to the house opened as Ivy came inside before turning to see her. Ivy began to speedwalk over, not trying to seem to eager, it was a habit Hortensia had long noticed and understood.

Once she made her way over, Ivy began to speak, “Hortensia, are… you feeling okay?”

Hortensia pulled her head up, “Yeah, my hurt pretty bad when I woke up, but it’s mostly gone now, I’m just a bit stiff.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but she was very much exaggerating her recovery.

Ivy breathed a sigh of relief, clearly this was weighing on her “… Oh thank goodness, I’m so glad you’re not injured… when the spell was broken, I was… so afraid…”

Hortensia nodded at that, “Can we… talk somewhere else?”

Ivy blinked, understanding her but still worrying, “Are you okay to walk?”

“Yeah I’m fine, just a bit shaky is all.” Hortensia answered before moving herself off the stretcher. At the first step off she felt like she might fall, but quickly managed to regain her footing before Ivy saw.

Ivy looked at her skeptically for a moment before reluctantly going along with it, “… Okay… just don’t exert yourself for a while. We can talk in a nearby patio cover, it’s raining right now.”

Hortensia nodded at that before she and Ivy left the building to talk further, her body still somewhat ached, but she was more eager, or perhaps she just felt it necessary to hear what had happened.

The two Elusian sisters found themselves under a nearby patio cover, the rain still falling overhead in the open.

Looking around the area Hortensia saw a piece of the damage caused to the cities, the fires had been put out by the rain but many of the buildings, especially the ones close to the docks were charred, plus there was still a smell of smoke in the air.

Many windows were shattered while walls were covered in various battle wounds from scorch marks to dents caused by weaponry.

In this sight many Firenese soldiers were moving back and forth across the town preforming various tasks, along with some non-injured members of their group. Some were surveying the area, while others were carrying shovels and organizing wagons, most likely organizing an effort to bury the dead.

Seeing the sight in front of her only confirmed her guilt in Hortensia’s mind. The idea that her actions contributed to the damage in front of her hurt her dearly. She was reminded of a concept her father once told her, that a ruler ought to put their duty over their personal feelings, lest it lead to the suffering of the realm and those in it. And she had completely failed in that, and that hurt her in a way that she could not describe.

Turning quietly away from the sight, Hortensia sat down on a nearby bench, seeing this Ivy sat down next to her. Both were trying to figure out where to start or what to say.

“So… What happened after I was knocked out?” Hortensia decided to first ask.

Ivy looked at her briefly before looking out at the town, “Well, I was focused on getting to you first, so I didn’t what happened immediately after, but I know Alear and Veyle fled soon after, and a while after that we fled to an enclosed park. There we planned our counterattack, and the stewards carried you off while we attacked.”

Hortensia thought on that for a moment, that was something that Rosado had already more or less told her, but it was still something that was good to know, “And how did the attack go?”

Ivy thought for a moment before answering, “Well. We attacked in a mass puncture maneuver which reached the Hounds and disoriented their command, which later allowed for the Firenese army to arrive and scatter the enemy fairly easily…. I am not particularly aware of the specifics of what happened in the battle though, I was… elsewhere.”

Hortensia was well aware what she meant by ‘elsewhere’, “You mean,.. you were fighting Father.” She turned to look at Ivy.

Looking back at her, there was a clear pain in Ivy’s eyes before she nodded, “… Yes…”

“Was he… himself… or…” Hortensia asked, still struggling.

“It spoke like him, but… it was… hollow,.. until the end when He came back…” Ivy responded.

“He came back?” Hortensia hesitantly asked, causing Ivy to nod, “What… What did he say?”

Ivy looked back at the town in front of them, trying to find the proper words, “He… apologized, for allowing the Fell Dragon’s return, and said to never make his same mistakes… And he asked if you were okay.”

Hortensia took in the words, “And… what did you tell him?”

“I said that you were fine, and that you would recover… He was comforted that you were alright.” Ivy responded.

Hortensia looked down at the floor, still taking in everything, “And… Now he is gone…”

Ivy nodded silently, looking like she was about to answer but decided not to, leaving Hortensia to come to terms with it herself. Hearing that he was gone for good hurt her deeply, and yet… She felt a sense of closure, or at least the beginning of something akin to closure.

She turned and looked across the sea in the distance, the direction of Elusia. Her own duty quite clear to her, she just wonder the direction things would go.

Alear : Firenese Countryside

The rain had eased somewhat, but it still had continued to fall around Alear as she walk around the area, trying to get a good idea of the layout around her. Her conversation with Eirika still weighing on her, never before had she truly talked about that event with anyone, she and Marth had never spoken of it, and she certainly never talked about it to Lumera, and frankly she had long pushed it back to the depths of her mind and chose to forget about it.

It was, however, something that had returned to the forefront of her mind, along with the memory of her other sadistic and cruel tendencies early in her life. Perhaps it was because of her recent nightmares creating a modern image of what could have been, like a shadow that she thought long extinguished had returned to haunt her.

Shaking her head, Alear decided not to over think it, she had suppressed it before and she would again, it was for a brief time in her life her dominant trait, and now it held no sway over her and that was how she liked it. There was no reason to give it any attention or power, it would go away as it had done before.

Once confident that she succeeded in shoving away her darker thoughts, Alear began to return to the barn, it was probable that Veyle would wake soon.

Entering the barn, Alear took a look around the building before seeing Veyle. Immediately she noticed that Veyle had been stirring in her sleep, meaning she would wake up soon. Kneeling down next to her, Alear began to wait for Veyle to awaken from her slumber.

Looking at Veyle, at a surface level it seemed like her wound had more or less disappeared. Ultimately it didn’t seem like the wound was all that serious to begin with, even without draconic regeneration it would have likely only taken a few days for a human to recoup, even without staff healing. Still though, it didn’t make Alear any less furious with Hortensia.

As she waited, Alear began to think on the future, there was no obvious solution to their current predicament, the only option seemed to be to continue to run as far from the conflict as they could. Under that logic she guested the best thing to do would be to go to the forested hill in southwestern Firene, which was fairly uninhabited while still being livable.

While thinking further on potential options, Alear attention was recaptured by the stirring Veyle, her eyes beginning to struggle to open, a few moments later, she sluggishly opened her lavender eyes.

After a minute or two, Veyle Turned to meet Alear, still somewhat sleepy, “Oh,.. good morning sister…”

“It’s afternoon.” Alear dryly responded.

“Oh” Veyle blink as she became more and more conscious, with her looking around her surrounding, likely not getting a particularly good view of them when she first arrived, “Did anything happen, while I was asleep?”

Alear thought for a moment before answering, “Not really, it looks like the battle ended. I think the Elyosians won, the Elusian fleet left the area.”

“Oh that’s good.” Veyle turned her head back and stared at the roof of the barn. A sort of awkward silence was created between them for minutes as Veyle worked to regain proper cognitive ability.

“Are you… doing fine. Does it still hurt?” Alear asked, there was always the potential that some sort of invisible damage remained and she rather Veyle not strain herself.

Veyle pulled herself up on the hay, “I’m… a bit stiff still… and the area is still a bit sore, but I’m fine to walk…”

Alear shook her head, Veyle was clearly overstating her recovery, “No stay still for a bit. You are still hurt.”

“Bu-“

“You are a dragon, don’t worry it won’t be too long until you are fully recovered. Until then, don’t walk around too much, else you might strain yourself.” Alear told her firmly.

Seeing that Alear wasn’t budging on this point, Veyle reluctantly nodded, a frown forming on her face, “… Alright sister… it’s just… I want to do more…”

Alear thought on that for a moment before responding, “You are already doing what you can, and that is enough…”

“But… I feel so bad…” Veyle moved from laying on the hay to sitting on, it, allowing her legs to hand down.

“You mean because of what happened at the town.” Alear surmised, Veyle was starting to get predictable with how she always felt so guilty.

Veyle looked down, “Well yeah, I mean no… no I do mean yeah but…” She was speaking quickly and without organization.

“Just tell me what you feal bad about one issue at a time.” Alear asked, this seemed like decent enough way to ease Veyle’s worries. She remember Lumera talking to her in similar point by point way.

Veyle thought for a moment before responding, “Well,.. first when I saw that girl, Hortensia I think she’s called… she was so upset with me… and she was right, I did make that corrupted… I mean I didn’t remember doing so… but…”

“It was not your fault; you were controlled remember? She was upset yes, but she was wrong to attack. And besides, you can’t be held accountable for something you had no will in.” Alear reminded Veyle.

Veyle didn’t seem convinced, “But… if it hadn’t been for me… that corrupted would have never been created… that is… something only I can do…”

Alear thought on that, as much as she hated the corrupted, even she needed to admit how impressive the corrupted Hyacinth was, never had she seen one so lifelike, Rafal had gotten close to doing so, but died before he could get everything down, “When… When did you develop that power Veyle?”

Veyle looked at Alear confused, “You mean when did I learn to make corrupted like that?” She asked. Alear nodded, causing Veyle to briefly think before continuing, “Well, I wanted to get stronger after you left,.. I couldn’t properly transform, nor could I summon emblems, and learning magic was something that I struggled with at first,.. so I tried to make corrupted like the rest of our siblings… And I found out… that I was pretty good at it… I don’t know when I properly figured it out though… it all kinda blurs together…”

Alear nodded at that, it was as good as answer as any she supposed, “Well… Listen Veyle, you have that power yes… but it does not make you responsible for what happened,.. that was the other’s doing.”

Veyle moved to protest, “But- It’s my skill so-“

Alear interrupted her, “And it doesn’t matter, you were controlled, your controllers exploited your power, the fault lies entirely with them and no one else.”

Veyle looked down as she heard Alear’s words, not necessarily agreeing, but not disagreeing either. As she failed to respond further or discuss her other issues, a silence descended between Alear and Veyle, neither resuming their talk.

After a while Alear heard some rumbling, it was quiet and only lasted a second, but it came from Veyle’s direction, “Veyle… are you hungry.”

“Umm.. Maybe a little…” Veyle sheepishly said, “But um… I can go on for a little while longer… if we need to move.”

Alear shook her head, “No, you still need to recover, and we can stay until then, for now I’ll go and find something for us to eat.” Alear was also a bit hungry she had to admit.

“But… weren’t we still talking about stuff…” Veyle asked with some hesitation.

“It’s fine.” Alear formed a soft smile, “You clearly need to think more on all of it, when your head is clear we can talk more, sound good?”

Veyle smiled in response, “Um yeah, sounds good… Are you um sure you’ll find food yourself; I can go with you…”

Alear shook her head, “No it is fine, you need to rest more, I will try to be quick.”

“Oh um… goodbye then…”

“Bye Veyle, I’ll try to be quick.”

With that, Alear got up, turned around and left the barn again. In the time she was in the barn, the rain had eased significantly, now it was only lightly sprinkling, albeit it was still very cloudy and a little foggy.

“Now where to find food…” Alear thought to herself, “I suppose I could hunt something…” agreeing to that internally Alear walked off into the woods to hopefully find some proper prey.

Alfred : Florraport

Alfred had found himself staring across the sea from the docks, the uncertain future on his mind. The battle had been successful, the Elusians had been repelled, and Firene had been saved. However everyone knew this was not the end, far from it.

What was now on Alfred’s mind was the question of where to go next, he looked down at his palm, holding both the Ring of the Holy Knight, which he had managed to grab from Zephia when the Hounds retreated, and the ring of the Sage Lord, which Ivy had obtained from the corrupted Hyacinth. Neither were usable without Alear, they were only being denied to the enemy.

Still he figured five on four was better than five on six, even if it wasn’t eight on four as it so narrowly was. All and all though, he realized that the Elyosian army did not have the strength to confront the Fell Dragon, maybe with Alear they could, but after what happened the previous day, that felt unlikely.

As he stewed on what to do, Alfred heard footsteps approach him, followed shortly by the familiar voice of Diamant, “Prince Alfred.”

Alfred turned to meet him, “Oh hey Prince Diamant,.. is Alcryst doing okay?”

Diamant nodded, “He is, the injury isn’t as bad as previously thought, the healers managed to patch him up well, all he needs is some rest. You kingdom has my thanks.”

“It’s no worry, if anything Firene ought to be thanking you for helping in the first place, healing is least that we can do.” Alfred responded before continuing the conversation, “Did you wish to speak about something though?”

“Yes, I wish to know where we go from here.” Diamant asked.

Alfred looked down, he had thought about that for a while now and still didn’t have an answer, “I… I don’t know, we surely can’t do anything in the short term, almost everyone has at least some sort of injury.” As he said that, Alfred felt a pain across his left torso where he had been cut, it had been healed, but he wouldn’t be able to ride for a week minimum, and most of the group had even worse injuries, they simply couldn't continue for at least a few weeks.

Diamant looked at him, clearly understanding, “I agree, to push onward right now would be foolish, but even in the future, I don’t see how we can fight the Fell Dragon or the Hounds, at least not without the Di- I mean Alear to balance it out. But at the same time…”

“At the same time we can’t sit idly either…” Alfred finished for him, “I agree fully, charging in would be suicide, even when we recover.”

“If I may though, I think I have something of an idea.” Diamant said, immediately catching Alfred’s attention.

“Go on.” Alfred would take anything at this point.

“What if the Brodian army went on the offensive, it could take away from the already overstretched Elusian army and allow us a path to Illusiastad unhindered.” Diamant said with some shaky confidence.

Alfred thought on it, on one hand it was better than the nothing he had come up with, but on the other hand, he could already see some holes, “But would that be enough, Elusia has fully mobilized its entire society, plus there are the corrupted, assuming we went across the sea we would still have to contend with significant opposition before we can even reach the capital, let alone the palace.

Reluctantly Diamant nodded, “Yes I suppose that is true, but I think we need to make use of everything we have to win this, including our kingdoms.”

Alfred thought a bit, “Well maybe, the Firenese army can accompany us in a naval invasion, to further draw away forces and secure our flank while we all form a strike team on the palace…” The pieces of a plan were beginning to form.

“Maybe Timerra can get Solm to do something as well.” Diamant further added.

Alfred continued to think, “… I think this line of thinking holds promise, but we need to plan and plan carefully,.. for now perhaps all we should do is recuperate, and then train, and as we do so, we can figure this all out.”

Diamant nodded, “I think that is for the best, maybe we ought to go to Havre De Fleur, we can coordinate better there then here. And I also wish to see if I can’t get my hands on some texts.”

That last part peaked Alfred’s interest, “Texts? Texts on what?”

Diamant quickly shook his head, “Oh sorry, its nothing vital or really all that important, I just wish to do some reexamination of some history, that is all.”

Alfred looked at him confused for a minute before continuing, “Well either way, I agree, once we are in good shape we can head to Havre De Fleur, there we can work out the kinks of our plan, maybe some of the others have some ideas on what to do as well.”

“Of course,.. oh and, what about Alear, should we try and find her or…” Diamant asked hesitantly.

Alfred thought for a moment, he had very much wanted to find her, plus Alear rejoining may prove the difference between defeat and victory in the end, but at the same time she was most likely still on edge after Hortensia attacked Veyle, “… I think that it would be best if we just let things be for now… let tensions cool for the moment, else we cause more harm and create a further rift.” It was a hard decision, Alfred wanted to make amends with Alear, but that just didn’t seem possible at this time.

“I see… I agree with that course of action, just… never mind, I’ll leave you to it Prince Alfred. I’ll see you later.” Diamant clearly wanted to say more but had instead left.

Alone again, Alfred turned back to look across the sea and the fog covering the horizon. Beyond that mist was Elusia, and more generally, the future.

Alear : Firenese Countryside

After walking around for a bit, Alear had realized that most animals had fled out of her reach do to the rain. Knowing that she had found herself standing ankle deep in a nearby stream with her sword held downwards as she patiently waited. Seconds passed, followed by minutes, yet she managed to keep herself perfectly still as the river flowed around her.

Feeling the loose rain fall above her and the flowing stream below her gave Alear a good sense of movement as she waited, her eyes’ peripheral vision caught a shadow moving in the stream to her flank, but she kept focused and unmoving.

Her patience and disciple was rewarded when the shadow moved across the river in front of her even then did she wait still for the perfect moment. Suddenly Alear jabbed down her sword into the water at the shadow, with the precise thrust complete, Alear pulled her blade from the water, seeing that a sizable fish had now been impaled upon it.

After a brief look at the size, Alear was satisfied with her catch, quickly she pulled it off her sword and wrapped it in a cloth to protect the fish from the elements until she could cook it later.

Now that she was successful, Alear turned around and headed back to the barn.

As Alear made her way through the surrounding forest on the path to the barn, she noticed how the remnants of the rain had still not let up, the clouds had not parted in the slightest, it had continued to sprinkle ever so slightly around her, creating a dampness in the air.

After this brief thought though, Alear simply continued on, she was glad she had mindlessly wandered around earlier, she felt like she now had a decent grasp on the general area, it had certainly made finding food quite quick considering the less than favorable conditions in doing so.

Alear had continued to make her way fairly absent mindedly, her previous conversation with Eirika had been heavy, but it had served its purpose of allowing her to vent out on some things she had been bottling up for a literal thousand years at this point. Now that she had let it out at least a little, her mind was at least allowing for some minor reprieve, and that was something she was admittedly enjoying at the moment.

Moving into the opening in the forest where the barn was, however, a sight that frustrated that rare peace. She had seen several new faces in the area. Quickly her eyes narrowed as Alear counted; three men, two women, and a few children of various ages. One of the men seemed to be yelling at something, or as Alear instinctively knew, someone.

Immediately did Alear pick up her pace to the front of the barn, causing one of the women to notice her, “Is it… My word, it’s the Divine Dragon!” Alear barely refrained from scowling at the speaking of her false title.

Walking right up, Alear was about to speak when one of the men walked up to her before she could speak, “Oh thank goodness you are here Divine One, my family were fleeing our homes in Florraport when we found this barn to rest. But when we got here, we found the same mage girl that rose the dead a while ago.”

Alear just looked at him as she processed what she heard, “… and where is she now…”

“Inside, she-“ Right as the man spoke, the barn door creaked open, with Veyle now poking out.

Her terrified expression turned to one of relief the second she saw Alear, “S- Alear your-“

“There she is, that’s her, she’s the one who caused all this. I bet she is with the Elusians that burned our city.” The man yelled, causing Veyle to jump back. As she did so the man quickly grabbed the barn door before the stunned Alear could react, ripping it open. The children cowered behind the women as the other two men cautiously filled the space between them and the other man.

The shock of the man pulling the barn door open caused Veyle to jump farther back in panic, nearly stumbling over a haybale in the process. Before she could be cornered though, Alear quickly moved in between Veyle and the irate local, “Enough, leave now, Florraport is safe again, why don’t you go back there instead of here.”

Alear’s calm and emotionless statement confused the group in front of her immensely, “Divine One, don’t your see that that girl was the one who caused all this?”

“She wasn’t, now leave.” Alear was firm in her response, she saw the potential for violence, and would prefer it not come to that.

The man looked at her confused, “… I assure you Divine One, that girl was the one, I saw her raise some of the beasts with my own eyes, and I have friends who can say the same, plus town guards, priests, and royal officials who can further confirm. Please do not let her trick you with her innocent demeanor.”

Alear leaned forward, although she was very much shorter, she still gave off an intimidating presence to the man, “I repeat myself, you don’t know what you are talking about, now you and your family will leave before I make you leave.”

The man stumbled back in fright, Alear’s firmness and unblinking eyes clearly having an effect. He looked at her and then Veyle briefly, looking to see if we was indeed mistaken or not. However he quickly reaffirmed he was correct.

However before he could find words to contest Alear, Veyle quietly spoke, “… Um,.. Alear mayb-“

The man looked at Veyle with a new fury the minute she spoke, “YOU! Don’t you DARE speak the Divine One’s holy name with your wicked tongue!” The rest of his family was now watching from a distance with deep anxiety.

The man swiftly bypassed Alear and moved to lash out at Veyle, but the moment he did, Alear instinctively pulled a knife, moved backward and angle slightly, and plunged the blade into the man’s stomach.

Almost immediately did shock radiate across everyone, the family cried numerous screams, and Veyle had held her hands over her mouth before fleeing deeper into the barn.

Alear however blanked all of it out as she saw the man look at her with a mix of shock, betrayal and disbelief before slumping to the ground, “… W-Why… I just wan- wanted… to p-protect… my… family…”

Alear looked at him pitifully as his life faded from his eyes before whispering to herself, “… So did I…”

After some more screams and cries, one of the women stepped forward, tears in her eyes while her body shook, “W-Why!? Wh-why w-would you k-kill my brother?! H-He j-just w-wan’t t-to hel-help!”

Alear turned to her, her face showing no expression or remorse, “I did warn him, he had only himself to blame.”

The woman looked at Alear with pure disbelief, looking as though she wanted to yell more, instead though, she just grabbed a nearby cover and moved to wrap her brother’s corpse up, she looked at Alear with pure scorn while doing so.

Alear for her part made no moves to stop her, rather she just moved slightly further into the barn where Veyle had fled further into.

After a while, the women and her husband finished the grim work, the other man carrying the now wrapped man as the other woman, less distraught, focused on herding the children away.

After finishing wrapping her brother, the woman turned to give one last hateful look towards Alear, “… Y-you don’t deserve the respect we gave you,… You are a horrid and wicked girl and don’t deserve to call yourself a divine dragon.”

“… You’re right,… I don’t… I never did.” Alear said in response, a hollowness in her voice.

The response caught the woman off guard, “… You aren’t worthy of Queen Lumera’s place, and if she could see you…” The woman shook her head and turned to leave before she could finish, her words cutting deeper than she ever could imagine.

Alear listened as the family shuffled away, hearing cries and sobs slowly fade into the distance as she watched the rain return to its previous vicious downpour outside.

Even despite the renewed downpour, a silence descended over Alear’s mind. However before she could process it, a voice came from behind, “… Um… Sister… are you… okay…” Veyle’s voice was one of fright.

Alear shook her head, “It is not I that you should be asking that.”

Veyle looked where the man fell and took his last breath before looking back at Alear, if Veyle had anything further to say, she didn’t speak it. Instead she turned to stare into open falling rain as Alear was doing.

After a minute and without turning she reached out her hand to Alear’s, who gripped it in return. Causing both to interlock their hands. Allowing for the silence to continue uninterrupted.

Chapter Text

Zephia : Off the Elusian Coast

It had been a frustrating return journey for Zephia, her failure at breaking through would have been acceptable had she something to show for it. After all, the invasion was merely meant to get the Elyosian army out into the open so she could rip the rings from them.

But that had not happened, rather her forces were pushed back and had lost ahold of the Ring of the Sage Lord and the Ring of the Holy Knight, the loss of the latter was especially humiliating for Zephia.

And on top of all that, they had also lost hold of the Ring of the Azure twins with the only silver lining being that Alear did not seem interested in pushing that advantage and that her not being around meant that the other two lost rings couldn’t be used against them. Still in a matter of weeks after Destinea, their once eight on two advantage had fallen to a four on five disadvantage.

And then to further frustrate her efforts, Veyle had been snatched away by Alear and her idiocy. As long as Alear was near, there seemed to be little way for Zephia to bring back the more proper Lady Veyle. Although… now that she thought on it, solving that particular problem may prove enough to return the advantage to her lord… and it wasn’t like Alear could always be around Veyle…

Still that was all for the future, right now Zephia was focused on the dread about the report that she must give to her lord. Sombron was always fairly unpredictable when given bad news, sometimes he lashed out, and other times he barely seemed to care, his mind and vision was esoteric, even Zephia who had served countless years as his right hand had only scarcely understood why and how he chooses to react. And that most of all was why she was always unnerved when she delivered bad news.

Zephia looked upward from her musings and dread, beyond her was the sea, and further beyond that was the foggy silhouette of Elusia.

Turning around, Zephia looked around a bit at the ship’s crew. They all were rigid, faithful in their belief yet there was clear... uncertainty and abandonment. As if deep down they understood that they and their kingdom were being led to oblivion. But still they did not show it beyond their hollowed eyes, they simply chose to move on with their assigned duty.

Looking around a bit more, Zephia’s attention was caught by her Hounds. Griss was leaning against the ship’s mast bored. Marni was twiddling her hands on the edge of the portside as she looked around the ship.

And of course Mauvier, predictable as ever was staring into the sea from the starboard side of the ship. No doubt was he moping internally about Veyle and her miserable existence.

Zephia was still spilt on whether or not to punish Mauvier for his transgressions in Florraport, however Zephia decided that it would counterproductive. Yes there was the danger of him breaking away, but if Zephia could solve the Veyle and Alear issue in the way she was starting to realize she could, then Mauvier would fall back in line in the end.

Satisfied with her conclusions Zephia turned back to looking on the horizon, she realized that a new phase in this conflict was about to begin. And if the plan she was forming worked, then they would be victorious.

Of course, Lord Sombron would have to approve it first. Zephia wondered if he would accept it, she guessed it depends whether or not he is in a vindictive mood or not.

The ship docked without incident, the rest of the fleet behind them began the slow process of docking and then reorganizing with the rest of the Elusian navy. It was likely they would see action soon enough if the Firenese decided to counterattack.

Either way, the Hounds began their journey back to the Elusian royal place where Sombron had taken his residence. Along the way, Zephia noted how more decrepit the land had become during their short absence, the path to the capital was littered with deserted towns and in the distance one could see the roving corrupted hunted mindlessly for victims.

The whole kingdom was rotting, Sombron had made sure to squeeze it for every drop of utility it could provide him. And once it was dry, he would abandon it as he had done with everything that could no longer provide value for him.

Zephia mused internally at that. She was well aware that the same applied to her, but at the same time she saw things the same way, once she got what she wanted, she would abandon her lord in the exact same way. She wondered though if he knew that.

Finally after hours of journeying, the Hounds reached the capital of Illusiastad, the sight in front of Zephia was nothing special, but she could sense Marni shiver up a small amount behind her.

The city looked to be nearly empty, the streets were clear, homes were boarded up or abandoned. The once plentiful city guard which once proudly patrolled the streets was now nonexistent. And the deeper into the city one got, the emptier it felt.

However it would be wrong to assume that the city was abandoned. Indeed did thousands of souls still inhabit it. But civil society itself had now been made a thing of the past as lawlessness descended upon the city.

But this was not the anarchy of mass chaos and violence, everything was peaceful and quiet, no one wished to go into the open, as fear was now the new law of the land. And as the air around Zephia proved, the sound of fear was silence.

As they walked, Zephia noted those remaining, she could feel the cowed eyes watching them behind the closed off windows. Like rats did they hide away from sight, too afraid to open their doors, even for each other.

Looking up somewhat, Zephia saw as snow fell subtly onto the city. It was springtime now, but Illusiastad was built high up in the mountains and was a northern city, winter had passed, but that did not mean that the snow felt like leaving just yet. So it fell slowly onto the city like ash.

Turning her attention back ahead, Zephia and her Hounds continued to move towards the palace at the center of the town.

Finally did the Hounds enter the palace proper. The same dread that hung over the outside was still very much present, the once lively palace, filled with a legion of courtiers, servants, and nobility, had now become completely quiet and empty save for a few corrupted watching the halls like statues.

The servants and courtiers had been expelled, remaining aristocrats had either gone back to their abodes in the city to partake in the same cowering as the common folk, or if they could, to their noble holds elsewhere in the kingdom.

Though of course, a few valued members of high society had been retained by Sombron, if only to keep a hold of the levers of power, sniveling as they all were, they met every single one of his many demands before hiding away in their prisons called palace lodgings, not to come out unless called.

The Hounds continued in silence, their footsteps echoing in the dark halls, the corrupted paid them no attention. Indeed they four were perhaps the only ones left in Elusia that could walk freely. Of course, that did not mean they were free from their lord’s ever-present gaze.

Finally they reached the last step of their return journey, the massive, closed door leading into the throne room.

“Well… Are all of us going to go in,.. or just you?” Zephia heard Griss ask.

Zephia thought for a minute, she needed to share her plan, but she knew full well that it would create a rift with Mauvier and maybe even Marni as well, “… I will talk to him alone, this does not require any of you. So do go and make yourselves home now would you.”

“Heh, fine with me.” Griss remarked before turning around and leaving.

“Um… Alright then… I guess I’ll… go to my room…” Marni said nervously before following Griss.

Mauvier stared at Zephia for a minute, wondering what her motives were, but soon also left without saying a word.

The three’s footsteps echoed behind Zephia, slowly getting quieter and quieter. Once they were gone from the hall, Zephia moved to open the doors. Even for a dragon like Zephia did It take considerable force to open the heavy doors, the creaking of steel and stone caused an announcing echo. An echo designed to catch the attention of the palace’s audience hall admit constant chatter, but with the palace so empty, the echo was all consuming.

Immediately upon entering, one’s attention would be drawn to the room’s decor, or rather lack thereof. Once silk banners and ornate furniture would adore the room to accommodate the high nobility. However now all of it had been removed, leaving the place entirely empty save for the throne in the back. The only color coming from the dark green pillars and the stained-glass panes, which gave the only modicum of light in the otherwise darkened hall.

And upon the lonely throne in the back was the room’s sole inhabitant. As always was he unbothered by any newcomers, merely keeping his eyes closed as he kept occupied within his inscrutable mind. Zephia made his way over to him, only a few steps in though the heavy doors slammed shut behind her. No doubt because of some spell created by her lord, likely was it so that he could gage one’s fear, if that was the case then Zephia knew well enough to not even react as she kept walking forward.

Once Zephia had reached the throne, her lord still not acknowledge her presence, she knelt down, “My lord.”

Finally did the Fell Dragon open his eyes and look at her, “Zephia, since you are here so soon I may assume that you have failed.” It was a statement, not a question.

“… Yes… We were pushed back at Florraport…” Zephia started as she tried to find her words.

Before she could continue though, he resumed, “How many?”

She looked up at him, he showed no emotion, all he did was stare at her expectantly. Still though she knew what he meant, “… We lost the Sage Lord and the Holy Knight at the port. And some rebellious soldiers stole away the Azure Twins.”

His expression did not change in the slightest, “So my Hounds have failed me.” He closed his eyes for a minute, ever hard was it to tell what he was thinking. Before too long though he open them again, this time with his third as well, “Now tell me, why is Veyle absent?”

The question was bound to come up, still Zephia had wondered about the best way to tell the blunt truth, “She… When the defective part of her regained control, she met Alear… who seemed to be able to convince her to come with her…”

Immediately Sombron’s third eye darted around trying to gage the truth from Zephia’s words, “…” He took painfully long to respond, rather he stay eerily silent as his eye moved. Finally though did he speak, “Veyle… joined with our foes?”

Zephia shook her head, “Not exactly… when her allies found out about her relation to you, Alear’s allies broke from her… or maybe she broke from them… Alear and Veyle are on their own at the minute. I do want to add that those two did somehow acquire the Ring of the Azure twins from those mutineers.”

The third eye ceased to buzz, “I see… how foolish of them…”

Zephia braced herself, now was the time to share her plan, “My Lord,.. may I share with you my plan on how to regain the advantage?”

He looked at her with he same unchanging expression, “… Speak.”

“I believe that with a bit of finesse and planning it would be possible to take back Veyle who I could then use my spell on to bring back her more cooperative self. And as a bonus, Veyle would make the perfect bait for Alear who would undoubtedly do anything to get Veyle back, we could entrap her and remove her as a threat while also regaining the Azure Twins.” Zephia explained. Of course, this wasn’t the full plan, but she thought it best to let him take in the less controversial first part.

Sombron looked at her briefly before speaking, “That is acceptable and prudent. But there is more isn’t there.” Again he spoke with full knowledge of how Zephia was presenting it.

Zephia nodded, “That was merely the first part yes. I must ask though; do you care what happens to Alear?” She guessed his approval depended purely on how much of a grudge he held against her.  

He looked at her, the barest hint of confusion at the question, “I would prefer the traitorous whelpling be put in the ground. But if you can make her useful, I will not say no.”

Zephia again nodded, “As a matter of fact I do, after all the spell I used to make Veyle a more proper fell dragon would only require a few slight modifications to work on a different one of your children.”

While Sombron’s emotiveness was nonexistent, it was clear that Zephia’s idea did at least somewhat peak his interest, “… And you believe you can truly bait her out?”

“Of course, Alear has burned bridges with all those who have supported her just for Veyle. She will come if we take Veyle from her, and as she is prideful and isolated, she will come alone.” Zephia confirmed, thrilled that her plan was not being tossed aside do to her lord feeling petty.

All three of the Fell Dragon’s eyes focused on Zephia as he considered the proposal, “… And how do you propose to retake Veyle?”

“Alear can’t always keep her eye on her, and there are only so many place they can be with how predictable Alear often is with how she thinks,.. well she hates Brodia, Solm is too hot, central and coastal Firene is too populated,… she is in the rural hills in southwestern Firene, there is nowhere else.” Zephia answered with confidence.

Sombron looked at her before his gaze softened and he leaned back, “… Your plan is approved. If you can indeed use your spell on that defect then do so. If not, kill her, that is my decree.”

“Of course my lord, I assure you this is the best opportunity to claim victory.” Zephia responded.

“Now then, you are dismissed.” Once more did Sombron close his eyes and retreat back into his mind.

“Of course, I shall report back when I have made progress.” Zephia said, although Sombron did not respond further.

Turning around Zephia made her way out of the dreadful throne room, her footsteps again echoing behind her. She made her way to her study where she began to set in motion what she imagined may very well be the final chance they really had in this conflict, and more importantly for Zephia, her chances to gain what she had so desired.

Chapter Text

Alfred : Havre De Fleur

The halls of the Firenese royal palace had radiated a warm feeling within Alfred as he was led through them. It had felt like an eternity since he had been home, not just the single winter it had truly been.

Deciding that returning to the capital was their best option, the Elyosian army had an uneventful march there. And although it had only been a single winter, Alfred saw firsthand that it wasn’t just him who had been strained by it.

Villages and homes were in ruins, people had fled for the safety of the walled cities, families clung and mourned together, all while the once pacifistic Firenese society began the slow creep towards proper militarism. It was an unrecognizable kingdom to the one that had existed a few long months ago.

Looking ahead though, Alfred found himself and the rest of the royals in his company making their ways to the audience room, “We have alerted Queen Ève of your arrival, I am sure she can see you all in but a moment.” The servant leading them said.

“Is she um… Busy at all?” Alfred asked, he had no idea of the goings on of governance in the past few vital months.

The servant nodded, “Yes… the queen has been constantly meeting with the generals and nobles trying to form a proper defense for the realm. And she has also been meeting with the common folk to try and raise their spirits.”

Céline moved forward to speak, “And, has the nobility been cooperating?”

The servant looked at her briefly before answering, “… There have been… disagreements, many are more focused on their own lands, and others have been… uncomfortable with the massive enlarging of the military.”

“Hmph, shortsighted fools.” Céline stated in a venomous huff, causing the servant to look at her sympathetically and in agreement.

Before anyone could continue the conversation, the group had reached the audience hall, “Hear we are your highnesses, I shall take my leave now.”

Nodding, Alfred and the rest entered into the audience hall to meet his mother once more.

As they entered, the first thing Alfred saw was his mother talking to a few countries before she spotted them. After briefly looking at the new arrivals, Queen Ève said a few more words to those she was talking before sending them away and walking over to meet the group, “Alfred, Céline, I am overjoyed to see you safe and sound.” As she said her greeting Alfred could not help but notice the bags under his mother’s eyes.

“As am I mother, it has felt like so long…” Céline moved to comment.

Queen Ève gave a nod to Céline before turning back, “And I am thrilled to meet the rest of you all, it has been a while Prince Diamant and Prince Alcryst. And of course it is a joy to meet both Solm’s and Elusia’s royalty as well. But Alfred, I must ask, where is the Divine One? I do not see her with you.”

The question was bound to come up Alfred supposed, “Well,.. that is one of the things I wanted to talk with you about… Can we sit somewhere?”

Queen Ève looked briefly at him before nodding, “Of course. I have prepared a table for everyone, and some servants are preparing some tea right now. You can tell me what has happened there.” She turned and beckoned the eight to follow.

Nodding Alfred and the rest trailed behind.

The table the group was now sitting at was simple yet pleasant. It was an oval shaped table made from fine-crafted wood adorned by a simple yet elegant blue sheet with yellow gradients and trim. Queen Ève took position at the table’s head while the Firenese and Brodians sat at righthand, and the Solmic and Elusians sat to the left.

True to Queen Ève’s word, several castle staff came out and set down several teapots and cup before leaving without further word. As soon as they left, Ève turned to Alfred, “Now then, tell me of your journey.”

Alfred looked at her before looking down, “Well we got to Brodia easily enough, collecting the Ring of the Dawn Maiden as you said… But after that and collecting the Ring of the Young Lion we joined King Morion on an expedition into Elusia… While there we tried to stop the Fell Dragon’s resurrection but…. We failed… and King Morion,..” Alfred looked briefly at Diamant and Alcryst, both were clearly pained as they nodded for him to continue, “King Morion died before we could get to him.”

Queen Ève looked at him, a mix of both disbelief and expectation, “I see… I heard rumors of King Morion’s death,… but the Brodian court was neither able to confirm nor deny it in my correspondences.” She turned to Diamant and Alcryst, “You two and your kingdom have my deepest sympathy, your father despite his faults was a valiant man.”

“Thank you… Queen Ève, it means much to me to hear that.” Diamant said sadly but calmly.

A few silent moments passed before Queen Ève again spoke, “And so what happened after? I presume you traveled to Solm.”

Alfred nodded, “We did, but before that, you should know that in our confrontation with the Fell Dragon,.. we lost the six rings that we had…”

Ève’s eyes widened, “… Including the Ring of the Caring Princess?”

Again Alfred solemnly nodded, looking over he saw Céline also looking down in shame, “We made it out after, luckily no one else died, and we met up with Princess Ivy who gave us two more rings and joined us, but still It was… a bad loss… And also, Alear started to decline mentally in the aftermath.”

“Because of the lost rings? To lose what her mother told her to protect could not have been easy…” Ève inquired as she took in the grim news.

“Well… we are certain that her decline was caused by something else that also happened. But it may be best to just continue the story right now.” Céline answered.

Queen Ève nodded at that despite her confusion and curiosity, “Of course, please Alfred, continue.”

Alfred nodded as he resumed his story, “We entered Solm easily enough, encountering Prince Fogado and then Princess Timerra, which got us the Ring of the Radiant Hero.” Alfred spotted as Both Timerra and Fogado smiled at their mention, “After that we returned to Stellaperta where we fought Three of the Hounds and Princess Hortensia, who was controlled.” At her mention Hortensia looked down in shame.

“I assume by Hounds’ you mean the Four Hounds who are rumored to be Sombron’s lieutenants?” His mother asked, causing Alfred to simply nod, “And the same ones who attacked Florraport as well?”

Again Alfred nodded, “Yes, the very same, and their leader Zephia was the same one who attacked this castle earlier.”

Queen Ève scowled at that, “I see… And what happened after?”

“Well… we freed Hortensia from her control and gained the Ring of the Instructor in doing so. Afterwards we were told by Timerra and Queen Seforia to travel to this abandoned fort in Northern Solm. Like us they also were entrusted with a second ring.” Alfred found himself hesitating more as he got to this point.

“Hmm, that explains a fair bit… I presume by your hesitance that you had encountered trouble there?” Ève asked.

Alfred shook his head, “There were a few hurdles at the fort, but otherwise we got the Ring of the Crux of Fate with little issue…. It’s what happened… after…” Alfred again looked down, he found himself staring into his cup of tea, seeing his reflection within it.

Seeing his trouble, Céline began to speak, “When at Destinea Cathedral, we found out that Sombron,… had a daughter who was working with King Hyacinth to resurrect him… She turned out to be the one who killed Queen Lumera… Her name is Veyle, and she reappeared at the fortress…”

Ève looked over to her daughter, “My word,… I heard that the Fell Dragon had children in the ancient past, but I heard from Queen Lumera that they all perished. To think that one had survived all these years…”

Céline mirrored Alfred as she looked down, “Well,.. I know you might not want to hear this mother, but Queen Lumera knowingly lied to you and everyone else for that manner… She knew full well that at least one of Sombron’s children survived.”

Queen Ève raised an eyebrow, “And how… would you know that? It seems easier to believe that Queen Lumera simply didn’t know…”

Céline looked up at her before turning to see the rest of the table, all of them including Alfred, nodded for her to explain, “When Veyle appeared at the fort she did not cause us any trouble, indeed we now know that she was being controlled by Zephia like Hortensia and maybe even King Hyacinth. Veyle was in fact completely unaware of our previous conflict with her, or any of her evil actions like the murder of Queen Lumera.”

Queen Ève stared perplexed at Céline for the simultaneously confusing and unrelated answer she gave, “… I was… under the assumption that fell dragons were all evil and chaotic, but if this Veyle was truly just being controlled… May I ask what this has to do with Queen Lumera lying?”

“Of course, I was just adding context is all… This is a… difficult subject to explain… Veyle gave us no trouble and looking back just seemed happy to meet new people… No what happened was… was that…. Alear…” Céline looked back down, finding herself unable to explain the truth to her mother.

A few seconds passed as everyone tried work up the words to explain to the now very confused Queen Ève. Multiple times did it look like Alcryst or Ivy or Diamant or Céline found how to speak the needed words, however every time they swiftly closed their mouth before they could speak.

“……. Alear is a fell dragon.” Alfred finally plainly stated, “Veyle is her sister, and Sombron is her father. Lumera only adopted her.” Alfred said it directly so as to not cause any needless confusion.

Queen Ève was made completely silent as she blinked at Alfred’s blunt statement, “… What?.. I… what?”

Alfred let his statement sink in before elaborating, “When we were in the fortress after acquiring the Ring of the Crux of Fate, Alear wandered off were she found Veyle where she apparently revealed herself to her. Afterwards the two came back, we got into an argument, tensions flared and Alear yelled the truth at us.”

Queen Ève just stared in silence, not believing what she was hearing, “… That… isn’t possible… please do not joke about that Alfred… Where is she, let me talk to the Divine One.”

Alfred shook his head, he couldn’t say he didn’t expect this, his mother was very devout, as was he and the rest of their family, extended or otherwise, “She left, after her outburst at us, she transformed into her draconic form and flew away with Veyle, she… looked like the Fell Dragon then…”

Alfred watched as his story left his mother completely speechless, “… I… don’t know what… to say…” Queen Ève retreated into her mind as she took in the incomprehensible, yet true story told to her.

Unable to respond further, Queen Ève looked around the others at the table, all eight were looking at her with various expressions, all of which held some amount of sympathy for the pious queen. A silence began to reign in the room as no one commented further for several minutes.

Finally did the Firenese Queen speak again, “You are… telling the truth… aren’t you Alfred?”

Alfred nodded, “I am.” He understood full well what his mother was feeling, for he was just as pious.

“I see,.. do you know where the Divine One is now?” She asked.

“She appeared briefly at the battle that took place at Florraport,.. but tensions again flared…” Alfred briefly looked over at Hortensia who now wore shame on her face, “And well Veyle got injured and the two fled again… After everything though, I do believe that Alear is on our side still. Queen Lumera truly did love her, and Alear did defeat her father a thousand years ago… I think in the end she will come though… but right now, there is just too much distance…”

Queen Ève looked down solemnly, “This has been a… hard conversation for me… I will need to think on this… this challenge to my faith. Was there anything you needed…”

Céline spoke this time, “We were hoping to utilize the Firenese army for a plan we have been devising to slay the Fell Dragon.”

Queen Ève nodded, “Of course, the training of the recruits has gone well, and Firene is ready to do her part… I will gather the generals and we can further formulate what you have later. Until then, Prince Diamant, Prince Alcryst, Princess Timerra, Prince Fogado, Princess Ivy, and Princess Hortensia, you may all stay as honored guests, as well as your other companions and retainers.”

“Thank you your majesty, for your support.” Ivy said, quiet until now. She seemed the most sympathetic to Queen Ève’s challenge in faith.

“Of course Princess Ivy, now then, I must think on this grim truth for a while… we will speak later.” With that, Queen Ève got up and left to her chambers.

After a few moments, Alfred spoke, “Come on, I’ll show you guys to the guest rooms.”

Surprisingly it was Diamant who spoke after, “Um, may I be shown to the palace library beforehand? I wish to check something that has been on my mind.”

“Oh, of course Prince Diamant, its right this way.” Céline said as she began to lead Diamant out.

“Um, Diamant, do you need any help?” Alcryst asked.

Diamant shook his head, “No need, I’ll try and be quick, don’t worry if I find what I am looking for I will show it to you. But it is just a hunch of mine.”

“Oh uh, okay… bye I guess…” Alcryst quietly said before following Alfred.

Diamant : Royal Firenese Library

As soon as Céline had led him into the palace Library, Diamant immediately began to search for what he was looking for, Céline had offered to help him, but he turned her down. With all luck he would find what he wanted quickly; it wasn’t exactly obscure.

At first there was some confusion as he couldn’t figure out whether or not to look in the historical or mythological texts, but eventually he found what he wanted.

On the far end of the foreign histories sections, he had found the book he wanted, ‘The Song of King Cassitt’ the book was coated in a layer of dust but was in otherwise good condition, which wasn’t surprising, it was unlikely that any Firenese would really care much about an epic about a Brodian King who had lived a millennium in the past.

Of course the same did not apply to Diamant, a thousand times must he have heard this tale, whether told by his teachers in his education, or by his father’s late-night tales. There was not a soul in Brodia that had not heard at least part of the story of Diamant’s far off ancestor and one of, if not the most famous king in Brodian history. But there was something in particular that Diamant had remembered from the story.

Opening the book he skimmed through the first dozen or so pages detailing Cassitt’s early life, until he had found himself reading through the page detailing the razing of Eisenalten. And with that Diamant recognized a layer in the vague story he never had before. Turning around he left to share his findings.

Diamant had made his way to the guest area and into a room meant to allow for socialization between guests. He saw as Alcryst and their retainers were chatting with each other at a table, with the other groups chatting in other parts of the room.

Walking over, Diamant was quickly noticed by Alcryst, “Oh Diamant, did you find what you were looking for?”

Diamant nodded, “I did, and I was correct with my hunch.” He placed the book down on the table.

Citrinne leaned over to look at it, “… What does The Song of King Cassitt have to do with anything?”

“The contents, that’s what.” Diamant said bluntly.

Looking at him, Citrinne had a confused look on her face, “What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain in a minute, but first.” Diamant turned around and spoke to the rest of the gathered group, “Everyone, I found something that I think will interest all of you.”

Now that he everyone’s attention, it was Timerra who was the first to speak, “Whatca got Prince Diamant?”

“Information on Alear’s past.” Diamant stated, immediately did he now have everyone’s interest peaked.

“What? Where?” Ivy asked, somewhat desperate.

“In a book, but first, has anyone here ever read ‘The Song of King Cassitt?’” He had asked, not expecting much.

Some began to think before most shook their head, although a few did answer, “I think I heard some parts of it, but that’s all.” Yunaka said.

“I remember reading it in a class once, but only the first few pages.” Céline answered.

Diamant nodded at that, it wasn’t surprising that only a few non Brodians had even heard of it, “It is an old epic about one of Brodia’s warrior kings. Cassitt lived in the time of the old war with the Fell Dragon, the book is about his life during that war.”

Alfred tilted his head, “Does the book mention Alear?”

“Not by name, but looking back, I do believe it references her. Citrinne flip to page 14.” Diamant said.

Citrinne briefly looked at him before she opened the book and flipped its pages as instructed, “Let us see… Here we are.”

She handed the book to Diamant who began to read out the relevant text, “… As the one hundredth day of the siege of Eisenalten passed, a quiet descend upon the beleaguered city, before, in the burnt night sky, three black serpents descended onto the city. From his tower, Prince Cassitt saw the Blue Snake to the right, the Pink Snake to the left, and the Red Snake in the center. Their fury equaled their might as they had laid death upon the exhausted defenders….”

The reading caused some confused looks before Céline spoke up, “And I guess you are assuming That the Red Snake refers to Alear?”

“Almost certainly, in all references to the Red Snake it refers to it as the leader of the enemy army.” Diamant responded.

“I guess that makes sense, especially now that we know Alear was the leader of the Great Siege of Eisenalten.” Alcryst said with a reserved tone.

“But then, what about the Blue and Pink Snakes, more of Alear’s siblings?” Alfred asked.

Diamant shook his head and lifted up the book, “I do not know, but later parts of the text say that Prince and later King Cassitt’s forces waged a successful counteroffensive that drove Gradlon out of Brodia and avenged Eisenalten. In these later chapters it says that the Pink and then later the Blue Snake were killed. But that the Red Snake had seemingly vanished.”

“I remember reading some old theories that posited that the Red Snake survived the war, I guess those turned out to be accurate…” Citrinne said with a venom in her voice.

Before anyone could speak further, Corrin appeared from her ring, “I will say right now that your theorizing is correct, but I wouldn’t recommend directly confronting Alear about it next time you see her.”

“I wasn’t planning on it, but I still wish to understand her.” Diamant said to the emblem. Thinking back, some more understanding would have gone a long way.

“Of course that is fine. I will say this then, the ‘Pink Snake’ likely refers to Rafal, and the ‘Blue Snake’ likely refers to Nel, both of whom were close to Alear, perhaps the closest after Lumera and Veyle.” Corrin said.

“Oh yeah, I remember Zephia referencing someone named Rafal. But I guess… that they are no longer around as the story says…” Alfred solemnly said.

Corrin nodded, “Yes, the Brodians smashed a dam during an ambush that swept away Rafal and his forces, that was when I was reclaimed from the Fell Dragon. I am unsure what happened Nel, but I know she did not survive much longer.”

“The book says that she was killed by a group of mages led by one of Cassitt’s best friends and loyalist of companions, who would later turn up dead and disfigured…” Diamant said to Corrin. The tale he had grown up with had taken on a whole new meaning now that he knew what he knew.

Corrin shook her head, “Well… the point is that Alear past is bloody, I imagine Nel and Rafal’s death hit Alear hard… I doubt she has yet to recover from it…”

Alfred walked up to her, “… All my life I looked up to the Divine One, to find out what she really was hit me hard. And yet I still wish to find her, no matter the past.”

Corrin smiled softly and nodded, “I am sure she would like to hear that, even if she would never admit it.”

Several moments passed before Citrinne broke the silence, “And how can we assume that she really ever changed? She burnt a city full of innocents, that ought to be enough to condemn someone.”

The entire room shifted their attention to her, and it was an irate Ivy who spoke, “And what about the Elusian cities and towns burnt in the past few years? Do you really think you have the moral high ground here.”

Citrinne looked dead ahead at the Elusian princess, “Why yo-“

Diamant interrupted her, “Citrinne enough, it’s in the past  and I doubt Alear ever had a choice, what matters is the present and future, which is something we cannot confront if we continue to argue about this instead of trying to move forward and understand each other.”

Citrinne looked at Diamant, her face softening before looking at Ivy and then the ground, “… Your right… it’s just,.. I care about this, and for Brodia…”

“I know you do, and that’s why I wanted to remind you.” Diamant said to his cousin.

Several more moments passed in silence before a servant walked in, “Uh excuse me your highnesses, but a messenger has requested to see Princess Ivy.”

Ivy, still somewhat upset blinked at the newcomer, “… Did, they say what they wanted?”

The servant shook his head, “No, only that it was urgent and of great importance that you talk to them.”

“I… see… I will go talk to them. Kagetsu, Zelkov, let’s go.” Ivy said before she and her retainers left.

“What’s that about?” Hortensia asked.

“Don’t know, hopefully it is nothing bad.” Alfred said to her before turning back to Corrin, “Thank you Corrin, for being open with us about that past, we can’t ever hope to understand Alear unless we know what happened all those years ago…”

Corrin nodded happily, “Of course, I am sorry that I can’t tell you everything, but one day I promise, you will know the full story, until then… keep an open mind.”