Fire Emblem Fan Fiction ❯ Fire Emblem Path of Radiance: Divergence ❯ Part 2B ( Chapter 3 )

This is the third and, at present, final chapter of this story that demonstrates the second of the two possible outcomes of Sephiran's gamble. This shows the outcome where Ike is the hero (Yay!) and is embroiled in a crisis. Powerful cabals of rogue Nobles are attempting a coup in Begnion, leaving Begnion tottering on the verge of Civil War, if not open anarchy. But, there is more to it than that. Apparently, Ashnard was not the only man intent on freeing the Dark God from Lehran's Medallion. An organization known as Eclipse has cropped up in Begnion, intent on finishing what Ashnard started. This will be focused on Elincia's perspective as she first relates her relationship, and marriage to Ike as well as the birth of their son. She will have several, hopefully realistic, changes to her character to reflect how Ike has rubbed off on her. This will be followed by us learning the details of the crisis in Begnion. I hope that this is a varied chapter, containing elements of romance, light humor, drama and some measure of interest in what might happen next.

 

Disclaimer: Does anybody actually read these things? I don't own Fire Emblem, Intelligence Systems does. The lucky bastards.

 

********Part 2B, four years after Fire Emblem Path of Radiance, the year 650********

 

The Light Side: Darkest before the Dawn.

 

Two golden orbs blearily opened, closed and then opened again. Gradually, the ornate ceiling of the Royal Bedchamber of Crimea Castle came into focus. Through one expanse of window, the faintest hint of stars could be seen. They would, however, be erased soon, as the sun was at the beginning of its eternal journey across the sapphire sky. Dawn was not quite upon them yet, and a drowsy Elincia found herself wondering what had roused her at such an early hour.

 

Then, an ear piercing cry was heard from a cradle on the other side of the room.

 

`Ah,' the emerald haired Queen thought to herself, `that's what.'

 

She'd often heard that one never knew how much of a luxury sleep was until they were a parent and Elincia felt the truth of this every day. Usually around 4 A.M, on average.

 

She carefully extracted herself from her husband's lethargic grip and padded toward the cradle. She gazed down at the tiny newborn boy who was energetically trying to tear his blanket to shreds and smiled. Scooping up the small, protesting infant, she began to rock him back and forth and to sing the galdr of release, which had been his father and aunt's lullaby, in a hushed tone.

 

Her pronunciation of the Serenes lyrics, however, left much to be desired.

 

Gradually, her newborn son stopped crying and began to giggle at nothing in particular. Looking at Greil, the son she and Ike had created, sent a wave of warmth through Elincia's blood that melted away her drowsiness.

 

In many ways, her marriage to Ike had seemed like a dream come true. Well, not quite. After all, dreams are whatever you make them into. In the waking world, an irritating factor called `real life' had a tendency to appear at inconvenient moments. Elincia was aware, only too aware, of what Ike had given up to marry her. Their rambling conversations aboard Nasir's ship about his fellow Mercenaries, whom at the time were stinking up the lower decks with near constant bouts of seasickness, had shown her much. Ike's slain father, the original Commander of the Greil Mercenaries and their son's namesake, didn't call his Company a family for no reason.

 

The Greil Mercenaries were a tight knit group. Elincia could still remember the stories about how Greil had led them with a firm, but fair hand and how he'd never asked anyone to do something he wasn't willing to do himself. She knew of how he'd taken in Oscar and Boyd and Rolf and Soren when they had no one else to turn to and how, when he'd hired Rhys, he always took the time to ensure that the portion of Rhys' salary meant for his ailing parents reached them. (1)

 

And, in turn, his Mercenaries aided one another. Titania had followed Greil's example and trained the others with patience. Boyd and Gatrie had picked up on Greil's courage and fought with dedication, if not common sense. Rhys, frail though he was, worked as best he could to help the Company, from tending wounds to handling messages to praying for Ashera's favor on their missions. Oscar and Soren, the steadier heads of the bunch, often worked to temper the fervor of the hotheads and, while Soren was always devising ways to change the Company for the better, Oscar acted as a mentor of sorts for those were dispirited. More than once, Ike had relied on Titania, Oscar and Soren for advice and he repaid them by ensuring that not one of them suffered needlessly. Even the children, Mist and Rolf, did their part. Mist had long been the caretaker of the Mercenaries, cooking food, rolling bandages, applying medicines and even finding wildflowers to decorate the Fort. Rolf, under the mentorship of Shinon, trained in secret to be an Archer and, when the time came, he did his mentor and his older brothers proud. (1)

 

It was not uncommon for the Greil Mercenaries to shield each other from harm, and Ike had a number of scars to prove it. (1)

 

Elincia, in turn, tried to help them as best she could. During their travels, she often joined Mist and Rhys in tending the wounded after battle, or she would swap her sunset orange gown for a more functional work dress and join Mist in preparing food for the Company. Though she hadn't been trained in politics, she had received the education of a Noblewoman which included a number of recipes that Mist was eager to concoct. And, every once in a while, when Mist's playful side took over, she would hurl a handful of flour in Elincia's face. And Elincia never failed to reciprocate. Mist had, more-or-less, adopted Elincia as the older sister she'd never had and Elincia was touched. (2)

 

Though Elincia had managed to learn by doing, albeit without realizing it, while dealing with Caineghis and Begnion's Apostle, she soon could no longer stand the dreadful waiting that accompanied each battle. Once she reclaimed her Pegasus, armor and her sword Amiti, she thoroughly surprised Ike by taking the field. During the protracted battle of Fort Pinell, she saw Ike boxed in by a phalanx of Halberdiers and Paladins and flew with desperate speed to save him. Ike had dispatched the five foes in question before she reached him, but he was too exhausted to react quickly enough to the Sniper that had moved in on him. But, he didn't have to. Amiti flashed through the Sniper's neck and Ike instantly repaid the gesture by dispatching two more Snipers that would've put arrows through the back of her skull.

 

She also recalled, with mixed amusement and embarrassment, a training session they'd had just before the siege of Fort Pinell had commenced. Ike had, unsurprisingly, been able to overcome her with little effort. In fact, he seemed to be almost taunting her with the way he easily, almost contemptuously, deflected her blows with his training sword. She lunged at him, he sidestepped and swung the wooden blade against her lower back to pitch her forward to an undignified, face first landing in the dirt. She had been so enraged and so embarrassed by this, that she charged at him headlong. He merely stuck out his training sword and she ran right into it and she found herself flat on the ground with her whole torso feeling like one huge bruise. (3)

 

Ike informed her that his father had used a similar training technique, not only to teach Mercenaries how to stay in control of themselves in battle, which Elincia had fallen far short of, but to demonstrate a useful truth about combat.

 

“If the choice is between getting killed and fighting dirty, choose the second,” he told her.

 

She picked up on this very quickly and proved it…by thrusting her armored heel into his groin. Ike didn't cry out from the, considerable, pain but his grit teeth, bulging eyes and veins popping out all over his neck had sent the whole camp into gales of laughter. Ike, thank Ashera, hadn't taken the embarrassment personally. In fact, he took her quick learning as a sign that he was a good teacher. (4)

 

Elincia had believed that, at that moment, she'd heard Shinon comment about how much he'd give for a picture of that moment. And, she was fairly certain that Mist and Rolf offered to paint one for a `decent payment,' to which Shinon instantly agreed. Ike, of course, greeted this with a long laugh and told her that they'd never do anything like that. But, the day after, Mist and Rolf suddenly went into Mist's tent with some art supplies, the origin of which Ike could not guess. And then, Shinon left that same tent the following day with a large, rectangular object covered in heavy cloth. Hours later, Mist and Rolf returned from a nearby village, having somehow acquired the funds for three dresses that Mist had begged Ike to buy for her and the silver tipped arrows that Rolf had long wanted. (4)

 

By his own admission, Ike was not the sharpest sword in the proverbial armory but even he could see that there was something very suspicious about these occurrences.

 

She still blushed like a schoolgirl when she remembered that tentative, but surprising, kiss they'd shared just before Ike met and conquered the Black Knight. The second one, much longer and more intense but still secret, had sent her into a furious sea of euphoria. She realized that she had fallen in love with Ike long before then, she just hadn't known it. Still, she didn't think anything would come of it. Ike couldn't stand the pomp and self-centered ways of the Nobility and she knew that he wanted to return to his Mercenary Company, so she prepared herself to relinquish him. But, for no discernable reason, he did not renounce his title of Lord immediately after the war as he had implied. (5) Instead, he stayed advising her of potential threats from Ashnard loyalists and anti-Laguz factions. He also oversaw the nigh-miraculous reconstruction of Crimea and even, as he put it, `got his hands dirty' by helping the workers.

 

The Courtiers and the citizenry had warmed up to him swiftly. One of the Courtiers, a younger one who'd been elevated to her inner circle after the war, said `I Like Ike,' (6) and this simple, though welcome, phrase proved bizarrely contagious.

 

Then, two years after the war, she was filled with surprise and pure, uncontrollable joy when he asked her to marry him.

 

Ike soon explained to her the realization he'd gotten from his talk with Sephiran and the night of soul-searching on Castle Crimea's high balcony. And, he explained something very important, but hardly surprising, to her: the Greil Mercenaries were his family because they loved him enough to let him go.

 

In fact, Ike still suspected them of playing matchmaker between the two of them. And, on their Wedding Day, the Mercenaries had wished him the best with Mist…ordering him to make her some nephews and nieces. Shinon mentioned something about trying to become the new Commander. Titania drew Ike into a long tight hug and shed joyous tears. And, Boyd declared that he was going to `party like it's 999.'

 

Ike was a better husband than she could've dreamed, but he was not a perfect man. At times, he could be moody and impulsive, as his outburst before Sanaki had demonstrated. He had also, until recently, grappled with self doubt. Inheriting leadership of the Mercenaries long before his time, the fear that one mistake on his part could cost a friend's life gnawed at him day and night. And, Ike's modesty and altruism sometimes worked against him. Though Elincia believed his indelible humility was an honorable quality, she couldn't shake the feeling that Ike seemed to be belittling his own accomplishments. And, she still recalled Ike's near disastrous but ultimately successful efforts to find and rescue the maddened Reyson from Serenes Forest and his less-than-fruitful attempts to help the dislocated people of Talrega. (7)

 

Yet, every one of his flaws was more than outweighed by the goodness in him.

 

Ike was a man with a greatness of spirit. His courage and determination were unmatched, even if he himself would never admit it. He had a strong sense of justice and decency that gave him the will to defend a battered Ranulf against a crazed mob of his own countrymen, to pursue a threatened survivor of the near extinct Serenes Herons who hated him and to try and save the citizens of an enemy nation from being sacrificed by their own King. Though Ike was enchanted, as it were, by the vision of peace and unity between Beorc and Laguz that Elincia's late father had envisioned, he also had the realism to know that fulfilling that dream would be long and hard. But, he also had the determination and will to try. Perhaps Ike's greatest trait was his honesty. Not the straightforward bluntness that everyone seemed to think would put him in an early grave, but his ability to look into himself, to see what he believed was the right thing to do and the honesty to voice it. And, just about always, act upon it. (7)

 

And, Elincia soon found that Ike had rubbed off on her a bit. Perhaps, in a way, the Greil Mercenaries as a whole had changed her. Though Elincia was still the regal, serene faced beauty that she was when she and Ike first met, she had changed. She smiled more readily now, sometimes she even made jokes and she was no longer afraid to argue her point with those who had seniority over her in age and experience, nor did she shy from dispensing gentle sarcasm amongst friends. She'd even begun to share Ike's distaste for the practice of bowing and, though she couldn't exactly do away with it, she did encourage her Courtiers to rise and look her in the eye when they spoke to her. She still needed to remind them of this from time to time but, they did seem to be trying. (8)

 

Ike had given her so much and, about eleven months ago, they gave each other a gift beyond gifts which she now cradled lovingly in her arms. When she told Ike that she was pregnant, he was as giddy as a schoolboy. Greil had been born barely two months ago. He was almost as big as Elincia's less-than-svelte appearance near the end of her pregnancy would've suggested. But, not quite. Though he seemed as fragile as he was precious, she could tell that he would grow into a strong man like his father and grandfather. He had the beginnings of a head of azure hair, probably unruly like his father, as well as her golden eyes.

 

Elincia sensed that Greil would soon be wanting his breakfast so she cupped him in one arm against her slender torso, freed the other from the sleeve of her nightgown and…adjusted it so that she could properly nurse the famished newborn. As Greil began to drink his fill from her breast, she turned to face Ike who, despite her hushed singing and their son's anything-but-hushed crying, hadn't budged. And the sight caused her to snicker, even after fighting in a war, traveling across the whole continent, leading armies and fighting battles beyond count, Ike's sloth sleeping habits were legendary. (1)

 

The snicker, however, was choked away by the memory of how he'd come in last night. Ike had been on deployment in Begnion, investigating reports of `highly suspicious and alarming activities' on the part of the local Nobles. When Ike first heard about this, he'd nearly laughed his head off. He remembered, quite fondly, the last time such `activities' had been brewing in Begnion.

 

It had been three months ago. Or, was it five? So much had changed so fast over the last four years that the weeks and months seemed to smear together. Still, a renegade battalion of Begnion troops under the command of a mad Count had attempted to repeat the Serenes Massacre. The Serenes Legion, a joint Beorc/Laguz force charged with protecting the Forest, was ready to meet them and Ike's own troops of the Crimean Legion were racing to join them. In the end, their haste proved far from necessary.

 

Though the surviving Serenes Herons remained committed to a life of peace and piety within the Forest, the Forest itself had learned from its previous death. Whether it was a new, or previously undiscovered, form of the Forest's magic or whether Soren had been demonstrating his keen wit and foresight once again could not be determined but the results were obvious. They were also incredibly amusing.

 

Before the astonished eyes of the two Legions, vines dangling from the trees suddenly snaked towards the legs of the rogue Count's troops. Then, inexplicably, the vines tightened with an unseen grip. Those thus entangled suddenly found themselves being swung into the air and then back to the ground. Painfully. This bewildering, but helpful and thoroughly hilarious, display just kept on going and going and going until the rogue Count's troops surrendered. (9) Though Elincia was somewhat dubious, Ike claimed that one of them said `Please don't let the trees kill me!' Unless one counted dying of laughter, Ike's Crimean Legion took no casualties.

 

One of the newer recruits to the Crimean Legion, who was also a teacher, had started the hilarity up again when he'd said `I usually tell the children that trees are the most benign of the Goddess' creations, but I may have to soon change that.' (4)

 

Elincia had nearly laughed herself into a fainting spell when she heard all that. But, when Ike staggered in last night, it was clear that this recent incident was a very different story. Though Ike hadn't noticed, Elincia had been awake when he'd stumbled in and Elincia could see him clearly enough by the moonlight. She had been terrified when the Crimean Legion had returned from Begnion without him. They told her that he just left to do some `fact finding,' and said he'd be back soon. When one day and then two passed with no word from Ike, she began pacing everywhere like a caged animal with every bone aching with helplessness. Ike had been gone for six days and nights when he finally staggered toward their bed in the early evening. Seeing him alive and unharmed should've sent her heart leaping in her chest and she would've vaulted out of bed to embrace him and kiss him and thank Ashera for her benevolence in returning her husband. But…

 

Ike looked bad.

 

He looked old, ancient like the Deghisea, the Black Dragon King of Goldoa, was ancient. Possessed of age beyond reckoning, haggard, exhausted and in terrible pain. And, on his face, behind the unruly growth of azure stubble, sunken cheeks, lightless eyes and too dark tan, was something Elincia never dreamed she'd see there.

 

Ike looked FRIGHETEND.

 

She'd been about to speak, to ask what had happened or if needed a healer, but he collapsed onto the bed and seized her with desperate strength. The sort of desperate, tense strength with which a condemned man might hold onto his last hours of life. After a brief, anguished moan and a sob, he fell right to sleep. (10) Elincia, her mind churning with questions and fear, took quite a while to follow suit.

 

Ike didn't look much better now. There was a light smudge under his eyes, a telltale sign that he'd been forgoing sleep. Probably pretty often too. His face had been weathered, more so than usual, by many an hour spent under the wrath of sun and wind. His skin was darker than it should've been and his face was becoming lined before his time. His cheeks were sunken and, looking at his torso, it looked as if he'd lost more than twenty pounds since he'd departed. Still, he didn't toss or turn and he wasn't mumbling in his sleep. It seemed that, whatever had happened, he'd at least been granted the small miracle of a peaceful night's sleep.

 

Still cradling their tiny son, who seemed as ravenous as Ike would likely be when he awoke, she moved toward the bed and gently lowered herself to sit on it. Ike did not stir at either the muffled sound of her bare feet padding across the carpet and flagstones or at the mattress shifting under him from the addition of her and her tiny passenger. When Greil had, briefly, disengaged from his drinking to emit a tiny burp, Ike mumbled and opened his eyes. When Ike beheld his wife and son, not to mention the amusing moment he'd caught her in, he gave her a fatigued but genuine smile.

 

“Do you mind?” Elincia asked, feigning irritation as Greil decided upon a second helping.

 

“No, but thanks for caring,” Ike replied in a light tone, not showing the faintest hint of turning around.

 

A breathy sigh escaped the emerald haired Queen's lips as her tiny son, finally, had drunk his full.

 

Before long, Ike was up and about and in the midst of his customary morning routine which, he'd insisted, would save him from being ruined by the sedentary lifestyle of a Noble. Elincia briefly snickered at the thought of how Sanaki would react if she saw Ike, shirtless, doing pushups in the Royal Bedchambers and using the elegant balustrade, which wound its way across the ceiling and to the floor, to do pull-ups. (11) Though the child-like Apostle had long since stopped being alarmed at Ike's quirks, Ike could still frustrate her without even trying.

 

Though Ike betrayed no hint of the choking dread that had him staggering, quaking and looking as if he had foreseen his own death coming before the dawn, he still looked bad. Not as bad as last night, not panicked and ill and half-starved, but he looked preoccupied, troubled and very alone. Still, Elincia didn't say anything because she trusted him enough to confide in her when he was ready.

 

They were well into breakfast, the speed with which Ike inhaled his meal giving testimony to how long he'd gone without food on his mysterious fact finding hunt, when Ike began to tell her.

 

The first part of his explanation was grim, but not really surprising. The situation in Begnion was far worse than they'd surmised. There were at least two factions, both large and well armed and organized, seeking to overthrow the Apostle. The first faction was led by Archduke Meron d'Agincourt, a fanatic who used an extremist interpretation of Ashera's Scripture to justify the mass murder of Laguz to prevent the birth of the Branded. The Branded, such as Ike's long time friend and advisor Soren and Stefan; the closemouthed Swordmaster from Grann Desert, were children whom were born of a union between a Beorc and a Laguz. Though the mark on the forehead, the sign of a Branded, could appear in any generation down such a bloodline, they were long since viewed as profane. (12)

 

Following the Treaty of Serenes many religious reformists had urged reaching out to the Branded, saying they could be `brought into the House of the Goddess.' Based on the reports from Begnion, Elincia now knew that many such reformists had either relocated to Daein and Crimea or had been murdered by d'Agincourt's followers.

 

The second faction was led by Baron Marcel de Layle, the `Prince of Opportunism,' as his foes called him. Marcel de Layle was an expert in espionage and emotional and psychological manipulation. His tactics could garner begrudging respect even from Soren. While Meron d'Agincourt used mobs of frenzied fanatics to overwhelm his foes, Marcel de Layle used surgical strikes and his charisma to manipulate those close to the Apostle into defecting to his cause. Such manipulations had resulted in three, narrowly averted, assassination attempts on the Apostle.

 

Thus the Begnion Empire, the largest and most powerful nation on Tellius, was tottering on the verge of Civil War, if not open anarchy. The Imperial Senate had even thought the situation desperate enough to suggest to the Apostle that she'd have to ransom the revocation of the Laguz Emancipation Act in exchange for a truce from d'Agincourt and de Layle's factions. Sanaki, however, valiantly refused.

 

But, there was more to it that that. A third faction had emerged. The only clue about them thus far was a calling card they left: the image of the moon blotting out the sun, which had garnered them the tentative name Eclipse.

 

Eclipse had a very unusual, but frighteningly effective, way of fighting. Their members would disguise themselves as common folk, but concealed under their clothing were steel, fuse equipped balls filled with explosive powders. Then they would walk to a crowded place, such as a market or major thoroughfare, and then light the fuses. The Eclipse member and everyone within thirty paces would be killed in the resulting blast while others would be horribly wounded by the flying shrapnel and heat or blinded by the intense light.

 

Then, the whole city where this took place would be enveloped in panic for hours, if not days. And Ike told her that he'd seen five such acts in as many days.

 

At first, Elincia thought this was what had Ike so troubled. After all, anyone who could form such a group and convince people to carry such deadly devices for use against innocent people, was probably the greatest form of evil she'd seen since the ruthless aggression of Ashnard.

 

While Ike was certainly shocked and horrified by these suicidal murderers, it was what they said that caught his attention. Preceding each explosion was a strange recitation from the Eclipse bomber and Ike had heard five different recitations.

 

`The Dark is generous. Its gifts are concealment and illusion.'

 

`The Dark is patient. Even stars fade.'

 

`The Dark always wins. It always wins because it is everywhere.'

 

`The brightest Light casts the darkest shadow.'

 

`Which each victory of the Light, it is the Dark that truly wins.'

 

“Why are those…chants so important?” Elincia asked.

 

There was little point in asking if they were important. Ike had realized their importance enough to race across the whole continent for days on end without food or rest while investigating their meaning.

 

“The runes on Lehran's Medallion translate to those phrases,” (13) Ike answered flatly.

 

Elincia's eyes widened in terror and Greil nearly fell from her suddenly nerveless fingers. She was only too familiar with Lehran's Medallion, in which the Goddess Ashera had imprisoned the Dark God who had eternally submerged all the lands, save Tellius, in a watery tomb. It was believed that, should a war occur that engulfs the entire continent, then the Dark God could be released by one of the bloodline of Altina. Altina had aided the Goddess Ashera in imprisoning the Dark God and then founded Begnion, and her bloodline held the power to free the Dark God by singing the galdr of release. That had been the true goal of Ashnard, believing that the power of the Dark God could be used to make him supreme ruler of Tellius. But, his understanding of how the Dark God could be freed was incomplete and thus his evil designs failed. (14)

 

Lehran's Medallion, once under the guardianship of the Serenes Herons, had come into the possession of the family of Ike's father, the original Greil, many years ago. Ashnard, after arranging the Serenes Massacre, had captured both a surviving Heron named Lillia and the Medallion and sequestered both at Palmeni Temple. Elena, Ike's mother, was living at Palmeni Temple at the time and had taken pity upon Lillia. Lillia had taught Elena the galdr of release, told her of Altina and given her the Medallion. Elena had escaped the Temple, met Greil and the two had sired Ike and Mist.

 

The Medallion, however, had painted the next few years with brushstrokes of tragedy. While in hiding, Greil had inadvertently touched the Medallion and the bloodlust and hatred of the Dark God seeped into his soul. First, he'd killed twelve Daein Assassins that had been sent to murder him, then the family that had concealed him and after that he'd murdered a small village worth of people.

 

Elena had managed to get the Medallion away from him, thus breaking the curse, but at the cost of her own life.

 

When Greil discovered that Mist's soul was somehow immune to the Dark God's influence, as Elena herself was, he gave it to her and told her to keep it safe. And, on that terrible night near Gebal Castle in Gallia, Greil gave his life to keep its location secret from the Black Knight. The Medallion, which had been reclaimed after the war, had been returned to Serenes Forest. And, everyone hoped that was the end of it.

 

Apparently, they were wrong.

 

Eclipse, evidently, knew of the Medallion and its powers and it didn't sound coincidental that their chants, as well as their name, were associated with darkness consuming the light. If Eclipse had the same goal, of releasing the Dark God, then their only logical targets were Sanaki and Serenes Forest itself. The child like Apostle was of Altina's bloodline (15) and knew the galdr of release. And, even worse, the Medallion itself was in Serenes Forest.

 

Contemplation of Serenes Forest brought Elincia into a state of contemplation. She still remembered the colorless, deathly ruin that Serenes Forest had once been and she remembered how Reyson and Leanne's singing the galdr of rebirth had caused the Forest to spring back to life. She also recalled the signing of the Treaty of Serenes and how, in that same evening, she and Ike realized that they loved each other and Sephiran had given Ike the nudge he needed to act upon it. It had also seen the birth of the Serenes Legion, Ike's pet project. The Serenes Legion, fighting under the banner of a singing Heron, was the first joint Beorc/Laguz fighting force commissioned since the war. Its members included the Laguz Emancipation Army, led by Tormod; the spunky young Mage, and his best friend Muarim; a Tiger Laguz and liberated slave, both of whom had served alongside Ike in the war, as well as the men of Crimea's Fifth Platoon, led by Kieran. And, most recently and perhaps the most incredible, was a discovery by Reyson and Leanne mere weeks ago: the surviving magic of the Forest, in addition to protecting Leanne from the Serenes Massacre, had also protected a number of Heron nests. And those nests were filled with eggs that may yet hatch. With a little time, no small amount of hard work and a healthy dose of luck, the near extinct Serenes Herons might one day flourish again. (16)

 

There was no other way to describe it, Serenes Forest was a place of miracles. And now, it was in dire jeopardy.

 

Ike's plan, of having Apostle Sanaki and the citizens of Sienne evacuate in case the rebels overwhelmed the Capital, was a good one. The idea of having them evacuate to Serenes Forest, however, gave her pause. Ike had informed her that there was no alternative, the rebels already controlled all the ports and the path through Tor Garen into Daein, which made escaping Begnion all but impossible for unarmed civilians. And so Serenes Forest was the only place they could go. Still, neither of them liked it.

 

Though Reyson had let go of his hatred for Begnion long ago, it was doubtful he'd be pleased at the prospect of Beorc refugees swarming into his home. Reyson was also aware that one such refugee might find and touch the Medallion and be sent into a murderous frenzy. Ike told her that he was still working out the details of how to address both problems. He'd also asked everyone he knew to be familiar with the lore of Lehran's Medallion to compile everything they knew that might explain how the Dark God, inexplicably, had a formidable contingent of mortal followers. Ike also told her that keeping Sanaki out of Eclipse's hands was critical.

 

Though both doubted that Sanaki could be persuaded or forced to sing the galdr of release, which would grant the Dark God his freedom, is was not a theory that they were eager to test. (17)

 

Ike suddenly gave a shudder, as if talking about Lehran's Medallion had reopened many old wounds. His eyes, again, looked lightless and dying. At this sight, Elincia had seen enough. She reached to her husband with one arm and grasped his shoulder. When she spoke, she looked him dead in the eye with an unwavering gaze.

 

“Ike, listen to me,” she told him. “We haven't lost yet. The Medallion is still safe, the Serenes Legion is our best force and Caineghis, Tibarn, Reyson and Kurthnaga would never let us down. We can still survive this just like we survived the war, you'll see.”

 

“It may be too late already,” Ike answered, his voice wavering.

 

“And, it might not be,” Elincia persisted. “A wise young man once told me `As long as people are willing to fight for the peace created at Serenes, as long as people are willing to fight for their future, then the future will always be bright. All we have to do is to try and that will make the difference.'”

 

A smile, a tired smile but a smile all the same, slowly dawned on Ike's face as he remembered saying that about the Treaty of Serenes.

 

“I seem to have forgotten that young man,” he replied wistfully. “Thanks for reminding me.”

 

“It was the least I could do,” Elincia replied.

 

She meant it too, because there was more that could be done. Ike had done everything he could, for the time being, to find out more about Eclipse and what he needed right now was time to heal. From what her Advisors and the Crimean Legion had told her, Ike would be needed in Begnion again but not for two weeks. And, she planned on putting that time to good use.

 

“You know Ike,” she began, “we never did take that trip to the Moonstone Lake (18) that I suggested when we were engaged.”

 

Ike had shown her the Moonstone Lake during their engagement, an isolated lake of pristine water that, by moonlight, would glow like so many melted gemstones. The Greil Mercenaries, since their founding, had gone there every year to spend some time in peaceful surroundings away from the business of slaying Brigands. Time in the open air, sunshine, brisk swims through the luminous waters that gave the lake its name and spending time with his son seemed like the best medicine for her weary, but unbroken, champion. Even better, if the Greil Mercenaries maintained their traditional visits they'd be there by tomorrow. Seeing some old friends would do wonders for Ike.

 

Goddess knows he'd more than earned it after nearly five years of tireless service. And, by the look of things, he agreed.

 

“I'll pack my swimwear,” he told her, starting towards the door.

 

“I don't recall saying you needed to bring that,” she told him, her voice rife with girlish mischief. (19)

 

Ike came to a jerky stop and spun to face Elincia, trying to look shocked but chuckling under his breath.

 

“Why Your Majesty,” Ike began in his best faking-shocked voice, “whatever has gotten into you?”

 

“You did, My Lord Ike,” Elincia replied, the formal name she once called him now only used in well meaning jest, and indicating toward Greil. “Nine months later, he came along,” (19)

 

Sometimes a little teasing was the best way to get Ike to loosen up and relax. After a brief look of comical disbelief, that the shy and demure Princess he met over four years ago had just made a dirty joke, Ike burst into a gale of genuine laughter.

 

That, and the sudden return of light to his eyes, was all Elincia needed to see. Ike was back on form. And, after two weeks at the Moonstone Lake, he would seem like his old self again.

 

By the next morning, the small family was settled into the refuge of Moonstone Lake. As Elincia had anticipated, Titania, Mist, Soren, Oscar, Boyd, Rolf, Gatrie, Shinon, Rhys and Mia were all there, along with Astrid whom Gatrie had finally mustered the courage to propose to. (20) Two more familiar faces, Zihark; the idealistic Myrmidon and Ilyana; the lavender haired Mage, both of whom had served with Ike in the war, had moved back to Crimea and had joined the Greil Mercenaries. The two were also living proof that opposites attract. Zihark was a grizzled swordsman, Ilyana was a Mage as delicate as a china doll. Zihark was a wanderer while Ilyana valued stability. And, most interesting, Zihark could muster the strength to fight and march on only one meal a day while Ilyana could eat enough for five people and neither show any sign of becoming full or of gaining weight. (1)

 

And, of course, the Engagement Ring on Ilyana's finger and the way Zihark kept putting his arm around her shoulder offered further evidence of their attraction.

 

Mia and a less frail looking Rhys had also gotten married recently. To the unabashed astonishment of the whole continent, after countless hours of tiring and very painful training, Rhys had gained the strength and health to defeat Mia in a spar. The two of them had wed, some say, barely a week later. To Ike's surprise, Mia was rocking a baby girl, her and Rhys' daughter Jenna, in her arms with a gentility that none would've guessed that she possessed. Elincia could still remember Mia and Rhys' last visit to Castle Crimea. Mia had been halfway through her pregnancy and her impending parenthood made the bouncy-as-hell Myrmidon even bouncier than usual. (21)

 

Assuming, of course, that was even possible.

 

Rhys had been relieved, incredibly relieved, that Mia's less-than-advisable hyperactivity hadn't harmed their child. And, nobody was at all was surprised to see that, rather than a rattle, Jenna had a tiny rubber sword as her favorite plaything. (21)

 

Watching Ike talking and laughing and enjoying himself with the Mercenaries who'd been like his family dredged up an old question that had long haunted Elincia: did Ike regret leaving the Greil Mercenaries to marry her? It was the evening of their fourth night on the Lake when she finally mustered the courage to ask.

 

“Well,” Ike replied, “there was this one time. I believe it was when you were two months along with Greil, at that ball held on the anniversary of the Liberation of Melior. Well, in the middle of our waltz, I sent you into a twirl and brought you closer. Then, your cheeks bulged and…” (4)

 

Elincia, desperately trying not to laugh herself into a fainting spell, cut him off.

 

“Don't finish that sentence,” she told him, trying to sound stern but her grin interfering.

 

Perhaps the orchestra abruptly speeding up, and their waltz following suit, had caused it. Or, maybe she'd chosen her dinner poorly that night. Whatever the reason, her stomach seemed to inexplicably leap into her throat, plummet down into her ankles and then rocket up into her mouth. Her face turned as green as her hair and, well, further details are hardly necessary.

 

Nobody, for the life of them, seemed able to explain why they called it morning sickness when it could just as easily strike in the middle of the evening.

 

When the two returned to the Royal Bedchambers, Ike peeled the stained-beyond-recovery silken robe that one of the Courtiers had insisted on him wearing, tossed it to the floor and then thanked Elincia for, unwittingly, making sure he didn't have to wear that `stiff clown outfit' again. (11)

 

Still, Elincia had asked him to tell her honestly: if he had it all to do over again, would he have still chosen to marry her. Ike did not speak, but the loving gleam in his eye and the feel of his strong hands on her shoulders and the long, probing kiss he gave her was all the answer that she needed.

 

After two weeks of swimming, hiking, catching up on the goings-on of friends, reminiscing, watching baby Greil being fussed over by his aunt and catching up on proper…late night activities, Ike and Elincia returned to Castle Crimea. Waiting for them, were the Legions that would spearhead the attack against the Begnion rebels and Eclipse. The Crimean Legion, under Ike's command, had been joined by four others: The Wild Cats Legion, the Chimera Legion, the Wings of Daein Legion and the New Talrega Legion. (22) The Wild Cats Legion was a unit of Gallian Beast Tribe Laguz led by Lethe and the Chimera Legion was a mixed unit of Beast, Bird and Dragon Tribe Laguz under the command of Ranulf. The Wings of Deain and New Talrega Legions both consisted entirely of Wyvern Lords and were commanded by Haar and Jill respectively.

 

. The banner of Ike's Crimean Legion was, at least in Elincia's opinion, the most striking of those displayed. In the center of the banner was a cross of sword, axe and lance. The sword was Ragnell, Ike's treasured sacred blade which he had used to defeat the Black Knight and Ashnard. The axe was Urvan, (23) the battle axe of Greil, Ike's father and their son's namesake. The lance was Fiat Lux, (24) the weapon that Duke Renning, her Lord Uncle, had carried into his final battle. About the crossed weapons were images of Laguz. The head of a Lion, representing the Beast Tribe, was gazing westward from the crossed weapons. The image of a Hawk, representing the Bird Tribe, gazed eternally toward the east. Below, gazing sightlessly upon the troops marching under it, was the head of a Dragon which represented the Dragon Tribe. Perched at the top of the image was a Heron, representing Serenes Forest where the foundations of Tellius' future had been laid, its argent wings spread and its beaked head raised in mute song. At the bottom of the image were two hands joined in a sign of brotherhood, one was the clawed hand of a Beast Tribe Laguz and the other was the comparatively unimpressive hand of a Beorc. Ike had designed the banner himself and, when Elincia asked where the idea had come from, he told her that he'd just dreamt it up and liked it.

 

After a farewell kiss to Elincia and a second upon the brow of his son, Ike called the combined Legions to attention. Ike walked with the grounded grace of a natural fighter, shoulders squared, back straightened and walking with measured strides. It was almost as if the chill waters of Moonstone Lake had frozen away the dread that was eating away at him. Or maybe that dread was burned away by the warmth created by the quiet nightly celebrations he and Elincia had in the retreat's bed chambers. Whatever the cause, Ike once again seemed like the young man who had led armies into battle and to victory, and who would do so again.

 

“My name is Ike Gawain, (25) Lord General of the Crimean Army,” he began, in his now customary fashion. “I know many of you remember the Liberation of Melior four years ago. Though that was our darkest hour, it became our finest hour. Beorc and Laguz, from all corners of the continent, once sworn enemies, banded together to confront the tyranny of Mad King Ashnard and the far greater threat of the power of the Dark God contained within Lehran's Medallion. With terrible sacrifice and against the odds, we achieved a victory that changed the course of Tellius' history. We are now called upon to repeat that victory. Our goals are simple: defeat the rebels in Begnion, defeat Eclipse and ensure that Lehran's Medallion does not fall into the wrong hands. Beyond that, usual rules: I don't want any of you dying on me! Remember—you only have one life! At a time like this, it doesn't matter what our blood ties are. We are family. So if you don't want to cause your family any grief, then live! Don't drop your guard! Don't turn your back! Use every drop of your strength! (26) Our road has been, and shall be long and hard but I know that each and every one of you is up to the challenge. Now, MOVE OUT!”

 

With that, the Beorc members of the combined Legions began to mount horse and Wyvern while the Laguz transformed either to run or fly alongside their comrades. As Ike mounted his own horse, he turned to face Elincia. He didn't blow her a kiss, or shout that he'd be back soon or crack a joke to calm her. Instead, he conveyed a single, simple message with his eyes: `I'll be back, trust me.'

 

And, she did. As the combined Legions thundered towards and over Riven Bridge, across the vast snowfields of Daein and then to Tor Garen to enter Begnion to rescue their besieged allies, she trusted him to return just as he trusted her to be waiting for him. She gazed down at her tiny son, now asleep in her arms, and warmth and worry mingled in her heart. Tellius' future, the future of the land her son and many other sons and daughters would grow up in, now seemed as fragile and as delicate and as precious as the baby she now cradled. And, she could only pray that it would survive the coming trial.

 

“I can't believe Ike told us to stay here!” a familiar voice suddenly rang out from behind her.

 

She whirled to see a small group of riders approaching and her jaw dropped when they got close enough to be recognized. It was the Greil Mercenaries!

 

“Stuff it Boyd!” snarled Shinon. “Pffh, I can't believe the nerve of that pup.”

 

Titania, who was leading the band, rode toward Elincia and then jerked on her reins to bring her white stallion to a stop.

 

“Your Majesty,” Titania greeted respectfully, “Ike has requested that we ensure the safety of you and Greil in his absence.”

 

Elincia, yet again, wondered what she did to deserve such a husband. But, she let it drop and turned her attention to the Mercenaries who'd been her husband's family and some of the best friends she'd ever had.

 

“You have my oath that you'll be properly compensated,” she told them, “Goddess knows I still owe you much from the war.”

 

Shinon opened his mouth, probably to agree with Elincia's point, but Titania cut him off.

 

“No need,” she replied. “This is on us.”

 

Elincia, and probably Shinon as well, looked on Titania with shock but Titania only gave an ingratiating smile.

 

“Don't you remember?” she asked. “Ike may have moved out of the house, but he's still part of the family. So are you, and the baby too.” (27)

 

“Besides,” Mist piped in, “do you think I'd pass up the chance to see my favorite nephew.”

 

“Um, Mist,” Rolf interjected shyly, “he's your ONLY nephew.”

 

“And, your point is?” Mist shot back.

 

With that, Elincia graciously accepted, for the second time, the services of the Greil Mercenaries. And, as they approached Crimea Castle, Elincia felt the weight of her worries burn away under the light of the dawning sun. Ike would return to his family in due time, and she'd be waiting for him. And, gazing into the dawning sun as it erased the stars in the brightening sky, the future suddenly seemed so bright.

 

***************************************************************** *******

Authors Note: *Goes into advertising mode*

 

Safe escort to Gallia: 20,000 gold.

Top level intelligence on evil artifacts: 50,000 gold

Winning the war: 5,784,333.5 gold

Peace, love, understanding, unity, holy matrimony, parenthood and the image of Ike getting kicked in the groin and lobbed on by his little wife: Priceless.

 

There are some things money can't buy. For everything else there's EmblemCard, accepted in all kingdoms, cities and territories on Elibe, Magvel and Tellius.

 

*Resumes normal voice, looks at satire in disbelief*

 

Somebody please, and by please I mean pretty please, tell me I didn't just write that. Still, this is, for now, the end of the story. I hope you enjoyed my first, serious attempt at writing fanfiction and that this makes you want to read my original fiction on deviantART.com. Well, the situation is very serious: Begnion is crumbling under the weight of Civil War and a radical group of Dark God followers wants Lehran's Medallion. Lehran's Medallion being in Serenes Forest along with, most likely, the Apostle and the citizens of Sienne, will make the Forest a very, very ripe target for the warring factions. I myself found a number of the characters in Fire Emblem Path of Radiance to be underdeveloped and I hope that my, perhaps pardonable, alterations both make them seem more real and illustrate logical changes that might occur four years after the game. And, hopefully, the more likable characters still feel close to the same. This project was a lot of fun but, I can't make any promises about follow-up on this story. I'm already involved in my original fiction projects and the perils and pratfalls of University life. Still, I might give it a try of enough people are interested. Thanks much for reading and please review.

 

Footnotes:

I was able to gather information about how most of the Greil Mercenaries joined up through Support and Info Conversations and I gathered that Ike was something of a late riser, at least prior to the war, from the reprimand Greil gave him for slowing down the mission to Caldea at the start of the game. I gathered the info about Ilyana's bewildering eating habits using the Support Conversations she has with, well, pretty much everybody.

I've read more than a few fics about Mist and Elincia bonding in a sisterly fashion and decided to build up on it for Elincia's reflection on the war.

Basically my thought is that, when Greil soundly beat Ike at sparring in the opening movie, he was using Ike's over energetic attacks and temper against him. Ike got angry and, thus, he lost. The training session that I wrote between Ike and Elincia is similar except that Ike learned the lesson and Elincia didn't.

After all the angst of the last chapter and the disturbing news from Begnion in this chapter, I thought the reader had had enough angst. The image of Elincia slamming her heel into Ike's groin, Mist and Rolf painting a picture of it for Shinon whom pays well for it, one of Ike's troops commenting on how trees that attack enemy Soldiers are less benign than he'd taught his students and Elincia having a bout of morning sickness a little too close to Ike, hopefully, lightened the mood a little.

Ike implied once or twice that he'd renounce his title as Lord once the war ended, but Sephiran was the only person to whom he declared that intent. And, back in chapter 1, Sephiran convinced him to change his mind.

The phrase `I Like Ike' was used in Dwight D. Eisenhower's Campaign for the Presidency of the U.S, in deference to his longtime nickname. The `I Like Ike' slogan proved irresistible, much like it did in this chapter.

I may be misinterpreting, but Ike often struck me as the big hearted sort with some of the things he did during the game. Chasing down Reyson and helping the people of Talrega, after all, presented a lot of hassle and, in the case of Talrega, nothing came out in return. Like I said, I might be wrong but Ike struck me as big hearted.

I found the incident where Elincia seemed to pick up on Ike's habits, when she told him to `give them a sound thrashing' to be interesting and decided to take it a little further.

The defensive magic for the Serenes Forest is a variation on a similar trick I used during my original works. The difference is that, in my book, the vines grabbed by the arms and used thorns to cut the arteries of the victim so they'd bleed to death. Not suitable for Serenes Forest, but the trick I used strikes a balance between no defense and killing defense. The Forest can fend off intruders without bloodshed. Well, sort of.

I'm fairly certain that the movie showing Greil's death was the only place Ike appeared anything even remotely resembling scared or panicked. I hoped to convey the grim turn of events by making him look even worse of than back then.

Though Ike only stayed a Noble to marry Elincia and continue working toward a better future, he still dislikes certain aspects of the lifestyle. So, hopefully, his less-than-Noble-ish habits will be more consistent with his character.

The Supports between Ike and Soren, Stefan and Soren and Stefan and Mordecai reveal that Soren and Stefan are both Branded, also referred as Parentless, hence the marks on their foreheads. We learn from them that intermarriage between Beorc and Laguz is considered profane and that the children of such unions are shunned by society.

My eye-sight isn't terribly reliable, so I don't know if there are runes on Lehran's Medallion which translate into ominous phrases. Still, it would make sense for Ike to draw a connection between Eclipse and the Medallion.

Ashnard had abducted Lillia and Leanne under the assumption that a Heron could release the Dark God by singing the galdr of release. The problem was that he never learned that it had to be a descendant of Altina.

At the very end of the game, you learn that Sanaki's last name is Altina, hence that one of her ancestors helped to seal away the Dark God. And, also, that she has the power to free him.

Serenes Forest always struck me as a turning point in the game and the Forest's rebirth seemed like the game's miracle. But, why have just one? I also believe that, if the remaining magic of the Forest could protect Leanne it might also protect a nest of eggs or two. Though the Info Conversation with Janaff says that Hawks no longer hatch from eggs, that doesn't mean that Herons aren't hatched.

This raises an important question: does Eclipse know that they need Sanaki to free the Dark God and, if so, how will they force her cooperation? Obviously, our heroes would prefer that it not come to that.

Moonstone Lake, an idea I got while playing Skies of Arcadia, is a location created for this story. As mentioned, its waters are luminous by moonlight and Ike went there often with the Greil Mercenaries on, I guess, annual holidays.

I'm aware that Elincia seems pretty OOC here, but it was deliberate. Hopefully, the various ways that Ike has rubbed off on her make her seem less bland.

I have been partial to the Gatrie/Astrid pairing for a while. I decided for her to join the Greil Mercenaries because, in a class-heavy society like Begnion, it's more than likely that she'd be disowned for breaking off an arranged marriage. But, then again, she DID want to leave anyway and furthermore the Greil Mercenaries have a habit of attracting orphans and outcasts so her joining them seemed logical.

Mia would be a very strange mom. Still, I can picture her hyperactivity being increased by the hormonal changes and her baby playing with a tiny rubber sword just seemed to fit. Some might object to her and Rhys getting married and having a child because most Clergy take vows of chastity and celibacy. But, there is no evidence that the same holds true of the Priests and Bishops of Ashera. So, who knows?

Since Jill and Haar returned to Daein after the war and, so their Supports implied, stayed near the tomb of Jill's father, it IS possible that Talrega was ultimately rebuilt and Jill's New Talrega Legion was named for it.

I saw a video on YouTube about a hack that allows you to play as Greil. In that video, in Greil's inventory, is a close range axe called Urvan. So, it seems possible that Urvan is Greil's axe.

The art of Duke Renning shows him armed with a lance and it seems logical to assume that the Commander of the Crimean Army would carry a unique lance and so I named it Fiat Lux. Translated from Latin, it means `Let there be Light.'

The Black Knight addressed Greil as `Gawain, Rider of Daein,' and Volke called him the same. But, neither told us if Gawain was Greil's surname or if he renamed himself Greil. I'm taking a wild guess that it's the former.

Some of the lines in Ike's speech to the amassed Legions were rehashed from his speech before the combined Beorc/Laguz armies before the Liberation of Melior.

I decided that the other Greil Mercenaries needed to be involved a bit more and that Ike and Elincia's son should, indeed, be a part of the family that the late Greil built. And, since they still consider Ike to be a part of their family, it seems to make sense that they'd agree to protect his wife and son. Though, odds are they're split on that whole `this is on us' statement. I can certainly picture Boyd and Shinon, and possibly Gatrie as well, being ticked off about not going with Ike and the Legions, but who knows? Trouble might crop up on the home front, and it might be interesting to see if the Greil Mercenaries are as formidable without Ike.