Fire Emblem Fan Fiction ❯ Fire Emblem Tellius Saga: Book 3 ❯ CHAPTER 100: EPILOGUE ( Chapter 34 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

After eating dinner, the mercenaries sipped wine and told stories with their friends, and although they appeared content, random bouts of tears were shed whenever someone recalled a particularly joyful or painful memory or if anyone dwelled too long on the fact that, for many of them, this would be their last night together.

Ike was subdued, and Soren stayed by his side throughout the evening. Eventually Ike was the first one to excuse himself. “I’m…tired,” he said, and he sounded it. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his voice was hollow. “I’m going to turn in for the night.” The mercenaries bid him sleep well, and Mist gave him a hug.

“I will go too,” Soren murmured, “It has been a long day.”

Ike nodded, and the pair departed. He was quiet during the walk back to their quarters, and since Soren didn’t know what they were going to do when they got there, he offered: “You can stay in my room again tonight…if you would like.”

Ike glanced at him, and although he still looked tired, he also looked grateful. “My bed’s bigger, if you want to sleep in my room instead.”

Soren nodded, relieved they would still be together. “That sounds ideal.”

“Sorry if I have nightmares again tonight,” he sighed. “You can sleep in your own bed if that would be easier. You don’t have-”

“I want to stay with you,” Soren answered immediately. “Just being next to you…it is comforting for me too.”

Ike smiled in relief. “Then let’s stay together.”

When they made it to Ike’s room, Soren helped himself to the clothes, which were mostly the same as the ones the servants had prepared in his adjacent room. But the wardrobe was bigger, as was the bed. Although these quarters weren’t as nice as Almedha’s, the servants had clearly been told to give him the best room in the corridor.

Ike was currently stoking the fire, which a servant must have started a short while ago, but Soren felt his eyes slip toward him and tried not to feel self-conscious as he dressed. “What were you and Pelleas talking about earlier, when I was saying goodbye to Micaiah?” Ike eventually asked.

Soren joined him by the fireplace. “I was signing away my inheritance. My signature makes it easier for Micaiah to be queen.” He waved his hand. “It was just a formality.”

Ike looked surprised. “So Pelleas knows?”

Soren nodded. “I yelled at him earlier today…after yelling at Kurthnaga and Nasir too.”

Now Ike looked even more surprised. “You? Yelling?” His expression turned into a teasing grin. “…How did it feel?”

“Well, let’s call it one-sided arguing. And I suppose…it felt good. I was upset after talking to her—Almedha.”

Ike patted the floor, and Soren joined him by the fire. “What did she say that was so awful?”

He shook his head, trying to recall. “She admitted to regicide, for one. She helped Ashnard kill his father.”

“Well that’s terrible.”

“She is…unhinged. She seems to want me to be like Ashnard even though she herself tried to save me from him,” Soren sighed. “Hopefully Kurthnaga can control her or knock some sense into her now that she is heading back to Goldoa. But whatever the case, it is not my problem. I don’t need her, I don’t owe her anything, and I am not responsible for her.”

Ike enveloped him with him arms, and rather than stiffening, Soren tried to melt into the embrace. He reminded himself it was okay to accept this. “I’m sorry your parents were bad people,” Ike eventually said.

“Me too,” Soren agreed. “But I suppose I am lucky it turned out the way it did. If Almedha had not sent me away, I would have grown up learning from their example. I probably would have fought at Ashnard’s side at the invasion of Crimea. Then we would have been enemies instead of allies.”

Releasing him, Ike sat back and rubbed his bristly cheek. He looked perplexed by the thought. “I wonder if I would have killed you, or if some part of me might have known…”

“Kill me?” Soren laughed. “You had hardly started mercenary work back then, remember? And I would have learned wind magic from Daein’s best tutors. You, my dear Ike, wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

Ike grinned. “You’ve clearly thought about this, haven’t you?”

“It does not take any thought. I would have defeated you easily.”

Ike laughed heartily, but the action seemed to take the last of his energy and he flopped backward onto the floor.

“Ike, are you okay?”

He shook his head at the ceiling. “I fell apart again when Mist and I were talking about the company. That’s why we were so late. She was patient, but…it’s frustrating. I don’t feel like I’m getting any better.”

“It has only been one day,” Soren consoled, “and you haven’t had much rest. Get changed. We should go to sleep.”

Ike sighed, got up, and followed his advice. Giving the fire a poke, Soren set the stick against the wall and went to the bed. He stole a glance at Ike on the way, because he’d done the same to him. Although they’d each see each other’s bodies countless times before, something was different now. The sense of familiarity Soren felt towards Ike was nearly the same as his own body, and yet it was also different—as if he might discover a new freckle, curve, or scar if he caught a glance at the right time, in the right light.

When he was dressed only in a pair of under-trousers, Ike joined him under the covers. They were on opposite sides compared to last night, and there was more room in this bed. Soren had a better view of Ike’s face in the flickering firelight, and he stared at him, unable to sleep yet.

“Ike…the reason I became angry at Almedha was not because of what she said about Ashnard or about me,” he finally admitted.

“Hm?” Ike’s eyes were half-closed.

“It was about you. She said you will die, and she is right. If you are lucky enough to die an old man warm in his bed…I won’t be. Strictly speaking, black dragons live an average of seven hundred years. Even if I’ve only inherited a fraction of that-”

“Shhhh…” Ike hushed him. He rolled so they were closer, slipping one arm under his pillow and draping the other over Soren’s side. He cupped the back of his head, pulling it toward his sternum. “We’re going into Death Desert, remember?” he yawned. “Either one of us might have survived Ashera’s War just to die of heatstroke, or a scorpion sting, or-”

“That is far from comforting, Ike.”

“When people love each other and decide to be together,” he continued, his tone unchanged, “no one knows how long they’re going to live or who’s going to die first… We just know we’re alive now.”

Soren sighed. “I suppose you’re right. But that doesn’t make imagining a world without you any easier.”

“I don’t want to imagine a world without you, either,” Ike replied, bending his neck to kiss to the top of Soren’s head.

 

The next morning, Soren didn’t want to get out of bed, and apparently Ike didn’t want to either. Sunlight flooded into their room, but if either of them tried to move or whispered about getting up, the other groaned and pulled him tighter. Ike’s sleep seemed much more restful in the morning hours, as if this peaceful time was protected from bad dreams.

But eventually hunger and a desire to see off their friends drove them set their feet on the floor. They ate breakfast with the other late-risers and then joined the rest to bid farewell to Jill and Haar. The pair were returning to Talrega, which Micaiah and Pelleas had promised to cede to them as soon as possible. Ancient borders would be redrawn, and the stronghold, surrounding mountains, and wyvern nesting grounds would firmly belong to Talrega as an independent nation.

“Good luck, Chief Fizzart,” Ike congratulated her. “I’m sure your people will be glad to have you back.”

“I can’t wait to tell them the news!” she replied excitedly, but then her smile met a hitch. “I just wish my father could have lived to see the dawn of such an era.”

Ike looked appropriately apologetic. “I’m sorry, Jill... But I know General Shiharam would be proud.”

She nodded determinedly. “You’ll have to come visit soon. Talrega is really a welcoming place when not under siege, and the view from the castle is beautiful when the lowlands aren’t being flooded.”

Ike winced but smiled. “I’m sure it is!”

Jill’s wyvern nudged her with its nose. “Aright, alright.” She scratched under its scaly chin. “We should get going.”

While she mounted her saddle, Haar extended his hand first to Ike and then Mist. “We’ll be continuing our mail and freight service. Keep us in mind if you need anything delivered.”

“Of course,” Mist replied cheerily. “It will be a great way to stay in contact with everyone!”

Ike simply nodded, and Soren wondered if they were thinking the same thing: no mail service was going to extend to Hatari, let alone farther east. If they truly went on this expedition together, Mist might not be hearing from her brother for a long time.

 

Later that morning, Ike and Soren found themselves saying goodbye to Nephenee, Heather, Brom, and Meg. Rhys was heading back to Crimea with them, and so all the mercenaries were here to wish him well.

“We’ll see you back in Arbor real soon,” Titania promised in a tear-choked voice.

“Give your parents my best—” Ike pulled Rhys into a firm hug “—and take care of yourself. You should put your health first for once. You don’t have to push yourself so hard anymore.”

Rhys smiled wanly. “Thank you, Ike. I will.”

When it was Soren’s turn to say goodbye, he tried to find the right words: “You saved my life more times than I can recall. I know we didn’t always agree, but…I am still glad to have known you.”

“I’m glad as well,” he replied softly, “You have opened my eyes to many things, and…you have made my burden lighter. As you once said, people cannot be crimes. I will remember that always, and I will do my best to teach others that same truth.”

Soren nodded, and Rhys climbed onto the wagon seat. Soon the mules started plodding down the road. Nephenee and Brom waved, walking backward as if reluctant to turn around and make the farewell official. But then they did, and soon they disappeared.

Brom and Meg were returning to Ohma to reunite with his wife and other children. They planned to use their wages from the Laguz-Begnion War and Apostle’s War to expand their farmland. Nephenee, on the other hand, was planning to move her family to Melior, where they could live more comfortably in the city. And Heather had expressed a desire to give up her life as a thief and make an honest living to support her sick and aging mother—next door to Nephenee’s family, if possible.

 

Before lunch was served, the last party leaving for Gallia assembled and prepared to depart. Ranulf was in the lead, followed by Kyza, Lyre, Lethe, and Mordecai. Soren knew this would be a difficult parting for Ike and watched him closely.

“I hear you’re going to stay by Skrimir’s side after all,” Ike noted. “That sounds…rough.”

“It definitely won’t be easy,” Ranulf sighed as if imagining how frustrating his life was about to become. “But he will still need guidance after he becomes king, and at least I understand the way he thinks. I’m the best one for the job.” His shook his head. “If Skrimir needs me, Gallia needs me. It’s as simple as that.” 

“Duty is a strange thing,” Ike mused, looking uncharacteristically introspective. “I think… Everyone—even kings and queens who seem born into it—should choose what and who they’re loyal to. But we’re all still bound by the tasks that suit us and that others ask us or leave for us to do.”

Ranulf gazed at Ike as if interesting in this observation but surprised it had come out of his mouth. “That’s true,” he eventually agreed, “but we still choose to see those tasks to the end. I trust Skrimir, and I love my country. If I remember that, then no amount of work he gives me will seem like too much.”

Ike still seemed unsure, but he changed the subject: “Well, with you two working together, I know Gallia will be in good hands.”

Ranulf peered at him quizzically, and then his eyes roamed to Soren, where they dwelled a moment before crossing over the other mercenaries either listening in or chatting with the other beast laguz. “I hear you’re stepping down as commander of the Greil Mercenaries,” he finally noted, returning his gaze to Ike. “What are you going to do now?”

In answer, Ike draped and arm over Soren’s shoulders and said, “Soren and I are going on a trip!” Soren was momentarily taken aback that he’d answered truthfully, but then he reminded himself that the journey wasn’t a secret.

Ranulf grinned as if he thought this was a good idea. “I was tempted to go on a trip myself,” he replied. “There is still so much of Tellius I haven’t seen.” He hid his mouth with his hand and chuckled, “and when Kyza found out what I was thinking, he even offered to draw up an itinerary.”

The tiger wasn’t so far away that his keen ears wouldn’t pick up on his own name being said. He immediately stopped talking to Oscar, and his gaze darted toward Ranulf instead

Ranulf raised a hand as if to pacify him and tell him to stand down. Then he sighed and turned back to Ike. “But duty calls, as they say. And I’m sure we’ll still be able to see a lot of Tellius from Skrimir’s side.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“So where are you two going to go?” Ranulf asked next, adding optimistically: “Could I interest you in visiting Gallia?”

Ike glanced down at Soren at the same time he glanced up at him. Was this part of their plan a secret? Soren wasn’t sure why it felt like one. But Ike proceeded anyway: “Actually, we’re going east, past Hatari… We might not be back for a while.”

“Oh…” Ranulf’s smile faded to a shadow of itself, but then he forced excitement: “That sounds like quite an adventure!”

“We’ll come back,” Ike assured, adding a halfhearted laugh.

“I’ll be here when you do,” Ranulf replied, and his voice was more genuine now. “Me, Skrimir, Kyza—everyone will want to hear your story…what you find beyond the sands.”

Ike’s mouth pulled into a self-conscious smile. “People have enough stories to tell about me.”

Ranulf seemed to think about this, and then nodded in concession. “…We’ll be sure to tell them while you’re gone.”

Ike let go of Soren to embrace Ranulf, who hugged him back just as tightly. The cat’s eyes were scrunched closed and glistening with tears. Soren wasn’t immune to their sadness, and as he watched them, he wondered why he kept thinking this journey was a secret. 

 

Ike wept after Ranulf left, and Soren sat with him in his room and waited for the tears to pass. This breakdown was unlike the others; Soren saw no fear or anxiety in Ike, just a deep sense of loss. When it passed, he told him: “We don’t have to go east. All of your friends are here. We can stay.”

Ike shook his head. “I want to go… I do. Everything here reminds me of…everything I ever did.”

“What do you mean?” Soren asked, although he thought he was starting to understand.

“…I’ve killed people in black armor, white armor, red armor, and gold armor,” he explained slowly. “I’ve killed people wearing fur, feathers, and scales. Poor bandits and rich noblemen, slaves and slavers, generals and kings. I’ve killed people in and out of their right minds… I even killed a goddess.”

Soren replied simply and hoped it wasn’t patronizing: “I know… I was there,”

“I want to go somewhere else,” Ike continued, “where I can do other things. Where I can be someone who doesn’t hurt people.”

“Are you sure you want me with you, then?” Soren found himself asking, although the idea of staying back was unimaginably painful. “I’ll just remind you of what you’re trying to leave behind.”

Ike shook his head. “I want you with me.” Then he seemed to consider something. “Unless…you don’t want to go.”

“I want to go,” Soren returned. The prospect of being left behind in Tellius, re-walking the same paths he had always walked, suddenly felt like a prison sentence.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, but…” He tried to get his thoughts in order. He wanted a fresh start too; he understood that. But he wouldn’t give up everything he had learned and gained. “Although you may never want to use a sword again, I will bring my tome. The world is full of violence and people willing to do more violence to get what they want. Heading east won’t change that. If you don’t protect yourself, I will.”

“I know,” Ike replied softly. “I know I can’t make the world the way I want it. But… I can make myself the way I want to be. Or at least, I hope I can. Right now, I don’t have control, but maybe someday… I think it will take a long time.”

“Then I will help you,” Soren promised. “However long it takes.”

 

When Ike was feeling well enough, they said goodbye to Danved, who was leaving to visit family before joining a circus. Soren thought this would be a good fit, and the peculiar man even managed to make Ike laugh before he left.

Soon after, however, Astrid, Makalov, Marcia, and Oscar prepared to depart for Crimea, and Ike once again had the difficult task of saying goodbye to one of his mercenaries. Rolf and Boyd bawled like little kids even while they literally pushed their brother away. Everyone promised they would see Oscar and the others soon, but not Ike. Soren wondered when they would see their friends again, if ever.

 

The midday meal was served in a much quieter and emptier banquet hall, and shortly afterward, Soren was summoned to a different hall, where Koure, Stefan, and the Branded were preparing to depart.

“You just arrived. Where could you be going?”

“We’re on the search for more Branded!” Koure answered excitedly. “Well some of us are.”

“I am taking a team to look at the caves you mentioned,” Stefan interjected. “There are some among us who can hardly wait.”

“And some of the others already have jobs from Empress Sanaki as messengers spreading word about everything that happened,” Koure added.

“Turning hermits into prophets,” Soren noted dryly. “That’s surprising.”

“I believe it will be good for them to travel and see the country again,” Stefan chuckled.

Koure grabbed Soren’s hands. “I am going to Serenes when my recruiting job is done! Will I ever see you there?”

Soren didn’t answer immediately. “Someday,” he finally said, “I am going east now, with Ike. We are going to Hatari, the place where Rafiel lived after the Serenes Massacre. Then we may go farther still… I don’t know when we will return.”

She looked sad for a moment but then nodded. “Well, I know our paths will cross again. They always do.”

“So it would seem,” he agreed.

Koure grinned. “I hope you have a good time in Hatari.”

“We will,” Soren replied, finding he was just as optimistic as he claimed. “It is a place where beorc, laguz, and Branded live together as equals. And if such a thing is possible, there is no telling what we will find in the lands beyond.”

 

After the Branded departed, Soren found Ike saying his own farewell to Tormod, Muarim, and Vika, who were returning to Zunanma City as soon as possible. Sanaki had appointed Tormod to a new government position: the ‘Minister of Laguz Affairs’. He proudly displayed his badge of office and prattled on about all the ideas he had while attempting to say goodbye.

Muarim had also been given a government position, and he was therefore the first laguz to ever hold office (not counting Lehran of course). The position was no minor title either. He was to be duke of Tanas hold, which had been expanded to encompass the Grann Desert, and he was now richer than almost anyone in Begnion. However, he didn’t dwell on the grandeur of his appointment, saying only that he would work to redistribute the wealth, thereby returning it to the common people. He said he would make Tanas and the Grann fairer for everyone—beorc, laguz, and branded—starting with the desegregation of Zunanma City, the segregation of which he now admitted was shortsighted.

Vika had also been given a (much more minor) government position. She would be a liaison between Sienne and Zunanma and act as a representative of the former slaves, lobbying for the things they needed and voicing their complaints and ideas to the court. As they were making their farewells, she explained her new role quietly but with an eager voice. The raven-woman still seemed shy around Soren, but she no longer avoided him as she had before. When final farewells were made, she shook his hand just as she did the others.

 

That afternoon, Shinon tried to slip away without telling anyone. But Rolf knew what he was up to, and the mercenaries ambushed him before he could leave. Ike gave him a hard time, berating him for his selfishness, but Soren knew it was an act. He knew Ike was just as heartsore to lose Shinon as he was the rest of the mercenaries. The surly archer was obviously affected by the farewells too, and Soren had to assume the reason he’d tried to slip away was so he could avoid feeling the pain.

 

As evening approached, Mia explained that she would also be heading out before nightfall. She had visited several swordsmanship academies today, all of which had welcomed her with open arms as one of the heroes of Ashera’s War. The most prestigious school in the city had invited her to return for dinner and stay the night. She explained that she would learn what she needed there (and probably fight everyone willing to cross a practice blade with her) before setting out on her own. She sobbed openly as she hugged (and strangled) the remaining mercenaries. Then, inevitably, she went on her way.

 

Before dinner, Ilyana, Aimee, Muston, Jorge, and Daniel reappeared in Temple Mainal after spending the day rubbing elbows with their contacts in Sienne’s high-end markets. They were dismayed to see that so many of the others had already gone, and they said their final goodbyes to the remaining mercenaries before grabbing the rest of their belongings and departing to spend the evening with friends in the city. Soren finally gave Aimee the Silver Card back, and she laughed when she saw it, saying, “I had almost forgotten about this!” She then became teary-eyed and again asked him to take good care of her ‘Ikey-poo’. Ike blushed deeply when he heard this, but Soren promised once again that he would.

 

When the servants finally brought out dinner for the guests, only Soren, Ike, Titania, Mist, Boyd, Rolf, Gatrie, and Zihark remained, and the hall seemed vast with emptiness. They tried to make conversation, but the room swallowed their voices.

“Everyone left so quickly,” Mist noted.

“I wonder if they aren’t running away from something just as much as they are running toward something,” Titania thought aloud. “For those who have family, I understand their eagerness to return home. For those who do not, I understand their eagerness to make a new home. And for those who have known war for too long…I understand their eagerness to know something else.”

“Even if it’s the circus?” Boyd laughed. “Maybe Danved had the right idea.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully until Mist pushed his arm.

“Oh, Boyd, not even I would pay to see you make a fool of yourself,” she laughed. “You’d better stick to mercenary work.”

He tossed his hands. “Well, if that’s how you feel about it. I guess I have no choice.”

The others laughed and continued chatting in strange, stilted bursts, as if the conversation had to swell to fill the room as soon as anyone realized just how empty it was.

During the meal, Mist proposed that they too should be moving on.

“Yes, perhaps we shouldn’t rely on Empress Sanaki’s hospitality much longer,” Titania agreed. “She has so much else to deal with at the moment.”

“I want to get back home to the fort as soon as possible,” Rolf agreed. “It’s been ages!”

“I’ve actually never seen your base,” Zihark noted. “‘Greil’s Retreat’, right?”

“That’s what Queen Elincia named it,” Mist answered. “It was strange at first, but now I think I like that name.” She nodded firmly. “Let’s head out for Greil’s Retreat tomorrow!”

The rest of the mercenaries agreed, and Mist turned to Ike and Soren. “Will you both come with us? For at least part of the way…”

Ike closed his eyes for a long moment, and when he opened them again, he gave a tiny shake of his head. Staring into his sister’s eyes, he answered: “This is where I leave you… Soren and I have a lot of research and preparations to make before we head into the desert. It’s best for us to do that here.”

Soren was surprised by Ike’s forethought. Although he’d been planning an expedition to the catacombs to learn everything he could about Death Desert, he hadn’t yet broached the subject.

Mist nodded sadly. “I’m going to miss you, Brother.”

“I’m going to miss you too,” he replied. He then turned his gaze to Titania and moved it around the table. “All of you.”

Titania wiped a tear from her eye. “Greil will be with you, wherever you go. And so will we,” she promised. “We will think of you often and wish you well. Take care of yourselves, both of you.”

“We will,” Soren and Ike replied together. 

 

The next morning was the last either Soren or Ike would spend with the Greil Mercenaries, and once Mist, Titania, and the others had departed, they remained sitting on the steps of Temple Mainal for a long time. They only had each other now, and it was as comforting as it was terrifying.

When they finally moved, they stole a bit of lunch from the kitchens before descending into the catacombs. Everyone in the city knew who Ike was, and the guards recognized him instantly. They let them through, and the librarians leapt to help them find everything they needed. Soren and Ike spent the rest of the day reading, talking, sitting side by side, or leaning back to back as they flipped through ancient pages.

“Are you regretting your decision to enter Death Desert yet?” Soren teased. “You must hate this.”

“I don’t hate it,” Ike replied coolly.

Soren lifted his gaze and set down his book. “You’ve never had a mind for details. I always assumed reading bored you.”

“It’s not so bad,” he returned. “Maybe I can learn to like it. And anyway, I want to be ready for the desert, and this is the only way, right?”

“It is certainly the best way.”

Ike smiled and tilted his head to the side. “Anyway, you’re here, and I’ve always enjoyed watching you read. You become completely entranced, and you make these tiny little facial expressions. It’s adorable actually.”

Soren gave him his best withering look. “You should be reading the books, not me,” he said, which had the desired effect of making him laugh.

“It’s not my fault you’re distracting…” Leaning to the side, Ike took the bottom of Soren’s chin in two fingers. “Hey, can I just…?” Drawing him closer, he pressed his lips against the corner of Soren’s.

Soren kissed him back, and the volume on desert flora he’d been reading entirely left his mind. His hands found Ike’s face, and then his neck. At his touch, Ike rose from his seat as if pulled forward. Soren leaned back in his chair now, and he was overwhelmingly conscious of the pressure of Ike’s hand on his jaw. His other hand grasped the back of the chair as if to steady them both.

Soren’s hands, however, crawled down Ike’s arms, chest, and stomach, moving the fabric of his shirt in whorls. When they reached the hem, undeniable curiosity slipped them underneath. Ike flinched and smiled when his fingers touched his skin.

“Your hands are cold,” he breathed through a chuckle, and Soren felt his breath hot on the side of his cheek.

“I am sorry.” Soren was about to extract his hands, but Ike smiled wider.

“I don’t mind,” he said before resuming the kiss where he’d left off.

Soren was pleased with this, because his exploration of Ike’s back and hips was complimented by the slow exploration of his tongue, lips, and teeth.

Eventually Ike shifted his weight again, bringing his knee up so that it rested between Soren’s legs on the edge of the chair, spreading them wider. Soren’s first thought was that their combined weight might break the wooden desk chair. But his second thought was that he wouldn’t care if it did.

Having worked his way back up Ike’s stomach (now under his shirt), his thumb had just found Ike’s nipple, upon which he’d released a happy little groan into his mouth. Finally, he removed his hand from the base of Soren’s jaw. Now he pressed it hard into the side of Soren’s hip, as if he were trying to support himself while also finding purchase to lift him up.

Now it was Soren’s turn to release an involuntary sound—but it was here his excitement met a quick end. “What in Ashera’s name!” gasped the librarian who’d just walked in. He promptly lurched back and dropped the stack of books he’d been carrying.

Ike pulled himself off Soren and the chair, bumping his leg against the table’s edge and swearing (albeit, not angrily). The chair rocked but didn’t fall. Soren leaned forward, covering his face in abject embarrassment. Ike, however, was already laughing, and his mirth was contagious. Soon Soren was chuckling too. The librarian, meanwhile, was stuttering in confusion and trying to collect his fallen his books. Then he placed them on the table and stalked away, muttering something about ‘canoodling in the catacombs’ and having ‘no respect for research.’

Ike wiped his eyes and smiled sideways at Soren.

“No more distractions,” he returned firmly, taking up his book and knocking the spine against the table.

 

There were many more distractions that day, and in the days to come. But eventually the pair felt confident enough to buy the supplies they needed and head north.

Before they left Sienne, Soren closed his account with the Imperial Bank and transferred most of his savings to Stefan’s Kauku City project, keeping only what he and Ike would need for their journey. This was not much, because they also had Ike’s funds from their final job for the Laguz Alliance and their time in the Apostle’s Army. Not to mention Sanaki seemed willing to give them anything they wanted free of charge as a reward for what they’d done during Ashera’s War. Ike seemed reluctant to accept these gifts, but Soren convinced him otherwise.

When it was finally time to leave Sienne, Sanaki, Sigrun, and Tanith bid them farewell, and he supposed these were the last friends they’d be saying goodbye to.

 

Soren and Ike entertained the idea of attending Skrimir’s coronation and the naming ceremony for Ena’s baby. They thought about traveling to Greil’s Retreat to say one final goodbye. They considered staying long enough to attend any imminent weddings that might occur, and they debated who among their friends would tie the knot first. They talked about the offers that people like Nephenee, Jill, and Calill had made to visit their families, kingdoms, and places of business. They speculated about the resettlement of Serenes and the excavation of the Kauku Caves and wondered if they should stay to see these projects started.

But there would always be a hundred reasons to stay in Tellius, traveling around and around, revisiting old friends in old haunts and retelling old stories. Such a thing would not be a bad life, but it was not the life Soren and Ike wanted. They could always come back, if they decided to, and their friends would still be here. But the best chance for a new life, peace in Ike’s mind, and rest in Soren’s heart simply wasn’t here.   

 

After stopping in Nevassa to receive a copy of Rafiel’s map and written record of the path across Death Desert, Soren and Ike headed straight east. It was spring now, and new life was bursting forth, even here at the edge of the desert. Cacti, brittle grasses, and knobby trees were spotted with pink and yellow flowers as far as the eye could see. And although this scrubland would soon turn into nothing but shifting sand dunes, now was certainly the best time of year to attempt a crossing.

“Let’s try to get to Hatari by summer,” Ike noted optimistically, pulling his mule’s lead over his shoulder. “Are you ready?” He held out his other hand.

Soren stared a moment, as if seeing him for the first time in a long time. His armor and sword were gone. The band he wore around his head was gone. His hair was mostly covered by the headwrap he’d prepared for the sand and sun. He was dressed in lightweight clothes that draped comfortably over the muscles of his arms and shoulders. He was smiling, and there was an intensity deep in his eyes that matched the expression he’d once worn when charging into battle.

But there was something different about his face too. The intensity was more childlike in its capacity for wonder. Ike seemed more excited for this adventure than he’d ever been for the promise of victory. His hand was empty now, but it didn’t seem to miss the sword he’d always wielded (pretend or otherwise) since Soren had first met him.

He then realized his hand wasn’t empty at all. Soren slid his own into it, and it was as warm as he’d always remembered it being. He felt Ike’s heart beat in his own body. For a moment, he spared a thought for all the pain he’d ever experienced—and found none of it mattered. He hefted his own mule’s rope over his opposite shoulder and took the first step.

The desert, horizon, and radiating sun stretched before him. They were on the edge of the unknown, where none had dared enter since a goddess had drowned the world. But goddesses weren’t all-powerful, and people were often wrong. Soren knew there was more out there, just as he knew he would never be alone again.

 

Fin