Fire Emblem - Sword Edition
CHAPTER 1 : Prelude to the SwordEmmeryn looked towards the horizon from her perch on the cliff, her emerald cape decorated with colours of royal gold and earth brown swayed to the whims of the warm winds , her pair of tranquil emerald green eyes reflecting the clear blue of Plegian sky, her crown gave the illusion of a divine golden halo as it reflected the sunlight. To her people she was the epitome of one selected to represent peace.
Yet her mind and heart was anything but tranquil.
The scene was anything but peaceful.
Her eyes tore away from the sky to now witness the cruelty of the battlefield, her mind recalling vivid imagery of their victory and her safe retreat, clawed out of their hands by the summoning of Risen by the hands of the mysterious Dark Flier, the dead called to claim more dead.
She could only watch as Phila, her closest friend and captain of the brave Pegasus knights being littered with arrows following the same fate of the fallen Pegasus Knight platoon.
Her last words were asking of forgiveness, when she should be the on asking. Her inability to stop the war now had cost her friend her life among countless others.
With the fortune of victory overturned to the Mad Kings grasp, Gangrel made the offer for her life in exchange for the Fire Emblem. Where she should have been their strength as Exalt, she was now their weakness as hostage.
She could only watch her beloved brother, torn to make the decision, his duty to the people of Ylisse or her life.
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Chrom was too stubborn to let her die and he would leap to his death to prevent it. The Shepherds under combination of his leadership and Robin's brilliant tactics had avoided certain death and face innumerable odds and overcome it all.
So why could they not overcome this? Why had he failed? No one could have foreseen the summoning of Risen archers in the last stage of their plan. Under the threat of undead archers, if he took action then Emm would die, if he retreated Emm would be executed and it was certainly an option he wouldn't even consider.
So was it fate that dictated their loss? Even after they had prevented her assassination with the help of the mysterious swordswoman Marth, it seemed fate would have her dead.
He could no longer see a way to grasp victory, was the only way to save her to trust in the Mad Kings promise? To trust he would give Emm safety in exchange for the Fire Emblem? He was no fool, and yet this was his only hope, but he knew the Fire Emblem was too important to be handed over.
"We can't give up! The moment we give up... no. There has to be a way!" Robin voice of determination resounded deeply with Chrom, and yet even with the confidence and never ending optimism from his tactician, Chrom doubts still prevailed.
"If there is, I can't see it…Oh Naga!" he desperately wanted to believe there was a way without sacrificing the Fire Emblem, but after hearing his own voice confirm that such a path was non-existent. Drowning in his own pessimistic thoughts, he couldn't help but pray to Naga.
Be damned if he won't and be damned he does.
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Gangrel was feeling elation in his turnabout of fortune, if their tactician didn't play fair, then his own whore of a tactician certainly didn't. With Ylisseans cornered like the miserable rats that they were, ordering their deaths and simply plucking the Fire Emblem from their prince's dead body should be a simple thing to do.
But the humiliation bought by their tactician ...Robin was it? Bah, remembering names of insignificant mongrels was something he was never good at, especially those of enemy traitors who were about to die. Why waste his memory on it?
Nonetheless, his humiliation was not forgotten nor was it forgiven; it was merely added to the never ending list of crimes Ylisseans had to pay for.
But no… he would give them hope, he only wanted their precious prince himself hand over the Fire Emblem. Then he would personally knight the prince himself for doing the right thing and spare the prince of humiliation by his own hands. Who said he was heartless? If anyone was heartless it would be the prince, though it may be due to knighting him by a sword through his heart.
And after he was done knighting the prince, he would execute the Exalt but not before he forced her to watch the death of her people. After all it was only fair for him to see them off with the same courtesy of their father. Perhaps he should start a crusade to 'cleanse' Ylisse of filth, and what better to do it with fire; perhaps it would be even better to do it in Grima's name, yup burn them all.
With now added fire to call his plan to fruition, he began his countdown "I will count to three! Throw down your weapons, or your exalt becomes the world's largest quiver. One! Two! Thr—"
"Gangrel, hold! ...You win. "Only to be interrupted by a frustrated and desperate shout from the prince. Oh well he had found it was certainly amusing to see his confidence gone to be replaced with guilt, and thus he allowed himself to form a big shit-eating grin of his face… how he couldn't wait to see the face they make when hope was gone too. "Everyone lay down yo—"
"No wait!"
It seems that interruptions run deep in the blood of exalts, because now it seems peace preaching hypocrite wants to get in the way.
"SILENCE!" he would have none of it!
It seems she didn't get the message, "KingGangrel, is there no hope you will listen to reason?"
Reason…. REASON!?
She dare ask of reason! The hypocrisy and irony of it all! Where was reason when the previous exalt burnt down Phelgia and its people? Where was reason when her father drowned them in Naga's flames!? All he remembers, reason was the sound of crackling flames.
As it so happens reason would have him, as king, unify Phelgia for the coming wars. What way better than to have the hated exalt's head on a pike with Phelgia's banner? Revenge is the answer, and it certainly made for good stress relief.
"You mean listen to more of your sanctimonious babble?! I think not. No, all I want is to hear a THUNK of arrows, and a SPLAT as you hit the ground. Take one, long, last look from your perch. You do so enjoy looking down on people... Then prepare to meet the ground, and your maker! "He reminded them of their situation and put the dastards in their place, all the while dismissing the notion of possible peace.
He wanted nothing more to get his plan started and his damn point across through their thick incompetent skulls as well as a few arrows.
"That is, unless if someone were to give me the Emblem... NOW!" he shouted, finally having lost patience and mirroring his frustration the prince too shouted, although he suspected that it wasn't because he didn't have the damn Fire Emblem already!
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She had failed.
Gangrel's response of further death threats and insults only confirmed that he is blinded by hatred and disdain toward those of Ylisse and the line of the Exalt, and he was drowning in his ocean of insanity from his lust for War.
She knew he would use the actions of her father, the previous Exalt, to justify his actions. As ruler the Mad King only sought to make flames of hatred burn brighter and spread further like a wildfire among the people of Pelgia.
His action will only fuel the cycle of hatred and will wage wars to further drive the wedge between Ylisse and Pelgia.
Was there nothing she could do to end the war peacefully without losing the Fire Emblem?
" ALL RIGHT! All right.." Her little brother yelled to the King. There was clear frustration in his voice along with a tone of resignation.
"Emm, I know you won't approve, but this is my final decision. MAYBE someday we'll face a crisis where MAYBE the Emblem would've helped. But I know for a fact that Ylisse needs you, today!"
Yet when he turned to face her, she saw from what little she could see from the cliff, determination in his posture
"The people need their Exalt... And we need our sister. If those dark days should come, we'll face them together." Upon hearing her little brother's words, she closed her eyes.
She hadn't failed yet.
She found strength in his words, not because he was pleading for her safety but in his word he confirmed his belief, the strength of peoples bonds together. By giving the Fire Emblem away he truly believed the people Ylisse could face their foretold future darkness with the strength of their bond alone.
He believed that their bonds held more power over their predetermined fates.
Her little brother had grown into a splendid person and with charisma to spare he would make for a fine leader, and with his friends or the Shepherds she had no doubt under their influence he would be an exceptional Exalt.
After all she was elated when he had chosen Robin, someone of Phelgia background as his closest friend and trusted him enough to make him the Shepherd's tactician.
It proved his heart was stronger than his sword.
Lissa, her little sister, her endless supply of energy, her pranks, her desire to prove herself as princess and her refreshing openness towards others. She was no doubt her ball of healing sunshine. She was proud to have a sister like her.
She loved her people, they were full of love, for they found strength and forgiveness to overcome hatred and they strove with her to produce an era of prosperity and peace. If one would visit Ylisse, they would see the wonders her kingdom holds that were its people.
So with new found clarity and strength, she knew what she had to do regardless it be the right choice or not.
She knew what she had to protect.
"Thank you Chrom" She thanked Chrom with smile. Her emerald eyes now open and filled with purpose.
She took a step forward.
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Chrom was now alarmed and even more on edge with Emm's action. Why did she smile like that? Why had she thanked him?
Was she not ashamed of his weakness?
In the short moment, his mind was filled with questions and confusion.
Emm was acting weird, his instincts made his stomach uneasy, almost like a child in anticipating of misfortune befalling their parents from not arriving home.
Unease filled his entire being when she took a step closer to the edge.
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Robin during the entire exchange between Chrom, Emmeryn and the dastard king, had been desperately trying to formulate a plan for a way out of their predicament. Yet the odds of now rescuing Emmeryn without sacrificing Feroxi soldiers and the Shepherds were infinitely close to zero.
His mind couldn't come up with a solution, not without buying more time and solutions using sacrifices were no solution at all to this tactician. He felt even queasier when he saw Emmeryn take a step forward to the edge of the cliff.
Yet with Pelgian enemy reinforcement beginning to appear, their chances of retreat were sliming by the seconds. So now Robin was faced with the choice of forced retreat.
The imaginary scale weighing the one life versus the many, showed itself in the tactician's mind, and yet he couldn't find himself to issue the order, for on the other side of the scale a promise weighed in favour to the life of one. To protect what was dear to Lissa and Chrom, to bring their sister back home safely.
To him the imaginary scale strained under pressure of the weight of lives and promises.
He had to distract Gangrel and his dark flier tactician. In their moment of distraction he needed to move all his archers and mages into range so they can keep the Risen archers distracted.
Yet even with this high risk and terrible tactic, there was a beginning presumption of having a distraction. One they didn't have and he couldn't even think of one that kept the enemies occupied long enough. Hell, he even realised he didn't even have a follow up plan! No, not yet he couldn't give up yet!
There had to be a way… just… he couldn't see it yet!
And then she spoke to the world "Plegians! I ask that you hear the truth of my words! War will win you nothing but sadness and pain, both inside your borders and out."
Yes! Help from where you least expect it! God, this was perfect for a distraction. In his short memories, Emmeryn always had the penchant of captivating her audience, now he hoped the unending charisma flowed through her speech would distract the enemy long enough.
He would improvise the holes in the plan and backup plans would be made on the fly too. He was to waste no time. Taking the opportunity, he began shouting orders to Miriel, Tharja, Virion and Ricken.
"Free yourselves from this hatred! From this cycle of pain and vengeance." He began to make formations to bolster their defence for attacks from behind and their flanks before they were to move…
"Do what you must... As I will do. See now that one selfless act has the power to change the world!" And with that statement Robins thought process grinded to a stop.
"Oh Gods" Robin exclaimed quietly to himself on having the horrifying realisation on what the selfless act was.
His eyes widened and he paled as his skin began to match his snow white hair.
He barely noticed Chrom already running past the enemies to the cliff already having come to the same conclusion that he had.
Emmeryn's own imaginary scaled had tipped towards the lives of many.
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"Emm, no! No!" Chrom screamed in despair while sprinting toward the cliff in full realisation.
The Shepherds now desperately fought to prevent enemies from following Chrom that were not already watching Emmeryn action with morbid interest and confusion.
Even Gangrel was deathly still, watching in anticipation for the inevitable that were to follow. His tactician too was under the same spell.
His legs muscles burning and tearing under the strain of sudden movement, yet adrenaline fuelled by fear allowed him to continue up the steps.
His breath short and frantic as he desperately sought to avert what will come to pass as he leaped towards the bottom cliff.
His right arm stretched outwards to try and grasp what he wanted to save.
They all watched as she finally approached the very edge of the cliff.
Chrom ran faster.
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Having arrived at the very edge, she steeled her resolve. She would die here along with Pelgia's rage and with this final act of hers they would be able to retreat while keeping the Fire Emblem.
This was the only way she could free them from hatred and give hope both to Pelgia and Ylisse citizens.
Emmeryn closed her eyes.
She dared not opened her again, lest her resolve waver.
It wasn't the fear of death.
She couldn't bear to see the desperation and hurt she was causing to her siblings and her people.
She reminded herself that her death has purpose, to protect.
And she would do it with a smile.
She took the final step.
She fell.
Time seemed to slowdown as she began her descent, for her and for everyone watching.
She could feel her body tell her she was falling headfirst; her heart was strangely calm as the winds began to whisper in her ears. Images of Chrom and Lissa smiling in her memory flashed through her mind.
In what she believed to be her final moments she found herself thinking 'Chrom, Lissa and everyone….know that I love you'
Then she heard a deafening roar that resembled the sound of glass breaking behind her.
To everyone watching, it looked like a piece of the Pelgia sky seemed to shatter above the cliff, forming a crack that revealed a kaleidoscope of colours and from its infinite swirls of colour, a red and black figure blurred as it shot out.
Her eyes snapped opened instinctively.
As sudden as the unexpected noise and the primal fear she was forced to acknowledge in falling, she felt an arm wrapped around her waist.
She heard the two words that were spoken to defy fate.
"TRACE ON!"
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Originally Posted by Archetype EMIYA
