An Awakening Paralogue

[LycopolisKing]

So, because I apparently don't have enough things to do already, I wrote a paralogue chapter for Awakening. Features a few characters I thought would be interesting in the FE universe, specifically Awakening.

It takes place directly after Chapter 10: Renewal. Feel free to leave feedback right here, since it's completed. Hope it gives you a kick.

Paralogue 5-I: Miracle Worker

[spoiler=Part I: Miracle Worker]

"Sire."

A dark, cloaked figured appeared incorner of the war council, whipping all heads towards him.

Chrom jolted from his chair – andnobody was surprised when a resounding crash and a crunch of wood came from hisdirection, followed closely by an undertone curse. Flavia and Basilio let out belts of their deeplaughter, and the latter slapped his palms on the long table and stood.

"No need to get so jumpy, boy," hegrunted, "Third time this week one of my men has got you!"

Chrom was grumbling, standing andbrushing the splintered wood from the destroyed chair from his cape. "Gods, whycan't your damn spies just use the door?"

"Much less dramatic!" Basiliochortled, and slapped an arm around the cloaked man – buckling his knees anddragging him directly into the large man's chest. Chrom was perversely pleasedto see the spy squirm in slight protest of the new arrangement.

"What do you have to report, son?"The khan prompted.

"Err – I have news regarding thewhereabouts of the corpse of Exalt Emmeryn," the man said, his voice somewhatmuffled by Basilio's chest.

Chrom froze – the tactician stoodas well, hands flat on the table – their exclamations were simultaneous. "What?"

"I had him look into it," Basiliogrunted, turning towards the stunned duo (still dragging the spy, bent overawkwardly). "Knew how much it meant to you that we couldn't recover yoursister's body. So then, what'd'ya find?"

The spy seemed to be torn betweentrying to move his arms into a comfortable position and keeping them straightbehind him – he gave up and let them fall, hanging to the ground in defeat. "As of three days ago, the King has sent herto a manse in the free state of Zenobia, in South Plegia. I heard the plansfrom the King's own mouth, sire, and followed the carriage train to the Manseitself."

Chrom stomped towards the spy(kicking the last piece of his obliterated chair across the floor), while hissecond-in-command had wasted no time in pinpointing the area on the map spreadacross the table.

"Did you see her?" Chrom hissed –he stopped, mouth open, and shook his head. "Did you see my sister's body withyour own eyes?"

"I did not, Sire," the spy saidwith a surprising amount of dignity, considering his position. "But I would notreport unless I was sure it was her."

"Zenobia," Flavia mused, rollingthe world off her tongue and leaning back precariously in her chair. "I'veheard of it before. Gives Plegia a lot of headaches when they argue taxes andborders. They didn't want to give soldiers in the first war with Ylisse, andthe King brought the hammer down hard on them, Hahah…"

Chrom's jaw was tight, his face the color offortified stone. He straightened and turned immediately towards the tactician.

"How long of a day's march is it tothat place?"

"About two days. It's on thesouthern edge of Plegia." Their eyes met, brows creased. "We'd have to go backpast the castle."

Chrom nodded, whipping around againtowards the squished spy, his cape tossed in the air. "This manse, you say – isit guarded?"

The spy let out a strangled cough,nodding. "It is as you say, Sire. It appears to have employed its own personalmilitia, strong with wyvern riders."

"Ah," Basilio chimed, scratchinghis chin with the same arm he was using to constrict his subordinate, "Must bethe capital, Palmyra. Beautiful place, like one of those pools in the middle ofa desert."

"It's called an oasis, oaf," Flaviascoffed.

"I don't care what it's called,we're going there at once!" Chrom exploded, slicing his hand through the air(which tossed his cape dramatically once again). "Gangrel might have taken herlife, but he won't have her rest as well!"

"Easy now," Flavia said, crossingher arms and holding Chrom's glare, "We can't simply expect to march throughPlegia without Gangrel noticing. We've got his army good and squared off now –if we go traipsing through his stomping grounds, we'll be surrounded from allsides and squashed like bugs."

"Whoa there," Basilio grunted,stomping towards Flavia (the spy's shins scrapped the floor), "I didn't gothrough all the trouble to get this little clue for it to be ignored."

"We're not going to ignore it." Allheads turned – finally, the tactician had taken center stage with a facehardened in determination. "But we can't afford to act rashly. There's littlechance this is a trap, considering your information has been trustworthy before–," (Basilio's chest swelled importantly) "– and there's been no announcement aboutthis from Gangrel. Considering the information is already dating, we'll need tomove quickly – and quietly. I suggest we leave the bulk of our forces here,under Flavia, and take a very small force to be disguised as…er, travelingmerchants. That way we'll be able to move faster, and hopefully slip through toZenobia's Palmyra undetected. At the very best, we'll be back within a week andeven more prepared to rally our troops against Gangrel if we've achieved avictory there."

"Brilliant," Flavia breathed,nodding appreciatively, "I'm surprised. I have a feeling this is going tohappen often, haha…"

"It's great," Chrom whispered, hiseyes narrowed as he attempted to visualize their plan –he appeared unsuccessfulas he shook his head and began to head towards the door. "That'll be all fortoday, then. Let's go!"

Following the bang of the doorslam, the tactician chuckled, staring more intently at the map.

ExaltEmmeryn. The smile slid from a previously amused face. Her sacrifice wasstill settling in, still burning in the minds of all the soldiers – and themastermind behind the failed plan. If she could be recovered – even though itwas just her body – it would do wonders for repairing the morale, andreplenishing the dignity, ever so slightly, of the disgraced prince andtactician pair. It had to be done before meeting Gangrel on the battlefield.

Flavia let out a long sigh, andpushed from the table with a whine of her chair. "Take good care of him," sherumbled, "His heart is still hurting. Make sure he doesn't get you all killed."

This brought the smile back intoprominence. "I'll do my best."

Before focusing on battlepreparations, the tactician couldn't help but notice Basilio dragging his poorspy from the room with boisterous congratulations and talk of drinking plans.

"Gee, it must stink to work forhim…"

"You have no idea," Flavia grumbledbefore she too left the master to work.

* * *

Zoya sighed; a deep, weary breath,closing her eyes and sinking into a pool of lace from her dress as it splayedacross the cool tile. The man whom she had knelt before stirred and stood,exclaiming in excitement. Zoya could only half understand his words – theypelted her eardrums with jumbles of jovial nonsense. Her palms felt cold andclammy against the staff she had been holding for so many hours – greased herwith sweat, her fingers twitched against its frigid sides. Her eyelidsfluttered.

Good,she thought feebly, He's alive. Thankyou, g-god…

Zoya sighed again, passing into astate of dreamy unconsciousness without noticing that the man was trying torouse her.

"Lady Narelle! Come quick! LadyZoya's fainted!"

"Keep your voice down," Narellegrumbled, sweeping along the corridor into the spacious living room of thePalmyra manse – and sure enough, there was her sister, in slump on the floor,clenching her staff. Her long red hair was spilling free of its cloth buncovering – her 'hair cape' as she would call it. Her brown skin was paled, morefrom exhaustion than from the moonlight spilling in through their wide windows.Narelle's lips tightened – she sucked her teeth and bent down, scooping upZoya's petite form in her arms, her dress trailing like a bride's as she wascarried. Instinctively, Zoya mumbled something and nestled her head against hersister's bosom. Narelle softened.

"Will she be righ' as rain?" Thesoldier asked – Narelle jumped – and gave him a withering look – but he pressedon, removing his iron helmet and shaking his startlingly bald head. "Dat's areal fine girl, there. She dun saved mylife, and so many of my friends too… Thought we were all goners when datprinceling came tearing us up, and thought Sir Mustafa wasn't gonna make itneither –,"

"Okay, I get it," Narelle snapped,"She will be fine. She just needs rest, she's been working all day – so if youcould keep your voice down…"

The soldier jumped, noddingforcefully (and causing the light reflecting off his bald plate to thoroughlybling Narelle) and whispered so loudly he might have been trying to communicatewith someone without ears. "OK! I understand,I won't be loud! I'll just go to our bunkers and cozy up with the rest of –,"

"OKAY!"Narelle hissed, her teeth clenched – the soldier nodded once more (Narellesquinted) and hurried off, the clink of his boots echoing throughout the widehallways. Once he had vanished, it was Narelle's turn to sigh; she looked downat her sister. Her face seemed so much calmer now than it looked during theday. Though her eyes searched aimlessly beneath their lids, and her handsclenched her worn staff… Narelle's mouth tightened into a thin line. She shookher head, and resolutely marched down the vast hallways to the nearest emptybedroom. She gently laid her sister into its four-poster bed, and turned on herheel and sped to her quarters. Within minutes, she had her essentials packedinto a knapsack, and turned to find Zoya's room and do the same with hers. Butin her doorway was the imposing form of –

"Mustafa. What is it?"

The man fixed Narelle in his softgaze. "Going somewhere?" he asked, his voice a silky whisper.

Narelle drew herself up, her chinhigh. "I'm taking Zoe away from here. We're going back to Ferox as soon as shewakes up."

Mustafa raised his eyebrows, hisface crinkling in concern. "Narelle, consider what it is you're saying," herumbled, approaching her slowly, an arm held out to her. "When Gangrel realizesyou've left –,"

"My people are forfeit, Iunderstand," Narelle spat, turning to stare daggers into a wall, her knuckleskneading her dry palms. "But I won't be gone long."

"You intend to leave Zoya andreturn?"

"She won't be alone, Mustafa,"Narelle growled, swelling indignantly as she faced him, "Xerxes will be withher. And I can't allow Gangrel to have his way with these lands, but I won'tallow him to use Zoya like this!" Mustafa opened his mouth to speak, butNarelle stormed on, finally releasing her pent-up tension, only the thought ofZoya sleeping keeping her voice from exploding. "Ever since he found out wewere here he's been using her as some sort of savior for his soldiers, sendingtheir bleeding, broken forms streaming through our doors! She's been workingherself ragged for days – Gods, she'sjust a child, think of what this isdoing to her!"

Narelle took another huge breath inan attempt to keep her voice down, swinging her cape as she stomped towards thedoor. "Well, I tell that cracked-up Gangrel something – You cannot use achild's tears to fight a war! I refuse to allow it. I'm taking her to safety."

"Narelle –,"

"Let the king come as he may! Iwon't let him sully her with his grimy mits any longer." Her piercing gaze boreinto Mustafa's calm eyes – and her anger broke as a wave to the shore, andanother wispy sigh escaped her. "All I need you to do is keep Palmyra safeuntil I return. Can you do that, Captain?"

Mustafa did not respond – after along moment, he planted his wide, calloused hands on Narelle's shoulders, andpulled her into a quiet embrace. Narelle did not protest, but allowed herselfone moment of peaceful solace.

"As you wish, Lady Narelle,"Mustafa rumbled, "But please, wait until tomorrow night. Zoya will most likelynot wake until tomorrow, and flying during the day would reveal your plightimmediately."

Narelle heaved a deep sigh, andnodded against his chest. She gently pushed from him, and stalked away into thedarkness of the manse.

* * *

"This is soooo cool!"

Lissa was nearly beside herselfwith excitement, prowling around the carriage with a potato sack shawl thrownover her head, swinging a whicker basket from her wrist. "We're like spies! Indisguise! Gonna go beat up some bad guys!"

The rest of the small force weresitting in the rumbling covered carriage, their armor obscured by differentassortments of rags as well: The tactician and Chrom sat near the rear of thecarriage, both bent over a map as Chrom was coached through differentscenarios. Ricken sat on a bench to one side of the carriage and was kickinghis legs, as they did not touch the floor – his face was blank, but his eyeswere focused, as if trying to take in the full magnitude of the situation. Hehad been thrilled when the schemer had selected him, even though the truthfulreasoning was that children wouldn't attract as much attention as full-fledgedsoldiers. Gregor sat next to him, legs outstretched and arms splayed across thetop of the bench, snoring like an earthquake. Miriel had thoroughly buriedherself in a book in a corner of the carriage, oblivious to the spider creepingup her crossed legs.

All cavalrymen and knights had beenleft with Flavia and the main army, as they would attract too much attention –save Frederick, who now drove the carriage, and had humbled his warhorse enoughto pull it; he had absolutely refused to be left behind when both Prince Chromand Princess Lissa had been selected. Only one Pegasus Knight had been brought– Cordelia, as her Pegasus was tame enough to lie in the last corner of thecarriage. As they were heading towardssandy terrain, Cordelia's flying would be most useful – as would the magicusers' ability to move unhindered. Gregor, of course, added extra musclewithout attracting unwanted attention because of his middling age. Cordelia hadgone through great lengths to try to tame her very-noticeable hair, but in theend it defied her efforts and she had to drape in a potato sack like a nun. Shedidn't seem to mind, though, and was fiercely focused on staring into space –though that space seemed to be hovering somewhere around Chrom's left ear. Nowihad almost been brought, but her unique fighting ability was something of anevent, and sure to get them recognized.

At only eight men strong, theirforce would need all the cards that the tactician could pull. And before theyknew it, Frederick was pulling the carriage to a stop, and calling to them inan incredibly phony Plegian accent – "We've arrived 'ere, me-lords and ladies!"

Chrom jumped to his feet (narrowlymissing his second-in-command's mug) and brandished the Falchion. "Shepherds,to arms! Let us recover my sister and teach Gangrel that we won't be taunted!"

With a roar, he turned and jumpedfrom the carriage (this time obliviously kicking the mug from the carriage)followed closely by Ricken and Lissa. Gregor and Miriel where roused byCordelia, and the tactician helped her free her Pegasus from the carriage – andthen they all stepped out into the Oasis of Palmyra, Zenobia, of South Plegia.

It was, as Basilio said, verybeautiful. The wind whispered gently through the air, though the sand was hardpacked and crunched beneath their small footsteps. Palm trees swayed in thesoft breeze like tickling fingers, and a large, glistening lake stretched outbefore them. Behind it was the elegant manse; pillars of marble supported itsarches, and statues of winged beasts edged its high roof and long, stainglasswindows. A bridge stretched across the shining lake to the manse. Chrom staredat it.

"Should we keep up our guise?" Hemuttered to his right. The tactician nodded.

"They haven't noticed us yet, soit's best if we just try to sneak around it and find a back door we can slip inthrough. Direct combat won't be our best option if we don't want Gangrelrealizing we're here."

"Yeah, Chrom, get with theprogram!" Lissa teased, grabbing her hood and walking with a hunch in her back."Sneaky is the way to go!"

Suddenly, a horn blared, rendingthe air. All heads whipped towards the manse – its windows were rattling withthe force of the sound.

"Damn! How –," Chrom spun – and sawFrederick riding towards him. He and his horse were back in full armor, whichgleamed in the bright sunlight. His horse seemed indignant at being made topull a carriage – it tossed its mane at the sound of the horn and sent thegleam of its armor directly into the manse's wide windows.

"What do we do?" Chrom barked,drawing Falchion. The tactician's eyes narrowed – from the roof of the manse,wyverns began to fly into the air, their riders' axes flashing in the sun. Ten,twenty –

"Damn!" Chrom cursed again.

"Calm down, it's alright," histactician said, mind whirring – a large ridge of stone was noticed behind theircarriage. "Everyone, take cover! Ricken, whip up some sand with your magic andkeep us concealed! Frederick, Gregor, Chrom – in front of the ridge – Lissa,Miriel, Ricken, behind it! We'll draw them out and confuse them, and we canslip through in the confusion. Try to stay hidden!"

"G-Gotcha!" Lissa squeaked,hitching up her skirts and grabbing Ricken's hand as they ran through the sand– The tactician's heart took a jolt as more shining axes were noticed in thesky. The pride of the pair hinged on this mission. They could not fail, andthey would not lose anyone. Gods, let this work!

* * *

The horn exploded through themanse, waking Zoya with a loud cry – she flailed and tumbled out of the bedwith a squeal. "W-What's going on?" She shook her head – her lingering headachevanished, replaced with the sudden clarity of worry. She hoisted herself to herfeet, grabbed her staff and a handful of her dress, and ran from the room.

"Nari! Nari, what's happening?" Shecould barely hear her quiet voice over the blare of the horn – it seemed to berumbling through the very floor and through her shoes. The sounds of boots andshouts were climbing upward through the manse – soldiers were running to theroof. Zoya gasped and spun, heading towards the bunkers, and she proceeded toclimb a flight of stairs in her long dress as easily as if it she were inslacks. "Nari! Nari!" She turned a corner –

"Ah – !"

– And ran directly into something very solid,and fell to the ground.

"Zoey! Oh no, are you hurt? Ididn't mean too…Stupid gut…"

Zoya recognized the nasally voicebefore she could look up. Above her was an enormous bear of a man. He had darkskin like his father, and was seemingly even larger than him; the straps thatmade up his shoulder pads and loincloth seemed to be straining to contain hiswide chest – though despite what he said, his stomach was quite flat. Thewicked looking axe that he had strapped to his back glinted in the sunlightstreaming through the windows – yet, when Mujo leaned down to help her up, hiswide hands as cautious as a kitten's, he was the least threatening being in theworld.

"It's ok, I'm alright," Zoya saidbreathlessly as Mujo helped her up (completely lifted her is more accurate). "Mujo,what's going on? Where are Nari and your father?"

Mujo's soft face pursed as if hewas swallowing a lemon. "They – Uh, a sentry spotted someone outside.Apparently someone knows we're here now, and dad and Relly – they're going tosee what they want."

Zoya's eyes lit up. "Let's gothen!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and turning to run – unsurprisingly,she was the one yanked back as she failed to move him.

"W-Wait! We're supposed to stay inhere!" Mujo's voice cracked, sweat already beading on his brow. "We're supposedto stay a secret, remember?"

"So are they," Zoya pointed out,tugging on Mujo's hand – he still didn't budge. "If they're out there riskingtheir lives, we can't just sit around doing nothing!"

Mujo let out a whine-like moan ofprotest, and he bounced from leg to leg in trepidation. Zoya ceased pulling andcradled his hand, switching tracks.

"Please, Mujo? You said they mightbe negotiating, so we don't need to do anything – we can just check to see if they're ok, right? Please?"

Mujo groaned again, finally movinghis large boots and allowing himself to be led. "O-Okay…B-But at the first signof danger we're coming back inside!"

Zoya had already relinquished hishand and was running up the stairs.

"Z-Zoey? Did you hear me? W-Waitup!"

* * *

Narelle frowned, staring into thewrithing cloud of dust that her soldiers were vanishing into. She rose into theair on the back of her Griffon, and scanned the battlefield – so far, hermilitia was following her orders: wait in formation, dispatching one or two ata time to engage the cloud that the intruders had vanished into. She swoopedback down, next to Mustafa, who stood solidly at the doors to the manse.

"This bodes ill with me," shegrumbled to him over the flap of her Griffon's wings. Mustafa nodded slowly,crossing his arms. "Aye. But we have our orders; no one can know about thisplace. Whatever their business here, they must be disposed of."

Narelle scowled, her lipstwitching. "Don't remind me of the King's words!" she spat, "I am donelistening to him. Perhaps I can see what these soldiers are after and send themaway without further bloodshed."

Mustafa's words were lost in theflap of the wings of Narelle's mount as she sped into the air, a single featherwafting down behind her.

* * *

Mujo stepped cautiously out intothe rocky yard of the manse, squinting in the sunlight and whimpering as hesurveyed the scene. Three heavily armored generals and three nimble snipersaccompanied him, as he had ordered them to guard Zoya – and himself – for goodmeasure.

"Th-There's definitely fightinggoing on," he stammered, feeling his hands start seizing up in nerves, "Iprobably won't be any help, I'm too fat – let's just go back inside…Zoey?"

She wasn't behind him. And then, ina rush of sound, a Griffon soared from the ceiling of the manse – and proceededto drop like rock. Mujo gave a muffled cried and jumped back – the Griffonseemed to remind itself of its wings, and flapped rapidly before it crashed tothe ground, raising a storm of sand and the lacy skirts of its rider, who satsidesaddle with an expression of pure rapture on her face.

"Wow, that was fun! I've neverdived that fast before –,"

Mujo let out a squeak ofindignation. "D-Dived? That was falling,Zoey! W-What are you doing? – A-And you shouldn't ride like that, you'll falloff!"

Zoya bobbed on her mount, attemptingto tuck some of her flaming hair back into her cowl. "Shh! Don't give us away!We can blend in like regular soldiers, that's why I rode Umar, and look –," Thegirl waved a hand over her waist, revealing a belt and sheathed sword – but as she did so, a tome tumbled out of hersaddle. She yelped and quickly jumped off her griffon to reclaim it and tuck itback in her dress, and then attempted to mount it again, even though it hadnever landed.

"H-Help me up!"

Mujo groaned and acquiesced, gentlypicking her up by the waist and placing her back on her excitable Griffon'sback – Zoya looked even more thrilled at her tumble that she should have been.

"A sword, Zoey? You don't even knowhow use a sword! Or magic!"

"Oh come now," Zoya beamed, holdingher staff high, as if it was a wand, "Nari taught me swordplay when she taughtme how to ride. And I learned how to cast last summer. So ha ha ha!"

Mujo's face nearly took a genuinescowl, under which he might have looked genuinely frightening – but he couldn'tquite manage it. "Zoey, you're being a child! You've never even seen a battle before, and now you thinkyou can just jump right into one? You'll just get yourself killed!" He pointeda trembling hand back to the manse. "We're going back inside, now!"

Zoya fell silent. "No," she saidquietly.

"W-What?"

"No," she repeated, her knucklestightening on her staff, returning his gaze with quiet fortitude.

"Zoey –!"

"Mujo, how can you live withyourself?" Zoya cried, her soft voice cracking. "Your father is out herefighting – he nearly died! And you have the power to help him, and youwouldn't? I can help, Mujo! I won't let Mustafa die, and I won't let Nari oryou die either; I don't want to see any of them bleeding on the floor, not whenI have to power to make sure they don't get that far. I'm not going backinside." She took a deep breath as she finished – no doubt having exhausted hervoice. Mujo seemed near tears in protest.

"Z-Zoey, please," he whispered,"Yes, you can help, b-but you also have the power to hurt everyone more thanyou'll ever know: if you get killed, Relly would never live with herself – Mydad would grieve for days – and I'd, well, I'm already a fat wreck, just thinkof what depression food will do to me…"

A smile flickered back onto Zoya'ssmall face. "We'll both be careful," she assured him – but Mujo wrung his handsin unease, prancing on his legs as if he had to go to the little boy's room."Come now, this is exciting!" Zoya chimed, looking out to the battlefield, "I'vealways wanted to do this, haven't you? Let's get a closer look, shall we?" Andwithout waiting for an answer, she spurred her young Griffon on and soaredaway. The berserker jumped and ran after her, their guards hurrying andflanking them from all sides – soon they had caught up and thoroughlysurrounded the rambunctious girl, ensuring she couldn't surprise them again.

* * *

"To your left!" Lissa cried – Chromducked as an axe whistled over his head, and he parried the next blow from therider – Ricken's mighty gust knocked them off their steed the next moment.Frederick and Gregor had formed a wall around Miriel, and they parried anddodged blows from the wyvern riders as Miriel smote them with fireballs. Totheir left, working their way towards the manse slowly but surely, were Chrom,his second, Lissa, Ricken, and Cordelia. The Pegasus Knight easily led thecharge, dueling mid-air with the wyvern riders before Chrom and the tacticiancould take them out – and Lissa was there as soon as they had been gouged. Theparty was slowly approaching the lake and working its way around it – andthrough the cloud the tactician had a clear view of the sky above, stillswarming with knights.

"Ricken, whip us up some morecover! Everyone, stay down as best you can – Cordelia, come down and…give Chroma ride! Ricken, you and Lissa stay behind her, I'll bring up the rear!"

Cordelia swooped down in anastonishing figure-eight, her hair a scarlet wave in the wind – within secondsshe hovered near Chrom, and he clambered aboard her Pegasus while onlyelbow-knocking her once – and she did not even wince. Ricken grabbed Lissa'shand, and they sprinted towards the duo, kicking up sand unhindered, Lissasupporting her headdress with her free hand, staff tucked between her fingers.

"Thank you, Cordelia," Chromgrunted, looking out to the battlefield as if she were invisible – "Of course,my Prince!" Cordelia yelled, spurring her Pegasus onward, "Hold on tight!"

But before they could go anyfarther, a Griffon swooped into their cloud of dust; on it a woman sat sostraightly that she had to be of a noble upbringing. Her long red hair wasbraided, and tucked into loops on the back of her head. A circlet of goldrested on her brow, and her brown skin shone in the sunlight – and she held whatthe tactician immediately recognized as the axe of legend, the Hauteclere.

"Split up!" The tactician yelled,running after Ricken and Lissa – "Ricken, with me, towards the manse! Chrom,Cordelia – hold her off!"

"Wait!" The woman called, her voicenoble and powerful – but Cordelia and Chrom had already spun into action.Cordelia climbed into the air, and Chrom jumped from her Pegasus, slicingFalchion down at the woman, who caught the blow on her axe before swoopingbackwards out of the way. Chrom rolled in the sand and stood – the womanfrowned.

"I suppose I was wrong," shemumbled, hefting the Hauteclere, "Have at you then!"

The tactician did not linger towatch the remaining battle – merely hoped the plan would work. If Ricken andLissa could enter the manse safely, then perhaps –

Lissa screamed – they had exitedthe cloud of sand, and found themselves at the wall of the manse – and face toface with a wall of generals, and an enormous berserker hoisting a Short Axe.Ricken gasped and slowed to a stop – and the berserker gasped as well and raisedhis arm, faster than Ricken.

"No!"The tactician grunted, putting on a burst of speed – the thrown axe wasnarrowly blocked, and glanced off the shoulder. The tactician was ready foranother blow – but it did not come. Strangely, the berserker was holding hischest, seemingly struggling to breathe.

"Uh… Are you alright?"

"W-What do you care?!" The mansqueaked in a voice much higher and shakier than expected, "Y-You're justtrying to kill us all! G-Get them!" He shouted to the soldiers surrounding him,"G-Get them before they get us!"

"Hold! We won't hurt you," thetactician reassured him, holding up empty hands, "We just wanted to – uh, tourPalmyra, and the guard attacked us!"

"Yeah, right," the man whined, hislarge bottom lip trembling, "You're not supposed to be here! Get them!" Afterhe said this, however, he made no attempt to move from his spot – and neitherdid any of the generals. To the left, however, one raised its arm and hurled aspear at Ricken – who dodged with a stumble. Gathering up his tome, Ricken blastedthe general backward with two gusts of wind; he crashed to the ground in aclatter of armor.

"This way!" The tactician yelled toRicken – but as they went to pass the downed general, a cry rent the air – andLissa turned.

There, eyes closed and siting on aGriffon, was a girl clearly even younger than her. The girl swept near thedowned general, her words quiet but urgent – "No! Keep breathing, please! Holdon…Hold on…"

"Hey!" Lissa called, breakingRicken's hold and taking a step forward, "What is a little girl like you doingon the battlefield?"

The girl stiffened – in one handshe held a slim sword, and in her other she hefted a large, winged staff. "I amprotecting my friends from rude soldiers like you!" She cried – though hervoice was strangely soft. Lissa snorted, her hands on her hips. "Why you – Ishould knock you off your horse for that – Hey! That's a Griffon! You're…"Lissa pursed her lips, chewing on her words. "Hmm, you're riding it wrong, youknow."

"Away with you!" The girl cried,her sword hand steadying itself, "I will – I will fight you if I must!"

Lissa frowned. Ricken, behind her,seemed to be in a state of shock, as she had not been attacked yet. "Yeahright," Lissa scoffed, "You're nothing like the other soldiers, you know. Theyusually just attack and ask questions later. Anyone can tell you're new."

The girl's face was unchanged."Duly noted," she whispered – but she frowned as she looked over Lissa. "You'renot one to talk. You're talking too."

"Oh, I know," Lissa chortled,"That's only because you reminded me of me, too! Except you're on a coolGriffon…"

The girl's breaths seemed to becoming more regularly. "Why are you here?" she asked.

"Mission, Top Secret!" Lissa saidproudly. The girl frowned.

"I won't let you and your army killthese people!"

"It's not like we want to," Lissa pouted, "I understand,totally. That's why I'm here, to make sure none of my friends get hurt. They're a delicate bunch…"

The girl's eyes were closed, yether mouth was moving in fervent prayer. "As long as we are on opposing sides,we have nothing to discuss," she stammered.

Lissa opened her mouth to reply,but Ricken seemed to snap out of his daze as another general readied his arm –He yanked Lissa out of the way of a hurled Javelin, and the two raced out ofsight along the side of the manse –

"Hey, this isn't over!" Lissamanaged to yell.

* * *

Zoya did not respond, still holdingher staff to her heart, and focusing intently. A knight had been wounded acrossthe battlefield. She raised her staff and healed him from afar. Another one,closer. Once again she raised her staff. Next, it was –

"Nari!"

Zoya yanked on the reigns of herGriffon and soared over he guard, racing across the battlefield with the windat her back. Dust swarmed through the air, but dispersed as she neared theradiating pain – and there, face down in the sand, was Narelle. Zoya screamed.

"Cordelia, there's another!" Chromyelled, waving his arm –

"Wait!" The tactician cried,running as fast as the sand would allow, "That girl is not a soldier!"

Cordelia paused in mid-air, causingChrom to slam into her from behind her on her Pegasus – once again she did notseem to mind the closeness, but Chrom did not seem to notice. The Griffon riderswooped to the ground without much elegance – the rider, a small girl in alarge dress, was dropped from its back, but she pushed from the ground and ranthrough the sand unhindered. She slid to the downed Griffon Rider and held herstaff over her, whispering feverishly as the glow began to surround the feeblystirring form.

Cordelia swooped to the ground, andChrom jumped from her mount and looked quickly to his second – all around them,the wyvern riders had stopped charging them and hovered in place in the air,staring at the pair with unease; the noblewoman was clearly theircommander. "Why are we letting themheal?" Chrom barked to the tactician, who finally arrived at his side, pantingand covered in sand.

"F-Fah….F-For Plegians, they arenoble," was the gasped reply. "We should try…communicating with them. I don'tthink they are involved with Gangrel in the way we thought."

Chrom clenched his teeth, turningback to the pair – though his knuckles worked around Falchion's hilt, he stuckit solidly in the packed sand and did not move. The tactician heaved a sigh –behind them, Frederick had finally managed to work his way through the sandsand reach them, both Gregor and Miriel arriving before him.

The tactician looked imploringly atthe pair; the noblewoman was stirring now, beginning to sit up; and the tearsof the younger one were shining tracks in the blazing sun. It was moments likethese, in the thick of war, that threatened to rip hearts out, that smotestomachs with the hot queasiness of guilt – but their decision had been made.Now, they could only hope it had been the right one.

The defeated rider finally stood,tossing her braids and reaching out to reclaim the Hauteclere from the ground.Her Griffon had been breathed vitality as well, and it padded over to her andnuzzled her cheek – she patted it somewhat distantly, looking down at thehealer. The girl was still kneeling in the sand, her eyes closed, taking deepbreaths; the noblewoman exchanged a few quiet words with her before glaring atChrom and company – with what the tactician hoped was much more animosity thanshe intended.

"What is you want?" she barked, herfiery red eyes narrow slits, "Do you only want to cause more trouble for thisland?"

"We want to know what is going onhere," Chrom announced, in his bestI'm-trying-to-be-diplomatic-after-completely-ruining-my-first-chance voice. "Weknow the body of the Exalt, Emmeryn of Ylisse, has been transported here, andwe demand its return to us."

The woman's brow ceased. Her mouthopened, though she did not speak. She raised her axe and pointed it Chrom.

"The Exalt of Ylisse? You have somenerve, the lot of you – coming here and then making impossible demands! Yousimply want more war for this realm! You Ylisseans must never be satisfied withthe amount of Plegian suffering you can inflict! There is no Exalt here, as youwell know!"

"W-What?" Chrom's eyes widened, andhe whipped around to meet the eye of his partner, who looked equallydumbstruck. "That can't be –,"

A flash of light burst intoexistence directly between Chrom and the noblewoman, and with a swish of arobe, the oddest Sorcerer the pair had ever seen appeared in a flurry. Insteadof wearing the tight-fitting robes on his upper half, he had forgone themcompletely, in favor of tight-fitting pants and a shawl thrown over his baretorso. His long hair was greasy and matted, and a lopsided yellow grinstretched a grimy face. "Ah-Ah-Ahh," He cooed, pointing a long finger at the noblewoman,"You've just broken your promise!"

The woman wrinkled her nose,thoroughly disgusted. "Another dog of the king, I presume?" she spat, "And justwhat pit from which did you crawl?"

The Sorcerer shrugged, scratchinghis chin. "Ouch. Just tried to have a little fun with it, you know? Guess youaren't one for comedy." The voice dropped quite a few octaves, and now seemedextraordinarily dry. "But you did breakyour promise, yes ma'am, and I've orders for what happens now."

"What promise?" The noblewomanexclaimed, a flicker of legitimate fear flashing across her face as theSorcerer raised his hand.

"The King told ya not to tellanyone what happens here, didn't he? Well, you've just spoken something aboutit. Had a spell to see if that happened, and it just told me so. So, here Iam." (The Sorcerer did seem very bored now, but was carrying on with hisroutine nonetheless.)

"No," the noblewoman breathed, "Ihave done nothing wrong. We've kept up our part of the bargain; Zoya's beenhealing nonstop for days! Been working herself to death! I haven't spoken aword of it to anyone!"

"See, now that's what I'm talkingabout," the Sorcerer mumbled, jerking a thumb towards Chrom and his company,"Now they all know. Well, sorry about it, but orders are orders…"

The Sorcerer's face contorted, hishand pointed at the noblewoman – she steadied herself, and jumped to side asthe spell exploded from his palm – but it hadn't been aimed at her at all. Thenoblewoman spun, gasping in realization –

"ZOE!"

The girl opened her eyes, the saltystains on her face illuminated in the blast of yellow light soaring towardsher.

The ball of magic smote her,launching her into the air in seemingly slow motion – she landed on the back ofher Griffon without a sound, and before anyone could comprehend what hadhappened, both mount and rider evaporated into nothingness.

This time, the noblewoman screamed;it was a horrible, heart-wrenching sound of anguish. She flew at the Sorcererbefore he could react, and had pinned him to the ground beneath her knees andbegan to pelt him in a rain of blows from her armored fists. "Where is she?! Where did you send her?!Bring her back this instant you worm! Bring her back NOW!"

There a burst of magic, and thenoblewoman grunted and was tossed from the Sorcerer, and they both clambered totheir feet – though he sported a busted lip. "She's not yours anymore," hegrumbled, touching tentative fingers to his lip, "You fall in line and you'llget her back, just like your parents."

The noblewoman gave a peal ofderanged laughter that turned into a sob – "My parents are dead, and we bothknow it!"

The Sorcerer looked at her, hisgaze completely blank. "You really are no fun at all," he muttered, anddisappeared in a burst of light.

Chrom blinked, his mind spinning atwhat he had just seen.

The noblewoman's knees collapsed,and she plowed her fists into the hard sand, her teeth clenched, damming backtears. Chrom once again shot a sideways glance at his tactician, cradling hiswrist in the way he always did when he had accidentally broken something. Thetactician was no better, rooted on the spot, waiting for the opportunity totalk to the noblewoman, and afraid to try before she had composed herself. Shepunched the sand with finality, and hoisted herself to her feet. Without somuch as a glance at Chrom, she turned and mounted her Griffon, and launchedinto the air – all of her soldiers looked to her expectantly.

"TO ARMS, PALMYRA! Every WyvernLord, with me! The rest of you, protect your homeland!"

A deep roar of "YES MA'AM!" echoedacross the oasis, and in a rush of wind the noblewoman zoomed from thebattlefield, flanked by three riders on each side. The rest of the riderswhizzed past Chrom, some so close they whipped sand in his face – andabout-faced when they reached the manse, forming an impressive winged wall infront of it. Lissa, who had just caught up to the main group with Ricken,couldn't help but gasp at the mass of moving wings and unshakeabledetermination. Chrom, however, was too busy cursing at the retreating figure onthe Griffon, already a spec in the sky.

"Well what do we do now?" hegrowled, quiet desperation tainting his voice. The tactician paused – andgasped. "Chrom, behind you!"

Chrom turned. Walking towards themthrough the settling sand was none of other than –

"General Mustafa?" Chrom choked.

The man stopped a few paces awayfrom them, his hands on his hips. "Aye, Prince Chrom."

"B-But how? I…" Diplomacy was stillsomewhere in Chrom's mind, but was failing in the face of his frustration. "Imade sure to cut you down myself!"

Mustafa, to Chrom's surprise,nodded. "Perhaps it was your haste in fleeing Plegia. Or the mercy of yoursister was acting through your hand. Whatever the reason, I still breathed asthe rain came down in your wake."

Chrom clenched his jaw, nottrusting himself to speak.

"I willed myself to keep breathing,for my wife and child would be certainly be punished if I died a failure. Justto take another agonizing breath…And another."

"Are you going to tell me what'sgoing on in this place?" Chrom spat, looking skyward in an attempt to waylayemotion, "I have no sympathy for you – damn Plegians trying to kill us becausemy sister wasn't enough for you!"

Once again, Mustafa nodded, hisscarred face calm. "I am telling you,Prince Chrom. If you would listen to me ramble for a moment, I'm sure all willbe made clear."

Chrom's jaw knotted, and he saidnothing.

"It was my son that found me. Hebrought me back here – apparently, some of our old friends were finally back intheir old home."

"The woman and the girl?"

"Aye. They are the daughters of therulers of Zenobia, my good friends. Upon seeing me, I am told that Zoya, theyoungest, did everything she could to keep me alive…I returned to consciousnesstwo days later."

"How?" Chrom whispered, absolutelybewildered, "There's a limit to what can be done with staves, and you shouldhave been well past it!"

"Aye, Prince Chrom. Yet here Istand."

Chrom cursed.

Mustafa heaved a deep, sorrowfulbreath, squinting into the sky. "It's my fault, what happened next. I knew mystation would jeopardize my family, and I had to return to the army. Gangrelwas amazed at my recovery and wanted to know my secret, but I lied to him…totry to shield that little girl. But he did not believe me, and his spiesdiscovered that the two Zenobias were back home. He told them that theirparents had been arrested for not sending soldiers into the last war withYlisse, and their lands had been confiscated, and that he would return boththeir rights to Zenobia and their parents if Zoya kept up what she was doingand continued to revive the plethora of half-dead soldiers he had piled up. Hemade her sister, Narelle, swear to keep it quiet…or else."

Lissa let out a dry sob, and sankto her knees, gazing into the nothingness of the drifting sand. The tacticianput an arm around her.

"Gods," Chrom cursed, a sour tasteforming on his tongue, "Gangrel even oppresses his own!"

"She kept at it for days, as youheard," Mustafa rumbled, "Worked on those she'd never even seen before. Criedon people she didn't know, all on this pleasant visit she had planned with herparents." Mustafa sucked his teeth, shaking his head (the glare from his baldhead caught the tactician in the eye). "I knew the truth. The rulers of Zenobiawere executed years ago, when they first allowed their daughters to leave – andnot be drafted into Plegia's army. They argued with Gangrel, as Zenobia is afree state, but he would not listen. They were both arrested and their militabecame part of the King's army, though was assigned to Palmyra nonetheless.Though Gangrel searched for their children, the heirs to Zenboia, for many years,he did not find them – their parents had the good sense to send them to Ferox.But I knew they would eventually come back… And they found themselves in thisperfect trap."

Chrom gasped suddenly – his facelit up with what his second-in-command recognized as a rare burst of jubilant,radiant hope. "The soldiers she revived, are they still here? Was my Sister'sbody here – Gods, could it be that after that, she still lives?"

Mustafa's face hardened, and therewas silence before his next words. "Some of them are here, Prince Chrom," hesaid slowly, "But most of them were warped away by the Grimleal you sawearlier."

Chrom grabbed Falchion's hilt, hisknuckles kneading restlessly – he picked it up and tucked it through the loopin his belt. "Let me search the manse," he said, voice low, "I have to be suremy sister's body isn't here before I let you lead me astray."

Chrom ignored the cautionary look fromhis tactician, and Mustafa's chest swelled as he gave another sigh. "Suityourself, Prince Chrom."

Two hours later, the manse had beenswept clean. The basement, the attics, and all of the elegant chambers. Only afew bewildered soldiers remained in the barracks – the rest, as Mustafa hadsaid, were gone. The Prince clenched his teeth, turning on Mustafa again.

"Where did he take them? Where haveall these…soldiers gone?"

Mustafa grumbled. "Hmm. I have beensworn to secrecy, but since Lady Narelle seems to be intent on defying the Kinganyway, I will tell you… They have likely been taken to the Jaw of the Sea. Itis a cave in the southern peninsula of Plegia, west of here. It is den of thegrimleal."

The tactician mused, giving ascratchy sand-filled hair. "Why there? Why not return them to the battlefield?"

Mustafa shrugged his largeshoulders, looking sickened. "I think much more nefarious designs are in placefor ones that survive death once, I believe. Something in the Grimleal texts."

"Are you grimleal?"

"Nay," Mustafa rumbled, his beardbrushing his chest as he dipped his head. "I was here long before that religionwas forced upon us. But being in the King's army does familiarize one with thepractices."

The tactician stared at Mustafa,the man who had tried to show them sympathy. The one with whom they might haveshared a friendship, under different circumstances. "Mustafa. You were therethe day Exalt Emmeryn spoke. You saw her… Was she here, dead or…otherwise?"

Mustafa hung his head, and wassilent. "I do not know," he whispered eventually. "Soldiers have been in andout of this house for days now. I was only trying to keep young Zoya in someform of health, and keep up the defenses when Lady Narelle was occupied."

The tactician took a deep breath,and nodded. Chrom fixed his friend in a hard gaze.

"We have to go to this 'Jaw of theSea'," he said, voice grave. "We have to see this out."

"Chrom!" Lissa cried, "We have tosave that girl! She's not a fighter – who knows what those creeps are doing to her?We have to!"

"I know, Lissa," Chrom grunted, "Iknow." The air of finality in his voice was fortifying. "Mustafa, can you showus where this place is?"

"I-I'll help!" Came a nasally,breathless voice – from out of a nearby hallway, the enormous berserker ranforward, boots making heavy thuds on the tile. He skidded to a stop beforethem, panting, hands over his stomach – "G-Gah…Running wouldn't be so hard if Iwasn't so fat…"

Mustafa gave a hearty laugh. "Youreyesight must be terrible, son. You're looking larger than me these days."

"I-I know!" The man whined, "I needto lose weight, don't rub it in!"

Chrom's eyebrow twitched. "Whatnow?" he muttered.

The enormous man straightened upagain, wiping a hand on his brow, and holding out a scroll of paper to thetactician, who took with eagerly. "I want to come with you," he panted, "Rellyand Zoey are probably there, and I-I need to make sure nothing happens to them.We've been friends forever…"

"Can you do that?" The tacticianquipped, looking quickly to Mustafa. "Won't the king notice you're gone?"

"The lad is not yet in the army,"Mustafa replied, slapping his son on his wide arm. "It is only I that cannot gowith you. But I know my son will do you well."

The man's sweaty face broke into anuneasy grin. "Thanks, dad." Before they could embrace, Chrom cleared histhroat.

"Come on, then! We're wasting time.How long will it take to get to this cave?"

"Half a day's march," the tacticianreplied, unrolling the scroll, which was an enlarged map of Plegia, and pinpointingthe marked location. "We should leave at once – we might have a chance ofgetting back on time, before Flavia loses patience and sends search teamslooking for us."

"Right. Let's go then." Chromturned, ordering the rest of their group back into the carriage. Beforeleaving, Mustafa caught the tactician by the shoulder.

"Please," he said, his low voiceimploring, "Save Zoya. I know Prince Chrom's priority is his sister, but…thisworld is one for the living, not the dead."

The tactician's saliva soured."I'll do my best to bring them all home."

Paralogue 5-II: Chains from the Past

[spoiler=Paralogue 5-II: Chains from the Past]

The carriage ride to the Jaws ofthe Sea was much the same as the first. Gregor was being pestered by Rickenwith questions about Chrom's fighting in the last battle, as he hadn't beenable to witness it himself this time. Miriel had once again shunted herself ina corner with a book, and Cordelia was busy staring into space (that seemed tobe focused somewhere around Chrom's forehead). Chrom and his second-in-commandwere working on strategies, and Lissa was sitting next to the muscle-boundberserker, who was twiddling his fingers in anxiousness.

"That little girl…I hope she'salright," Lissa sniffed.

"M-Me too," he chattered. "D-Do youhave enough room? I'm taking up too much of it, aren't I? Oh, I should'veskipped breakfast…"

"You're fine!" Lissa giggled,"What's your name?"

"M-Mujo."

"I'm Lissa! Nice to meet you."

Mujo turned towards her, his lip trembling."You don't mean that. You're only saying that to be nice."

Lissa stared at him.

"You're weird," she said flatly.

"Mujo!" Chrom barked from the rearof the carriage, "Come over here."

The man yelped, and heaved himselffrom his seat. He lumbered over to Chrom and the tactician, where hetentatively sat, as carefully as if his weight might break the wood. "W-What isit?"

"I want you to tell me more aboutthat girl," Chrom muttered, his glare hard. "How is it that she's able torevive near-dead people?"

Mujo winced, and shrugged his broadshoulders. "I-I don't know. She just prays really hard over them, and…andcries. She can't stand to see people in pain like that…"

Chrom's eyes narrowed, deep inthought. "That staff she was wielding," he mumbled to his second-in-command,"Have you ever seen anything like it?"

"Never. But then again, I'm not theone with the memories."

Chrom ran his hand through hishair, grasping his forehead. "The color of their hair reminds of me the ancientsagas – it was so red. What ancientcountry was Plegia before the schism?"

The tactician was clueless, butacross the carriage, Cordelia spoke. "It was two countries, my prince. Dolhrand Macedon."

"Macedon, that's it!" Chromexclaimed, "Macedon was south of Dolhr, and now is South Plegia! And that axe,the Hauteclere – that was the royal treasure of Macedon. Zenobia must preservesome of its bloodline."

"Your welcome, my pr-,"

"These women," Chrom continuedbreathlessly, looking directly at the tactician, "They must be descendants ofancient Macedon, just as Lissa and I are descendants of ancient Altea. Thatmight explain some of their prowess." Chrom turned back to Mujo, who lookedextremely nervous at his sudden excitement. "Do you what the staff is called?Did she ever tell you – is she the only one that can use it?"

Mujo nodded slowly. "It's only forher…I think Xerxes mentioned the name once… it was called the…uh, the Maria, Ithink."

"Maria…" Chrom whispered, runninghis hand through his hair again, "I don't think I've ever heard that name.Macedon…I know there was Queen Minerva after the War of Shadows… and beforethat it was King Misheil – wait, no, it was King Michalis… Hmm, they reallyseemed to like the 'M's in Macedon…"

"Maria was Minerva and Michalis'younger sister," Cordelia piped up again. "She is best known for ensuring KingMichalis' survival after his apparent death at the hands of Queen Minerva."

"I don't think I've ever heard thatname before," Chrom repeated, punching the floor of the rickety carriage, "Comeon, come on…"

The tactician ignored him.

"That staff must her personal staff,then. But, realistically, I highly doubt that any staff could bring someoneback from their deathbed, no matter whose it was. Whatever Zoya has inherited,it isn't a staff."

"Stop it!" Mujo squealed, so loudlythat all heads turned to him – he quailed under all of the gazes, and continuedin a mere squeak of his voice. "Zoey isn't just…isn't just the sum of herparts! She's a real person, with feelings and emotions! She cares about people, and ever since…eversince she almost died, she's done everything to keep everyone around her happy…So don't…." Mujo's voice finally faded into nothingness, and he stared at thefloor, as if wishing he could disappear.

The tactician edged towards him."What happened to her? Why did she nearly die?"

When the enormous man finallyspoke, it was in a quivering whisper. "When we were little kids, Plegia wasstill recovering from the attack from Ylisse. I used to play with Relly andZoey, and….well, it's not important. I was thin and healthy back then, anyway,and…then Zoey's mom got sick. Reallysick. We all thought we were gonna lose her, and Zoey was so young – she didn'tknow what to do. She brought her mom all sorts of things, like peaches – myfavorite food – and warm towels and all that… But she didn't get better. Andjust when we all thought she was going to die, she started to recover."

"Th-That's great!"

"But…it came at a price," Mujosniffed.

"You can't mean…"

Mujo sniffed again. "Yes. Zoey gotsick. She was sick for…years. Years.It was even worse than her mom's. She couldn't stand by herself. She couldn'tlift a spoon. She was really thin, but… not the healthy kind. But even then,she was always smiling. She would always say how wonderful it was the her momwas better, at how great it was that no one else was dying…"

"Mujo…"

Mujo's enormous shoulders heaved ina sigh. "T-They used to joke, that since Zoey didn't know how to heal backthen, she sucked the sickness into herself, because that would be better thanseeing someone else in misery. That's Zoey…the kind of person she is."

The tactician took a deep breath,and blew it out. "We'll save her, Mujo. I promise."

Mujo sniffed. There was silence inthe carriage.

"Aha!" Chrom cried, "Maria wasMinerva's younger sister!"

The tactician ignored him.

* * *

Narelle panted, blinking the sweatout of her eyes glaring at the grimleal dark mage that eluded her – she hurledher axe at him and caught him in the head. Without so much as a sigh of relief,she raised her axe high above her head and yelled, rallying her four remainingtroops around her – two had been killed by a distant spell before the castercould be located. The party was deep in the Jaw of the Sea now, deep in thewide cave – and all around them sorcerers and dark mages popped from theshadows to attack them. She yanked backwards on her reigns to dodge a Thoronbolt, and swooped forward to slice the dark mage in half – it had become aroutine. As she tossed the limp form of the mage from her axe, she once againyelled to her troops – "Come, Deeper! We must find them and rout them!"

The four wyvern lords roared theiragreement, and they charged on, into the darkness. As soon as they had enteredthe next opening in the cave, they found themselves in a large chamber ofcarved stone, with high rooms whose ceilings reached to the roof of the cave –there were three rooms on each side of the chamber, and in the rear was a largealtar to a grotesque statue of a dragon. Sorcerers littered the chamber, andrushed at them – Narelle's battle cry drowned out the chanting of their spells.

"FOR ZOE!"

* * *

Luljetta peered into the chamberfrom behind one of the stone rooms. As promised, there was a group of wyvernriders and a lone Griffon rider fighting some of the Grimleal in one of thecorners. She sucked her teeth, planting one hand on her hip.

"Welp, looks like they were right.This dump's been found out. Time to clean it out and move to a different cave…Oh joy." She stretched her arms, and tucked her staff under her arm as shecracked her fingers. "I'm sure these boys won't mind if I keep some goodies tomyself, though…" With a ghost of a smile, the woman set off towards the nearestroom, and opened the door with a touch.

* * *

"Come on!" Chrom roared from infront of the column – behind him, the rest of his company were running as fastas they could to keep up with him – though Lissa was riding on Frederick'shorse, and Ricken on Cordelia's Pegasus. The dark cave they splashed throughwas littered with murky puddles and pools of blood leaking from the crackedforms of grimleal dark mages. So far, there was no sign of either Narelle orZoya – but as they entered the last chamber of the cave, they were dazzled bythe splendor of the carved room before them; high ceilings, cold torches, andtiles of fine stone – but before anyone had any time to think about it, theywere thrown into battle, as the grimleal sorcerers launched their spellsdirectly at them. Through the spray of magic, the tactician glimpsed Narelle,across the chamber, surrounded by Sorcerers.

"Split up! The tactician yelled,waving desperately, "Mujo, Chrom, Cordelia – with me! We've got to assistNarelle! The rest of you, stay together and deal with the Sorcerers!"

There was some general clamberingof agreement – Cordelia swopped forward, and Chrom wasted no time in nearlyknocking her off her Pegasus as he climbed on. Mujo ran ahead of them (muchfaster than the tactician would have given him credit for), axe cleavingthrough a dark mage before he could even open his tome – "I'm coming, Relly!"he squealed.

The tacitican dodged and parried,and eventually caught up with Mujo when they were nearly halfway across thebattlefield. Then, the sealed doors on the rooms were seen. "Should havebrought Gaius along – of course there would be locks."

* * *

Narelle grasped the Hauteclere,each breath paining her chest – as soon as she had, a boost of vitalityreturned to her. Two more of her comrades had been knocked from the sky – andthe Arcwind that had taken them both down, crushing them under their mounts,had smote her just a moment ago – but she had managed to keep her seat. Shezoomed away from the sorcerer, cleaving off another's head before he could cast– but the Arcwind Sorcerer was still after her, and another gust zoomed at her–

"I-I've got you!"

Mujo jumped in front of the gust,and it glanced off his broad chest without harm – and the next moment he hadhurled his axe into the Sorcerer's forehead. He turned, and without warning,proceeded to clench Narelle in a bone-breaking hug, nearly yanking her off hermount.

"Gah! M-Mujo –!"

"I-IWAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" The man sobbed, snot streaming from his nose ashe shook her, "Don't ever run off likethat again, you hear me?! DON'T EVER DO IT!"

"M-Mujo! You're crushing my ribs!"

Mujo jumped back so quickly thatNarelle really did fall off her mount – and his tears kept streaming. "I'm sosorry Relly! If I wasn't so f-fat I could hug you without a problem – I did itall the time when we were –,"

"D-Don't worry about it," Narellegrunted, too used to Mujo's tendencies to say anything else. "Just focus ongetting Zoe and getting the hell out of here!" She heaved herself back on herGriffon, and looked around – the Sorcerers that had surrounded her had beenleveled by her two subordinates, and Chrom and Cordelia, who swopped near her.Narelle eyed them.

"You are Prince Chrom of Ylisse,correct?"

"Yes," Chrom grunted, "I'm sorryfor what happened between us. I acted rashly."

Narelle did not respond, seeming toignore his words as she stared at him. "You intend to oppose Gangrel, correct?"

"I plan on dethroning him," Chromgrowled, teeth clenched. Narelle nodded, her eyes closed.

"Then I will work with you. Hissupporters have captured my sister, and I will no longer be safe under hisreign after opposing him like this. If you help me reclaim my sister, you havemy – and my soldier's – allegiance. Zenobia will support your effort."

"You have my word," Chromannounced, his grip on Falchion tightening, "I'm sure your Sister – and mine –are somewhere in these chambers…" Chrom turned his tactician expectantly."Where's Gaius?"

"With Flavia," was the reply. Chromgroaned.

"Well, I suppose we could try to smash the doors down…"

"Hello, you all."

Chrom and company whirled around –at the altar at the rear of the chamber was the same half-dressed Sorcerer frombefore, looking as though he was trying to be excited about what he was saying– and was failing miserably. "I'm glad you've all come… Let me show you what wedo here, and what you'll all be taking part of in a few days."

He raised his hand, and, as if shehad been there the whole time, a cleric appeared. Her eyes were glazed, and sheheld the Sorcerer's hand as if he was her husband. The tactician's eyeswidened.

"Chrom, Cordelia, Narelle – move!He's going to –,"

The Sorcerer walked forward,leading the woman towards the altar – on which was a long stone table. Hehoisted the woman up as a groom would to a bride, and lay her on the table.Immediately, her dazed eyes closed.

"HURRY!"The tactician yelled – this exact scenario had been seen before, in historictexts. Cordelia whipped the reigns and zoomed forward, Chrom holding onto herfar too tightly (she didn't seem to mind) –

From the darkness behind the altar,behind the twisted statue, soared an enormous, blood-red Manakete, with nosparkle in its dull scales. Before anyone could so much as gasp, the Manaketedived down and closed its jaws on the woman – who did not so much as scream.

"GODS!" Chrom exploded – From thedarkness between the corridors, more Sorcerers were appearing. "For LordGrima!" They cheered in hoarse voices, "All for Lord Grima!"

Cordelia had paused in midair, herhands shaking – with a swift snap of its jaws, the manakete devoured the restof the woman, and roared its might into the chamber – Lissa's scream echoedright along with it.

"Don't worry, you'll all have thepleasure of being sacrifices," the Sorcerer mumbled, rubbing one of his eyes asif trying not to fall asleep, "Those scarred by death are more suited to besacrificed to Lord Grima, so once you've been scarred, we'll heal you up andsacrifice you…So have fun. Here's the healer now." The Sorcerer yawned, andwaved his hand again – and, right next to the bloodthirsty dragon, a Griffonand rider appeared, standing stock-still. A rider holding a staff and staring into space, her eyes half open, herred hair flying flat against her lacy dress.

"GO!"The tactician roared, "FLY, GO, NOW!"

Cordelia shot at the altar – thedragon shot a ball of fire out of his mouth, and she flew in a loop to avoid it(causing Chrom to grab her tighter). Narelle sped forward as well, her knightsflanking her – and though her knights both flew to engage the Sorcerer, shelanded right next to Zoya and jumped off her mount, shaking her shoulders.

"Zoe! Zoe! Move, Move – Come on,Zoe!"

"She won't wake," the Sorcereryawned, dodging the axes of the wyvern lords. "The grimaleal have spent yearsperfecting our hypnotism, we've learned from the sorcerers of yore…I know, Iknow. I'll stop the monologue now…"

Narelle cursed, looking directly atZoya – her sister was pale under her dark skin, her eyes looking directlythrough her sister without seeing.

The dragon next to them roared infury, shooting fireballs at Cordelia and Chrom as they whizzed around its head– Narelle cursed again; she only had so much time before it would notice theperfectly helpless meal sitting directly beneath him.

"Zoe, it's me," Narelle breathed,chest heaving, her eyes glistening with tears, "Nari. I'm here. Come back to me– come back! I know you can hear me!"

The girl's head sank, and her mouthopened.

"…For Lord Grima…I am…For LordGrima…"

Narelle withdrew as though slapped– her sister's voice was shaking with fear, and the words seemed even morewrong coming in her polite, quiet voice. The voice that could not shout even ifshe tried, as she had lost so much of it during her sickness. The voice thatdid not know the meaning of shouting, since she had been using an 'indoorvoice' for so many of her years. The voice that whispered prayers at all hoursof the night –

"Zoe," Narelle whispered, ignoringthe roaring of the dragon beside her, "♩ I am the sun, you are the moon… Though you are gone now, you'll…"Narelle's prayer faded away, her voice faltering on the blank face of hersister. "Ah…Zoe…"

"…You'll…return to me soon."

Narelle jumped – Zoya was blinking, humming the rest ofthe prayer. "Why'd you stop? That one's my favorite…"

Tears finally burst from Narelle's eyes. "Zoe! Stay withme - ," Seeing her sister's head begin to loll again, she snapped her fingersquickly beneath her face, and she jumped. "W-What's going on? Where are – Ah,Ah-!" Zoya turned to see the dragon next to her, and her voice cracked as sheattempted a scream. "Nari! Look atthat! Look at this place –," And before Narelle could attempt to explain,Zoya's face split into a grin, and she giggled. "Wow, Nari! This place is socool! I've always wanted to see a dragon – can we explore…" Zoya blinked,shaking her head. Beneath her, her mount was stirring back into consciousnessas well. "H-How did we get here, anyway?"

"Later!" Narelle yelled, nearly hoarse with worry andamusement, "Right now we need to move! Come on!"

"R-Right!" Zoya squeaked, giving an excited look to thedragon beside her before whipping her reigns and flying away from the altar –Narelle turned and flew over her, making sure to guide her away from theSorcerers. The tactician finally took a breath of relief, scanning thebattlefield – Frederick and the group at the rear of the chamber were stillholding up well with the sorcerers, as Miriel and Ricken shielded the groupfrom the spells while Frederick and Gregor finished off their opponents.Cordelia and Chrom were still dueling the fierce manakete, and Narelle's lastknight was flanking to her side; one had fallen dueling against the Sorcerer.

"Now, to figure out how to get in these rooms…"

Before any plan could be set in motion, something wasnoticed near a room –a rider in dark armor had seemingly appeared in thedarkness. Narelle and her knight swooped past it – and it charged after them,raising its arm.

"Look out!"

It was too late – a fierce explosion of fire engulfedthe last wyvern lord, and the screeches of his mount echoed around the chamber.The tactician's eyes widened – It was a Dark Knight. Narelle spun in mid-air, and Zoya turnedbehind her – the Knight approached them through the smoke that wafted from theknight cooked in his own armor. Thehorse was black as tar, and the rider wore a black cloak that obscured all buta sword hand, held shocking still. The tactician couldn't believe it – the knightwas wielding the Mystletainn, thedemon blade of legend, along with whatever fire tome it had killed the knightwith. Its collar was high, covering all of its face but two black eyes and longdreadlocks that hung down the knight's back. His forehead was dark, and creasedin anger.

"Sen'c, Sen'c, Sen'c! I'mtoo late…They got her…" The knight was growling, seemingly to himself, as he approachedthem – and as he neared, the tactician noticed the same glazed look in his darkeyes that had been in Zoya's.

"…Sen'c…I'll have to eatmyself stupid to live this one down…" The knight flourished his sword and stuck it into thecorpse of the knight – then drew it again and – the tactician winced – licked his blade. "Butchering the grimleal should be a good start."

Before the knight could make a move, and before thetactician could think of a strategy to deal with him –

"Xerxes?"

Zoya flew up to the knight, her face bright despite thedrowsiness that had possessed her mere seconds ago. "Xerxes! You found us. Thisplace is rather interesting, isn't it? I was just telling Nari that we shouldexplore around some more… Xerxes? Are you feeling alright?"

The knight was staring at her with his glazed eyes,blinking forcefully. "Zoya?" hegrowled, squinting at her as if she was the sun – "What the…"

Zoya frowned – and to the tactician's utmost surprise,leaned over on her Griffon and touched the back of her hand to his forehead."You're cold, as always," she muttered, "But you really do look unwell. I thinkI have a concoction here…"

"It is you!" The knight roared, causing Zoya to jump. "Ithought…How the –," The knight shook his head, his dreadlocks swinging madlyaround him. "Grrrr… I mean, uh, darrrrn. I must have been… Yes, thatexplains it." When he looked up, his dark eyes were clear. "Zoya, it'sdangerous for you to be here. Stay close to me."

"Right," Zoya nodded. The knight trotted forward – andthen rushed past the tactician and slashed a Sorcerer that had appeared fromthe shadows before he could cast. Then, seemingly invigorated by the kill, theknight charged again – and seemed to get even fiercer with every Sorcerer thatfell from his blade, blood dancing in the shadows of his cloak. The tacticianshuddered.

"Who is that?"

"Xerxes," Narelle said, hefting her axe to engageanother Sorcerer. "He's been our caretaker since we were young. He can get…"Narelle chewed on her words. "A little fanaticwhen it comes to protecting us." She scoffed, looking down at her fallenknight. "That's actually not the first time he's done that."

The tactician laughed, shooting a glance at Frederick –who, on queue, threw himself in front on an attack on Lissa. "I think I knowthe type – well, not the 'accidentally-kill-my-own-comrades' type, but thefanatic type."

But this Xerxes definitely seemed more ominous than Sir-Sarcastic-Frederick. Atleast he had never been seen licking his lance – heck, he couldn't even standbear meat, there was no way he could do blood.

* * *<br style="mso-special-character:line-break"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break">

Luljetta sucked her teeth, peering out of the doorway.She had managed to clean out all of the rooms on the left side of the chamber –of both their treasurers and their inhabitants. She had her orders – the othersacrifices were to be moved to another location, most likely an island that thearmy would find hard to locate.

"But damn, they're really fighting out there now.Getting across smoothly is gonna be tough… Tsk, combat is not a good look onme." Luljetta straightened up and tucked her staff under arm again, her otherhand planted directly on her hip. Counting her seconds, she prepared to saunteracross the battlefield –

"Damn…"

She had been spotted. The knight rode towards her – andas it neared –

"Aw, damn…"She recognized him.

The knight pulled to a stop before her, staring at herfor a long moment. Luljetta huffed, returning his gaze as though bored, herheavy-lidded eyes half-closed.

"Well, what d'ya know," the knight said – his voice wasa deep, grating growl. "If it isn't the prodigal daughter. You've returned."

"Shut up," Luljetta spat, sucking her teeth. "You're notthe boss of me."

"Oh, I am now," Xerxes growled. "You mean to tell me,that after all these years of searching for you, you don't think I won't dragyou back by your hair if I have to?"

"Good luck with that," she scoffed, "Got rid of thatwhen I left."

Xerxes was silent, but his forehead creased with thequiet thunder that flashed in his eyes. "You broke her heart," he hissed, hisvoice murderous, "You nearly killed her – again!She just started recovering and you up and left!"

Luljetta pursed her lips, glaring daggers right back ather former caretaker. "I don't care," she spat, "I'm not her sister anymore. Ileft that place behind, so just let me be!"

"Oh, is that so?" Xerxes hissed, his voice venomous. "Iknow why you left. You couldn't take the thought of losing her. And you werejust too sen'cing selfish to admit it – you were used to getting all theattention before she came along, weren't you? And then she had to come be ahealer just like you, and you couldn't take that either. But, on top of that,you couldn't even wait for her to be die – you had to be your own person rightthen."

Luljetta rolled her tongue around her mouth, doingeverything in her power to keep her tears from coming. "What do you want," shegrowled.

"Your sister is alive," he whispered thunderously, "Andyou're going to come back to her…and make up for all the years that she's spentpraying for you to return, praying for your safety. You are going to be hersister, Luljetta – You hear me? And you're going to make up with Narelle aswell."

"You can't force me to –,"

"I will kill you now ifyou don't come with me!" Xerxes snarled, fingers twitching around his sword, "I didn'tspend ten years looking for you to waste this moment."

Luljetta scowled, her knuckles whitening on her hip –yet she couldn't help but look over her shoulder at the rest of the army. Andnow that she knew what she was looking for, she spotted her immediately.

There she was, riding a Griffon sidesaddle – "Damn her, why'd she have to be so goodat everything?" – and holding up her staff. Her face was filled with joy – thesame expression that would cross her face back when Luljetta would visit herroom and play with her, even though she was days away from death…It was true,then. She was alive. And deep within her, something broke – and an emotionlessbreath hissed out of her.

"Come with me," Xerxes muttered, jerking his long hairand turning on his horse, trotting slowly back towards the army. Luljettacursed once more, for good measure, and quickly followed him, sidling up nextto her caretaker as if nothing had happened between them.

"Man, those grimleal are a crazy bunch," she muttered.

Xerxes smirked. "Don't think this is over," he growled.

Luljetta rolled her eyes, and climbed on his horsenonetheless.

* * *

The tactician was beginning to think the enemy Sorcerersmight finally be running low on reinforcements – and the strategy was stillholding well. Narelle and Zoya were coming to the aid of Cordelia and Chrom,who had nearly succeeded in whittling down the fearsome manakete, and Frederickand company had nearly worked their way across the main chamber. The DarkKnight Xerxes approached, and a cleric in a very tight, tattered black dressslid down from his horse.

"Who is this?"

"Your new thief," Xerxes growled. "Name's Luljetta. Shecan get into these rooms. I know you'relooking for something in them."

The tactician blinked. The woman looked incredibly dubious;she held a staff whose ball was lined with thorns, and her dark lipstick andeye shadow looked even further than the stereotypical cleric – the thoughtswere cleared with a shake of the head. "O-Okay. Well, let's crack them open!Hurry – we don't know what will happen when they defeat that Sorcerer – hismagic may destroy this place!"

"That's a bit far fetched," Xerxes grunted.

When Luljetta shot him a look, he made a noise thatsounded extraordinarily like an animal, and she scoffed and ran towards thenearest door. The tactician followed her progress with bated breath, shootingglances between her and Chrom, Cordelia, and Narelle fighting the sorcerer –the manakete had been slain, and it lay across the altar like a shiningbloodstain itself.

Hurry…Hurry… The Exalt had to be inone of those rooms. Luljetta cracked open the first one – nothing. She scurriedto the next one, flanked by Xerxes – nothing. She hurried to the last room –

"'Ey! There's someone in here!"

The tactician's heart almost stopped. Could it be?"Bring them here, quickly!"

Just as the words were spoken, Narelle's axe camecrashing down on the Sorcerer's skull, and he collapsed.

"Sleep…at last…"

"COME ON!" The tactician bellowed, waving arms backtowards the cave's entrance, "We need to get out of here!"

The troops all spurred themselves towards the exit, anda thundering of hoofs and wings beating the ground and air whizzed past.Finally, the tactician thought – Finally, they had succeeded.

* * *

The air outside the cave was salty and crisp; the oceanlapped at the beach and their heels, and to the sweaty, bloody soldiers, it wasthe most inviting sight they had seen in days. Miriel had actually waded intothe shallows to observe a few interesting specimens, while Ricken kicked offhis shoes and splashed about. Frederick and Gregor were being nursed by Lissa,as their resistance to magic was quite low, and they still stung from somespells. Mujo, Narelle, and Zoya stood side by side, while Xerxes approachedthem with Luljetta – their voices and exclamations echoed across the beach, butall tried to ignore them. Cordelia was nursing a wound on Chrom's shoulder –yet he was completely engaged in conversation with his second-in-command.

"Who was it?" he breathed, eyes alight in the earlyevening, "Was it Emm? Did you find her?"

The tactician took a deep breath in preparation. "…No,Chrom. Come, look…"

Chrom stood, completely oblivious to the fact that hehad stepped on Cordelia's javelin, and rushed forward with the tactician to themouth of the cave. There, in a slump against her Pegasus, was –

"Phila!" Chrom yelled. The commander was staring intospace – but as her name was called, she jolted back to awareness.

"Xerxes and Luljetta freed her. When Narelle defeatedthe Sorcerer, I think she was freed of the hypnotism."

"She's alive," Chrom breathed, kneeling down next toher. "Phila. Are you alright?"

The commander blinked, and nodded curtly. "Yes milord,"she croaked, her voice hoarse. "But…How did I find myself in this place? Whereis the Exalt? Just a moment ago, the Risen had surrounded us…"

Chrom heaved a deep sigh. "We're wondering the samething, Phila…"

The tactician looked pointedly at him. "Chrom, ifEmmeryn was here, she isn't anymore. The grimleal might have taken her body toanother one of their locations."

"I know," Chrom sighed, and he looked skyward, into theserene abyss of stars. "…But, you know…she might be alive. I-I hadn't allowedmyself to hope for something as ridiculous as that before tonight but…But we'veseen some amazing things, haven't we?"

The tactician nodded, breaking into a gentle smile."That we have. If Zoya can keep people alive with prayer and sincerity…thanyour sister may well be alive too. She was the most sincere person in theworld."

"Exalt Emmeryn has perished?" Phila cried, jumping toher feet – "Impossible! No, that cannot be!"

"We think sheperished, Phila," Chrom muttered, a weak smile faltering on his face. "Butuntil we know for sure, I won't give up looking. Until I have found her body…orbrought her home."

Phila's face hardened. "I have failed," she whispered,and bowed her head. "Milord, I will fight by your side until we can bring the Exalthome, wherever she may be."

"Thank you, Phila," Chrom said, standing as well. "Butfor now…we've followed this lead as far as it can go. We must return and faceGangrel, before he can ruin any more lives."

"Agreed."

Chrom turned and stared into the sky once more, and wassilent for a long while. The pair tried not to listen to sobbing and yellingthat came from the Zenobias, and enjoyed their moment of quiet peace.

"We might not have restored our pride," Chrom whispered,"But we've replenished our hope. And that… that might just be more important."

The tactician laughed dryly. "Spoken like a truepolitician."

[LycopolisKing]

[spoiler=Character Stats & Awakening Bios]

[spoiler=Mujo]

Help Description - Mustafa's son. Terrified of being overweight.

Class sets - Barbarian, Fighter, Wyvern Rider

Skills - Despoil, Gamble, Zeal, HP+5, Counter

Class - Berserker

Lv 1

Weapon Levels: Axe - B

Staring Items: Short Axe, Concoction

HP 52+5 90%

Str 28 80%

Mag 7 20%

Skll 22 60%

Spd 19 40%

Lck 17 70%

Def 15 45%

Res 14 40%

Recruitment: Enemy in Paralogue 5-I. Can be talked to with the Avatar, but will not join. Will join automatically if he survived the chapter.

Bio:

General Mustafa's son, Mujo has inherited the physique of his father - though he thinks it more flab than strength, and is extraordinarily worried he is hopelessly obese. Despite his size, he is quite timid and is in more into morbid jokes about fighting than actual battle.

The most secretive fruit hoarder. Birthday July 18.

Bromantic Supports: Yarne, Brady, Stahl, Xerxes, Gregor, Ricken

Romantic Supports; Narelle, Zoya, Can father all children.

[spoiler=Narelle]

Help Description - The ruler of Zenobia. Stubbornly protects her comrades.

Class Sets - Wyvern Rider, Knight, Pegasus Knight

Skills - Renewal, Defender, Aegis, Deliverer, *Reinforce

*Calls 2 Wyvern Riders and 1 Wyvern Lord from the Zenobian army to assist as Allied Units. Can be used twice per map.

Class - Griffon Rider

Weapon Levels: Axe- A

Starting Items: Hauteclere, *Marado

*Axe, Prf - Narelle only. Rng 1-2. Mt - 7, Hit- 85, Crt- 10, Uses - 30. Forge- Yes.

Lv 5

HP 45 75%

Str 21 60%

Mag 12 20%

Skl 20 60%

Spd 23 55%

Lck 17 45%

Def 27 80%

Res 14 35%

Recruitment: Ally Unit, talk to her with Mujo in Paralogue in 5-II.

Bio:

The Ruler of Zenobia, a proud commander who has the best interests of her lands at heart. She is fierce and unrelenting when it comes to protecting her people, and her little sister, Zoya.

The one most likely to be caught in a hairnet. Birthday Jun 4.

Bromantic Supports: Maribelle, Zoya, Luljetta, Say'ri, Avatar

Romantic Supports: Xerxes, Mujo, Chrom, Avatar

[spoiler=Zoya]

Help Description - The excitable princess of Zenobia. Eager, but clueless.

Class Sets - Cleric, Troubador, Pegasus Knight

Skills - Miracle, Aptitude, *Eagerness, **Seraph, ***Blessing

*Triples EXP.

** Allows the unit a full action after using a Staff.

*** Healing by this unit lingers (refreshes itself) for 3 turns.

Class - *Paraclete

*Zoya, princess of Zenobia. She rides a Griffon to better assist those in need of healing. (Can go to Level 30.)

Weapon Levels: Staff - E, Sword - E, Tome - E.

Starting Items: *Eve, **Maria, ***Nurufire, Concotion

*Sword, Prf- Zoya only. Mt -15, Hit - 130, Crt- 15, Uses - Infinite. A slender sword of House Zenobia. Forge - No.

**Staff, Prf - Zoya only. Rng - All. Uses - Infinite. An ancient staff, heal a small amount of HP from afar.

*** Tome - E. Mt- 1, Hit - 90, Crt - 0, Uses - 15. An extraordinarily weak tome.

Lv1

HP 12 65%+20%*

Str 0 25%+20%*

Mag 1 85%+20%*

Skl 0 40%+20%*

Spd 2 80%+20%*

Lck 25 90%+20%*

Def 0 40%+20%*

Res 14 70%+20%*

*Aptitude.

Recruitment: Enemy in Paralogue 5-I, can be talked to with Lissa, but do not kill her. Will appear as an unmoving Ally Unit next to an Enemy Manakete in Paralogue 5-II the turn after Narelle is recruited. Immediately talk with Narelle - if not, the dragon she is next to will kill her in the very next turn.

Bio:

The excitable princess of Zenobia. Though her past was fraught with distress, she does everything she can to help everyone around her - even it means picking up weapons she has no idea how to use. Calls her friends by nicknames.

The most likely to laugh at nothing. Birthday Apr 26.

Bromantic Supports: Lissa, Maribelle, Cynthia, Nowi, Nah, Severa, Noire, Olivia, Narelle, Luljetta, Avatar

Romantic Supports: Xerxes, Mujo, Avatar

[spoiler=Xerxes]

Help Description - The caretaker of Narelle and Zoya. May be a cannibal.

Class sets - Priest, Dark Mage, Myrmidon

Skills - Galeforce, Lifetaker, Locktouch, Vantage, Counter

Class - Dark Knight

Lv 7

Weapon Levels: Tome- A, Sword -A

Starting Items: Elfire, Mystletainn, Second Seal

HP 57 50%

Str 27 55%

Mag 30 65%

Skl 32 80%

Spd 34 80%

Lck 27 80%

Def 28 50%

Res 31 50%

Recruitment: Enemy unit, Talk to him with Zoya in Paralogue 5-II. He is a powerful enemy unit who will attack and kill if he is not talked to first.

Bio:

The caretaker of the Zenobia family. An enigma with an insatiable appetite both on and off the battlefield, his particular taste for flesh has been a cause for concern among friends. Still, he is fiercely loyal and protective of his charges.

The one who curses in gibberish. Birthday Apr 8.

Bromantic Supports: Mujo, Stahl, Walhart, Gregor, Frederick, Kellam, Yarne, Avatar.

Romantic Supports: Narelle, Luljetta, Zoya, Lissa, Maribelle, Tiki, Emmeryn, Avatar.

[spoiler=Luljetta]

Help Description - A cleric with sticky fingers and dubious behavior.

Class Sets - Cleric, Thief, Pegasus Knight

Skills - Healtouch, Counter, Locktouch, Movement +1, Pass

Class - Cleric

Lv 18

Weapon Levels: Staff - A.

Starting Items: *Barb Staff, Fortify, Bullion (M),

* Staff - Prf - Luljetta only. Restores HP to an adjacent ally. Use to do damage to an opponent with Strength. Uses - 35.

HP 38 70%

Str 17 60%

Mag 19 55%

Skll 15 40%

Spd 25 65%

Lck 16 45%

Def 14 55%

Res 18 45%

Recruitment - Paralogue II, will be a thief-like Enemy unit that appears the turn after Xerxes is recruited. Left unchecked, she will open the doors and kill Phila if she finds her. Can talk with Narelle and Zoya, but she will not join. Talk with Xerxes to recruit.

Bio:

The middle child of the Zenobia princesses. She snuck away as a child to live her own way, and has since been involved with those of questionable motives, and she shows no interest in "cleaning herself up."

The fondest of tight clothing. Birthday September 9.

Bromantic Supports: Panne, Olivia, Tharja, Severa, Noire, Maribelle, Aversa, Zoya, Narelle, Avatar

Romantic Supports: Xerxes, Gaius, Brady, Mujo, Frederick, Libra, Avatar

[spoiler=Phila]

Help Description - The fallen commander of the Pegasus Knights of Ylisse.

Class Sets - Pegasus Knight, Cavalier, Troubador

Skills - Relief, Rally Movement, Rally Speed, Lancefaire, Galeforce

Class - Falcon Knight

Weapon Levels: Lance - A, Staff - B

Staring Items: Spear, Brave Lance, Recover, Catharsis

Lv 15

HP 54 45%

Str 30 40%

Mag 28 40%

Skll 34 65%

Spd 37 55%

Lck 29 50%

Def 25 35%

Res 27 45%

Recruitment: Open the door that reveals her as an unmoving Ally Unit in Paralogue 5-II. Talk with Cordelia, Chrom, or Sumia. If not, she will join automatically if she survived the chapter.

The commander of Ylisse's Pegasus Knights. She was nearly killed in Plegia, and works hard to try to right her failure. She is loyal to a fault, and knows little of relaxation.

The one most likely to wake up during a good dream. Birthday August 22.

Bromantic Supports: Narelle, Maribelle, Lissa, Chrom, Tharja, Cordelia, Sumia, Avatar

Romantic Supports: Frederick, Stahl, Libra, Lon'qu, Basilio, Avatar