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31_days2020-05-05 04:15 pm
gershom_onyx) wrote in 31_days2020-05-05 04:15 pm
Entry tags:
[05 / 05 / 20] [Fire Emblem Heroes] Time of Radiance
Title: Time of Radiance
Day / Prompt: 05 / The Bird Chirps, I Sing
Fandom: Fire Emblem Heroes
Character(s) / Pairing(s): Ike, Sharena
Rating / Warning(s): All Ages
Word Count: 1,280
Notes: Playing a bit with time and space here. Also giving a name to one of the generic Emblian Pegasus Knights that the fanartists like.
As Alfonse and Bruno prepare to return to the World of Zenith with Celica and Leon, Sharena heads to the World of Radiance with a small retinue of soldiers provided by Xander, but she finds, upon her arrival, that she has come to a World of Radiance that has seen a number of years pass ....
* * * *
"This must be the village, Your Highness," the soldier said from the depths of his helmet, saluting Sharena and standing up straight as he rested the butt of his long spear on the hard-packed ground, "assuming the directions are correct."
"Seems correct to me," the Princess of Askr replied, leaning forward to part the tall grass around the sign that indicated the path, "but calling it a 'village' might be a stretch." She looked up from the sign and squinted into the distance. "Most of those buildings look like they've been abandoned."
"It doesn't seem abandoned, though," the soldier said, following her gaze. "Do you see it back there? There's a little smoke from one of the chimneys."
"That's enough to investigate, then." She looked at her guardians, half a dozen in total, all hand-picked by Xander. "I don't think we all need to go in together. That'd attract the wrong kind of attention. So –" She nodded to one of the six, a dismounted Pegasus Knight. "– why don't you come with me, Lilja?"
"As you wish, Your Highness." She nodded once to her compatriots and shouldered her lance before accompanying Sharena on the road to the village.
As soon as they turned the first corner, Sharena said, looking a little sheepish, "You all don't have use to my title, you know. Just 'Sharena' is fine. I don't stand on ceremony if I'm representing the Order of Heroes."
Lilja replied, not breaking her stride, her long, silver hair swaying to and fro behind her, "But you're not representing the Order, Princess Sharena. The Order is now our shared enemy. As far as all of us are concerned, you're representing the royal family of Askr. That's why we use your title."
"Well, you don't have to," Sharena said, though she let the issue drop, preferring to let the wind and birdsong fill the silence between them. She had learned that changing the minds of the Emblians was almost impossible.
What Sharena had predicted seemed to be true: Of all the buildings in the village, only one seemed to have any signs of life in the form of smoke curling up from its stone chimney ... and a single figure seated on its front porch, whittling at a chunk of wood with hands that had become old and gnarled.
"Excuse me," Sharena inquired, waving at the man, "but I'm looking for —"
"Looking for Ike, I imagine," the man said, not looking up from his whittling. "I was wondering when you'd come back around, Princess Sharena."
"Wait, how do you know – ?" Sharena started, but then the man rose slowly from his chair, removing his straw hat and regarding her with eyes that pierced as deeply as they had when he was a young warrior. "Can it be – ? Ike?"
"It is," he replied, setting down the chunk of wood and using his free hand to smoothe his white-streaked beard. "The same one your Summoner called forth all those years ago." His gaze softened. "If you're the same Sharena, that is. You look younger than you did when I left, so I'm guessing that's not the case."
"P-Perhaps not." She did her best to organize her thoughts. "I've honestly never had the chance to talk to a Hero who remembers being summoned." She gestured to her surroundings. "But, for you, it's been ... decades?"
"Half a century," he said, carefully walking down the short steps from his porch to the dirt road. "My adventuring days are long over." A hint of a smile behind his beard. "But I've never forgotten my time in Askr, even if it was with a different Summoner serving a different Sharena. I dare say that everything I learned fighting beside you served me well when I returned to fight the next war." He shook his head. "Long ago. There's been no war since then. My children and grandchildren have grown up in a world of peace."
"Children?" The surprises never seemed to stop. "But who is – ?"
"Soren and I adopted." He shrugged. "And, before you ask, it was his idea, not mine. You'd be surprised how much seeing the world can change a person." At that, he chuckled to himself. "You're actually lucky that he's off in town, or he'd chase you away. He hasn't gotten any less overprotective over the years." He sighed, tilting his head slightly to make his neck crack with a very audible pop. "But you aren't here to reminisce, I'm thinking. You probably came here to ask for my help. Why else would you be here with Emblian soldiers?" He nodded to Lilja. "No offense. I have a long memory."
"No offense taken," the Pegasus Knight admitted.
Sharena said, "Well, yes, Ike, you're right: I did come here for your help, but –" She paused to pick her words. "I don't mean to be blunt, but —"
"I'm old, I know." He seemed more amused than anything else. "And I've got a family to look after." That made him pause. "Well, I've always had a family, really, but this one's more literal than found, even if they've all moved on to new homes of their own, save for Soren and myself. It wouldn't do for their patriarch to suddenly pull up stakes and vanish, all the more so because Soren would never let it happen." He laid one hand on her shoulder. "That doesn't mean I won't help you, however. There's still one thing I can do. Come." He gestured to a path behind the house. "Just follow me this way for a bit."
"All right. Can you – ?" But before she had a chance to ask the question, Ike proved himself as sure-footed as a mountain goat, heading up the path as easily as a man half his age. "Perhaps I was wrong to be concerned."
"No matter which Ike he is, he never fails to amaze," Lilja observed as she and Sharena both followed him up into the hills behind the village.
At the end of the path, towards the top of the biggest hill, Ike stopped at what appeared to be a cairn of stones. It seemed unremarkable, at first, but Sharena noticed a shimmering in the air above it, and she stated what she had realized: "You settled in this place because there's a gate here."
Ike looked over his shoulder at her and grinned, "I said my adventuring days were long over. That doesn't mean I don't ... meander from time to time. Can't help myself, sometimes." He squared up his shoulders. "This used to be a village of Askran refugees – not from the same Askr that summoned me, but I learned enough of the place when I was there to know what they were hiding here. After the war ended there, most of them went home. I ... haven't visited in a while, to be honest. The last time I went, the friends I made had become very old in a very short time. It's a time difference like the one that exists between your world and mine." He squinted at Sharena. "Funny thing, though. There was one young lady I met there who looked a lot like you."
Sharena knew his next sentence almost before it left his lips:
"Her name was Henriette."
END.
Day / Prompt: 05 / The Bird Chirps, I Sing
Fandom: Fire Emblem Heroes
Character(s) / Pairing(s): Ike, Sharena
Rating / Warning(s): All Ages
Word Count: 1,280
Notes: Playing a bit with time and space here. Also giving a name to one of the generic Emblian Pegasus Knights that the fanartists like.
* * * *
"This must be the village, Your Highness," the soldier said from the depths of his helmet, saluting Sharena and standing up straight as he rested the butt of his long spear on the hard-packed ground, "assuming the directions are correct."
"Seems correct to me," the Princess of Askr replied, leaning forward to part the tall grass around the sign that indicated the path, "but calling it a 'village' might be a stretch." She looked up from the sign and squinted into the distance. "Most of those buildings look like they've been abandoned."
"It doesn't seem abandoned, though," the soldier said, following her gaze. "Do you see it back there? There's a little smoke from one of the chimneys."
"That's enough to investigate, then." She looked at her guardians, half a dozen in total, all hand-picked by Xander. "I don't think we all need to go in together. That'd attract the wrong kind of attention. So –" She nodded to one of the six, a dismounted Pegasus Knight. "– why don't you come with me, Lilja?"
"As you wish, Your Highness." She nodded once to her compatriots and shouldered her lance before accompanying Sharena on the road to the village.
As soon as they turned the first corner, Sharena said, looking a little sheepish, "You all don't have use to my title, you know. Just 'Sharena' is fine. I don't stand on ceremony if I'm representing the Order of Heroes."
Lilja replied, not breaking her stride, her long, silver hair swaying to and fro behind her, "But you're not representing the Order, Princess Sharena. The Order is now our shared enemy. As far as all of us are concerned, you're representing the royal family of Askr. That's why we use your title."
"Well, you don't have to," Sharena said, though she let the issue drop, preferring to let the wind and birdsong fill the silence between them. She had learned that changing the minds of the Emblians was almost impossible.
What Sharena had predicted seemed to be true: Of all the buildings in the village, only one seemed to have any signs of life in the form of smoke curling up from its stone chimney ... and a single figure seated on its front porch, whittling at a chunk of wood with hands that had become old and gnarled.
"Excuse me," Sharena inquired, waving at the man, "but I'm looking for —"
"Looking for Ike, I imagine," the man said, not looking up from his whittling. "I was wondering when you'd come back around, Princess Sharena."
"Wait, how do you know – ?" Sharena started, but then the man rose slowly from his chair, removing his straw hat and regarding her with eyes that pierced as deeply as they had when he was a young warrior. "Can it be – ? Ike?"
"It is," he replied, setting down the chunk of wood and using his free hand to smoothe his white-streaked beard. "The same one your Summoner called forth all those years ago." His gaze softened. "If you're the same Sharena, that is. You look younger than you did when I left, so I'm guessing that's not the case."
"P-Perhaps not." She did her best to organize her thoughts. "I've honestly never had the chance to talk to a Hero who remembers being summoned." She gestured to her surroundings. "But, for you, it's been ... decades?"
"Half a century," he said, carefully walking down the short steps from his porch to the dirt road. "My adventuring days are long over." A hint of a smile behind his beard. "But I've never forgotten my time in Askr, even if it was with a different Summoner serving a different Sharena. I dare say that everything I learned fighting beside you served me well when I returned to fight the next war." He shook his head. "Long ago. There's been no war since then. My children and grandchildren have grown up in a world of peace."
"Children?" The surprises never seemed to stop. "But who is – ?"
"Soren and I adopted." He shrugged. "And, before you ask, it was his idea, not mine. You'd be surprised how much seeing the world can change a person." At that, he chuckled to himself. "You're actually lucky that he's off in town, or he'd chase you away. He hasn't gotten any less overprotective over the years." He sighed, tilting his head slightly to make his neck crack with a very audible pop. "But you aren't here to reminisce, I'm thinking. You probably came here to ask for my help. Why else would you be here with Emblian soldiers?" He nodded to Lilja. "No offense. I have a long memory."
"No offense taken," the Pegasus Knight admitted.
Sharena said, "Well, yes, Ike, you're right: I did come here for your help, but –" She paused to pick her words. "I don't mean to be blunt, but —"
"I'm old, I know." He seemed more amused than anything else. "And I've got a family to look after." That made him pause. "Well, I've always had a family, really, but this one's more literal than found, even if they've all moved on to new homes of their own, save for Soren and myself. It wouldn't do for their patriarch to suddenly pull up stakes and vanish, all the more so because Soren would never let it happen." He laid one hand on her shoulder. "That doesn't mean I won't help you, however. There's still one thing I can do. Come." He gestured to a path behind the house. "Just follow me this way for a bit."
"All right. Can you – ?" But before she had a chance to ask the question, Ike proved himself as sure-footed as a mountain goat, heading up the path as easily as a man half his age. "Perhaps I was wrong to be concerned."
"No matter which Ike he is, he never fails to amaze," Lilja observed as she and Sharena both followed him up into the hills behind the village.
At the end of the path, towards the top of the biggest hill, Ike stopped at what appeared to be a cairn of stones. It seemed unremarkable, at first, but Sharena noticed a shimmering in the air above it, and she stated what she had realized: "You settled in this place because there's a gate here."
Ike looked over his shoulder at her and grinned, "I said my adventuring days were long over. That doesn't mean I don't ... meander from time to time. Can't help myself, sometimes." He squared up his shoulders. "This used to be a village of Askran refugees – not from the same Askr that summoned me, but I learned enough of the place when I was there to know what they were hiding here. After the war ended there, most of them went home. I ... haven't visited in a while, to be honest. The last time I went, the friends I made had become very old in a very short time. It's a time difference like the one that exists between your world and mine." He squinted at Sharena. "Funny thing, though. There was one young lady I met there who looked a lot like you."
Sharena knew his next sentence almost before it left his lips:
"Her name was Henriette."
END.