Arch. 2594

Horns signaled the arrival of Validar and his patrol as he successfully returned from repelling what was left of the foreign invaders within the bounds of Plegia. He rode atop his horse with a frown etched to his face as the young Aversa held his waist for balance. She had been the only survivor of the massacre and to make matters worse, the ones responsible for the attack only left behind mercenaries that wore hastily made and shoddy quality Ylissean emblems. Considering those mercenaries did not wield a proper banner, he could not push for a casus belli against Ylisse off of the circumstantial evidence of the force coming from Ylissean territory. No one wished for war and that would mean that without hard evidence the Barons and Lords of Plegia would drag their feet if he pushed for retaliation without a direct war proclamation from Ylisse or full support from the Plegian Dukes.

The castle guards closed the gates behind their pink robed King as he finally began to dismount from his horse. He helped Aversa down before he gave the order for the rest of his patrol to dismount and get some rest. Validar had to urgently gather the council and inform Elinora of the developments. He had taken one of the shoddy emblems from the corpse of one of the mercenaries with the hope that it would be enough to at least get the Barons and Lords to improve their garrison recruitment. Aversa held the back of his robe as the two swiftly entered into the castle.

Elinora sat on her throne deeply worried about Validar. She knew that he was a very well educated sorcerer and could hold is own against scores of enemies, but in the field of battle all it would take to down even the toughest soldier was a single well placed arrow. As the Queen, she had to maintain her outward composer as she had been trained to do throughout her life. This training still did not prevent her from being a ball of worry on the inside though. The moment one of the guards rushed in and let her know that Validar's banner was flying, she immediately bounced out of her worry and ordered him to gather Robin and Luna. Even if they were still just small children, this was around the age her parents had began to keep her close to the throne when matters of politics were discussed.

Validar finally arrived and entered the throne room with Aversa in tow. The first thing Elinora noted was how strange her husband looked at this moment of time. His pink robes clashed completely with his serious attitude and the darker clothing of the child glued to his back. The white hair of the tanned child immediately caught Elinora's attention as it reminded her of little Luna. Elinora found herself disturbed by the expression on the child's face as she immediately called out to Validar.

"What news do you bring from the village Validar?" It was something she had been anticipating all day now, however from the expression of the child it was clear it wasn't something good.

Validar threw the shoddy emblem on the floor in front of Elinora as he spoke with hardly restrained anger, "Those vile mongrels butchered the place as if they were rabid animals starved for a meal and finally stumbling upon a hare. This girl is the only survivor of the massacre and the only clear evidence of those responsible for the attack is that shoddy emblem any backwards bandit could make. We have nothing but circumstantial evidence to pin Ylisse for this outrage!"

Elinora looked down at the emblem coldly from the throne as her blue eyes observed how the emblem looked hastily stitched from discarded fabrics. Her husband was correct that the emblem was of horrid enough quality that any brigand could make it. This had been an issue in the past with some bandits from Plegia donning counterfeit emblems to launch assaults against Regna Ferox. Relationships between Plegia and Regna Ferox had been nearly frozen since then as Regna Ferox did not trust the words of Plegian diplomats. Thankfully Elinora was aware that Ylissean diplomats have been just as rebuffed by the country, so it would be unlikely that Regna Ferox would side with either country should the worst occur.

Elinora turned her head towards one of the royal guards and gave him an order, "Send word that the council must be gathered immediately. I expect the Dukes to be here within a month from now or they could expect sanctions and increased taxes within this next years taxing season!"

The guard saluted and hastily made his exit as Elinora turned back towards Validar and the child, "The survivor, did she witness anything that may point towards Ylissean involvement? Even the smallest bit of information could make a huge difference. Quickly child, introduce yourself and tell me what you know."

Avera stood forward after some hesitation. She awkwardly did her best to bow before the Queen and immediately wished that she knew the proper way to act around royalty. King Validar had promised that she would become his apprentice and that would hopefully mean she could truly learn how to act around royalty. She slightly glanced towards the side of the Queen as she raised her head and noted that two small children were staring at her. One little girl with a similar shade of hair as her seemed to be filled with energy as she smiled and looked towards all the guards in the room. That little girl held the hand of a dark haired small boy who seemed to be very upset from the frown on his face. He also seemed to be staring directly at her rather than the guards or his father.

She hastily looked back up at the Queen and spoke with sorrow, "Your majesty, my name is Aversa! I am sorry, but I didn't see much. My mom made me hide under the bed until those monsters came!" she clenched her fist as she remembered what they had done to her village. If only she had been strong enough to help her mother, maybe with the help of Validar she could one day have revenge against those bad people.

"That is unfortunate… I am sorry you had to be caught up in such an incident Aversa. Do you have any family we could contact to gather you from here?" Elinora felt pain at her chest for the plight of the little girl. She could not imagine what is must have been like for the girl to be there during the attack and then see the aftermath of what occured in the village.

Validar immediately spoke up, "I will be taking her as an apprentice Elinora. She will stay within the keep while I educate her on dark magic and the servants will teach her what will be required within her station."

A silence fell in the throne room as Elinora looked carefully at Aversa. She would have done the same if she was in her husband's shoes. They could not just leave the child by herself or throw her to an orphanage after she lost her family to an incident that could have been prevented if they had only garrisoned more soldiers towards the borders.

Elinora nodded, "That is acceptable, Aversa can stay here and take lessons with the other servants. Go find her a room and get her settled Validar, I need a moment to reflect on what you have told me."

She shooed him out of the throne room and indicated that the guards should follow. Only she and her two children remained as she let out a long sigh. She looked towards the two and tapped her knee as she beckoned them over.

Robin and Luna immediately came over with both of them taking a seat on seperate knees. Elinora idly played with their hair as she spoke, "What a mess… I am sorry that someday you two will have to deal with similar disputes. Mommy has to decide on what stance she will take during the council meeting. I really don't want to go to war if we don't have to, but if Ylisse is found to be involved this will force our hand…"

She stopped petting their hair as she leaned deeper into her throne, "We will need to send diplomats or even meet with the Ylissean Exalt to get to the bottom of this. Hopefully we can at least get some of the dukes to start getting their lords to increase garrisons to gather more security. Those extra jobs should also prevent banditry from sprouting up again…"

Luna hugged her mom as Robin continued to frown to himself. She did not really understand what exactly her mom was talking about, but today seemed to be interesting. First, she got to hear a story from her mama's friend Challi and then Robin told her more about that dragon. Second, she got to see more of those cool metal men that spend most of their time in this room with the big chair. Third, it looks like she might have a new friend with that big sister her dad brought with him!

Robin was deep in thought as his mom talked about plans he could not have any direct input in. That emblem had disturbed him as it was a Ylissean symbol, but was not of the proper quality. This could only mean that this incident was either a false flag attack by a roaming bandits, a hostile mercenary force, or a violent message from Ylisse to prepare for a war on the horizon. What had bothered him even more than that symbol though was the appearance of Aversa. He did not know when his father had originally met her in his initial timeline, so he had no way to compare this incident to where he had come from.

Robin felt his hand twitch slightly as memories of Aversa easily came to him. She had been directly responsible for the deaths of more than a few of his friends and a sizeable portion of the Ylissean forces in his timeline. There was a heavy temptation to make sure she did not live to become the apprentice of his father. Robin knew the thought was wrong as he had promised himself he would not slip back into the same mindset he had drowned himself in when he was left defending Ylisse while Lucina and Cynthia were growing up. He had been a tactician left to raise his fallen friend's children all the while the remaining nobility fought for more power in Ylisse while the royals were stuck with Robin as the regent. It had been a dark period of time for Robin, he plotted and chose plans he never would have in the past in order to ensure Lucina and Cynthia retained their birthrights.

Robin's eyes dulled as countless plans formed in his mind on how to assassinate her without drawing attention to himself. He was a tactician, a veteran tactician, and was not above using intrigue to settle matters even if it went heavily against his principles. His earlier disgust at thinking about falling into his old habits by blackmailing a member of the court was discarded in favor of what he remembered doing for the survival of Lucina and Cynthia. He had sullied his original sense of honor decades ago and had tried to redeem himself in his elder age. Perhaps there would be no true redemption and instead he would once again have to dirty his hands with assassination once more.

It would be so easy to sneak into whatever room she stays in at the dead of night and smother her with her own pillow. Alternatively, he could also wait for her to hesitate a moment too long on the stairs or stand too close to the railing of a balcony and give a slight shove. They would never believe a child would be responsible for such an incident and would simply see it as an accident. Robin also mulled over the possibility of taking a more direct approach. He needed more control over the court, but his age prevented this meaning he would need to manipulate a third party. If he jabbed a dagger into the back of Aversa and planted it in the quarters of one of the members of the court, he would easily create a puppet out of the victim with the threat of exposing the council member with the evidence hidden in his room. All he would need to do is put the dagger on the man's bed and wait for him to pick it up and then he could immediately confront him from the shadows and force him to comply.

Robin was suddenly broken out of his thoughts when his mom pinched his cheek hard. He noticed that both his mom and sister were staring right at him. Both of them looked worried in their own way with his mom having a barely noticeable twitch with her eyebrow and his sister outwardly looking like she bit a lemon.

"What is wrong Robin? Did something happen with you today? You look like you're in a terrible mood." Elinora was immediately concerned when she had noticed the expression on her son's face. She didn't remember a time she saw him so angry before.

"Yeah! What's wrong Robby? You look like you want to punch Mr. Bun Bun or toss him across the room! I won't let you do that Robby! Mr. Bun Bun is my toy, so only I can throw him!" Luna pouted as she jumped to conclusions in her own form of paranoia.

"It's…nothing is wrong Mommy and Luna. I was just thinking about something that I didn't really understand today." Robin needed an excuse to feed the two and he immediately knew who he would be throwing under the wagon in a bid to cover up his real feelings with believable childish anger.

Elinora beckoned him to continue while Luna looked on with curiosity, but with some suspicion as she was still worried her brother would go after her knitted toy.

"Mommy's friend Chalard came to our room today and told us a story about a dragon. He called it the Fell Dragon and said that his blood is in our veins! Does that mean we are dragons too mommy?" Robin had to stop a smirk from crossing his face as his mom's expression immediately warped.

Luna's eyes went wide as she nodded, "Challi said that dragon was big and could eat a wyvern in one bite! Will we get to fly like a dragon? I want wings like wyverns mama!"

Elinora tried her best to hide the other loathing and contempt that threatened to break her smile at being with her two kids. Chalard, that bastard was already trying to worm his way into influencing her children! He was clearly trying to indoctrinate her children into that damned cult her husband tries to keep under control. She tried to gage her children's responses reactions to see just how much of an influence he may have had.

"Oh, is that so? Where were your guards when Chalard decided he would be your instructor earlier? I can tell your two right now that you won't be turning into any big dragons if that is what you are afraid of Robin. It is simply not possible and even if it was I would never allow it!" Her smile contorted as her eyes radiated anger.

Robin fed the flames as he spoke up, "Luna told me that when she was bringing Chalard that he waved at the metal men and they let her bring him to play. I am happy that I won't be a dragon mommy! I would not be able to fit in the castle otherwise." This was a grand opportunity for Robin to both distract the two and watch how his mother or Chalard may deal with a power play.

Luna nodded along with Robin's words, "I don't want wings if it means I can't come into the castle! I didn't think about that Robby, you're really really smart. I should have known they would keep me with the wyverns if I was like a wyvern." Luna felt really silly now that she had the realization that having wings would have been a bad thing all along.

Elinora immediately noted Robin's comments on the guards that she had entrusted her two children with. She knew that it was her mistake to not make it clear that Chalard was not her friend and that the two shouldn't spend time with him. However, the guards should have known better than to let the cultist into the room with her children and from the fact that the guards apparently waved him off showed her that their loyalties may lay elsewhere. How many of her guards were in his pocket or under the indoctrination of the cult? It was a disturbing thought and not one she needed when tensions with her neighbors were at an all time high. She could not deal with purging both foreign and domestic threats all at once without it being at a cost of efficiency and safety. Unfortunately, she could not spare the resources or strive that would occur if she lead an investigation into her staff at such a pivotal moment.

For now, the priority would be meeting with the council to decide what stance Plegia should take and what military matters would need to be developed. A month from now would be the dawn of the next year and she will be expecting all Dukes to arrive or they would face her wrath and the might of the tax collectors.

Arch. 2595

Exalt Aetes looked forwards listlessly as he sat in his throne surrounded by two paladins to his side. It had been a few weeks since he had ordered a raid on Plegia, but nothing has occurred since. He wanted to urge his people into a frenzy and for that he needed Plegia to strike first. He needed to keep planning, unfortunately his daughter Emmeryn would not stop pleading for him in letters to accept a meeting with her and his two other children. It had been awhile since he had seen Chrom and he dared not lay his eyes on Lissa since her birth.

The doors to his throne room opened as Captain Meyers escorted Emmeryn into the room. Young Chrom held the side of her dress as she strode forward with Lissa carefully supported in her arms. Chrom looked steadily towards his father with a sense of curiosity. He hardly knew his dad, but Emmeryn had told him he should stay very quiet while around him.

"Father, I present Prince Chrom and Princess Lissa to you. Please allow us to head to your side!" Emmeryn had not spoken directly with him in the throne room since she realized that something was deeply wrong with him. She hoped seeing the three of them together could somehow turn him back into the dad she used to know.

Aetes waved his hand for them to approach. His emotions were rather fickle and at this time he decided to accept Emmeryn's request just to stop her from sending more letters to him with his meals. Emmeryn walked forwards with Lissa in her grasp and Chrom in tow. She had spent the last few months doing her best to act as a mom for the two from what she remembered her mom had done. That meant reading stories to both of them and trying to teach Chrom how to read before the instructors started his real lessons.

Emmeryn held out Lissa towards her father, "Father hold Lissa a moment, isn't she beautiful father? She has mother's eyes and beautiful shade of hair."

Aetes took Lissa in his grasp as he looked at the small bundle in his arms. She looked just like Emmeryn with the blonde mop of hair and bright green eyes. The imagine of his two girls reminded him of his fallen Queen. She cooed in his arms as he looked into her eyes. That's when Aetes made a discovery and froze completely, how had he missed this? He quickly looked up from Lissa and his eyes locked onto Chrom's shoulder, the brand was there. His eyes turned towards Emmeryn's forehead, the brand was there.

Aetes shoved Lissa back towards Emmeryn as he stood from his throne, "The dishonor! Do you think me a fool? This is not the Lissa I wanted! This bastard spawn has no brand! In her final moments, my wife died an adulterer! Take this bastard out of my sight at once!" He was spitting with anger as his image of his wife and third child shattered. He could not recall in his muddled mind a time in which a child of his line was born unbranded.

Emmeryn paled as she hasilty held a crying Lissa, "Father what nonsense are you speaking! This is Lissa, please she is your daughter."

Aetes stepped forward suddenly and slapped Emmeryn across the face. His insanity was reaching a breaking point and his dream of protecting his family had become murky in the swamp of his mind.

Emmeryn fell backwards making sure to keep a tight grasp on Lissa. She was able to keep Lissa from falling from her hands, but was terrified by what her father had just done. She sat on the floor as her soft crying merged with the wails of little Lissa. Chrom charged at his father in anger trying his best to punch the man with the little strength he had. Aetes simply pushed Chrom who landed next to Emmeryn.

Chrom looked at his father from the ground with contempt while he noticed one of the paladins to the right of his father begin to shake. The armored man's face was obscured as he stood in formation holding a spear. The hand holding the spear seemed to not sit still as if the guard was trying to best to stop himself from lowering the point and charging forward.

Captain Meyers immediately stood forward from the closed doors of the throne room and bowed, "I will remove them from your presence immediately your highness!"

Aetes nodded, "Good, good, get them out of my sight at once!"

Captain Meyers helped the still crying Emmeryn up while Chrom stood on his own. Chrom continued to stare into the eyes of his father as he sat down at his throne. He would not forget this, never would he let his father's actions go. Captain Meyers put a hand on Chrom's shoulder and urged him to come with him. Meyers's eyes briefly locked with the helmed paladin who started to calm himself. A silent message seemed to pass between the two before Meyers left with the children.

Aetes looked to the paladin at his right and gave him an order, "Paladin Ains, alert the castle barracks that any male blonde haired and green eyed servants must be arrested at once and brought before me. Do so immediately or you will be added with the lot."

Paladin Ains tapped his spear on the floor and gave a bow with his gauntlet against his chest. The Exalt was mad and the castle staff knew it, there was nothing they could do as he was divinely appointed and any coup would have to wait until Emmeryn grew older. The Knightly orders would also be a real threat in the event that the coup was attempted without their support. He had wanted to impale the Exalt so badly at the moment he had struck the sweet Princess. She was Naga compared to the Fell Dragon that the Exalt had become.

It had taken some time and had brought a wave of confusion upon the castle staff when the male blonde haired and green eyed guards and servants were escorted to the throne room by an armed force composed of other guards. The fifteen gathered prisoners were brought before the Exalt and forced to kneel.

The Exalt stood from his throne and immediately yelled in anger, "One of you has brought great dishonor against the entire halidom! Treason has been committed against me! One of you sullied my wife and sired a bastard who does not bare the mark of my blood line. I know the one responsible will not step forward and for that… all of you shall be executed."

Paladin Ains stood to the side of the Exalt as his fear proved true. These brothers in arms would die today as the Exalt demanded because no one could stand against his orders without betraying their oaths. The guards standing over the prisoners looked at one another with confusion while their captain stood forward.

Captain Meyers stood in front of the Exalt, "Your majesty this is insanity! You would have me execute our own men on the basis that one of them may have sullied your wife? How do you know your child's brand is not just hidden! I didn't see you take a very close look at her!"

Meyers was outraged, he had trained the guards that were among the arrested and knew they would not have committed such a crime. They held the greatest respect for the Queen while she had lived and would have never dared to lay a hand on her.

Aetes drew Falchion from its sheath as he looked at his treasonous Captain, "Your words are treason Captain! Surrender yourself at once and kneel with the others!"

Captain Meyers looked around the room at the various pale faced guards and masked paladins. The older man knew this situation was hopeless and wished that he had another chance to spend time with his family again. Captain Meyers drew his steel sword and raised it against the Exalt. It was treason, there would be no going back after this.

Captain Meyers held his steel sword forwards pointed at the Exalt, "You really have embraced insanity! Men stand with me! The Exalt has gone mad and we need to put a stop to this before it's too late!" Meyers looked at his pale faced fellow in arms as they raised their swords against the Exalt as well.

Exalt Aetes snarled, "Paladin Ains, Paladin Regius! Help me dispatch these traitors at once!

Paladin Ains readied his spear as he apologized in his heart for what he was about to do. Regius raised his spear as well as the two headed for the Exalt's side.

The guards stood behind their Captain while the Paladins stood at the side of their Exalt. This is not how they wanted things to be. They were all brothers in arms, yet they found themselves at odds as their own forms of honor kicked in. The Captain's honor laid in protecting the people and that was something his armsmen shared. He knew that the Exalt could only hurt the people in his madness. The Paladin's honor laid in protecting the divine blood of Naga at all cost, they could not allow the Exalt to fall or they would die in shame.

The throne room was frozen with tension as the prisoners fell in the center between the stand off of the Exalt and Captain Meyers. This tension was breached when the doors to the throne room burst open as robed mages flooded the room. One of the royal guards to the throne room had sounded an alarm and that caused the Ylissean mage force to enter the room under the leader of their instructor.

Instructor Morris immediately noted the situation with the guards under Meyers raising their sword against the Exalt. He have a simple order, "Burn them all! Traitors have no place in Ylisse! Include the prisoners, we can't risk their escape!"

Aetes smiled for the first time in what must have been ages, "Just in time Morris! Get these treasonous Plegian boot lickers out of my sight!"

Paladin Ains watched form the right side of the Exalt as his fellow brothers in arms were burned to death on the order of the Exalt and the instructor of the Ylissean fire branch of mages. There was no hesitation on the side of the mages as the pale faced guards rolled on the floor as their armor sizzled and charred in the licks of flame. Captain Meyers burned alongside his men as the prisoners joined their fate. Ains could only watch on helplessly as he shared a masked glance with his fellow Paladin Regius. They were the hands to the Exalt, a mad man who would burn his own at a moments notice.

Aetes took his throne again as the mages, under the order of Morris, lined up before him, "Very very good! Loyalty to the Exalt is all I ask. All of you have done a fine job today in making sure the realm stays safe. Now I order you all to keep quiet about what happened here today. We will publicly state that Captain Meyers and his forces died while patrolling along the Ylissean Plegian border. It's such a shame that he was cut down by those mad Plegian dogs isn't it?"

"Of course, Exalt. It is our honor to come to your aid and it is a shame that such a young group of men died defending their homeland against the Plegian barbarians." Morris made sure his eyes briefly looked over each of his mages. He wanted to make it clear that no one was to speak of what occured in the throne room on fear of death.

Aetes waved the group out as he spoke to the two Paladins, "Isn't it grand? We have even more outrage to feed the public against the scum in Plegia. We need to purge them all before their cult threatens our peace. Regius, you're in charge of informing the families of the guards that died here today. Ignite righteous fury against Plegia in their hearts. Ains, you did great coming to my side immediately. I feared Meyers was about to lunge at me before he saw you move. You will be handsomely rewarded on your next payday!"

Ains bowed once more with his gauntlet to his chest. He felt sick at the words of the Exalt and how he had so easily driven those under his flag to rebel. It did not bode well for the continued stability of Ylisse. He knew now that he would have to spend his free time ensuring the heirs to Ylisse were properly prepared to rapidly take the throne. Ains would train them himself or at the very least start to silently plot with like minded individuals to get Emmeryn on the throne sooner rather than later. His oaths were worthless if it meant supporting someone that would be so willing to condem his own. The Paladin's duty was to protect those of Divine blood and the only way he was sure the line could continue would be if Emmeryn took the throne.

Arch. 2595

Elinora sat on an elevated throne with Validar seated to her side. Robin and Luna sat off to the side of the council meeting under the watch of a few royal guards. The four Dukes sat around the table while General Mustafa stood to the left of Elinora and Chalard stood to the side of Validar. This was the council that would determine the lives of many Plegian subjects.

Robin had spent some time researching the political climate of the council after his mother had called for it to be held. Plegia did not have the same style government from his timeline and it clearly showed in the way things were organized in the realm. In this timeline, the government was much more similar to Ylisse in its form of organization, however Ylisse's power mostly fell into the hands of the Knightly orders and bishoprics throughout its territory. Plegia was different in that respect as Grimleal influence was greatly diminished meaning the nobility had more influence in Plegia.

Each Duke came from a portion of Plegia with each of the Dukes responsible for upholding their duties and the duties of those under them. These Dukes were responsible for the Lords of the land, often being in charge of upwards to six Lords each. Those Lords were responsible for the Barons within their territory which could number from two to four. Barons were responsible for sending recruits to be trained in the territory of their Lord. These Barons were also incharge of making sure crops were planted and harvested in a timely manner.

Lords would take the recruits from Barons and train them into guardsmen. Lords were also tasked with keeping the peace and solving conflicts within their lands. They were the ones that had to put down bandit forces and gather the taxes of their territory. Each Lord would answer to the Duke they fell under and provide those Dukes with the excess taxes, soldiers, and crops from the territories. Robin wondered how this would have changed things in the Ylisse of his timeline.

In the original Ylisse, nearly every Knightly order was extinct by the time he was regent. That had meant that the nobility immediately tried to grab power independently as there were no greater Lords keeping them in check. Each Count attempted to use the power of their estate to drum up influence in Ylisse and that had led to a messy political climate. Robin was only able to prevent a full blown civil war by carefully assassinating key players and influencing the more aggressive Counts to wage war against one another until both would fall. Robin was broken out of his thoughts when one of the Dukes cleared his voice.

"Queen Elinora, it is not often we are called upon for an emergency. I assume this has to deal with that border dispute incident in which Duke Tobin lost his village?" Duke Elias was the first to break the silence of the room.

Elinora noted that it was Duke Elias that immediately got to the point. He was the Southern Duke and the more diplomatic member of the council who mostly tried to stay neutral and keep people on topic more than anything else.

"I would have been surprised if my Dukes did not know of the incident. A whole village can not be outright destroyed without us getting an answer. Especially when it borders a neighbor who has proven to be hostile throughout our history."

Duke Tobin nodded at her words, "My ancestors fought against the Ylisseans. They died defending their land and now these barbarians think they can pillage my territory without me raising a hand? Your majesty, I want to ride out with my banners raised at once! The Dark Mages have already pledged their support." Tobin looked towards Chalard who nodded at his words.

Elinora internally sighed, Tobin was the Duke of the East and came from a long line of nobility sworn to defend the lands of Plegia. He was very close to the Grimleal considering his family line extended so far into the past of Plegia and was a known member of the cult. Tobin could only be described as hotheaded as he was quick to anger, but the common soldiers adored him as he often directly joined his Lords in hunting down bandit groups and fought side by side with his soldiers.

"The public would not be so quick to join you in this endeavor Duke Tobin. We may know of the attack, but we would be seen as aggressors if we sallied out without proper justification."

Duke Ives nodded at the words of the Queen, "The Queen is correct Duke Tobin, where would we get the coin to support a war? Our citizens would not wish to be taxed even more on top of being conscripted. There is no doubt that the cost would be high in a full scale war with Ylisse." He adjusted his glasses.

Mustafa pulled at his mustache as he spoke, "Duke Ives is correct with the cost. We would be forced to conscript to even match the number of soldiers the Ylissean chapters have. Each of those conscripts would need to be outfitted."

Chalard shook his head at both Duke Ives of the West and General Mustafa, "Those costs would not be a problem. Ylisse wishes a war of religion and the Grimleal will fully lend our gold and mages to the defense against our way of thinking." He took a slight glance at Validar as he spoke.

Validar cleared his throat, "Of course, the Grimleal would offer their full support in this military matter. You would see that arranged for us correct Instructor Chalard?" Validar silently cursed at the leader of the Old Guard faction. Chalard would milk this support in the time of their need and there was nothing he could do since the Old Guard held such a huge influence over the cult. It was likely that this support would be used against him to enforce a later demand.

Elinora hated that snake with a passion, but she had to remain neutral especially with a possible war on the horizon. "Grimleal support is noted, however I would like a draft of the possible economic impact of a war with Plegia within the week."

Duke Ives nodded to Elinora as Duke Rouland spoke softly, "My eyes have let me know that Regna Ferox has not indicated a stance for either power. They will remain neutral unless provoked."

Elinora was always on guard against the Northern Duke Rouland. There was something about him that set her on edge and it didn't help that he held one of the largest spy networks in Plegia. "It is a relief to hear that Regna Ferox is unlikely to make a move in the event of war. Considering your territory is near their border, keep an eye on them and send regular updates of their movement."

The council soon fell into a mix of debating and planning as they discussed the evidence provided and what exactly should be done against Ylisse. It was eventually decided that Plegia would take a wait and see approach while sending a diplomat to attempt to contact the Ylissean Exalt. It was also agreed upon that the Grimleal would pay for outfitting and the training process for more soldiers for the next year. Those extra forces would be stationed along the border and hopefully deter any more aggression.

Arch. 2596

A year and a handful of months had passed since the council meeting held in Plegia. Plegian diplomats had been turned away from Ylisse at the border causing an increased drive in recruitment. Garrisons along the border had been strengthened and Ylisse had yet to make a move since their initial attack. Barons and Lords grumbled at the decrease of local man power in favor of more soldiers and showed some concerns over a decrease in crops because of the lack of manpower. The Dukes reassured their worried vassals about increased levy recruitment by subsidizing food loss through importing grains from Valm. Duke Ives warned the Queen and the other Dukes that anymore raised levies would begin to eat into the royal treasury as more food would need to be imported.

Robin had spent the time of relative peace to try to figure out what exactly he wished to do. He had wanted to kill Aversa and gain more power in the council, but Luna had began to view Aversa like a sister and the council seemed more competent than the council he had to deal with in Ylisse. He had the ability to assist in the logistics for a possible war, but his position did not allow him to do so yet.

Robin and Luna had turned six years of age and waited patiently in the throne room for their mother to speak up. To her side stood Chalard, the old man looked more than a little smug at the clear expense of the Queen. She looked tired and more irritated than usual when she finally cleared her throat.

"Now that the two of you have turned six, according to your father you should now be ready to be trained in the art of magic. Instructor Chalard has offered his amazing tutelage to just one of you." There was evident sarcasm in her tone that Chalard seemed to ignore as the old man continued to smile.

Robin looked at Luna who appeared to be torn on if she wanted to go or not. Robin wasted no time in standing forwards, "Mother, I want to learn under Instructor Chalard. I promise that I will become strong enough to stop Ylisse from ever attacking us again."

Now that he was slightly older, it was much easier to not sound as ridiculous as he did. He still had to show some signs of childish behaviour, but his language was often passed off as him trying copy his father and mother.

Chalard's smile seemed to grow even wider at Robin offering to go under his tutelage. He had been planning this moment ever since he saw the brand on Robin's hand. The mark of Grima meant that Robin's proficiency in Dark Magic would be nearly limitless. Chalard would have been greatly disappointed if Luna had stepped forward, however he had assumed that Robin would as he was very protective of his sister.

Chalard was just happy that he finally received such a huge boon for the Old Guard. They had taken a hit to their pouches by helping arm the new garrisons and this arrangement was the only way Validar and the Queen could pay them back.

"Come my Prince, you have much to learn of the Dark. You have the potential to surpass even your father in magic. With enough training, Ylisse may become too fearful to even dare take you on!" Chalard would rely on the Prince's hunger for power to protect Plegia to influence him. It was almost too easy. Prince Robin would soon be leaving the castle with him and enter his private academy as the student with the most potential he has ever seen.

Luna was upset when she saw Robin escorted out of the castle with two guards following him and Chalard. Her brother had been at her side since she could remember and now he was being forced away by that mean old man. She once thought that mad had been a friend of her parents, but as she aged and began to pick up on more subtle clues she realized how much her mom seemed to despise the Instructor.

Luna was tempted to go in Robin's stead, however he had told her earlier that afternoon that if the Instructor had forced their parents hand that he would volunteer so she could spend more time with big sister Aversa. Aversa was fun to play with and often spent the time she wasn't studying with dad playing with her. The two would often play with the knitted toys the servants made or plot pranks against the older butlers and maids of the castle. There had been more than a few repeated incidents of pink dyed clothing within the castle.

Elinora's fingers dug into the arm rests of her throne as she paled. She had just approved of her one and only baby son going into the clutches of a zealous Grimleal priest. It was a sacrifice for the greater good of the kingdom and was a choice she had to make neutrally as the ruler of Plegia. That mindset did not offset her protective instincts screaming murder at her. She knew that Chalard would never dream of laying a hand against her son, yet she feared that hand would not clasp his throat but rather wrap its clutches around his heart. Her greatest fear was her son returning a zealot and no longer resembling her inquisitive baby boy.

Validar sat at his desk with Aversa seated across from him. Aversa seemed to be lost in thought while Validar had his face hidden in his hands while he rested his head on the desk. His son being forced into Instructor Chalard's academy was entirely his fault. He had promised his wife that he could keep the cult under his banner, yet time and time again the Old Guard had risen up and striven to make headway into the politics of Plegia. Chalard becoming the guardian of his son was a clear powerplay in favor of the Old Guard and only helped to undermine Validar's leadership of the cult in the eyes of the neutrals, but Validar could not outwardly strike back for fear of the Old Guard causing instability within the cult that could eventually lead to war or a severe loss of Dark Mage support for the Plegian army.

Validar's hands shook as he raised his head. Anger coursed through his body as he violently knocked the tomes off his desk. This would not go unanswered! Validar would not allow the Old Guard to hold sway over his son. He feared that should their influence sink in deep enough his own blood may raise the banners of the cult against his own family. A vision was immediately conjured in Validar's mind of an older version of his son leading a clash with his own crowned sister. Normal Plegian soldiers turned to dust under his son's orders as his sister desperately fought back with all she had. This was his greatest nightmare and the only way he could prevent it would be sabotaging the Old Guard from behind the scenes. It was time for him to go on the warpath of intrigue against the Old Guard and drum up more support for the throne in the confines of the cult.

Eleven year old Aversa studied the reactions of her Instructor Validar. He was enraged and it was clearly because little Robin was being pressed into the academy ran by the creepy old man. The last time she had seen him this angry was when he reported the attack on her village to the Queen. There was not much she could do to help in this situation, the only thing she could do is silently promise herself that she would keep Luna company. The girl would be devastated without her brother and it will be up to her to try to ease her into life without him constantly at her call.

Aversa viewed those two children as if they were her younger siblings. Luna constantly wanted her attention whenever her brother was busy and Robin would often silently keep her company as she read her tomes in the library. She knew that the young boy did not enjoy her company, but she figured it was jealousy over how often his sister played with her in favor of seeking him out. Aversa hoped that Robin would thrive at the academy and come back with enough maturity to realize that she was just trying to look out for the two children. She wanted to break through his isolationist demeanor and show him he had nothing to fear with her looking over him and his sister.

Duke Tobin sat upon his mount and looked down at the lines of soldiers saluting him. He had decided to pay a visit to the border pass garrison within the confines of his eastern border. Most of the garrison was composed of pale faced young men in simple leather armor with only a handful or so of the standing men showing clear signs of a veteran background thanks to their professional composer. It was a shame that so few of them seemed properly prepared for war in the case it were to break out.

His eyes locked onto the hooded mages in the back of the force. They were the destructive hand of the garrison and had the potential to break sieges on their own if given enough time. This small company of Dark Mages was one of the many supplied by his church and they would make all the difference in a war with Ylisse. Ylissean mages were weak in comparison considering they would much rather wish to wield the fickle elements of nature rather than drain the life force of men to feed their own.

Tobin's military background allowed him to see the true potential of the Dark Mages that many may have overlooked. These soldiers had the potential to practically revive themselves from the dead if they were able to land a spell before collapsing from wounds as they would drain the life force of those hit by their curses. He nodded to himself as he looked over the garrison. The pale faced recruits were a concern, but they did not need to hold the walls themselves. They simply had to act as a distraction for the Dark Mages to go to work with the blessing of the Fell Dragon. In the outcome of aggression, they would be tasked to hold the line while a rider would send the declaration of war back to the castle.

Tobin still wished for revenge against Ylisse and had spent a sizeable portion of his own vault on providing the recruits of his territory with better equipment than these stationed at the garrison. Should the garrison fall, his armored warriors would be the first line of defense and he would gloriously lead them into battle with the Ylissean dogs. Duke Tobin would not let this dishonor go until he received his pound of flesh from Ylisse, preferably in the form of smashing the Exalt's head in with his hammer.

Emmeryn stood over Lissa's crib as she pet the head of her little sister. She had not spoken with her father since he had kicked the three out of the throne room. Chrom no longer seemed to be as excitable as he had been before that incident. He had become more serious and seemed to spend more time with the guards of the castle and that hurt Emmeryn greatly. Her brother used to smile all the time and spend the majority of his time with her and Lissa, but now he spends his time hearing war stories and tactics from soldiers in the castle barracks.

Emmeryn was broken out of her thoughts when she heard a quiet knock at the door, "Who is it?"

A warm voice spoke from the hallway, "Paladin Ains your grace, I have come to see how you and dearest Lissa are doing."

Emmeryn couldn't stop the half smile that rose on her face. Paladin Ains was known as the Right Hand of the Exalt and was a respected soldier within the ranks of Ylisse. He had spent a considerable amount of his free time over the course of the last year visiting her and her siblings.

"Sir Ains, you are always welcome to enter." He was one of the few remnants of her father's influence that she still respected.

Ains pushed open the door and looked at the seated Princess Emmeryn running her hand through Princess Lissa's hair. Princess Lissa was a sore subject within the keep with the subjects of the castle being ordered to ignore her existence by the Exalt, yet his influence waned when it came to this order. Ains and other subjects of the castle ignore the ramblings of the Exalt behind his back and continued to treat the babe as a member of the Exalt's line. After all, the Exalt refused to leave the throne room and that made ignoring his orders all the more simple.

Ains stood in front of Emmeryn and bowed with his gauntlet across his chest, "Princess Emmeryn there have been stirrings and whispers among the nobility as of late. They have subtly indicated that they would fall under your banner should the worse occur in the future. Their only requirement is a reform of the church's power within the halidom once you gain power."

Ains had personally led the inquires with the nobility under the nose of the Exalt. He needed to drum up support for Emmeryn way in advance so when she took the throne it would be a smooth change of power. Young Emmeryn smiled at him before she turned back towards Lissa.

"That is a relief to hear Sir Ains. My father has gone mad and needs to be dethroned before he drives us into a war with Plegia. I have been informed that he has yet to make a move against Plegia again. Tell me has he whispered anything into your ears as of late?" Emmeryn closed her eyes as she took a breath. She would need to grow up even faster to wretch the power out of her father's hands.

Ains nodded, "Unfortunately the Exalt has been meeting with the leaders of the more obscure church task groups as of late. I believe he is planning an assassination Princess Emmeryn. That would be the most direct message of war to our neighbor in Plegia. They would not let go in the event one of the Royals were slain by a Ylissean assassination flying the true emblem. He also seems to be forming some form of Inquisitorial force with the Knightly orders. I expect that more of his outspoken critics will go missing very soon."

Emmeryn's face morphed into a worried expression as she turned towards Ains, "Sir Ains we can not allow these assassinations under any circumstances. As the Princess, I order you to use any means necessary to stop those assassins before they enter Plegian territory and attempt to hide away those targeted by this Inquisition. Sir Ains, you can not fail this or the blood of so many innocents will flow through Ylisse's finger."

Ains took a knee before Emmeryn as he bowed once more with his gauntlet, "I promise that not a single assassin of your father's forces will make it across the Plegian border your highness. The nobility will aid me in both preventing these assassins from crossing over and hiding away those political figures your father wants to go missing. I shall leave at once to prepare counter forces, please tell the Prince that I wish him well."

He would need to recruit a sizeable amount of independent spies and assassins to counter act the Mad King's own supply of men. He did not wish to see a war with their neighbor as the scale would be massive enough that a sizeable portion of both nations would lose a major chunk of their population. Emmeryn waved him away and he immediately head out to begin his counter plotting under the nose of the Exalt.

Chrom yelled as he whacked a training dummy with a wooden sword as hard as he could. He would never again let his father lay a hand of Emmeryn or Lissa. That monster will not harm them and the guardsmen will make sure that he is trained enough to fight his father should the need arise. Of course, he never told the soldiers why he was training so hard, but they had earnestly went out of their way to help train their Prince. Both recruits and veterans alike gave him tips on his stance or how to properly swing the sword.

They often gathered around and watched him swing at the dummy while only interrupting him to give input on his actions. He was old enough to realize that these men seemed to be just as disturbed with the Exalt as he was. These soldiers were much better fathers than his own and he embraced their attention and lessons with open arms. Chrom just hoped that Paladin Regius would swing by again and help him learn how to use the lance once more. The guards always said a true soldier had two methods of fighting and Chrom had chosen the sword and lance.

The soldiers in the barracks looked on at their Prince training his heart out. Whereas the Exalt wielded madness, the Prince wielded duty. These soldiers held great respect for their young Prince and silently promised themselves that should the Exalt not have them executed on a whim, they would stand with the Prince no matter what he chose in the future. Treason against the Exalt would not be out of the question should their Prince order it. He was everything a ruler should be in the eyes of the soldiers. He respected the common people and radiated an aura of duty towards his family and home. They would die for him should the need arise and there would be zero regrets falling in battle for such a worthy ruler.