Chapter 6: Forbidden Revival

Three figures stood near the doorway of a room, staring at a sleeping figure in the bed as it slept. The first figure was a male in black armor; the second was an arch sage wearing a light blue robe; the third and final figure was an arch sage wearing a brown robe. All three of these figures were male.

"How long before he awakens?" said the marshal.

"Patience, Jeremiah," said the arch sage in black. "Sleep takes time to wear off. Though I must admit, he has been sleeping rather long."

"I swear, sir, sometimes you don't know how powerful your magic is," said the arch sage in blue. "Remember what I taught you? It is sometimes necessary to not use your full abilities. Apparently, that flew right over your head."

"You're right. Forgive me, Reza. I have been a terrible student," said the arch sage.

"No need for modesty," said Reza to his friend and student. "As long as the objective is complete, we don't have to worry. And may I add, completely off topic, that this is the first time that I have seen you wear a different color robe other than black."

"My attire was stained with blood. Do you think people will listen to me if I talked to them looking like I massacred someone?" he commented back. "Besides, brown makes me look more like a . . . clergyman."

"I see . . ."

"Enough small talk, you two. What do we do until he wakes up?" said Jeremiah.

"Lets' see . . . ," said the arch sage. "Well, if we want to get this thing started, we should probably recruit more people. It will make this so much easier."

"Very well," said the marshal. "I'll stay here in case our friend wakes up. Besides, you two are better at manipulating the peoples' hearts than I am."

"Why, thank you. We're flattered," said Reza. "But before we go, why don't we go over the plan one more time."

"Yes, lets," said the arch sage.

-.-.-.-.-

A small town in Nevassa had many of the common functions of almost every town in the countries of Tellius. There were children playing; moderate-sized stalls selling produce and accessories; and people talking amongst themselves and sharing anecdotes. True, their lifestyle was not that of any nobles, but they were mostly happy. Even the destitute were fairly happy despite their homelessness.

Micaiah walked down the small town, enjoying the simplicity and the serene atmosphere that surrounded her. She wished that her life would be this enjoyable, and wanted to badly go back. In fact, Micaiah wished that she would just abandon the queen role and go back to this lifestyle, where everything was simple and straightforward.

However, if she did, the nation would be without a ruler, and the people would suffer on her account all because "it was too hard". Micaiah could not abandon the people of Daein. They did, after all, stand by her throughout the hardships faced. Even if they were thrust into a pointless war, they stuck by her side, awaiting her wise words and actions.

However, that was in the past. Right now, in the way things were, Micaiah did not know if the people felt that way about her anymore.

The situation in Daein was terrible, to say lightly. The economy in the country, as well as almost the entire continent, had entered a recession, and was going from bad to worse with each passing second. To make matters worse, Micaiah had been told by Sothe that there is corruption within the senate, Begnion more specifically.

The silver-haired woman, however, was not surprised at the information at all. Even with new senators, they and her sister Sanaki were rarely in agreement with each other, and blended together like oil and water.

However, Micaiah was shocked and stunned at the information that the Begnion senators had overturned the decision to pass the laws made. She was told that any laws made at a national level needed the senate's "advice and consent", and would only be accepted if a majority of the senators approved. Since Begnion held that majority, there was very little to no chance of breaking their power, leaving Begnion to do whatever they wished politically.

Micaiah took a deep sigh before looking back at the town in front of her. It seemed that everything that she and the other rulers had been working towards was going down in flames. She thought that no matter what she did, it would only be made worse. Perhaps she was not cut out to be a queen.

Micaiah's thoughts became lost as she walked down the town. The silver-haired light priestess was so lost in thought that she did not notice someone shouting at her.

"Hey, Micaiah!" yelled a citizen; the silver-haired woman in question did not reply. "Micaiah!" it called out again, but still received no reply. The person ran closer to the girl until he was right near her ear. Then he shouted, at the top of his lungs, "MICAIAH!"

The light priestess jumped out of her skin (metaphorically) at the sudden cause of her temporary deafness. She quickly turned around to see who had shouted at her, and was pleased to see it was one of her best friends.

"Edward!"

"Hey, Micaiah! It's been a while," said Edward. After the war ended, the Daein trueblade decided to live among the common citizens of Nevassa, despite Micaiah's wishes of joining the military. He, however, always visited the queen regularly to bring good news.

Edward changed quite a bit during the last seven months following the war. The first and most notable change was that he had gotten much taller, and was about as high as Nolan. The second change was that his voice had gotten deeper, and he looked more muscular as well. However, despite his changing and more mature body, he still had the perspective of an 8-year-old child.

"Edward, what are you doing here?" asked the silver-haired queen.

"Well, I looked for you back at the castle, but Sothe told me that you went out," said Edward. "I kinda figured that you would be here."

"I see . . ."

"But enough about that. I just wanna know how things have been going," said Edward. "Nobles giving you a hard time, or are they just really, really lonely?"

"Oh, Edward. Don't say that," replied Micaiah.

"Why are you defending them when you know it's true?" said Edward cheerfully and with a smile on his countenance. Micaiah gave a small laugh at the trueblade's words. Even though she wanted to reprimand the man for his tactless and inappropriate comments, she could not. The two decided to walk around the town together.

"But Micaiah, seriously, how is everything?" asked Edward more seriously this time. The light priestess gave a depressed sigh, a saddened look on her countenance.

"Not that good," she replied. "Everything has been going wrong. I thought that . . . that maybe I could really make a difference. Perhaps I was wrong."

"What are you saying?" exclaimed Edward. "You've done plenty of things for the people of Daein. Everyone looks up to you for what you will do next. Sure, people are blaming you for a lot of things, but they're just mad at the way things are right now. Really, they know that solving our economic crisis will take time."

"Really?" she asked.

"Really. Now, stop sulking around like an emotional baby, and lift your head high!" said Edward happily. "Pretty soon, you'll be the prime example of what nobles aspire to become!"

Micaiah just lightly chuckled at her friend. "Okay, I guess I will," she said.

"You guess? That's not a confident answer!" said the trueblade in the same cheerful disposition. Micaiah could only laugh at Edward's antics as they continued to walk around the town.

After some time, the two of them walked back to Daein Keep, where Tauroneo was waiting for them. For some reason, he seemed a bit more panicked than usual.

"M-milady! Where have you been?" asked the marshal. "Someone is here to see you, and they've been waiting for you for over an hour!"

"Ah! I'm sorry!" said Micaiah. She quickly rushed over to the waiting room with Edward following behind her. She hastily entered the room, hoping that the person who was waiting for her would not be upset. "I hope they're not mad."

"Well, we're friends. Why would I be mad?" said a deep voice from within the waiting room. Micaiah looked up and saw who was talking. Immediately, her countenance completely lit up.

"Nolan!"

"Hello, Micaiah. It's been a while," said Nolan; next to him was Sothe.

"That it has," said Edward. "Last I heard, you were going around the continent. So, how is everything?"

"I'll get to that later. Right now, I have urgent news to report," said Nolan in a serious manner.

"Well, what is it?" asked Micaiah. The Daein reaver gave a long and heavy sigh, and then finally spoke again.

"I was in Crimea this past day . . ." he started.

"Oh, that's great!" said Edward. "So, how did it go? Did you talk to Elincia?"

"I'm afraid my time there was cut short," said Nolan grimly. "Crimea is facing a civil war right now."

"WHAT?" exclaimed both Edward and Micaiah. Sothe, however, did not seem that surprised or shocked over the sudden and dire turn of events.

"But, why?" said Micaiah.

"That's what we would like to know," said Sothe. "Nolan told me that he saw people rallying to overthrow the queen. He also told me that they had nothing against her."

"It's Begnion, isn't it?" yelled Edward enraged. "Those filthy dastards! I knew nothing good would come out of them! We got to go help!"

"No, Edward, that isn't it," said Nolan.

"But, Nolan!"

"First, it isn't Begnion," said Nolan. "If you had been listening to me, Edward, I said that it was a civil war. That means that the people are fighting amongst themselves."

"Does that matter? We have to help Elin-"

"And second, the queen has already said that she does not want help from Daein," interrupted Nolan.

"What? But, why?" questioned Edward.

"She probably doesn't want to involve Daein in Crimea's affairs," interjected Sothe. "If Daein were to get involved, then we could very well turn a civil war into a national war, and with the way things are right now, that's the last thing we want."

"But what about Elincia?" asked Micaiah. "I mean, there has to be some way we could help her without stepping on the battlefield. Maybe we could send her supplies."

"That would be wise and generous, but if we do, we might spark riots within our own country," said Nolan. "Our resources are very limited right now, and product manufacturing is at a standstill. If we were to supply Crimea, it would not pan out too well for the people of Daein. I'm sorry, but it looks like our hands are tied."

"I see . . ."

Micaiah held her head down in sadness. It had not been a year, and already war had come to them again. Was there any hope for peace on Tellius at all? Micaiah could only wonder.

-.-.-.-.-

Jeremiah watched over their "guest" as he waited for his two friends to return. They had been out for most of the day to continue their recruitment of soldiers. It was mid-afternoon, and their "guest" was still fast asleep, and had been for over a day now. The countless hours watching the sleeping man was wearing thin on the marshal, but he was thankful that it was not him who was on the receiving end of his friend's sleep spell.

The marshal rose up from the chair that he had been sitting on, picking up a very large and heavy sword that rested on the back of it. Just as he was about to walk out the door, two figures walked in; it was Reza followed by his student.

"Ah, finally, you're back," said Jeremiah. "I was getting tired of watching this guy sleep all afternoon."

"You mean he still hasn't woken up yet?" asked Reza in disbelief. He turned over to his student, slight annoyance plastered over his countenance. "Okay, you really went overboard. Honestly, don't you pay attention to how much power you use?"

"I'm sorry," said Reza's student. "Look, I'll just use a restore staff and wake him up. That should do the trick."

"No need," said Jeremiah. "He's waking up right now."

The marshal and the two arch sages turned to their sleeping companion and did see that he was starting to awaken. The man's body moved slightly and his eyes slowly began opening. The man sat up from his bed and examined his surroundings.

"W-where am I?" he asked, tiredness still trailing his voice. He glanced around and immediately backed up against the bedpost. "It's you two," he said fearfully, pointing at the two magic users inside the room.

"Aw, you remember us," said the arch sage mockingly. Reza elbowed his student and mumbled something about being the wrong time for sarcasm.

"I'm sorry, please forgive my associates," said Jeremiah to the man. "It is an honor to meet you, Duke Ludveck."

Jeremiah knelt down on one knee and placed his sword down by his feet. The two arch sages followed suit, treating the duke of Felirae as if he were a god.

"What is the meaning of all of this?" Ludveck asked.

"We are sorry, but we needed to break you out of your cell the way we did," said Reza as he rose from his kneeling stance. "We needed someone who can help us with rebellion."

"Rebellion, you say?"

"Yes," said the arch sage as he rose up from his stance as well. "Crimea is in a terrible state after you were sent to prison. Queen Elincia is still a terrible ruler, unable to make crucial decisions decisively, especially in this time of need."

"We have been planning to overpower the queen for quite some time," started Jeremiah. "However, we cannot move against her; the Royal Knights are still too powerful." At this point, he stood up from his kneeling position and joined his two comrades.

"We decided that in order to fight on equal terms with the knights, we need someone with experience," said Reza. "We needed someone who the people can listen to; someone they will fight under. We needed someone who shares a deep hatred for that emerald-haired wench as much as they."

"And so, that is why we came to you," said Reza's student. "You had everything that fits these qualifications. You had the queen in front of you, eating from the palm of your hand. She would have submitted herself to you had it not been for those filthy Greil Mercenaries."

"And that, my friend, is our reason," interjected Jeremiah. "That is why we broke you from your endless suffering. We want you to lead our rebellion. We want you to take what is rightfully yours. We want you to ascend the throne and lead our people to the change that they so rightfully deserve!

"I ask and beg at your feet. Will you join our cause? Without you, Crimea will forever be ruled in tyranny."

Ludveck continued to sit on the bed, not moving throughout the entire exchange of words. These people, who he barely knew, had risked their lives just to save him. They gambled all they had to make his ideals, and his alone, into reality. For that, Ludveck had given them his praise.

A smile graced the former noble's countenance as he stood up from his seated position. He moved slightly towards the marshal and his comrades. All three were anxious on the inside at the man's advance.

"Your name," said Ludveck.

"Ah, yes," said the marshal. "I am Jeremiah, leader of this rebellion. These are my two associates."

"I see," said Ludveck. "Well then, Jeremiah, allow me to respond to your calls. I am grateful that you three place such faith in my ideals. I am honored by you three, who have done so much already when the entire country decided to turn their back on us. Therefore, I will happily lead your rebellion."

"Excellent!" shouted Jeremiah in bliss. "This is wonderful! With you at our side, the queen will tremble in fear! But please, the people must see you. Come, you must address your loyal followers."

Jeremiah and Ludveck exited the room, leaving Reza and the arch sage alone.

"My, this is turning out rather nice, isn't it?" said Reza to his comrade and student.

"It sure is," said the arch sage. "Everything is right on track. It will only be a matter of time before Crimea is falls to our hands."

With that said, he and Reza exited the room as well, joining up with Jeremiah and Ludveck.

-.-.-.-.-

The mass of people were crowded together outside an isolated structure. From the height and the foundation, the building was a fort or a castle of some sort. The number of the people inside was vast, averaging at about 1,000, and still growing. Many of the citizens were mostly agricultural workers, but there were also a vast majority of well-trained soldiers.

The people continued to wait, conversing with one another to pass the time. Suddenly, they all heard footsteps atop the balcony above them. The people diverted their attention to the source and saw two armored figures walking out. One was a marshal in black armor, and the other was a general in white armor.

The marshal in black, Jeremiah, walked closer to the edge of the balcony and slammed his sword into the thin pavement, garnering the attention of all the people there. Once there was complete silence, the marshal spoke.

"Citizens of Crimea, please, lend me your ears," he started. "I present you with the leader of this army, Duke Ludveck! Please, show him your respect."

The marshal withdrew his sword from the ground and stepped off to the side, allowing Ludveck to walk in front. He stood right where Jeremiah was standing mere seconds ago. Shortly, he began his speech.

"Fellow citizens of Crimea, I thank you for joining," started Ludveck. "I am aware of why you all have come today. You all are upset at the queen and her unjust rule of the land. Am I right?"

The people gave a cheer and holler as a response. Ludveck could only smile.

"Well, fellow citizens, I stand for your cause," he continued. "I realized seven months ago the terrible tragedy that befell our land. I have tried to prevent this from happening, but failed in my advance.

"But you all have kept my hopes alive. As I lied in my cell, waiting for my execution, it was you all who spurred me forward. It was you who provided me with a reason to survive. For that, you have my eternal gratitude.

"However, I did not simply escape just so I can show my praise. I came here with the hope that we can make a difference. I came to help steer the country in the correct direction. I came here to ensure that Crimea gets the change we need. I ask you, will you join me in that cause? Will you fight with me to your last breath to ensure that that change will come?"

The response to Ludveck's question was overwhelming. The crowd exploded with cheers and hollers. Many of them hoisted their weapons in the air to further show their support for the former noble. The crowd's morale had exceeded to great heights after Ludveck's speech, and all were ready for anything.

"Long live Duke Ludveck!" cheered a citizen.

"Down with the queen!" cheered another citizen.

"Long live Crimea!"

The crowd continued to cheer for their leader, blind to the real intentions of the noble. While the crowd cheered, Reza and the arch sage entered the balcony. The two were spotted by Jeremiah, who took a brief leave from his spot and walked up to his comrades.

"My, you're awfully late," said Jeremiah. "You two just missed the duke's speech."

"Aw, that's too bad," said the arch sage sarcastically. "I really wanted to hear it. Perhaps I would be able to learn a thing or two about his manipulation style."

"Worry about that later," said Reza. "Right now, let's talk about our next plan of action. Is everything ready?"

The arch sage gave a small chuckle. "Why, yes it is," he replied.

-.-.-.-.-

Elincia walked down to the hospital wing of the castle with a heal staff in her hands. She was going to check on Nephenee's condition and to see if it was improving. Behind her was Lucia, who followed the queen wherever she went. The two got to the door of the hospital wing and entered Nephenee's room, where a doctor was treating any wounds that have not fully healed.

"How is she doing?" asked Elincia to the doctor.

"She is doing fine and making small improvements," replied the doctor. "However, she will not be able to fight for about another two days. Even if she does make a full recovery, she should still be off the battlefield for a while to not aggravate her body."

"I see. Thank you," said Elincia. "You may go."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," said the doctor as he left the room. The queen and Lucia stayed behind, looking at Nephenee in a somewhat worried glance.

"I hope she feels well," said Elincia.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine," said Lucia. "What we should worry about now is how we are going to deal with this uprising. Do you have a plan of action when it occurs?"

"I do not," said the queen remorsefully. "I'm not sure what to do without knowing what the rebel faction will do. Last time was easier, but now . . ." The queen looked down at the floor defeated. "Now I don't know what I can do."

"Don't worry, Elincia," said Lucia. "I'll be here with you every step of the way. And remember, Geoffrey is here too. Not only him, but the rest of Crimea is by your side. Not everyone agrees with these rebels."

Elincia gave a soft smile at her friend's words. "Thank you, Lucia."

The emerald-haired queen left the hospital wing and went to the throne room, Lucia following behind her. When they arrived, they were greeted by Bastian and Geoffrey. The two had a despaired look on their countenances.

"Bastian, how went your research?" asked Lucia to the count.

"Ah, no luck," he said. "I have toiled countless hours over the books and tomes of the goddess' laws, hoping to find that one flaw in the senate. But I found nothing; the documentation is very secure. There is nothing our minds or our voices can do.

"But fear not! I will not stop until a solution is clear, for the power of the senate is clearly wrong. I must be off. Please, take care, my dear Lucia! My condolences to you, Your Majesty."

With that said, Bastian exited the throne room to continue his research. The political arch sage had been working hard to find a flaw in the senate's power in hopes that they would be able to strike it down, and although he did not find anything to help their cause, he did not give up.

Elincia turned to Geoffrey after Bastian left, a saddened look on her countenance. The silver knight walked over to his wife and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry," he said softly. "Everything will be fine. It will get better. I promise."

"And what if it doesn't?" asked Elincia. "I mean, we're on the brink of a civil war again. It seems things are getting worse."

"Don't say that," said Geoffrey. "I need you to be strong. True, things are not going well, but it will get better."

"Geoffrey . . ."

Lucia looked at the display of love in front of her and smiled. Her brother was always there by Elincia's side, and always had been. She wanted the happiness they shared, but her loyalty to the queen came first. The trueblade watched as Geoffrey embraced Elincia in his arms, comforting her in a time of need.

Just as everything was going well, someone entered the throne room. The three looked behind (Geoffrey releasing his wife as he did) and saw Oscar coming inside.

"Queen Elincia, I have returned," announced the silver knight.

"Oscar, it's good to see you," said Elincia. "Tell me, did you receive a reply from the Greil Mercenaries?"

"I have," he replied.

"And what is their response?"

Oscar smiled. "Well, why don't you ask them yourself?" The green-haired silver knight opened the doors, and in walked none other than the Greil Mercenaries. The queen's face, as well as Lucia's and Geoffrey's, were in complete shock and content as each of them entered the throne room.

"It's been a long time since we've seen each other, Your Majesty," said Titania.

"Titania, it is good to see you again," said Geoffrey. "Tell me, will you accept our offer?"

"I have talked with the others, and it seems that they all would like to help," said Titania. "Well, almost everyone."

"We're pretty sure we know who that person is," said Lucia, who glanced over at Shinon and glared at him. The marksman just dismissed her glare and turned away. "But regardless, it is good that you accepted."

"It was not a problem," said Titania. "We would never reject a friend in need."

"Thank you, Lady Titania," said Elincia calmly.

"Yeah, yeah, enough of the talking. When do I get to beat up some bad guys?" said Boyd hitting a fist to one of his hands.

"Boyd!" Mist yelled and hit him on the head with her staff, though it did not seem to hurt much. The rest of the mercenaries and Oscar just laughed at the reaver's hyper and somewhat stupid behavior.

Elincia, Lucia and Geoffrey laughed as well. It had been a long time since they saw each other, and they missed the energy they brought with them. The queen felt happy that she was able to see her companions, and right now, she felt as if it were a good time to see them.

The happiness continued until someone came in. The group saw a soldier heading up to them, terror written all over his countenance.

"Queen Elincia, I have disturbing news!" he said. "Duke Ludveck has come out of hiding and has announced his intentions against you! He's planning another rebellion!"

"WHAT?" said Geoffrey. "Again? So soon?"

"I guess that you came in the nick of time," said Lucia to Titania.

"We'll help in whatever way we can," said Titania.

"We first must discover where Ludveck is," said Elincia. "Until we know his first action, we'll notify you." She turned to the soldier who had announced the terrifying and disheartening information. "Will you please prepare rooms for our guests?"

"Certainly, your majesty," said the soldier. He exited the room with the Greil Mercenaries following behind him. After they left, Elincia turned to her husband, grief and despair returning to her.

"It's finally happened," said Elincia.

"Don't panic, Elincia," said Geoffrey. "I'll give the word to the knights. We'll end this rebellion before it can spread. Of course, I only will if it is all right with you."

"You have my approval," said Elincia.

As she finished, a hurt look made its way onto Elincia's countenance. Civil war had come to Crimea again, and far too soon. The nation was in shambles, and was only getting worse. She wondered whether or not she could succeed this time. After all, given Ludveck's cold and calculating manipulation, she had a right to be doubtful at her abilities.

The queen did not know if she could stave off another uprising. If she did, more people would die, and as a result, would anger the citizens even more. However, if she did nothing, the fate of Crimea would be in worse shape than it was in right at the moment. It seemed that no matter what move she made, Elincia would lose.

Elincia left the throne room, the thought of the upcoming battles plaguing her mind. It haunted her throughout the day, but there was almost nothing that she could do.