Blaze Gamma

Fire Embem: Arise

"Because... I just was, okay?" Felix said. He crossed his arms as he followed. "Look, I had faith in you. I knew you would be able to handle it... Besides, if you weren't... It's not like I lost my sword... I could have held him off pretty easily for 5, maybe 10 more seconds of just stalling." He said. "Come on, it's not like I wasn't thinking or was just goofing off. I had a plan." He said as they continued to walk.

"So... Do you think your parents are going to be surprised?"

Fire Embem: Arise

"It was never about goofing off, though," Felix sighed, placing his hands behind his head with his own frown. "I just... Didn't want to have to leave... Or to be responsible for the lives of others... Least not in the way a commander is... I don't mind protecting, just..." He looked aside. "Anyway, I... I knew he wouldn't be able to. And I had faith in you, okay?" He affirmed himself before standing up straight and huffing.

"Anyway, you're right. Can't waste energy worrying about it.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Morrigan scowled at the slightly older knight when she noticed his aside glances. 'Great,' she thought to herself. 'Another so called knight who's only interested in ogling...' She saluted the king regardless of her fellow soldier's lacking manners.

The king took a deep breath, a somber note to his mannerisms that night. "At ease, both of you. No need to be so formal with a man at the end of his life."

Morrigan was perplexed by the comment. The king was the picture of health. Why would he say something like that?

"Er... Your Majesty, what do you mean by that?" She asked.

The king pointed up to the sky. "The meteor shower." He said. "It signals the end for me. Six months ago, I had a meeting with a benevolent spirit of fate... It warned me of my incoming demise... And the tools I could take to prevent calamity. At first I disbelieved it as a jest, but..." He shook his head. "Regardless, that is why you two are here. The spirit told me that two of my finest should be sent to Mt. Ignis." He explained. "In fact, the spirit gave you by name, Mister Fallon. I was told to send two of my riders, and that one of those two, Albert Fallon, would have a great hand to play in the machinations of fate."

"Surely you jest, your majesty." Morrigan spoke, trying to hide her frustrations at the king's words.

"Miss Morrigan, please understand..." The King said. "I was told to send two riders, and given but one name. I chose you because you're the finest of the Royal Riders, bar none. My only goal is to minimize loss of life and the blood shed upon my land." He explained. "And to that end, I chose you."

"Sir..." Morrigan said, still frustrated.

Fire Embem: Arise

"Members of the military are expected to go fight in wars... And if I'm an officer, it means there are people under me whose lives are in my hands. It was fine to goof around a bit when I'm the only one the consequences fell on, but... I can't get away with it now..." Felix scratched the back of his head. "And... Yeah, kinda. I knew you could handle him if I was keeping him distracted." He admitted sheepishly before shaking his head.

"And... You know those nobles aren't the same person you are. You're more grounded than they are. You say you can't be like them... And maybe you're right. But why would you want to? Right now the best thing is to focus on this whole pilgrimage thing you're doing. Let everything else fall into place as it does, right?"

Fire Embem: Arise

Felix kicked a pebble along as he walked. "I just didn't want the responsibility or to be shipped off to the capital or something like that... I've always been able to get away with... Not the bare minimum, but doing just enough that nobody else got hurt... Take the fall so someone else can be the hero, act like I'm not as good a swordsman as I really am... Hell, I thought that being an orphan and bit of a pickpocket as a kid, that would disqualify me from an actual rank... Guess that didn't pan out... But I'll live. You've got so much more to worry about, don't you?" He stopped for a moment.

"... All this stuff. What Old Man Emmerich told you about..." Felix was sure not to mention it by name, as not to alert anyone. "It's scary, and it's life changing, and it's not fair to you. But it doesn't change who you are. You're the same person you were yesterday. You're not going to suddenly change because you know who your real father is. Kate. You're still the same be..." He hesitated, looking down at his feet. "You're still the same kind person you've always been. You're still going to be that person. You don't have to discover who you are, because you already know that." He told her.

Fire Embem: Arise

Felix took a deep breath. The fact she was able to smile, at least a little, it helped him to calm down. "Yeah... I'll come along. I don't exactly have anything better to do..." He sighed. He wanted to feel bad for himself, but he couldn't. All of the sudden he went from being a town guard to a member of the army. He'd always taken steps to avoid promotion, to do just good enough, but... Militia Captains were part of the military, rather than just volunteers or workmen. He wanted to scream at that, but for what it was, he couldn't. Not when his friend was being put through something much more life changing, and, he was sure, terrifying.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Kate..." He said. "Are you doing okay?" He asked her.

Fire Embem: Arise

"Right now, far as anyone knows, there are no living successors to the king. That's the most likely scenario." Emmerich said. "It would be of much less risk to send something ahead so they're ready to receive you. Time is of the essence," he pointed out. "Too much secrecy can put one at risk. I'm merely sending ahead a note that an important guest is arriving. I'll be sure to also send you with a letter of introduction." He said. "Now, you should go and prepare yourself."

Once they'd stepped outside, Felix sighed and spoke up. "You know... That you think about things much as you do... It's a good thing." He said. "I could probably do to think a bit more... Maybe I wouldn't have gotten myself stuck in this mess..."

Fire Embem: Arise

Emmerich nodded to himself. "Supplies should not be a big issue, all things considered." He said. "You only have a short trip ahead of you as it is. Supplying proper will be done at the manor." He explained as he prepared a pen and paper. "I'll send ahead that you're coming there to prepare for the journey, so they'll be ready to receive you." He explained. "Ah..." He stood up. "But it may be good to go see your parents before you leave." He continued. "As I said before, they simply had no idea, and until today, I only had the vaguest hint about your connection to Alphin. I'm sure they'll be just as surprised as you were."

Fire Embem: Arise

"The Regalia are themselves protected," Emmerich explained. "It would be difficult for anyone to reach them without the consent of the sages." He then closed his eyes. "As for the help... I wish I could afford a contingent, however, the one Captain I can loan is only until you reach the Lord's manor. I will need them back once you've reached that point, due to the increased risk of attack on the town." He sighed, clearly not any happier about what he was saying than Katherine would be.

"So you'll be having her travel with a complete stranger?" Felix asked. Everything since they'd gotten there was getting on his nerves.

"The Lord's guard is very capable. Any one of them will be more than enough to act as a bodyguard." Emmerich said.

Felix frowned as he resisted the urge to storm off again. He was entirely too tired for all this.

~~~The Night Before~~~

The castle was eerily quiet that night. The king had sent the majority of staff away to celebrate the meteor shower.

Least that was the pretense he'd given. The truth was, it was all in preparation. He knew that this night may be his last, ever since his fateful encounter six months before. He had to be ready, though. He'd vacated the castle to minimize the loss of life, and only a scant few attendants remained. That said, he needed to speak to those who did. As such, he called forth two of the Royal Wyvern Riders to his chamber.

"Ah, I'm glad to see you both," the king spoke once the two arrived on his balcony with their wyverns.

"Your Majesty," a female knight spoke. "Why have you called us here today?" She asked.

"You're Morrigan, yes?" The King asked. "And the young knight with you is Albert?" He continued.

Fire Embem: Arise

@ReusableSword Yes and no. This rp has died once before, so I'm being very picky about invites, and more relevantly, I'm being slow. I'm adding the third player tonight, so it may be a while.