Heroes of Fire

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File selected.
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Marth - Wanderer
Lv. 1

Str: 4
Mag: 0
Skl: 5
Spd: 5
Luck: 0
Def: 4
Res: 1

Load?
...
Yes - no

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Something wasn't right. Waking dreams were blinked away as I shook my head. Maybe it was the fact that the room was lit by candles, the fact that my shivering, blanket-wrapped body felt like it had just come out of freezing water, only just getting used to warm air, or just the fact that the shape of my body just felt wrong. Different. I twisted, my bare skin rubbing awkwardly against rough textured sheets and cloth. Oh God. Someone had undressed me. I hope they like what they saw, thought a little snide part of me that wouldn't be getting anything this coming holidays.

Something itchy fell into my eyes and I blinked it out. It couldn't have been hair (it was) because it was a dark, dark blue that never could have been mine (yet it was). I shook my head, feeling strangely short (bluer than the sky) hair rub across my face and itch at the bottoms of the strands. I slung my feet out of rough covers and sat up quickly. A wave of vertigo passed, and it felt like it had just punched me in the face. I brought a hand to my head. Promptly freezing, I held it there. Thick callouses lined unfamiliar fingers that were too small to what I was used to. I flipped it over quickly, investigating the back, before jolting up. I wasn't wearing much of a shirt, bandages actually, which made the whole room much much colder. A few candles flickered as if in response to my observation.

Okay. Candle-lit room. Rough fabric. Strange hands... And hair. I carefully checked the rest of my body with a thundering heart beating so fast it left little stinging pains. Off white baggy pants. Shorter stature. Was I going crazy (yes and no) or was this some kind of twisted fantasy? The body was that of a fourteen or fifteen year old boy, not even remotely similar to my old one.

Rapid footsteps echoed throughout the room. My heartbeat pounded with them. I clenched my fists and swung around...

...only to meet a brunet shrimp of a boy smaller than I was. He was dressed in some kind of elaborate robes and held a weird-looking staff. Dedicated cosplayer, maybe? Though as I focused on him, the air seemed to twist and turn... Almost on it's own accord, my mouth whispered a word.

"Open."

And a strange overlay appeared next to him.

Luca - Priest
Lv. 1

Str: 0
Mag: 3
Skl: 2
Spd: 4
Luck: 0
Def: 1
Res: 6

+Miracle

And just like that, it closed completely. I blinked.

"Eh, open what?" The stranger-Luca?- muttered to himself. "Maybe he's touched in the head..."

"Hey!" I snapped back instantly, flinching when my voice sounded completely different. I tried not to think about it. That'd lead to panicking.

"Oh yeah! I found you out in the hills. I had to help you, Priest of Naga and all that. I'm Luca. You feeling any better?" Priest of Naga? Wasn't that from...

Nah, there was no way this situation could be that crazy. After all, high school students did not just wake up in Fire Emblem.

"What..." I swallowed. "What town am I in?"

"...Southtown. You're, uh... Sure you're okay?" Okay. Southtown. That was in... Awakening, right? Hopefully it was after the bandit raid.. But the world itself, that could lead to a whole host of complications... Namely, the timeline. But if this was Fire Emblem... A sneaking suspicion lodged in the back of my head.

"Yes. I just need some time alone... And a mirror." Luca visibly wilted at my request. He must have been expecting a different reaction. He pointed behind me- lo and behold, a big mirror was hung on the walls- and as he turned to leave, I called out.

"Wait." he froze and turned around, head tilted awkwardly to the side. "...Thank you. For everything." Luca perked up at my expression of gratitude and practically skipped out of the room. I caught myself smiling just a teeny bit and shook my head. Once the door slammed shut, I practically raced to the mirror. It towered above me, reflecting a stranger who looked almost exactly like a younger version of... Of Prince Marth. A moment passed where I let out a breath. Twisting and turning in front of the mirror, I inspected my body. It was almost definitely a thirteen or fourteen year olds, which would have been just before or right when the Hero King himself got booted out of his home country. Part of me was strangely calm about the whole thing.

It was probably denial. Once the shock of being in a different world and body wore off, it'd crush me like a train. I sighed wearily and watched as a blue haired kid did the same. I looked away from the mirror and forced myself to walk back to the bed. That train of thought lasted approximately three seconds when I noticed something weird. There was a small card lying right where I was lying down earlier. It was only a few inches long and displayed an empty portrait. Something was written below, but I wasn't particularly interested. I bent over to pick it up, but the instant I touched it a violent shiver wracked my body. A thought came rushing through my head. That card was mine. My portrait (Marth's) was supposed to be in the empty frame. The runes written below it in something I somehow knew to be a form of ancient Alteic suddenly became clear. It took a moment to make out, though, but it was Marth's name printed down there. ...albeit very messily. It was very hard to read, as if the author had bad handwriting.

I flopped on the bed, cradling my card on top of my chest. I was an Einherjar, a bound spirit who took the form of another. My entire soul was attatched to the card. As long as it was here, I'd return to it upon serious injury or death. I let out a massive sigh. This just kept getting more and more complicated. But... Did that mean that whoever held that card could command my soul? I shivered unconsciously, but this time it wasn't from the cold. There had to be someone I could talk to about this...

...Old Hubba. He had tons of Einherjar, he had to know at least something. I stood up, ignoring even more vertigo as I clutched the card in my right hand. My bare feet felt freezing against the stones. I clenched my toes and walked towards the door. Pause. Should I just open it, or wait for Luca?


Creeeeaaaak. On second thought, he was already here. He was holding his staff in his right hand, and a warm feeling emanated from the tip.

"I'm going to check to see if there are any broken bones, okay?" he said. Instantaneously, he thrust the staff right in front of my chest and waved it up and down, not even waiting for a reply. Well then. Warmth pervaded my chest, and then the rest of my body as the feeling of coldness was expelled. When the feeling vanished, I was left yearning for more... It felt so relaxing. "You had a little bit of a cold, but you should be fine now." Luca's voice sounded far away. I grasped the card tighter in my hand. His head tilted. "Hey, what's that? Can I- a card?" I clenched my fist around it and placed it on the bed.

"It's a... Family thing. It's- it's nothing." Luca nodded in understanding. Silence reigned in the room. I sat down on the cot, careful to mind my card, and patted for Luca to sit down next to me. He seemed nice enough... Might as well start talking. "Hey, what was found with me? And do you know a man named Old Hubba?" Luca sat down and scratched his head awkwardly.

"Most of your clothes were torn and burnt pretty bad... I managed to salvage your boots and your, uh, tiara." he said. I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding. So it was after Marth had gotten kicked out of Altea... Part of me, oddly enough, was relieved that a tiara I had not ever come in contact with or cared about was okay.

I decided not to think on it. "Hey, that thing was solid gold." Luca pointed out. "Who exactly..." he trailed off. I must have been making a really pitiful expression, because he dropped it completely. A comfortable silence followed. "Oh yeah!" he exclaimed out of the blue. Was he trying to cheer me up? It sounded like he was. "I've never heard of Old Hubba, but if we go to the capital, my dad's there! He knows, like, everybody!" he slapped me on the back and I almost flew off the bed. "Oh, uh, whoops." I hummed and nodded once. Another pause followed. "Tell you what, I'll give you your stuff back, and we'll take a walk around the town. You look like you need it." he offered. I tilted my head.

"Yeah... I'd like that."

"Alrighty then! I'll be back before you know it!"

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

He returned with a pair of worn boots that I placed on my feet instantly and the tiara which was intimately familiar. I shouldn't be feeling like this towards items that weren't mine, but... They were sentimental to Marth at least. The leather of the boots wrapped comfortably around my feet and I took a few practice steps in them. Click. Click. The soles made little noises as they came in contact with the floor below. And the tiara... It was on my head before I knew what I was doing. It felt right on its place atop my head, but I tried not to think about what that meant. Luca, meanwhile, threw a light green shirt at me. I blinked and watched as it landed on my lap. I guess that's what I'd be wearing until I got better clothes... I slid it on carefully on top of my bandages.

"Are you ready?" he asked. I smiled and nodded and slowly stood up. My chest ached lightly, but I took one step in front of another until the door was right in front of me. Luca opened it and hurried outside... But not before he started yelling "IT'S SO BRIIIGHT!" and covering his eyes. I followed him carefully and took a step outside the temple. The sunlight was unobstructed in the sky and shone fiercely above. I reached up Marth's hands to provide some shade for my eyes until they could adjust. Out of the corner of my eye, I was able to make out a few scattered market stalls and some stone buildings. The stalls had bright colored cloths which decorated the tops, both making it easier to see and attracting attention. A pleasant breeze which smelled faintly of fireplace smoke blew by. All in all... It was a very homely town. My lips twitched upwards. I took a few hesitant steps forward. Abruptly, I heard a little 'eek!' and I stopped in my tracks. I had almost crashed into a girl slightly younger looking than I. She was petitely built, with dark skin and short black hair.

"Oh, sorry, excuse me," I apologized quickly, holding up my hands and squinting as the sunlight streamed into my eyes. I brought one arm to my brow again. She relaxed almost instantly upon seeing Luca.

"O-oh. Hey, Luca... And hello, stranger." she said. Her voice was soft, yet every word seemed to carry. After a moment, Luca smiled and waved.

"Hey Tana! This is the person I told you about!" he had been talking about me? There was no way this could end well...

"H-hello, I'm Tana..." she greeted, offering a hand. I shook it gently.

"I'm Marth," I said automatically. Suddenly, what I said must have registered in my brain because oh boy, would the swears I thought to myself make a sailor blush. I couldn't come up with a fake name or something?! I swear, I was getting dumber by the day.

"After t-the hero-king?" she queried. I nodded a little too enthusiastically.

"Yep, totally. I'm named after the hero-king. Uh-huh." There was no way she wouldn't buy this.

"I see..." Score one for me! He took some steps forward, motioning for us to follow. "Is Luca showing you around town?" I nodded and smiled encouragingly. A bird cawed overhead, swooping down in front of us and grabbing a dropped coin. Huh. That was something you didn't see every day. We stopped in front of a weapons stall. The shelves were sort of barren, with only a few knives and a single iron sword on display. Not even two minutes into the walk and the priest had already stopped to talk to two people, first Tana and then the owner of the weapon stall. They were in an animated conversation about... something or other. Not knowing what to do, I took a closer look at the sword. Iron, most likely forged locally. Has seen some use in the past, and would need a bit of work to make it usable again. The observations flew quickly through my borrowed mind like the bird from earlier. I didn't understand. I had never handled a sword before.

...But Marth had, a little voice spoke in the back of my mind. I shuddered involuntary.

"Favor the sword?" spoke up a deep voice. I turned to face the weapon merchant. I shook my head carefully.

"Just browsing," I lied. Another wind blew by and I shivered. But this time it carried an acrid scent. A familiar one... Smoke! And lots of it!

"Bandits!" cried out a townsperson. I looked around quickly. No signs of the Shepherds anywhere, but there were fur-clothed strangers running throughout the area with their weapons drawn. This wasn't good... There was no chance that I could possibly take them on myself, not with a weapon I was only semi-familiar with, and certainly not in an unfamiliar body. My only chance was to stall for time until Chrom, Frederick, Lissa, and Robin showed up. Hopefully it wouldn't be too long... I took the sword from the table and held it in my right hand. It was a little too heavy for me, but it'd do.

"I'll pay you back later," I called out to the merchant, whose face had gone pale. "Tana, find cover! Luca... Do you have your staff with you?"

"Y-yes," he said anxiously. Tana nodded and grabbed the merchants hand, and they ran off. Not even waiting for them to disappear from my field of view, I turned back to the young priest. "I want you to heal me if things get rough." He nodded and gripped his staff so tightly his knuckles turned pale. This wasn't a game anymore... I might have to take lives to ensure the safety of others.

The thought of Tana's mangled corpse eliminated any regrets from my mind. I could think of that later. Right now? I had to hold down the fort until help could arrive. I nodded to Luca, who gave a shaky nod back. Getting into a strange stance that was both familiar and foreign, I prepared to fight for my life and all of Southtown's against the bandits.

I stared at a man with an axe with wide-open eyes. He towered above me, easily a head and a half taller. His skin was tanned and his hair greasy. Thoughtful brown eyes pierced into my very soul. I clenched my sword tighter in my fist, sweat making it hard to get a good grip on the handle. In a familiar way, the air seemed to twist and turn around his head… Hey, what was the word I said earlier?

Oh yeah.

“Open,” I whispered, and another overlay appeared.

Bastian- Fighter
Lv. 2
25/25

Str: 9
Mag: 0
Skl: 6
Spd: 5
Luck: 1
Def: 5
Res: 0

+HP +5

...He was a whole level above me. I’d have to think this through carefully if I wanted to survive. Part of me was nagging that I didn’t HAVE to win. That violence wasn’t necessarily the answer. I named that part of me “Inner Marth” and promptly told it to shut up until we were safe. Then I looked around, observing all of the bandits. I was outnumbered over eight to one. Inner Marth might have a point. Apparently, he was disappointed in my reasoning, too, because I felt a growing sense of shame. Oh, shut up. Neither of us chose this. Well, time was ticking. Might as well initiate conversation.

“Hello! How was your day?” I asked, waving in a friendly manner. I could practically feel the dumb stare Luca was giving me from behind my back. Bastian, meanwhile, tilted his head in confusion slightly. His grip on the axe tightened. Ah shit… Better hurry up. “My name’s Marth. And I just want to let you know that neither of us necessarily have to fight. I mean, you could if you want to. I’m not stopping you there. And I just want to let you know that if you take another step forward, not even Naga herself could save you from the beating you’re going to get.” Inner Marth squirmed. Shut… Up! “But… But. These people here are completely innocent. I think. And-” he charged forward, axe raised. “Shit!” I quickly ducked out of the way and stabbed at his calf. He brought his axe down fiercely on top of my blade. He was trying to disarm me!

There was only one thing left to do. I raised my other arm, like I was about to punch. Bastian brought up his axe, ready to chop it off… And I kicked him between the legs as hard as Marth could, before raising my sword to stab him in the gut. And that was when the day went from bad to worse. See, the bandits had realized that they didn’t have to attack one at a time. Suddenly, I was completely surrounded by Plegian criminals of all shapes and sizes. Luca was facing off two of his own, a fighter and a myrmidon. I raised my sword hand, aiming for a non-lethal yet disabling blow (you happy yet, Marth?!) when an axe blade landed on my shoulder blade. Writhing pain echoed throughout my body, and it felt like my arm was on fire. Or like lemon juice mixed with salt had just been poured into an open wound. I turned my head to look at it, and a wave of nausea had swept through my body. The axe hadn’t gone all the way through my arm, and the blade was stuck in my bone. My eyes stung as tears began to trickle.

“Oh, look at tough guy now,” one of them, a tall mage with blonde hair, said coldly. A few must have snickered or something, because I heard a sound in the distance that was awfully similar to a chuckle… Or was it close by? Everything sounded like I was underwater, only blistening and viewing things from beneath the waves. I coughed and a sharp racking pain went up through my arm. There was so much blood… I couldn’t feel my fingers. My vision swam. Another flash of pain and a sickening squelch, and the axe was out of my arm with blood pooling out. I couldn’t take much more… Another chop, a burst of pain, and all sensation beneath my shoulder ceased. I didn’t want to look at the result. I didn’t think I could stomach it.

Warm, sticky liquid continued to pour out of my arm (stump), and I wasn’t ashamed to admit that my vision started to darken before vanishing entirely.

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“Marth, we need to leave!”

“Jagen, what about Elice? I-”

“Marth!”

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The bandits stood before the one-armed bor writhing on the floor as he whispered to a man that no-one could see or hear.

“Who’s, uh, who’s Elice?” one asked. And that was when a bright light enveloped the group. After it faded and they stopped blinking away spots, the boy was gone. None of them noticed the tiny, innocuous card lying on the bloodied ground, adorned with the portrait of a young prince.

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At first, Robin lied to herself. I’m only doing this because I HAVE to see what happens. It’s just an experiment. The endless, looping timelines she was trapped in already bent to her will, so she could always just Reset after killing them… Chrom, Lissa, Frederick… What a fool she was. In her mind, she was millions of years old. Some timelines, she was a boy. Some, she accepted the offer of Grima just to see what would occur. And some, like this… Well, she didn’t know what she planned to do next. She didn’t care anymore. Nothing was new. Nothing was fun.

She followed the same old routine up until Southtown, when she noticed the bandits crowded around a small area, talking amongst themselves.

“...simply vanished…”

“...where’d he go?...”

A few well placed spells later, and their insides decorated the streets and buildings like it was some kind of demented celebration. And she supposed it was. But something glinted in the corner of her vision. She turned her head and knelt down. A small card… An einherjar? This was new. This was-

“Heeey, Robin, what are you looking at? Can I see?” asked the princess of Ylisse. She picked up the card and rubbed it off.

“Something I dropped,” she lied, giving her one of her manufactured smiles. The recipient merely smiled back and bounced back over to her brother, who was talking to some crying priest. Lissa was so easy. Once she was gone, Robin inspected the card. Marth? How generic. But… Not ‘Prince’ or ‘King’. Just plain ‘Marth’. Perhaps it was faulty?

A faulty einherjar. She gripped it firmly. Oh, this was much more interesting!

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Roy woke up in a forest. No, wait, his name wasn’t Roy. It was-

He couldn’t remember. Scared witless, he sat there in the dark, nursing his burns and the mysterious card that he had found in his hand.