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SF's "Write Your Butt Off" Competition HD II.5 Remix


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17 minutes ago, TheSilentChloey said:

So Rocina is in XD because they can be a canon couple XP and Summoner x Grima or pretty much any FE ship...even le Gasp Caleb x Lucina from Shadow Tactician!  Oh boy...this WILL be fun XD

I'm pretty sure Male Grima x Unseen-But-Implied-Awakening!Bantu is possible. Any Grima x Anybody should be possible, all they have to do is hit someone with an Expiration carrying Grima gametes that magically integrate the DNA of their new host and thus fertilize themselves. They hatch as newborn Fellspawn when the time comes much later, and even if their host parent dies beforehand, the Fellspawn can eat their corpse to survive if anything remains of it while still in development.

 

I've a semi-joke FE pairing I've had in my mind for some time, I'm now thinking about seriously fleshing it out here. It'd be good experience doing character interactions for me.

Although I haven't emphasized the pregnancy news in all my thoughts for this pairing, it's been foundational stuff of the relationship. I've thought of enough of that, that if I tried to fit all of it in a single story, it'd be overly long and unfocused. And if the baby bombshell isn't center stage, only a christ child in a king cake fit for twelve, then I don't think it warrants entry.

Too much material, not the right kind, and struggling to make more of the right. Still, the prompt at least has spurred my independent creative writing thoughts. I've got two weeks, maybe I can bring the pairing to fruition.

-Or there is that other pairing from the same game. The problem with how I've, always solely in my mind, envisioned my story for it is that it goes from the first pregnancy to the birth of the second child. Too long a period of time for this prompt.

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Okay, mastah, let’s keel dah hoh. let me give out the things.

1 hour ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Do they gotta fall in love canonically?

Why you gotta hate on the male pregnancy fetish people but not the Fates-cest people?

 

The pairing does not have to be canon.

Also, I make the rules here, and I have my own fetishes. Not telling here.

44 minutes ago, TheSilentChloey said:

So Rocina is in XD because they can be a canon couple XP and Summoner x Grima or pretty much any FE ship...even le Gasp Caleb x Lucina from Shadow Tactician!  Oh boy...this WILL be fun XD

A pairing like that is pushed. Does not necessarily make it canon. But it is in dah rules now.

20 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

So @Azure in a Roundabout Can I include the birth of the child within the story? Or can it only be the reaction to the pregnancy?

Do whichever you please.

18 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I'm pretty sure Male Grima x Unseen-But-Implied-Awakening!Bantu is possible. Any Grima x Anybody should be possible, all they have to do is hit someone with an Expiration carrying Grima gametes that magically integrate the DNA of their new host and thus fertilize themselves. They hatch as newborn Fellspawn when the time comes much later, and even if their host parent dies beforehand, the Fellspawn can eat their corpse to survive if anything remains of it while still in development.

 

I've a semi-joke FE pairing I've had in my mind for some time, I'm now thinking about seriously fleshing it out here. It'd be good experience doing character interactions for me.

First paragraph: wot.

Second: go ahead with it, if you can.

That’ll be it from moi for now.

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32 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

Can I include the birth of the child within the story? Or can it only be the reaction to the pregnancy?

I also wonder this.

EDIT - Oh never mind.

Edited by Dragoncat
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2 hours ago, Azure in a Roundabout said:

It is a ship if it is from an official product. To me, at least. So no original universes or characters.

Okay, that's fair.

But we can include the birth of the child? Nice, there's an amusing moment during that time for the pairing I'm going with, that'll be fun. lol

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36 minutes ago, Azure in a Roundabout said:

Do whichever you please.

alright we're going for something wholesome and boy do I have a heart melting idea

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On 5/12/2019 at 9:42 PM, Azure in a Roundabout said:

First paragraph: wot.

Remember the attack with all the spikes that Grima uses to immobilize and almost kill everyone at the start of the final chapter? If it wasn't for Robin saying "Nope, not obeying you!", you would've seen Morgans of many hair colors popping out of purple amber-like stalagmites on Grima's back a month later. The pace of maturation would have been sped up due to the very unusual situation of being able to tap into Grima's own blood for nourishment.

 

 

I've almost finished my entire story in a single day- says something about my lack of a life. But oh well, I enjoyed it. All I've left is some necessary filler, although I wonder how much of it is "necessary", since it's already pretty long. 

How would I ask someone to proofread it?

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2 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

well it looks like I might be replaying explorers of sky as research....weird

This is super intriguing! You gonna do pokemon breeding/pregnancy? Neat.

My pair is definitely NOT pokemon or furry stuff(lol). Well...I do have two mons on Go named after them but yeah.

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1 hour ago, Dragoncat said:

This is super intriguing! You gonna do pokemon breeding/pregnancy? Neat.

My pair is definitely NOT pokemon or furry stuff(lol). Well...I do have two mons on Go named after them but yeah.

No it's a fire emblem story but there is a certain scene(two actually) within that game that gets across the same feeling that I want to get across in my story

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37 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

No it's a fire emblem story but there is a certain scene(two actually) within that game that gets across the same feeling that I want to get across in my story

Okay, that makes more sense. Just be sure you get the story in on time.

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1 minute ago, Azure in a Roundabout said:

Okay, that makes more sense. Just be sure you get the story in on time.

I'll most definitely try though I might just through the special episode that has one of the scenes I'm looking for

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43 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

No it's a fire emblem story but there is a certain scene(two actually) within that game that gets across the same feeling that I want to get across in my story

I see. Slightly disappointed, because using non humanoid characters for this would be a neat twist.

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Well if anyone is willing, I would not force it on anyone, I have just finished my entry. So it's ready for a proofread, just it case there are any typos, or if anyone can think of formatting changes to make it more readable. I still have quite a bit of time to let it marinate and think it over, I can see faults in it already, but I'm not sure how much I'd change of it. This a labor of massive love that took too much effort to majorly revise the content of.

May the individuals who possess speaking roles in the yarn below forgive me for placing words onto their tongues as I would be thanked for coins of passage under them.

 

Inspired by Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, with a dash of Thracia 776, I offer

Twenty Years (and 8631 words; I'm a little surprised it didn't break 9000):

Spoiler

Time: Gran Count 778, early Summer.

 

From the edge of the Yied Desert, a Grannvalian envoy approached Castle Rivough. It consisted of mostly horses and their riders, only a few walked alongside the steeds. Though blemished by a little dust, the group had changed into their finery a while ago, for soon they were to be received by Issach, arrayed outside the castle town. The gathered elite of the city and country were like the many peasants interested in spectating this event on foot, horses adorned in accents of silver were reserved as a highlight for the leading Issachan representative, the king himself.

  • Oifey: Hail thee King Issach! Hail King Shannan! I, Oifey, Duke of Chalphy, Chancellor of the Kingdom of Grannvale have arrived for an audience with you, at His Majesty King Seliph’s behest!
  • Shannan: Welcome Chancellor! Welcome Duke Chalphy! It was here, at the edge of Issach my realm, that Grannvale and your great uncle met with my great father twenty-one years ago! It was here your kingdom and noble house began a most terrible war!
  • Oifey: Peace! In peace I come King Shannan! We fought together but a year ago to end the tyranny my forefathers had wrought and which oppressed your people for decades to follow! I wish to heal old wounds, not strike new ones!
  • Shannan: I know your sincere purpose well Duke Chalphy! The correspondence between us and your Majesty King Seliph of Grannvale is what led to our meeting on this day. As brothers and equals blessed by seven and one Crusaders, our Kingdoms must assist each other to bring the scars left by Loptyr’s return to fade.
  • Oifey: Indeed King Shannan! Facilitating such assistance is my cause on this day, and I have crossed the Desert of Death to do so. Do I and my retinue have the right to pursue this?
  • Shannan: The right is your’s Duke Oifey! Now let us bring ease to our voices and begin our diplomacy elsewhere. I welcome you to the court I’ve arranged here at Castle Rivough for this occasion, partake of it as your weariness demands and whims desire with all my generosity.

-

And so, Oifey trotted towards the outer wall of Rivough’s castle town in procession. Dozel during the reign of the Grannvale Empire had chosen to operate primarily out of Rivough, finding Issach to be backwater ill-befitting of a Grannvale ducal family. Extracting tax and tribute in kind, cash, and labor through coercion and funneling it through Rivough to Grannvale itself was the Empire’s priorities. As a result, Castle Rivough was for twenty years of oppression in good condition, and thus fit for greeting this special envoy. 

It was not a grand envoy: the Chancellora cohort of his handpicked diplomats with information collected on Grannvale’s present state, a convoy for their needs, and a military guard in case of bandits whilst passing through the Yied Desert. Although as Duke Chalphy with the Crusader Baldr’s blood in his veins, albeit without his Brand, and although he had fought alongside King Shannan without regard for status, Shannan’s ceremonial reception party was likewise small, less than would have been afforded to King Seliph had he visited.

  • Shannan: So few Duke Chalphy? You must be here solely for your mission then.
  • Oifey: My wife Duchess Clidna your distant cousin is on her way, she is accompanied your closer kin, Ulster, Duke of Dozel. They should both be here by tomorrow.
  • Shannan: Likewise, Queen Patty is not here, but she promises to come on the morrow. Before we were to leave yesterday, she met a veteran of King Leif’s army. It appears she struck up a good moment’s conversation with this woman, not of Issach, yet a mistress of the blade nonetheless. So, how is Lady Clidna?
  • Oifey: She is well, adjusting to life in Grannvale as Duchess is not the easiest when one has spent it all in Issach, but fortunately Ulster and Larcei and their Issachan retinues has made the change of circumstances easier.

Duchess Clidna was a relative of King Shannan. She belonged to a cadet branch of the former royal family of the kingdom of Ganeishire, one of the sub-kingdoms into which Issach was divided. They were bound together under the greater King of Issach directly descended from the Crusader Odr and bearing his Brand. She had none of his holy blood, but was nonetheless a collateral descendent of Odr. 

Her father and brothers had joined Prince Marricle in his last stand against Grannvale in Ganeishire Castle, yet she had fled with her mother as her father had requested, to hide in the northern badlands of Issach for her safety far from Grannvalian authority. She was between Oifey and Shannan in age, and when word came that the Prince had returned, she and her mother turned to him to offer their loyalty and find security. She became a devoted member of the Liberation Army, unable to fight, she took managing to the mundane supportive roles which allowed the warriors to concentrate on battle and excelled at rallying the women who did much of this work. 

For Oifey was a topflight strategist and logistician, he had met with Clidna on frequent occasions. Her upbeat demeanor he liked, and a strong friendship followed. Feeling old by this point in his life, he felt a wife was necessary, and when Seliph had crossed from Miletos and entered Grannvale for the firs time in his life, Oifey felt victory was assured. With the peace of mind to pursue love, he proposed to Clidna soon after the liberation of Chalphy, and they quickly wed after the final battle had concluded. 

The celebrations were saved for their coronation as Duke and Duchess of Chalphy, he was thankful, and she was happy if surprised to raise to this status. It was a physical symbol of the Issach-Chalphy bonds began when Sigurd and Shannan had met, and she was perfectly willing to be a part of this. Oifey continually thanked her for accepting his hand in marriage, and was willing to spare no expense to make her feel at home in a distant land.

-

  • Shannan: We’ve seen enough war for many lives Duke Chalphy, therefore I have arranged not for sport on this day. Will a celebration of the newborn continental peace and liberation through song and spoken word be sufficient? Accompanied by a lunch that should be to your likings?
  • Oifey: That will be more than sufficient, your magnanimity is great King Shannan. 

Bowing to King Shannan to thank him, Oifey and his diplomats relocated to the courtyard of Rivough Castle, sitting at a banquet table in the midday sun, he was positioned to the right of King Shannan, a spot generally reserved for a close advisor or other highly distinguished guests. The music began and the food, a small three-course lunch, was served. During the this, talk however quietly continued.

  • Oifey: Yogurt made of fermented mare’s milk served alongside savory skewered lamb, the flavors of Issach are not to be replicated anywhere else in Jugdral. I’ve tried to obtain the former in Chalphy, but to no avail, thank you for serving it today King Shannan.
  • Shannan: Your fondness for my nation’s cuisine is not so unusual Duke Oifey, you did for sixteen years reside here, I would be surprised and disappointed if your palette had not adjusted to it. To see you crave it is warming.
  • Oifey: I am a mutt King Shannan, only fifteen of my years have been in Chalphy, less than in Issach, with years spent everywhere else in Jugdral in between and after.
  • Shannan: And I hardly different, by fate we saw the world together before sought refuge in the land of my fathers and mothers. We belong to the continent though we govern much less. As for myself, I confess that I prefer Grannvalian wheat bread to Issachan barley, so too Silessean rye is better in a loaf. 
  • Oifey: My convoy should still have have some loaves, and a few bags of flour if you would like it freshly baked, should I send for them?
  • Shannan: That will not be necessary Duke Oifey, though I would like some for tomorrow’s events, if you would provide.
  • Oifey: Consider it discharged King Shannan. And before I should forget, I carry on my person a letter from Duke Dozel- Ulster. I am not aware of the contents, but he said you could read it in the open if you liked. Would you ask for it now?
  • Shannan: Ulster is my precious cousin, so do hand me the letter if your hands are still clean of spices and drippings. *Is handed the letter and reads through it*
  • Oifey: Have I the right to ask for its contents at this time King Shannan?
  • Shannan: I see no reason to hide the affairs of Ulster your friend and fellow Duke to you, though he may not have the title for long.
  • Oifey: Whatever is meant by that King Shannan, how fares Ulster as he had not told me?
  • Shannan: He finds himself out of place in Grannvale, and wishes to return home to Issach. He questions his right to inherit the Duchy and believes it should be passed on to Iucharba and Larcei. And for himself, he requests I establish a position for him as administrator of the Issachan lands he and Larcei possess by their persons in Issach.
  • Oifey: Ulster had seemed a bit forlorn in Grannvale, which is why I allowed him to accompany me on this visit. I had not expected him to wish to cede his title, but perhaps he thought I would disapprove of it. He has thought it through however, a landlord long absent does do wrong to the people who they serve and serve them. Iucharba and Larcei if they approve will make a fine Duke and Duchess for Dozel, with Neir’s Brand restored one day soon it may be. Together we should discuss this with him in the coming days, and with our word Seliph will not blink to provide the final agreement.

-

The conversation continued and the lunch came to its end by two. Until the hour of six, the diplomats and their lieges discussed the state of their countries how best to see them assist the other’s reconstruction, without impeding their own. It was a short workday, but this was the first of a roughly two-week stay, that would be sufficient for two close allies to form a viable pact.

At six o’clock, the Sun at dusk still illuminating the sky without an omnipresent shadow cast in the air, King Shannan and Chancellor Oifey prepared for this evening’s dinner. and went to it It was to be a small one, the two of them and a handful of servants and high diplomats. 

But at five, Patty Queen of Issach had arrived earlier than expected, with the woman who had she had met the day before. Hearing of the dinner, Patty insisted she bring a guest of honor with her, the swordmistress she had met the day before. Shannan but not Oifey greeted his wife and her guest, seeing them in loose but modest and elegant dresses of yellow and orange with accessories of purple and white ready for the occasion, he agreed to her request that be seated at this evening’s meal. 

He was not sure what to make of this woman much older than he, but finding the idea of ambassadorial dining to be not his beloved’s likings, he rearranged the evening’s events. He and Oifey would offer a toast at the table of their working staff, and then leave for another room where they would have a separate feast with Patty and the swordmistress. The castle’s servants proposed for entertainment while eating in each room a storyteller accompanied by a few instruments, relaying one of those very long and very old epics, filled with vibrant imagery, stagnant details, timeless drama and ribald tales alike. Shannan, his wife, Oifey, and the guest were fine with this, and so their bureaucrats were. The dinner at last began between the four specified individuals, with Oifey meeting this notable woman.

  • Oifey: Hello my Lady, I am Duke Chalphy and the current Chancellor of the Kingdom of Grannvale, Oifey Chalphy. Would I be permitted the grace of your name?
  • Swordmistress: I know who you are, I was well informed before I had arrived. I am Eyvel, of Fiana, a village in the boondocks of Thracia, I led its Freeblades militia.
  • Oifey: That voice, your presence, Lady Eyvel, you remind me of-
  • Eyvel: I have gone by no other names, you are mistaken, Duke of my heart.
  • Oifey: You blunt my question before I finish asking it, you are no frail woman swordmistress Eyvel. But I will not inquire further of you if you wish it not. May our hour or three here together be a splendid reward for the service I heard in briefest passing you offered to King Leif.
  • Eyvel: Thank you for your respect and politeness. And yes, to an evening of delight!

-

Eyvel raised a toast and the dinner began in the earnest. Shannan formally introduced his Queen Patty to Oifey, though they had been well acquainted from their times fighting alongside Seliph in the holy wars. It was again a standard three course meal, during which they made small talk and listened to the epic being told, it told of heroes from before the days before the Loptyr Empire, set in northwest Issach and eastern Silesse, where two families, one righteous and one crooked over several generations had fought to control the territory. Shortly after dessert was served, the voice of the old storyteller became hoary and he took a moment to rest. Conversation filled the air to keep the silence away.

  • Eyvel: To think the entire continent of Jugdral at war but twenty and one years ago, is now united in bliss, its ruling families interlinked. I could not have thought this possible in my younger years, when I was something of lowly vagabond.
  • Patty: But that’s just how things have worked out. I’m Queen of Issach by marriage, my brother is the Duke of Jungby, cousin Lester is King of Verdane, cousin Lana is Queen of Grannvale, and Shannan’s nearest cousins are Duke and Lady of Dozel. I think I’ve lucked out in life, never thought it would be so easy when it was just me and my hitman brother Febail caring for Connaught orphans, and now King Leif my distant in-law is providing everything we couldn't for them.
  • Shannan: I can only concur to these sentiments my dear and Lady Eyvel. From a child in innocence, suddenly made to fear that death would catch me if I didn’t run fast enough holding my aunt’s hand. To being worshipped by my people as the second Odr, having fought alongside the new Hodr and Baldr in a crusade against Loptyr revived. Now to live in prosperity ever after, it’s enough to make me chuckle from time to time.
  • Oifey: You speak as though it has been a simple progression from terror to salvation King Shannan, when I know you know it hasn’t been that. Barring your flight and barbaric captivity, I’ve seen all the same sights as you. There was good and bad in all those intervening years between your beginning and conclusion, even if the storm clouds were always there until the very end.
  • Patty: So, when did you two old friends meet? I never heard the story before, wasn’t really interested I guess, but you’re making me curious, care to share Shan Shan?
  • Shannan: I’m not sure it’d really interest you Sunshine, but if you’re willing to bear then it would be no problem. Oifey, would you please start for me?
  • Oifey: It was when we first liberated Genoa Castle in Verdane after Chalphy and Leonster had invaded it to rescue Lady Edain from the barbarians and punish them for their prior invasion. Sigurd had trusted me with informing him of the castle’s every detail our investigative group had found. When I heard the report of a lone child being locked up in the dungeon, I wanted to see it for myself before telling Sigurd, so I went down there and there saw Prince Shannan, dressed in gray, foreign for what I was used to attire, curled up in a corner. You said nothing and did nothing but look my way. I thought you could’ve been a common slave at first, but I couldn’t figure out why you’d be locked away alone in your own cell then.
  • Shannan: I was saddened by everything that had happened to me, and Aunt Ayra was out fighting for my sake. I didn’t know if she’d return or the thugs that had captured us would kill me at any minute. 
  • Oifey: Then I ordered you be set free and brought to Sigurd, and you looked meek.
  • Shannan: I didn’t know what was happening, I just tried to behave myself as Aunt Ayra asked. If you had told me you were Grannvale it wouldn’t have made any difference, you were why I had fled Issach in the first place. But seeing another kid around, even if I didn’t know why, made me feel slightly better.
  • Oifey: After meeting Sigurd, you were brought to a bedroom and put under guard for your own safety. Ayra then came back to Genoa, she wanted to check to make sure it wasn’t a Grannvalian trick, and Sigurd had ordered I return with her to prove it.
  • Shannan: I was relieved to see Aunt Ayra was alive, and you guided her to me. I could tell you were a bit surprised when she hugged me, but you alway kept a polite smile. Oifey, you’ve never failed to be courteous.
  • Oifey: I had reason for a moment to suspect you, to want you treated differently, Issach and Grannvale were at war, but Sigurd said to take care of you and promised you’d be returned to your homeland some day. I couldn’t defy Sigurd’s word, I revered him too much to think he could be in the wrong. I dashed any hesitation from my mind and obeyed orders.
  • Shannan: After that, Oifey and I developed our friendship. He had to tend to the supportive military duties Sigurd asked of him, constantly moving back and forth between battlefield and base. I remained secure in our present home, training under old men in what it took to be a good king. And after Deidre was kidnapped, I swore to keep Seliph safe and raise him as Deidre would have wanted it. Whenever Oifey returned home, he would greet me and we’d take a break together, often with Seliph when he wasn’t sleeping.
  • Patty: *Yawn* The way you two explain it makes it seem so boring.
  • Oifey: Boring you say Lady Patty? That reminds me, I once asked your husband once why Issachans don’t fight on horseback. 
  • Shannan: -Oifey, are you sure-
  • Oifey: His answer: “Our donkeys carry gold, not asses.”
  • Patty: My! Don’t think he’s ever been that crass with me! 
  • Shannan: Issach sees the horse not as frill of the privileged’s blood and sport, it’s the right of all to transport the gold of the earth- both metal and crop. That is was I meant. And to be fair, Oifey’s voice was not of the gentlest tone when he asked. 
  • Oifey: I had sprained my left ankle not long before we had to relocate everyone on that day. A horse was conspicuous you said if I departed on one at that moment. But the haste and the pain of walking with a crutch got to me and I was snippy.
  • Eyvel: *Laughs* Not what I would expect of either a holy Duke or King. But I’ve heard stranger tales.
  • Oifey: Care to inform us Lady Eyvel?
  • Eyvel: Not tonight. But the two of you do seem like brothers.
  • Shannan: We are close, in a sense you could call us that. I wouldn’t mind.
  • Patty: *Yawn!* That wasn’t boredom this time, I would love to hear more of this kind of stuff, there is more right. But it’s getting late, and I’m a little tired. Shannan my darling, could we send away the waiters and all? I need a ten-minute nap leaning on your shoulder before we head off to bed, and I can’t do with too many others around.
  • Shannan: Of course my Pattycakes.

-

And so Shannan raised his arm and bade all but a two handmaids of Patty’s and one old butler of his gone from the room, the closest of servants, and so remained Oifey and Eyvel as well. Shannan then moved his chair right next to Patty’s and let her lay her head against his left shoulder, while he held her dearly. While like this, comfortable in this seemingly awkward position owed to the chairs having armrests, Patty with her eyes closed continued to speak aloud.

  • Patty: Thank you my Shannananan. Since you’re a brother to my hubby even if you aren’t my in-law Oifey, I have to say Shannan does me well. 

Patty then took her left arm and moved it in a swaying motion over her chest, slowing her movement as it passed over her stomach. The crude message’s meaning was clear, Oifey’s face turned unexpectedly blush and form changed, so was Shannan’s, but in a different way as he continued to tilt his head towards his resting wife. The servants were affected like Oifey, Eyvel’s face saw the light smile she had worn this entire time become more pronounced.

  • Oifey: Pregnant Queen Patty? Most welcome news! Congratulations. A toast to Issach’s heir and future, to its Queen, to the Houses of Ulir and Odr, and to the King as well! -If there was more drink left to offer a toast, but our supper ceased to be some time ago and our beverages are low.
  • Patty: Thanks Oifey! At first you looked down on my behavior, but you aren't singing the same tune now.
  • Eyvel: If you’re so happy, then why do you blush Duke Chalphy? That is not a face of I would expect of cheer.
  • Oifey: To you Patty, I was only cautious at first given your profession, my time with Sigurd taught me to be open to others. Between Shannan’s word you had reclaimed the Balmung and Lord Seliph’s that you had presented him with a fine blade, my caution ceased to be needed. All residual doubts were dispelled once your brother Febail had joined, bearing the Yewfelle I had seen shot on the snow-covered fields of Silesse, it became clear you were the daughter of Lady Brigid and Dew, dearly departed friends of mine. You joining the liberation was divine destiny. And to you Lady Eyvel, that is how I am given this heartwarming announcement. And do you not see the same on King Shannan’s countenance?
  • Shannan: I only did my part. But yes, I have done my Queen well and my royal duty. Be it a son or daughter, I will love them just as I do my beloved.
  • Eyvel: As I might expect of a proud husband Your Majesty. Have you not a wife yourself Duke Chalphy, may I ask?
  • Oifey: I do have a wife, she should arrive here tomorrow. And no, from what I am aware, not yet.
  • Eyvel: Perhaps she delayed because she needs time to gather herself for the announcement?
  • Oifey: That could very well be the case with Duchess Clidna, but I haven’t the faintest idea of whether to expect such news. Once it comes, preparing for all thereafter is easy, yet beforehand, it is difficult to moderate expectations, either one dashes it from their head altogether, or they become obsessed to paranoia.
  • Eyvel: You are less gathered than you suggest you are Oifey, Duke of Chalphy. But regardless, I think you are a nice person. Treat her well.

Eyvel was still not sure why Oifey was blushing, but with the happy news delivered the diner could be adjourned. It was approaching nine, and Patty, although she exaggerated her pregnancy’s effects on her, for she was only a little over two months with child, was indeed tired.  

-

As they headed towards the castle’s wing with bedrooms fit for royalty and distinguished guests, Patty stated she wanted Eyvel to spend the night with her. This meant of course excluding her husband Shannan, which he did not mind. What did openly perplex Shannan and Oifey alike is how this woman, arrived before the Queen but two days ago, had worked her way into her bedchambers. Neither would yet say, but they temptingly promised they would sooner or later.

Given the choice between a third prepared suite and Oifey’s assigned room, Shannan stated he would join Oifey. Though it had been scarcely a year since the war against the Empire had ceased, the two friends felt they had much catching up to do. The women Patty kissed her husband on the cheek goodnight and he the same to her. Oifey asked for the Queen’s hand if she wished it, and she more than willing to provide it, still exuberant even on the boundary of sleep. The two men shook hands with Eyvel and bowed before her, to which she did the same. They then split for their respective quarters.

Brought to their bedroom, a servant on watch asked if Their Majesties sought another, there were two in there already, one for a master, another for a servant which would go unused. King Shannan briefly stated that would be unnecessary, they were old friends used to less than ideal living conditions, they would bear with it. The watch servant stated they understood and then stood aside, allowing the King and Duke into the sizable room, they then closed the door and locked it. They began the process of undressing and donning the soft, long and flowing nightgowns their status provided for.

  • Oifey: At last, you are now a father Shannan, after all these years, at the rather late age of thirty.
  • Shannan: And you still aren’t one, despite being thirty-five. They say the seeds Man makes grows gnarled with time. You’ve a Dukedom as holy and as great my entire kingdom Oifey, you best plant it while the fields are still fertile.
  • Oifey: Oh I’ve tried, but no tendrils rise from the soil yet. And I’m not sure I honestly care they do. …Tell me Shannan, dearest friend, how does it feel to be a father?
  • Shannan: I’ve only just put them in my wife, I can’t really say what its like. I’m happy, and this is a new responsibility, but the full weight doesn’t feel like it’s hit me yet, it won’t until they come out Edain used to say. It won’t until your grandchild comes, so I’ve heard elders say. And why are you asking me? You’ve all the more experience at fatherhood Oifey.
  • Oifey: That wasn’t real fatherhood, only a farce. I can claim no right to be called anyone’s father.
  • Shannan: So you say, but Seliph has said otherwise.

The words struck Oifey true, he recalled the many times, from when he crawled to the day he departed for Chalphy leaving him in Belhalla to rule. Even before his real father was gone, Seliph had taken to seeing him as his dad. Oifey could have expected Shannan’s rightful response, but he refused to see it coming.

  • Shannan: Diarmuid and Lester have said otherwise, you were the one who taught them how to ride. Lana and Larcei have said otherwise. And Ulster’s demeanor certainly says otherwise, his mother and father exercised restraint only when readily called for. I am not so wary either, and I don’t think it was Edain or any other who helped us all those years, I am convinced you nurtured that in him.
  • Oifey: And you are not their father then? You could have sired them all had you been one impassioned youth. I was not alone as you admit.
  • Shannan: Seliph considers me his big brother as you know, and before he could tell me that, sometime after Deidre was gone, I had come to see him as my little brother, though this took me a while to recognize. Ulster and Larcei are Ayra’s kids and my cousins, I’ve felt a similar brotherly love for them. Diarmuid, Lana, and Lester, well maybe you’re right with them actually, I was no stranger nor mere attendant, but I didn’t feel so close to be a brother, if it was a fatherhood, it wasn’t a normal one at all.
  • Oifey: Our lives ceased to be normal when that campaign damned Manfroy orchestrated began, and only now is normalcy returning. We’ve just got to make the most of things.

They were now dressed for sleep. Their nightgown kept their bodies modest, and airy, they would not overheat on this summer’s night. The bed was fit for two, with a fine metal frame and quality stuffing for it and the pillows. The quilt and sheets dyed with several royal Issachan purples, the bedsheet was a shade of lavender, with the quilt darker, its hem the darkest shade and the pillows between the quilt and the hem. Shannan relieved himself in a chamber pot as Oifey laid himself atop the quilt, not yet tired enough for sleep. Shannan noticing his friend’s restiveness likewise did the same, placing his arms behind his head on the pillow as a visible sign of togetherness in a room lit by the moonlight of a waxing gibbous and several candles.

  • Oifey: If you are tired Shannan, then rest, you needn’t share in my lack of fatigue.
  • Shannan: I understand your insomnia Oifey, it was not present when we first met today, it wasn’t there until the dinner was almost over. 
  • Oifey: Times change.
  • Shannan: You know that, but you’re having difficulties accepting it. Rather than throw aside the past without a care, how about we walk through it together again, one last time? I’ll begin.

-

  • Shannan: Thank you Oifey, for being besides me for the past twenty years. When I had fled Issach with Aunt Ayra, I abandoned my homeland and my old friends. On the run only to be captured, my fear and loneliness grew. Then Sigurd rescued us, but I was still alone. Sigurd cared for me, yet his and Auntie’s worries for my safety meant I could never fight. I remained holed up in castles, I was taught self-defense, and later Ayra showed me Odr’s sacred technique, but I was unable to ever put it to use.
  • Oifey: …I wasn’t around that much, but I was more present than anyone else, barring Arden perhaps. And there were those six months of troubled peace at Agusty, months spent at Evans before then, and the year Silesse thereafter. Everyone was around for those times in between the great conflicts, and we befriended them, but we were closest to each other. Like you, I felt restrained, Sigurd never let me fight. Had I been but a year or so older, I could have been like Finn and joined Quan and Sigurd and the rest in combat. I could have been there at Belhalla.
  • Shannan: But you weren’t there, Sigurd had felt that ominous feeling on that what we believed would be a glorious last battle, and bade us both to leave with the children. I thought talked you out of that guilt years ago, does it endure?
  • Oifey: I can never forget I have had those thoughts, but I will never and can act on them, there is no longer any need for me to lay down my life for Seliph in place of his, therefore I have no excuse. We all had those premonitions, yet none enough to avert the calamity. On that day, so many good died, including Dew.
  • Shannan: You speak of Dewy because of that guilt. He was no older than you, perhaps even my age, he couldn’t have been twenty four as he said, and yet he fought and died that day. His last words I wish I knew. But he fought because it was his job as a thief, and he did hold off that Verdanian horde remember. Your duty was strategy and logistics, for Sigurd had only praise for your mind Oifey. I had no purpose, it was dreadful, until Deirdre gave me something to protect. Before then it wasn’t just Ayra, it wasn’t just Sigurd, more than everyone else, you helped me through that prior ennui.
  • Oifey: I am thankful I could be of assistance. And Dew was but a kid when he first met us when we were relocated to Marpha and we were walking through the castle. He greeted us in his cheery way from a trip to the pawn shop, but I thought he was eying you, your clothes suggested some status. When you said your name and that you were the Prince of Issach, they only lit up even more. 
  • Shannan: Seeing this, you moved yourself just in front of me, politely, but for my own protection. He somehow knew of the Balmung despite his age and ignorance, he didn't know what it exactly was, but he thought I had it. To think his daughter of all people would give it to me years later, could Father Claud have foreseen this? It sounds just like prophecy.
  • Oifey: She gave you Balmung, and you gave her your sword. What would our friend, who tried to get us to come along in his mischief, think that you would marry his Pattycakes, the babe he had named shortly after leaving the womb so he told us?
  • Shannan: He would have quite the laugh of it *chuckle*, and make us ache with joviality in turn. He was a fine young man by then, like you, and I was what you had been when we first met, with a lip of fur. Yet after he got through his mood when Febail had been conceived, he retained his boyish charm even when his body was past it. For his sake or for Brigid’s, he never said, but I liked it.
  • Oifey: …I don’t think we should dwell on the dead anymore. This doesn’t help us in the least. We should move past them.

-

The insomnia started to weaken, Oifey stood up and stretched, before peeling back the quilt and laying on the top sheet without pulling the quilt back over him. Shannan just laid back a little more, closer to entirely supine.

  • Oifey: On Sigurd’s order, at Lubeck we took Seliph and some of the other children, those who were born and whose parents would let them come with us. We fled for Issach, only freshly occupied by Grannvale, its control was weak outside of the castle towns. 
  • Shannan: When I came back home, many of my old friends were gone, killed by Grannvale, and those who weren’t were orphans like me. My kingdom had been defeated, nothing was unchanged and nothing would be easy, even in our own home we wouldn’t be secure. News that Sigurd and everyone had been killed drove us to depression.
  • Oifey: I wasn’t sure I would ever recover, but I couldn’t wallow in grief, not in front of anyone. For the light of hope Sigurd had entrusted us with, I had to live, protect and nurture that light.
  • Shannan: And we sure did that, without me, I don’t think the Issachan people would have treated you so well. They bore with Seliph and revered Sigurd because I told them to, it took until the Empire changed for the worst and the rumors spread of Empress Deidre’s firstborn of light that they sincerely loved him. And with your wisdom Oifey, you did your part, just as important as mine own.
  • Oifey: Indeed we were both invaluable, and I can say that without it being hubris. I had the knowhow to survive the persecution, the hunts for our heads and Seliph’s. To my advice, you effortlessly bent the Issachan people, I am deeply grateful they were so willing, and that you could make them do it. I have discussed with Finn King Leif’s survival for all his years, theirs’ was much more perilous than ours’, owed much to the disunity of the Manster District. But behind you Shannan, all the people of Issach singularly united. Not to call our survival carefree.
  • Shannan: It was survival from the forces of darkness, it was a war of longest attrition, but it was also parenting. We had to raise the next generation of warriors, Seliph, Larcei, Ulster, Diarmuid, Lester, Lana, and the coterie of young rebels whose parents pledged their lives to us. We didn’t want them to fight to liberate Jugdral, but as Lewyn told us, they were destined to and we would join them.
  • Oifey: Parenting in such circumstances was difficult. We couldn’t be too public, else the Dozels would see us drawn and quartered. We had to change homes every so often, and had to be prepared to do so at the drop of a feather. We weren’t alone, Edain was with us, and you could rally scores of women and old men to wherever we went. But we insisted on working so hard at all that the world required of us, it could drive us mad.
  • Shannan: Not that the children ever knew, and we lied as much as we could to Edain and the rest. If I had to swear, if you had to punch the ground, we only felt comfortable doing it before each other. And I suspect it was madness that drove you to groom your upper lip as you have.
  • Oifey: I wanted to be more of a father to Seliph and the others, and the mustache I felt would do that. Before we met, whenever I had the fortune to glimpse Duke Byron, the great patriarch of Chalphy, I see in his beard the weight of his years and all the sagacity they held.
  • Shannan: And yet Sigurd never grew his face out.
  • Oifey: Sigurd never had the chance. I had to because he could not. I needed the stature of age, to do what Sigurd could have done with or without a mane.
  • Shannan: You insisted on growing old before your time, and hey, I got around to letting you keep it. And now you’re of the age where it looks natural, don’t get rid of it.
  • Oifey: Were it not for my wife liking it, I might just have done that now that you’ve said that. Though thank you for teaching the boys to shave, I was Squire Stubbles when I began.
  • Shannan: I think I owe my success on that front to your failure, being five years my senior, you provided recent experience I could learn lessons from. You were more approachable than any adult. Also, thanks for teaching them, and me, to swim.
  • Oifey: What did your mentors think, in nine years with Issach’s gracious coastline, they never taught their lone prince from the male heir how to survive in six feet of water? All Chalphy boys and even the girls are taught how to swim early on. The warm, beautiful shores of Chalphy facing the cultured land of Miletos, the Strait of its name said to be the home of mythic Dagons.
  • Shannan: I think you answered *yawn* your own question. Issach’s shores are awful for swimming, and they never bothered to bring me to a lake. Chalphy is marvelous beyond compare, I thank you for your insistence on that clandestine dip.
  • Oifey: It was after I tried to force you to go for a swim in Silessean waters during our stay at Sallane. I got you to leave Seliph with others for the day, you were ill with extreme concern for no reason, and insisted the waters weren’t that cold, to the point I volunteered to go in first. When I got in up to my hips, I feared I would die, frozen and compromised. 
  • Shannan: I came when I saw how your body twinged and pulled you back out, even though it was blistering frostbite just the same for me. When you regained your warmth, you swore to give me a much better experience in Chalphy one day. Though I wasn’t expecting it as it happened.
  • Oifey: There wasn’t much time to arrange a celebration along the shores, everyone had to leave for their respective countries with Loptyr gone and world needing direction for its reconstruction. So when you came to Chalphy from Belhalla, as a day’s stop on the return home to Issach, I had to get you swim. I got you stay at an old villa right on the coast, and I insisted the guards take the night off.
  • Shannan: Before we had gone to bed, you pulled me aside and told me to tell Patty we had Chalphy-Issachan relations to conclude. So our wives went to bed without us, while we ran out to the shores and stripped down in the darkness of a waning crescent. When we returned, the moon was halfway through its trip, and the few staff on the midnight shift we encountered we talked our ways past despite being dripping wet. But for as bizarre as it was, it was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life.
  • Oifey: About that, Shannan, Seliph told me something he before I left he had been hiding for a while from us. That blessed ring he had said he had found on the shores of Chalphy in the brief interlude between Arvis’s death and our last holy war, he said he been given it by the spirits of his parents. I scarcely believe it, but when he handed me the ring for a second, maybe I wanted to believe it, but maybe I did feel the strength of Sigurd and Deirdre’s kindness.
  • Shannan: If Seliph saw the truth, he wouldn’t lie about what he couldn’t see, then I wonder if they saw us together.
  • Oifey: Oh dear…
  • Shannan: What could they have thought of that? To see two grown men stark naked frolicking in night in the same place as where their son had for the first and only time in the life seen them and remembered it. What would they have thought of their boys decades later out of their minds ruining the sanctimoniousness of the grounds they had bestowed no small miracle on?
  • Oifey: “Their boys”, Shannan?

Shannan fell silent. Was he Deirdre’s boy, was he Sigurd’s? Oifey likewise contemplated it quietly. Sigurd had taken them both in, the both of them orphans. He had contributed to their swordplay, they considered him for all his faults the one they wanted to emulate the most, not to the exclusion of all the others they cherished in their lives. Deirdre for their short time together had come to adore them just as much, with her heart of limitless compassion. They were their boys, their sons, despite being not theirs’ by blood.

-

Their minds then returned to that which had been bothering them both since earlier that evening. Shannan’s child with Patty, it would be Shannan’s, it would be Patty’s, but it would not be at all Oifey’s. They would not be raised in the backwaters of Issach, taught to run from men in armor with Helswath imprinted on it. They would live a normal life, which was very good for the unborn heir to Issach, neither man wanted another child to have the irregular lives they’d lived. But Shannan and Oifey missed their days together, despite it all, they found joy in those times, and weren’t ready to see that era end.

  • Oifey: Shannan, remember how we’d sleep together with Seliph and the rest?
  • Shannan: Of course, if they were at all afraid to sleep at night, we’d agree to share one big bed on the hard floor with them. Larcei and Lana we weaned off to Edain once they came of six I thin, but I recall Lester yearning for our security until he was eleven.
  • Oifey: If Deirdre and Sigurd have been watching us the entire time, they would know that isn’t the full story. When the children were at peace, when all was calm and going, we’d still sometimes share a bed, and we did so until the start of the holy war at Tirnanog, long after they stopped needing us.
  • Shannan: I know. That is a fact. Why we did that, I am not certain.
  • Oifey: Is that true Shannan? I know why I did such an odd thing. You were the one I could confide in more than any other. Though our origins differed, no one else shared with me the same corpus of experiences I had delighted, borne, and suffered in. In the twenty years past, our dreams have been so much the same, our sorrows alike, and the objects of our affection identical. I wanted to be with you even when I didn’t need to, because nobody else understood me so well. Maybe we could have made others understand, but we felt we hadn’t the time to try that, it was just easier for me to confide in you.
  • Shannan: You’ve the right of it Oifey. We hid nothing from each other, for we were one and the same. I couldn’t make the children cry, I didn’t want to burden Edain, or demoralize my nation. Our minds were bound together, knowing wherever each other was and was doing. You gave me solace though it were my own internal thoughts. To see you sigh with glad exhaustion from a hard day’s work, reflexively made me respond the same. To be so happy or so sad if it seemed inappropriate for the hour I could hide, but beneath it, I acquiesced that we could be so familiar.
  • Oifey: That time is past, but it bears its fruit. Just as Sigurd raised us to do all we’ve done, so now do our trees blossom. 
  • Shannan: Whatever that Eyvel said, there is no tale as odd as our own. A page and a prince, raised by the holiest knight and his wife, in turn become fathers to crusaders who set things right. It’s absurd to think it real, but I don’t regret it. 
  • Oifey: Nor do I. And though our world is changing, we needn’t forget it altogether. We’ve raised our six as one, now we can cultivate new gardens as two. Both crops will be just as real, and just as meaningful. *Yawn*

 

Nearly two hours had passed in musings back and forth, but the recollection was complete. Their days together had been retold, they had validated what they they feared to be false, and they could pass on on to the next phase of their lives. Though now they could be given over to sleep, their unburdened souls took to the numinous. They had not spoken of it directly, but for they were a single heart, they needn’t do so. As it had been before, so it was one last time.

-

The next morning came, and Oifey and Shannan stirred from their bed just as the sunlight began to filter in, contented by however much sleep they may have gotten. They dressed themselves in the fresh attire their servants had stored away the prior day. They were old flames, dearest friends, and they intended to keep a rapport alive past their time of eros, regardless of where they were. They left their room and joined Patty and this Eyvel, who arrived to the breakfast table within a minute of the two men. Again, it was a small gathering, just them and some servants, they would join the diplomats after a light meal for a more formal second course. Conversation began anew.

  • Patty: So did you catch up with your brother Shanny? 
  • Shannan: I can say I did my Sweetheart. We spoke of old times, your father was among the topics, he was a good friend of ours as I’ve told you before.
  • Oifey: Not to drag the newly risen Sun below the horizon, but Shannan got a little teary-eyed when he spoke of him. Wondering what passed through his mind as fire rained from above.
  • Eyvel?: If you must know, I could tell you what his thoughts were when I dashed to his side. Dew didn’t let want to let me down to the last instant, he smiled as always.
  • Shannan: …So it is as I couldn’t believe! *Cough cough*
  • Patty: Mom! You made my husband choke on his link!
  • Oifey: Lady Brigid! Where have you have been all these years?! We’ve missed you -your sister Edain has missed you!
  • Brigid: I fought to the bitter end at Belhalla, as Ulir’s daughter bearer of the Yewfelle that was my duty. I escaped, just when all was reduced to cinders and there was nothing left to save. From here on my story becomes too complicated to explain over a short breakfast, but know my memories were sealed and my Brand faded. I awoke as Eyvel, I raised a new daughter, and in me Prince Leif found a new mother, I protected them and a village, and they rescued me in turn. Not too long ago, I remembered everything, and for Issach was closer to Fiana than Grannvale, I came to see my blood daughter before my son.
  • Shannan: That is peculiar, words cannot do justice to the tragedy, but it sounds as though you found fulfillment despite the heartaches as Eyvel. We offer our condolences for every bit of it. 
  • Patty: Mother is going to be fine. She remembers everything now and there’s plenty of time to form new memories together, me, her, my kingly husband, our baby and our brothers.
  • Oifey: Including me when you say that Patty? For a former thief descended on both sides from brigands, you’re being generous. 
  • Patty: Not a big deal. Shannan’s told me before how he doted on Seliph like a big bro, and that he was the same way with Ulster, what’s it him having a big bro of his own? I like mine own.
  • Brigid: When you return to Grannvale in two weeks or so, allow us to come with you. Febail should hear in person the good news, and I long to see his face again. We’ll send a letter for Edain to meet us there, I hear she now resides in Verdane. I will need us to stop in Darna though, I told Mareeta to wait for me there, she deserves to know the truth and meet my other children.
  • Shannan: As my brother, your sister nephews, or nieces, either will do. 
  • Oifey: It would be an honor to escort you my Queen and Goddess. And Shannan, I will provide if I am able, but I do demand “family’ visits in return. Chalphy is a beautiful place if you weren’t aware.
  • Brigid: *Laugh* Finn is a charmer too. Must be young men.
  • Shannan: Well you married Dew, so I think it’s mutual my Lady. I won’t say whether I ever had thoughts of you, but your daughter is a sweet girl and I can only beg for your belated approval. And Oifey, I promise to send them to visit, but do send yours’, and don’t forget Larcei and Seliph!

 

This meal, so abruptly overturned at the start by the revelation of a miracle, came afterwards to an end with most of the food had gone untouched which was given to the servants. Everyone then got up and left for the grand morning banquet. Duchess Clidna and Duke Ulster were to arrive within the hour they were told just as they sat down again. Amused by the prospects ahead, Shannan and Oifey did not have to worry that their prior bond would ever be forgotten.

 

Edited by Interdimensional Observer
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3 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Time: Gran Count 778, early Summer.

 

From the edge of the Yied Desert, a Grannvalian envoy approached Castle Rivough. It consisted of mostly horses and their riders; only a few walked alongside the steeds. Though blemished by a little dust, the group had changed into their finery a while ago (for soon they were to be received by Issach), arrayed outside the castle town. The gathered elite of the city and country were like the many peasants interested in spectating this event on foot, horses adorned in accents of silver were reserved as a highlight for the leading Issachan representative: the king himself.

  • Oifey: Hail thee King Issach! Hail King Shannan! I, Oifey, Duke of Chalphy, Chancellor of the Kingdom of Grannvale have arrived for an audience with you, at His Majesty King Seliph’s behest!
  • Shannan: Welcome Chancellor! Welcome Duke Chalphy! It was here, at the edge of Issach my realm, that Grannvale and your great uncle met with my great father twenty-one years ago! It was here your kingdom and noble house began a most terrible war!
  • Oifey: Peace! In peace I come King Shannan! We fought together but a year ago to end the tyranny my forefathers had wrought and which oppressed your people for decades to follow! I wish to heal old wounds, not strike new ones!
  • Shannan: I know your sincere purpose well, Duke Chalphy! The correspondence between us and your Majesty King Seliph of Grannvale is what led to our meeting on this day. As brothers and equals blessed by seven and one Crusaders (why is it referred to as seven and one, when it can just be eight?), our Kingdoms must assist each other to bring the scars left by Loptyr’s return to fade.
  • Oifey: Indeed King Shannan! Facilitating such assistance is my cause on this day, and I have crossed the Desert of Death to do so. Do I and my retinue have the right to pursue this?
  • Shannan: The right is your’s Duke Oifey! Now let us bring ease to our voices and begin our diplomacy elsewhere. I welcome you to the court I’ve arranged here at Castle Rivough for this occasion, partake of it as your weariness demands and whims desire with all my generosity.

-

And so, Oifey trotted towards the outer wall of Rivough’s castle town in procession. Dozel, during the reign of the Grannvale Empirehad chosen to operate primarily out of Rivough, finding Issach to be backwaterill-befitting of a Grannvale ducal family. Extracting tax and tribute in kind, cash, and labor through coercion and funneling it through Rivough to Grannvale itself was the Empire’s priorities. As a result, Castle Rivough was for twenty years of oppression in good condition, and thus fit for greeting this special envoy. 

It was not a grand envoy: the Chancellora cohort of his handpicked diplomats with information collected on Grannvale’s present state, a convoy for their needs, and a military guard in case of bandits whilst passing through the Yied Desert. Although as Duke Chalphy with the Crusader Baldr’s blood in his veins, albeit without his Brand, and although he had fought alongside King Shannan without regard for status, Shannan’s ceremonial reception party was likewise small, less than would have been afforded to King Seliph had he visited. (This last sentence feels like a run-on)

  • Shannan: So few Duke Chalphy? You must be here solely for your mission then.
  • Oifey: My wife Duchess Clidna, your distant cousinis on her way. She is accompanied by your closer kin, Ulster, Duke of Dozel. They should both be here by tomorrow.
  • Shannan: Likewise, Queen Patty is not here, but she promises to come on the morrow. Before we were to leave yesterday, she met a veteran of King Leif’s army. It appears she struck up a good moment’s conversation with this woman, not of Issach, yet a mistress of the blade nonetheless. So, how is Lady Clidna?
  • Oifey: She is well, adjusting to life in Grannvale as Duchess is not the easiest when one has spent it all in Issach, but fortunately Ulster and Larcei and their Issachan retinues has made the change of circumstances easier.

Duchess Clidna was a relative of King Shannan. She belonged to a cadet branch of the former royal family of the kingdom of Ganeishire, one of the sub-kingdoms into which Issach was divided. They were bound together under the greater King of Issach, directly descended from the Crusader Odr, and bearing his Brand. She had none of his holy blood, but was nonetheless a collateral descendent of Odr. 

Her father and brothers had joined Prince Marricle in his last stand against Grannvale in Ganeishire Castle, yet she had fled with her mother as her father had requested. They hid in the northern badlands of Issach for her safety far from Grannvalian authority. She was between Oifey and Shannan in age, and when word came that the Prince had returned, she and her mother turned to him to offer their loyalty and find security. She became a devoted member of the Liberation Army; unable to fight, she took managing to the mundane supportive roles which allowed the warriors to concentrate on battle and excelled at rallying the women who did much of this work. 

For Oifey was a topflight strategist and logistician, he had met with Clidna on frequent occasions. He liked her upbeat demeanor, and a strong friendship followed. Feeling old by this point in his life, he felt a wife was necessary, and when Seliph had crossed from Miletos and entered Grannvale for the firs time in his life, Oifey felt victory was assured. With the peace of mind to pursue love, he proposed to Clidna soon after the liberation of Chalphy, and they quickly wed after the final battle had concluded. 

The celebrations were saved for their coronation as Duke and Duchess of Chalphy. He was thankful, and she was happyif surprised to raise to this status. It was a physical symbol of the Issach-Chalphy bonds that began when Sigurd and Shannan had met, and she was perfectly willing to be a part of this. Oifey continually thanked her for accepting his hand in marriage, and was willing to spare no expense to make her feel at home in a distant land. 

(I liked this part. Just enough to tell you who she is, and what she means in the plot of Jugdral.)

-

  • Shannan: We’ve seen enough war for many lives Duke Chalphy, therefore I have arranged not for sport on this day. Will a celebration of the newborn continental peace and liberation through song and spoken word be sufficient? Accompanied by a lunch that should be to your likings?
  • Oifey: That will be more than sufficient. Your magnanimity is greatKing Shannan.

Bowing to King Shannan to thank him, Oifey and his diplomats relocated to the courtyard of Rivough Castle, sitting at a banquet table in the midday sun, he was positioned to the right of King Shannan, a spot generally reserved for a close advisor or other highly distinguished guests. The music began and the food, a small three-course lunch, was served. The talk, howeverquietly continued.

  • Oifey: Yogurt made of fermented mare’s milk served alongside savory skewered lamb; the flavors of Issach are not to be replicated anywhere else in Jugdral. I’ve tried to obtain the former in Chalphy, but to no avail. Thank you for serving it today, King Shannan.
  • Shannan: Your fondness for my nation’s cuisine is not so unusual, Duke Oifey. You didfor sixteen yearsreside hereI would be surprised and disappointed if your palette had not adjusted to it. To see you crave it is warming.
  • Oifey: I am a muttKing Shannan. Only fifteen of my years have been in Chalphy, less than in Issach, with years spent everywhere else in Jugdral in between and after.
  • Shannan: And I not much different; through fatewe saw the world togetherbefore we sought refuge in the land of my father and mother (if there was a reason you said fathers and mothers, do tell). We belong to the continent, yet we govern far less. As for myself, I confess that I prefer Grannvalian wheat bread to Issachan barley. Silessian rye, as well.
  • Oifey: My convoy should still have have some loaves, and a few bags of flour if you would like it freshly baked. Should I send for them?
  • Shannan: That will not be necessary, Duke Oifey. Though I would like some for tomorrow’s events, if you would provide.
  • Oifey: Consider it discharged, King Shannan. And before I should forget, I carry on my person a letter from Duke DozelUlster. I am not aware of the contents, but he said you could read it in the open if you liked. Would you ask for it now?
  • Shannan: Ulster is my precious cousin, so do hand me the letter if your hands are still clean of spices and drippings. *Is handed the letter and reads through it*
  • Oifey: Have I the right to ask for its contents at this time King Shannan?
  • Shannan: I see no reason to hide the affairs of Ulster your friend and fellow Duke to you, though he may not have the title for long.
  • Oifey: Whatever is meant by that King Shannan, how fares Ulster as he had not told me?
  • Shannan: He finds himself out of place in Grannvale, and wishes to return home to Issach. He questions his right to inherit the Duchy and believes it should be passed on to Iucharba and Larcei. And for himself, he requests I establish a position for him as administrator of the Issachan lands he and Larcei possess by their persons in Issach.
  • Oifey: Ulster had seemed a bit forlorn in Grannvale, which is why I allowed him to accompany me on this visit. I had not expected him to wish to cede his title, but perhaps he thought I would disapprove of it. He has thought it through however. A landlord long absent does do wrong to the people who they serve and those who serve them. Iucharba and Larcei, if they approve, will make a fine Duke and Duchess for Dozel. With Neir’s Brand restored, one day soon it may be. We should discuss this with him in the coming days together, and with our word, Seliph will not blink to provide the final agreement.

-

The conversation continued and the lunch came to its end by two. Until the hour of six, the diplomats and their lieges discussed the state of their countries and how best to assist the other’s reconstruction, without impeding their own. It was a short workday, but this was the first of a roughly-two-week stay. That should be sufficient for two close allies to form a viable pact.

At six o’clock, the dusk Sun still illuminating the sky without a shadow cast in the air, King Shannan and Chancellor Oifey prepared for that evening’s dinner. It was to be a small dinner, the two of them, a handful of servants, and some high diplomats. 

However, Patty Queen of Issach had arrived earlier than expected, with the woman she had met the day before. Hearing of the dinner, Patty insisted she bring the swordmistress as a guest of honor. Shannan greeted his wife and her guest, seeing them in loose but modest and elegant dresses of yellow and orangewith accessories of purple and white ready for the occasion. He agreed to her request that they be seated at this evening’s meal. 

He was not sure what to make of this older woman, but finding the idea of ambassadorial dining to be not his beloved’s likings, he rearranged the evening’s events. He and Oifey would offer a toast at the table of their working staff, and then leave for another room where they would have a separate feast with Patty and the swordmistress. The castle’s servants proposed for entertainment while eating. In each rooma storyteller, accompanied by a few instruments, would relay one of those very long and very old epics, filled with vibrant imagery, stagnant details, timeless drama, and ribald tales alike. Shannan, his wife, Oifey, and the guest were fine with this, and so their bureaucrats were. The dinner, at lastbegan between the four specified individuals, with Oifey meeting this notable woman.

  • Oifey: Hellomy LadyI am Duke Chalphy and the current Chancellor of the Kingdom of Grannvale, Oifey Chalphy. Would I be permitted the grace of your name?
  • Swordmistress: I know who you areI was well informed before I had arrived. I am Eyvel, of Fiana, a village in the boondocks of ThraciaI led its Freeblades militia.
  • Oifey: That voice, your presenceLady Eyvel, you remind me of-
  • Eyvel: I have gone by no other names, you are mistaken, Duke Chalphy. (I may need to understand why “Duke of my heart was a thing there.)
  • Oifey: You blunt my question before I finish asking it; you are no frail woman swordmistress, Eyvel. But I will not inquire further of you if you wish it not. May our hour or three here together be a splendid reward for the service I heard in briefest passing you offered to King Leif.
  • Eyvel: Thank you for your respect and politeness. And yes, to an evening of delight!

-

Eyvel raised a toast and the dinner began in the earnest. Shannan formally introduced his Queen Patty to Oifey, though they had been well acquainted from their times fighting alongside Seliph in the holy wars. It was again a standard three course meal, during which they made small talk and listened to the epic being told. It told of heroes from before the days before the Loptyr Empire, set in northwest Issach and eastern Silesse. There were two familiesone righteous and one crooked. Over several generationsthey fought to control the territory. Shortly after dessert was served, the voice of the old storyteller became hoary and he took a moment to rest. Conversation filled the air to keep the silence away.

  • Eyvel: To think the entire continent of Jugdral at war but twenty and one years ago is now united in bliss, its ruling families interlinked. I could not have thought this possible in my younger years, when I was something of lowly vagabond.
  • Patty: But that’s just how things have worked out. I’m Queen of Issach by marriage, my brother the Duke of Jungby, cousin Lester King of Verdane, cousin Lana Queen of Grannvale, and Shannan’s nearest cousins Duke and Lady of Dozel. I think I’ve lucked out in lifenever thought it would be so easy when it was just me and my hitman brother Febail caring for Connaught orphans, and now King Leifmy distant in-lawis providing everything we couldn't for them.
  • Shannan: I can only concur to these sentiments, my dear and Lady Eyvel. From a child in innocence fearing that death would catch me if I didn’t run fast enough, holding my aunt’s hand, to being worshipped by my people as the second Odr, having fought alongside the new Baldr in a crusade against Loptyr revived. Now I am to live in prosperity ever afterit’s enough to make me chuckle from time to time.
  • Oifey: You speak as though it has been a simple progression from terror to salvationKing Shannan, when I know you know it had not been that. Barring your flight and barbaric captivity, I’ve seen all the same sights as you. There was good and bad in all those intervening years between your beginning and conclusion, even if storm clouds were always there until the very end.
  • Patty: So, when did you two old friends meet? I never heard the story before, wasn’t really interested I guess, but you’re making me curious. Care to share, Shan Shan?
  • Shannan: I’m not sure it’d really interest you Sunshine, but if you’re willing to bear, then it would be no problem. Oifey, would you please start for me?
  • Oifey: It was when we first liberated Genoa Castle in Verdane after Chalphy and Leonster had invaded it to rescue Lady Edain from the barbarians and punish them for their prior invasion. Sigurd had trusted me with informing him of the castle’s every detail our investigative group had found. When I heard the report of a lone child being locked up in the dungeon, I wanted to see it for myself before telling Sigurd, so I went down there and there saw Prince Shannan, dressed in gray, foreign attire, curled up in a corner. You said nothingand did nothing but look my way. I thought you could’ve been a common slave at first, but I could not figure out why you would be locked away alone in your own cell then.
  • Shannan: I was saddened by everything that had happened to me, and Aunt Ayra was out fighting for my sake. I didn’t know if she’d return or if the thugs that had captured us would kill me at any minute. 
  • Oifey: Then I ordered you be set free and be brought to Sigurd. You looked meek.
  • Shannan: I didn’t know what was happeningI just tried to behave myself as Aunt Ayra asked. If you had told me you were from Grannvale it wouldn’t have made any difference, you were why I had fled Issach in the first place. But seeing another kid around, even if I didn’t know why, made me feel slightly better.
  • Oifey: After meeting Sigurd, you were brought to a bedroom and put under guard for your own safety. Ayra then came back to Genoa. She wanted to check to make sure it was not a Grannvalian trickSigurd had ordered I return with her to prove it.
  • Shannan: I was relieved to see Aunt Ayra was alive, and you guided her to me. I could tell you were a bit surprised when she hugged me, but you alway kept a polite smile. Oifey, you’ve never failed to be courteous.
  • Oifey: I had reason for a moment to suspect you, to want you treated differently. Issach and Grannvale were at war, but Sigurd said to take care of you and promised you would be returned to your homeland some day. I could not defy Sigurd’s wordI revered him too much to think he could be in the wrong. I dashed any hesitation from my mind and obeyed orders.
  • Shannan: After that, Oifey and I developed our friendship. He had to tend to the supportive military duties Sigurd asked of him, constantly moving back and forth between battlefield and base. I remained secure in our present home, training under old men in whatever it took to be a good king. And after Deidre was kidnapped, I swore to keep Seliph safe and raise him as Deidre would have wanted it. Whenever Oifey returned home, he would greet me and we’d take a break together, often with Seliph when he wasn’t sleeping.
  • Patty: *Yawn* The way you two explain it makes it seem so boring.
  • Oifey: Boring you sayLady Patty? That reminds me, I once asked your husband once why Issachans don’t fight on horseback. 
  • Shannan: Oifey, are you sure-
  • Oifey: His answer: “Our donkeys carry gold, not asses.”
  • Patty: My! I don’t think he’s ever been that crass with me! 
  • Shannan: Issach sees the horse not as frill of the privileged’s blood and sport, but as the primary means to transport the fruit of the earth- both metal and crop. That was what I meant. And to be fair, Oifey’s voice was not of the gentlest tone when he asked. 
  • Oifey: I had sprained my left ankle not long before we had to relocate everyone that day. A horse was conspicuous, you saidif I departed on one at that moment. But the haste and the pain of walking with a crutch got to me and I was snippy.
  • Eyvel: *Laughs* Not what I would expect of either a holy Duke or King. But I’ve heard stranger tales.
  • Oifey: Care to inform us Lady Eyvel?
  • Eyvel: Not tonight. But the two of you do seem like brothers.
  • Shannan: We are close, in a sense. You could call us that. I wouldn’t mind.
  • Patty: *Yawn!* That wasn’t boredom this time! I would love to hear more of this kind of stuff. There is more, rightBut it’s getting late, and I’m a little tired. Shannan, my darling, could we send away the waiters and all? I need a ten-minute nap leaning on your shoulder before we head off to bed, and I can’t do with too many others around.
  • Shannan: Of course, my Pattycakes.

-

And so Shannan raised his arm and bade all but two handmaids of Patty’s, one old butler of hisOifey, and Eyvel, gone from the room. Shannan then moved his chair right next to Patty’s and let her lay her head against his left shoulder, while he held her dearly. While like this, comfortable in this seemingly awkward position owed to the chairs having armrests, Patty with her eyes closed continued to speak aloud.

  • Patty: Thank you my Shannananan (I chuckled at this one). Oifey, since you’re a brother to my hubbyeven if you aren’t my in-law, I have to say Shannan does me well. 

Patty then took Shannan’s left arm and moved it over her stomach (I felt it would convey the message well enough. I do not know if what you originally had was appropriate for a semi-formal meeting). The message’s meaning was clear; Oifey’s face turned unexpectedly blush. Shannan’s did the same, but in a different wayas he continued to tilt his head towards his resting wife. The servants reacted similarly to Oifey. Eyvel’s face saw the light smile she had worn this entire time become more pronounced.

  • Oifey: Pregnant Queen Patty? Most welcome news! CongratulationsA toast to Issach’s heir and his future, to its Queen, to the Houses of Ulir and Odr, and to the King as well! Only if there were more drink left to offer a toast, but our supper had ceased to be some time ago and our beverages are low.
  • Patty: Thanks Oifey! At first you looked down on my behavior, but you aren't singing the same tune now.
  • Eyvel: If you’re so happy, then why do you blushDuke Chalphy? That is not a face of I would expect of cheer.
  • Oifey: To you, Patty, I was only cautious at firstgiven your profession. However, my time with Sigurd taught me to be more open to others. When you had reclaimed the Balmung and presented Lord Seliph with a fine blade, my caution ceased to be needed. All residual doubts were dispelled once your brother Febail had joined, bearing the Yewfelle I had seen shot on the snow-covered fields of Silesse. It became clear you were the daughter of Lady Brigid and her beloved Dew, dearly departed friends of mine. You joining the liberation was divine destiny. And to you, Lady Eyvel, that is how I am given this heartwarming announcement. And do you not see the same on King Shannan’s countenance?
  • Shannan: I only did my part. But yes, I have done my Queen well and my royal duty. Be it a son or daughter, I will love them just as I do my beloved.
  • Eyvel: As I might expect of a proud husband, Your Majesty. Have you not a wife yourself, Duke Chalphy?
  • Oifey: I do have a wife in Duchess Clidna. She should arrive here tomorrow. And no, from what I am aware, we are not expecting children yet.
  • Eyvel: Perhaps she delayed because she needs time to gather herself for the announcement?
  • Oifey: That could very well be the case, but I haven’t the faintest idea of whether to expect such news. Once it comes, preparing for all thereafter is easy. Beforehand, it is difficult to moderate expectations, either one dashes it from their head altogether, or they become obsessed to paranoia.
  • Eyvel: You are less gathered than you suggest you are, Duke Chalphy. But regardless, I think you are a nice person. Treat her well.

Eyvel was still not sure why Oifey was blushing, but with the happy news delivered, the dinner could be adjourned. It was approaching nine, and Patty, although she exaggerated her pregnancy’s effects on her, for she was only a little over two months with child, was indeed tired.  

-

As they headed towards the castle’s wingbedrooms fit for royalty and distinguished guests, Patty stated she wanted Eyvel to spend the night with her. This meant, of courseexcluding her husband Shannan, which he did not mind. What did openly perplex Shannan and Oifey alike is how this woman, arriving before the Queen but two days ago, had worked her way into her bedchambers. Neither would yet say why, but they temptingly promised they would know sooner or later.

Given the choice between a third prepared suite and Oifey’s assigned room, Shannan stated he would join Oifey. Though it had been scarcely a year since the war against the Empire had ceased, the two friends felt they had much catching up to do. Patty kissed her husband on the cheek goodnight and he the same to her. Oifey asked for the Queen’s hand if she wished it, and she more than willing to provide it, still exuberant even on the boundary of sleep. The two men shook hands with Eyvel and bowed before her, to which she did the same. They then split for their respective quarters.

Brought to their bedroom, a servant on watch asked if Their Majesties sought anotherthere were two in there already, one for a master, another for a servant which would go unused. King Shannan briefly stated that would be unnecessarythey were old friends used to less-than-ideal living conditions. They would bear with it. The watch servant stated they understood and then stood aside, allowing the King and Duke into the sizable room before they closed the door and locked it behind them. They began the process of undressing and donning the soft, long and flowing nightgowns their status provided for.

  • Oifey: After all these years (at the age of thirty, I might add), you are finally a father.
  • Shannan: And yet you still aren’t one, despite being thirty-five. They say the seeds Man makes grows gnarled with time. You’ve a Dukedom as holy and as great my entire kingdom Oifey. You best plant it while the fields are still fertile.
  • Oifey: Oh I’ve tried, but no tendrils rise from the soil yet. And I’m not sure I honestly care they do. …Tell me Shannan, dearest friend, how does it feel to be a father?
  • Shannan: I’ve only just put them in my wife, so I can’t really say what its like. I’m happy, and this is a new responsibility, but the full weight doesn’t feel like it’s hit me yet. It won’t until they come out, Edain used to say. It won’t until your grandchild comes, so I’ve heard elders say. And why are you asking me? You’ve all the more experience at fatherhood Oifey.
  • Oifey: That wasn’t real fatherhood, only a farce. I can claim no right to be called anyone’s father.
  • Shannan: So you say, but Seliph has said otherwise.

The words struck Oifey true. He recalled many times, from when Seliph crawledto the day he departed for Chalphy, to leaving him in Belhalla to rule. Even before his real father was gone, Seliph had taken to seeing him as his father. Oifey could have expected Shannan’s rightful response, but he refused to see it coming.

  • Shannan: Diarmuid and Lester have said otherwiseyou were the one who taught them how to ride. Lana and Larcei have said otherwise. And Ulster’s demeanor certainly says otherwisehis mother and father exercised restraint only when readily called for. I am not so wary either, and I don’t think it was Edain or any other who helped us all those yearsI am convinced you nurtured that in him.
  • Oifey: And you are not their father then? You could have sired them allhad you been one impassioned youth. I was not alone, as you admit.
  • Shannan: Seliph considers me his big brother, as you know. Even before he could tell me that, sometime after Deidre was gone, I had come to see him as my little brother, though it took me a while to realize such. Ulster and Larcei are Ayra’s children and my cousinsI’ve felt a similar brotherly love for them. Diarmuid, Lana, and Lester... well maybe you’re right with them, actuallyI was no strangernor mere attendant, but I didn’t feel so close to be a brother. If it was a fatherhood, it wasn’t a normal one at all.
  • Oifey: Our lives ceased to be normal when the campaign that damned Manfroy orchestrated began. Only now is normalcy returning. We’ve just got to make the most of things.

They were now dressed for sleep. Their nightgown kept their bodies modest, and airy, so they would not overheat on this summer’s night. The bed was fit for two, with a fine metal frame and quality stuffing for it and the pillows. The quilt and sheets dyed with several royal Issachan purples, the bedsheet was a shade of lavender, with the quilt darker, its hem the darkest shade and the pillows between the quilt and the hem. Shannan relieved himself in a chamber pot as Oifey laid himself atop the quilt, not yet tired enough for sleep. Shannan noticing his friend’s restiveness likewise did the same, placing his arms behind his head on the pillow as a visible sign of togetherness in a room lit by the moonlight of a waxing gibbous and several candles.

  • Oifey: If you are tired Shannan, then rest, you needn’t share in my lack of fatigue.
  • Shannan: I understand your insomnia Oifey. It was not present when we first met today, it wasn’t there until the dinner was almost over. 
  • Oifey: Times change.
  • Shannan: You know that, but you’re having difficulties accepting it. Rather than throw aside the past without a care, how about we walk through it together again, one last time? I’ll begin.

-

  • Shannan: Thank you Oifey, for being besides me for the past twenty years. When I had fled Issach with Aunt Ayra, I abandoned my homeland and my old friends. On the runonly to be captured, my fear and loneliness grew. Then Sigurd rescued us, but I was still alone. Sigurd cared for me, yet his and Aunt Ayra’s worries for my safety meant I could never fight. I remained holed up in castlesI was taught self-defense, and later Ayra showed me Odr’s sacred technique, but I was unable to ever put it to use.
  • Oifey: …I wasn’t around that much, but I was more present than anyone else, barring Arden perhaps. And there were those six months of troubled peace at Marpha, months spent at Evans before then, and the year at Silesse thereafter. Everyone was around for those times in between the great conflicts, and we befriended them, but we were closest to each other. Like you, I felt restrainedSigurd never let me fight. Had I been but a year or so older, I could have been like Finn and joined Quan and Sigurd and the rest in combat. I could have been there at Belhalla.
  • Shannan: But you weren’t thereSigurd had felt that ominous feeling on what we believed would be a glorious last battle, and bade us both to leave with the children. I thought I talked you out of that guilt years ago. Does it endure?
  • Oifey: I can never forget I have had those thoughts, but I will never act on them. There is no longer any need for me to lay down my life for Seliph in place of his, therefore I have no excuse. We all had those premonitions, yet none enough to avert the calamity. On that day, so many good died, including Dew.
  • Shannan: You speak of Dew because of that guilt. He was no older than you, perhaps even my agehe couldn’t have been twenty four as he said, and yet he fought and died that day. His last words I wish I knew. But he fought because it was his job as a thief. He did hold off that Verdanian horderemember? (I like how you are referencing one of Dew’s roles in fighting bandits.) Your duty was strategy and logistics, for Sigurd had only praise for your mind. I had no purpose. It was dreadful until Deirdre gave me something to protect. Since then, it wasn’t just Ayra, it wasn’t just Sigurdmore than everyone else, you helped me through that prior ennui.
  • Oifey: I am thankful I could be of assistance. And Dew was but a kid when he first met us when we were relocated to Marpha and we were walking through the castle. He greeted us in his cheery way from a trip to the pawn shop, but I thought he was eying youyour clothes suggested some status. When you said your name and that you were the Prince of Issach, his eyes only lit up even more. 
  • Shannan: Seeing this, you moved yourself just in front of me, politely, but for my own protection. He somehow knew of the Balmung despite his age and ignorance. He didn't know what it exactly was, but he thought I had it. To think his daughter of all people would give it to me years later. Could Father Claud have foreseen this? It sounds just like prophecy.
  • Oifey: She gave you Balmung, and you gave her your sword. What would our friend, who tried to get us to come along in his mischief, think of you marrying his Pattycakes, the babe he had named shortly after leaving the wombso he told us?
  • Shannan: He would have quite the laugh of it *chuckle*, and make us ache with joviality in turn. He was a fine young man by then, like you and I were when we first met, with a lip of fur. Yet after he got through his mood when Febail had been conceived, he retained his boyish charm even when his body was past it. For his sake or for Brigid’s, he never said, but I liked it.
  • Oifey: …I don’t think we should dwell on the dead anymore. This doesn’t help us in the least. We should move past them.

-

As the insomnia started to weaken, Oifey stood up and stretched, before peeling back the quilt and laying on the top sheet without pulling the quilt back over him. Shannan just laid back a little more, closer to entirely supine.

  • Oifey: On Sigurd’s order, at Lubeckwe took Seliph and some of the other children whose parents would let them come with us. We fled for Issach, only freshly occupied by Grannvale, whose control was weak outside of the castle towns. 
  • Shannan: When I came back home, many of my old friends were gone, killed by Grannvale, and those who weren’t were orphans like me. My kingdom had been defeated; nothing was unchanged, and nothing would be easy. Even in our own home we wouldn’t be secure. News that Sigurd and everyone had been killed drove us to depression.
  • Oifey: I wasn’t sure I would ever recover, but I couldn’t wallow in grief, not in front of anyone. For the light of hope Sigurd had entrusted us with, I had to live, protectand nurture that light.
  • Shannan: And we sure did that. Without me, I don’t think the Issachan people would have treated you so well. They bore with Seliph and revered Sigurd because I told them to. It took until the Empire changed for the worst and the rumors spread of Empress Deidre’s firstborn of light that they sincerely loved him. And with your wisdom Oifey, you did your part, just as important as mine own.
  • Oifey: Indeed we were both invaluable, and I can say that without it being hubris. I had the knowhow to survive the persecution, the hunts for our heads and Seliph’s. To my advice, you effortlessly bent the Issachan people, and I am deeply grateful they were so willing, and that you could make them do it. I have discussed with Finn King Leif’s survival for all his years. Theirwas much more perilous than ours, owed much to the disunity of the Manster District. But behind youShannan, all the people of Issach singularly united. Not to call our survival carefree.
  • Shannan: It was survival from the forces of darkness. It was a war of longest attrition. Throughout it all, however, it was also parenting. We had to raise the next generation of warriors: Seliph, Larcei, Ulster, Diarmuid, Lester, Lana, and the coterie of young rebels whose parents pledged their lives to us. We didn’t want them to fight to liberate Jugdral, butas Lewyn told us, they were destined toand we would join them.
  • Oifey: Parenting in such circumstances was difficult. We couldn’t be too public, else the Dozels would see us drawn and quartered. We had to change homes every so often, and had to be prepared to do so at the drop of a feather. We weren’t alone; Edain was with us, and you could rally scores of women and old men to wherever we went. But we insisted on working so hard at all that the world required of us, it could drive us mad.
  • Shannan: Not that the children ever knew, and we lied as much as we could to Edain and the rest. If I had to swear, if you had to punch the ground, we only felt comfortable doing it before each other. And I’m sure it was madness that drove you to grow that caterpillar.
  • Oifey: I wanted to be more of a father to Seliph and the others, and the mustache, I feltwould do that. Did you not see on Duke Byron’s fallen form a great beard?
  • Shannan: And yet Sigurd never grew his face out.
  • Oifey: Sigurd never had the chance! I had to because he could not. I needed the stature of age, to do what Sigurd could have done with or without a mane.
  • Shannan: You insisted on growing old before your time, and hey, I got around to letting you keep it. And now you’re of the age where it looks natural. Don’t get rid of it.
  • Oifey: Were it not for my wife liking it, I might just have done thatnow that you’ve said that. Thoughthank you for teaching the boys to shave, I was Squire Stubbles when I began. (I don’t know if I’m wrong, but it feels wrong to talk about the beards and stuff like this, concerning Byron and Sigurd’s... you know.)
  • Shannan: I think I owe my success on that front to your failure, being five years my senior, you provided recent experience I could learn lessons from. You were more approachable than any adult. Also, thanks for teaching the boys and I to swim.
  • Oifey: What did your mentors think, in nine years with Issach’s gracious coastline, they never taught their lone prince from the male heir how to survive in six feet of water? All Chalphy boys and even the girls are taught how to swim early on. The warm, beautiful shores of Chalphy facing the cultured land of Miletos, the Strait of its name said to be the home of mythic Dagons.
  • Shannan: I think you answered *yawn* your own question. Issach’s shores are awful for swimming, and they never bothered to bring me to a lake. Chalphy is marvelous beyond compare. I thank you for your insistence on that clandestine dip.
  • Oifey: It was after I tried to force you to go for a swim in Silessean waters during our stay at Sallane. I got you to leave Seliph with others for the day, you were ill with extreme concern for no reason, and insisted the waters weren’t that cold, to the point I volunteered to go in first. When I got in up to my hips, I feared I would die, frozen and compromised. 
  • Shannan: I came when I saw how your body twinged and pulled you back out, even though it was blistering frostbite just the same for me. When you regained your warmth, you swore to give me a much better experience in Chalphy one day. Though I wasn’t expecting itas it happened.
  • Oifey: There wasn’t much time to arrange a celebration along the shores. Everyone had to leave for their respective countrieswith Loptyr gone and the world needing direction for its reconstruction. So when you came to Chalphy from Belhalla, as a day’s stop on the return home to Issach, I had to get you to swim. I got you stay at an old villa right on the coast, and I insisted the guards take the night off.
  • Shannan: Before we had gone to bed, you pulled me aside and told me to tell Patty we had Chalphy-Issachan relations to conclude. So our wives went to bed without us, while we ran out to the shores and stripped down in the darkness of a waning crescent. When we returned, the moon was halfway through its trip, and the few staff on the midnight shift we encountered we talked our ways past despite being dripping wet. But for as bizarre as it was, it was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life.
  • Oifey: About that, Shannan, Seliph told me something he before I left he had been hiding for a while from us. That blessed ring he had said he had found on the shores of Chalphy in the brief interlude between Arvis’s death and our last holy warhe said he been given it by the spirits of his parents. I scarcely believe it, but when he handed me the ring for a second, I thought I felt the strength of Sigurd and Deirdre’s kindness.
  • Shannan: If Seliph saw the truth, he wouldn’t lie about what he couldn’t seeI wonder if Sigurd and Deirdre saw us together.
  • Oifey: Oh dear…
  • Shannan: What could they have thought of that? To see two grown men stark nakedfrolicking at night in the same place as where their son hadfor the first and only time in his life, had seen them and remembered it? What would they have thought of their boys decades later out of their mindsruining the sanctimoniousness of the grounds they had bestowed no small miracle on?
  • Oifey: “Their boys”, Shannan?

Shannan fell silent. Was he Deirdre’s boy, or was he Sigurd’s? Oifey, likewise, contemplated it quietly. Sigurd had taken them both in, the both of them orphans. He had contributed to their swordplay, they considered him for all his faults the one they wanted to emulate the most, not to the exclusion of all the others they cherished in their lives. Deirdre, for their short time together, had come to adore them just as much, with her heart of limitless compassion. They were their boys, their sons, despite being not theirs by blood.

-

Their minds then returned to that which had been bothering them both since earlier that evening. Shannan’s child with Patty, it would be Shannan’s, it would be Patty’s, but it would not at all be Oifey’s. They would not be raised in the backwaters of Issach, taught to run from men in armor with Helswath imprinted on it. They would live a normal life, which was very good for the unborn heir to Issach. Neither man wanted another child to have the irregular lives they had lived. But Shannan and Oifey missed their days together, despite all the trouble. They found joy in those times, and weren’t ready to see that era end.

  • Oifey: Shannan, remember how we’d sleep togetherwith Seliph and the rest?
  • Shannan: Of course. If they were at all afraid to sleep at night, we’d agree to share one big bed on the hard floor with them. Larcei and Lana we weaned off to Edain once they came of sixI think, but I recall Lester yearning for our security until he was eleven.
  • Oifey: If Deirdre and Sigurd have been watching us the entire time, they would know that isn’t the full story. When the children were at peace, when all was calm and going, we’d still sometimes share a bed, and we did so until the start of the holy war at Tirnanog, long after they stopped needing us.
  • Shannan: I know. That is a fact. Why we did that, I am not certain.
  • Oifey: Is that true Shannan? I know why I did such an odd thing. You were the one I could confide in more than any other. Though our origins differed, no one else shared with me the same corpus of experiences I had delighted, borne, and suffered in. In the twenty years past, our dreams have been so much the same, our sorrows alike, and the objects of our affection identical. I wanted to be with you even when I didn’t need to, because nobody else understood me so well. Maybe we could have made others understand, but we felt we had not the time to try that. It was just easier for me to confide in you.
  • Shannan: You’ve the right of it, Oifey. We hid nothing from each other, for we were one and the same. I couldn’t make the children cryI didn’t want to burden Edain. I had to not demoralize my nation. Our minds were bound together, knowing wherever each other was and was doing. You gave me solacethough it were my own internal thoughts. To see you sigh with glad exhaustion from a hard day’s work, it reflexively made me respond the same. To be so happy or so sad if it seemed inappropriate for the hour I could hide, but beneath it, I acquiesced that we could be so familiar.
  • Oifey: That time is past, but it still bears its fruit. Just as Sigurd raised us to do all we have done, so now do our trees blossom. 
  • Shannan: Whatever that Eyvel said, there is no tale as odd as our own. A page and a prince, raised by the holiest knight and his wife, in turn become fathers to crusaders who set things right. It’s absurd to think it real, but I don’t regret it. 
  • Oifey: Nor do I. And though our world is changing, we need not forget it altogether. We have raised our six as one, and now we can cultivate new gardens as two. Both crops will be just as real, and just as meaningful. *Yawn*

 

Nearly two hours had passed in musings back and forth, but the recollection was complete. Their days together had been retold. They had validated what they they feared to be false, and they could pass on on to the next phase of their lives. Though now they could be given over to sleep, their unburdened souls took to the numinous. They had not spoken of it directly, but for they were a single heart, they needn’t do so. As it had been before, so it was one last time.

-

The next morning came, and Oifey and Shannan stirred from their bed just as the sunlight began to filter in, contented by however much sleep they may have gotten. They dressed themselves in the fresh attire their servants had stored away the prior day. They were old flames, dearest friends, and they intended to keep a rapport alive past their time of eros, regardless of where they were. They left their room and joined Patty and this Eyvel, who arrived to the breakfast table within a minute of the two men. Again, it was a small gathering, just them and some servants, they would join the diplomats after a light meal for a more formal second course. Conversation began anew.

  • Patty: So did you catch up with your brother, Shanny? 
  • Shannan: I can say I didmy Sweetheart. We spoke of old times. Your father was among the topics. He was a good friend of ours, as I’ve told you before.
  • Oifey: Not to drag the newly risen Sun below the horizon, but Shannan got a little teary-eyed when he spoke of him. Wondering what passed through his mind as fire rained from above.
  • Eyvel(I felt the question mark, however understandable, was unnecessary): If you must know, I could tell you what his thoughts were when I dashed to his side. Dew didn’t let want to let me down to the last instant. He smiled as always.
  • Shannan: …So it is, as I couldn’t believe! *Cough cough*
  • Patty: Mom! You made my husband choke on his link!
  • Oifey: Lady Brigid! Where have you have been all these years?! We’ve missed you—your sister Edain has missed you! (Pressing - twice in a row results in —. Just so you know.)
  • Brigid: I fought to the bitter end at Belhalla, as Ulir’s daughter and bearer of the Yewfelle, that was my duty. I escaped, just when all was reduced to cinders and there was nothing left to save. From here on my story becomes too complicated to explain over a short breakfast, but know my memories were sealed and my Brand faded. I awoke as Eyvel, raised a new daughter, and in me Prince Leif found a new motherI protected them and a village, and they rescued me in turn. Not too long ago, I remembered everything, and because Issach was closer to Fiana than Grannvale, I came to see my blood daughter before my son.
  • Shannan: That is peculiar. Words cannot do justice to the tragedy, but it sounds as though you found fulfillment despite the heartaches as Eyvel. We offer our condolences for every bit of it. 
  • Patty: Mother is going to be fine. She remembers everything now, and there’s plenty of time to form new memories together. Me, her, my kingly husband, our babyand our brothers.
  • Oifey: Are you including me when you say thatPatty? For a former thief descended on both sides from brigands, you’re being generous. 
  • Patty: Not a big deal. Shannan’s told me before how he doted on Seliph like a big bro, and that he was the same way with Ulster. What is ithim having a big bro of his own? I like mine own.
  • Brigid: When you return to Grannvale in two weeks or so, allow us to come with you. Febail should hear in person the good news, and I long to see his face again. We’ll send a letter for Edain to meet us there. I hear she now resides in Verdane. I will need us to stop in Darna thoughI told Mareeta to wait for me there. She deserves to know the truth and meet my other children.
  • Shannan: As my brother, your sister nephews, or nieces, either will do. 
  • Oifey: It would be an honor to escort you my Queen and Goddess (<- What does that mean?). And Shannan, I will provide if I am able, but I do demand “family’ visits in return. Chalphy is a beautiful placeif you weren’t aware.
  • Brigid: *Laugh* Finn is a charmer too. Must be young men.
  • Shannan: Well you married Dew, so I think it’s mutualmy Lady. I won’t say whether I ever had thoughts of you, but your daughter is a sweet girl and I can only beg for your belated approval. And Oifey, I promise to send them to visit, but do send yours. And don’t forget Larcei and Seliph!

 

This meal, so abruptly overturned at the start by the revelation of a miracle, came afterwards to an end with most of the food had gone untouched. This was given to the servants. Everyone then got up and left for the grand morning banquet. Duchess Clidna and Duke Ulster were to arrive within the hourthey were told just as they sat down again. Amused by the prospects ahead, Shannan and Oifey did not have to worry that their prior bond would ever be forgotten.

 

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I have a finished entry myself! It ended up kind of long, and I'm surprised it didn't reach the length of "The First Time" which my longest contest entry so far. But this one is my second longest, I believe. I decided to go with a couple's second child rather than the first, I hope that's okay. I have a different story in mind for their first child already and I didn't have one for the second. I went with Frederick and Kelli from FE Awakening, and remember this Kelli is female Robin with a different name, so she's not an OC. And if you recall my first entry featuring this family, their new baby is Morgan's little sister, Antoinette, or Annie for short. :)

Title: Second Time's the Charm
Fandom: Fire Emblem (Awakening)
Words: 5941

Spoiler
Second Time's the Charm
 
"Here comes the Pegasus!" Knight Captain Frederick of the Halidom of Ylisse said with a smile as he playfully held up a spoonful of oatmeal to his small son's mouth. "Or perhaps it's actually a tough wyvern!"
 
The one year old chocolate brown-haired boy giggled in his high chair, fidgeting with his little bowl as he allowed his father to put the spoon in his mouth. Morgan didn't quite take all of what was on the spoon, though that was expected. However, Frederick was glad he ate any of it at all. A teal haired woman sporting a curled ponytail and a light dress the color of a plum watched with a loving smile on her face.
 
"Oh Frederick, it really pleases me that Morgan eats this well when you feed him," Kelli complimented her husband. "How do you do it? I can't ever get him to eat that much even though he's gotten much better about it since he was born so early."
 
"Ah, it's all in the technique, I would say," Frederick explained. "I've spoken with the physician many times on the matter and also experimented a little myself. It seems that you just have to take it at a steady pace and also be precise with how much oatmeal or cereal you're placing on the spoon with each scoop. And of course, it also helps to make it fun for him as I did so now with the Pegasus and wyvern analogy. Do not worry, my love, you can do it!"
 
"Heh, that sounds like you alright," Kelli agreed with a chuckle. "You put in quite a bit of effort for something seemingly simple! But it works, so I'll do my best to follow that advice."
 
"Good! And I can only do the best for our--ACK!"
 
SPLAT!
 
Before Frederick could finish, Morgan's small bowl of oatmeal had gone from the high chair table to the top of his father's matching brown hair. The boy had flung it as he was fidgeting with it and now many little giggles escaped his lips.
 
"Morgan..." Frederick uttered with a sigh. Kelli couldn't help but burst into laughter.
 
"He did it again?!" she cried between laughs. "Oh my..."
 
Frederick remained silent as he drummed his fingers on the table while oatmeal dripped from his hair. This was exactly the fourth time Morgan had dumped his food on his father's head and he wasn't sure there would not be an eventual fifth.
 
"Morgan, you better stop that, young man," Kelli said when she caught her breath again, much to Frederick's relief. "Daddy can't keep washing his hair twice every other morning."
 
"Tell me about it, one bath per day is quite enough," Frederick agreed, gently removing the bowl from his head. "There's always so much to do."
 
"Indeed," Kelli seconded. "By the way, Frederick dear, I have some great news!"
 
"Oh? What could that be?"
 
"I visited the physician yesterday myself because I had a hunch," Kelli explained as Frederick had taken a napkin to wipe the oatmeal from his hair. "I wanted to surprise you if I was right. And I was! Freddy Bear, I found out I'm pregnant again!"
 
"Mmph--!"
 
Frederick had tried to say something, but all that came out was a barrage of coughing. Kelli rushed over to pat his back to help him out.
 
"Oh Frederick! What was that?!" she inquired, though sounding a little more annoyed than concerned.
 
"Ah... Apologies," Frederick replied when he was finally able to talk normally again. "I think some of that oatmeal slipped into my throat."
 
"Yeah, right. More like you somehow choked on your own saliva. You have to be happy we're having another baby!"
 
"Oh, er, I am, I just...er...wasn't exactly prepared for this," Frederick admitted, but then smile. "But as with Morgan, I shall take care of you and the unborn child to the best of my abilities!"
 
"Of course, just please take it easier this time!" Kelli insisted. "You were way too all over the place when I was having Morgan. I'll let you know when I need something. Worrying a lot is not good for you!"
 
"Ah, yes... I do apologize for that too. You're right, and I shall do my best."
 
"Thank you. ...Say, I wonder if our new baby is from that amazing night we had for your birthday," Kelli surmised, a rather daydreaming grin forming on her face.
 
"Hm... It very well could have been," Frederick agreed. "Though a child definitely isn't the first thing to come to mind for a gift, that's for certain."
 
"Yeah, I can agree with that, even if the idea is exciting! You should go wash your hair now, though, before that oatmeal dries and gets caked on your head."
 
"Yes, definitely. I'll rejoin you after."
 
"Alright. Before I forget, I'm writing to your parents and Isabelle about the new baby. Don't be surprised if your mother shows up later all squealing with excitement. Hee hee."
 
"Oh lovely..."
 
Frederick never looked forward to seeing his mother, Marie, when it involved news of his children. She was very loving and caring, but sometimes too much so, and also liked telling embarrassing stories about Frederick's childhood. The Ylisse Exalt and Frederick and Kelli's liege, Chrom, as well as Frederick's younger sister, Isabelle, would say that Frederick's doting wasn't much different and that he got it from Marie, and that he would one day tell embarrassing stories about his children himself, but he would deny it and say he is still different. He could agree that he learned much from Marie and his father, James. Just not all of their behaviors.
 
After scrubbing his hair in the bathroom of his and Kelli's Ylisse palace bedchambers, Frederick returned to Kelli momentarily to discuss the day's plans. Kelli chose to look for some of the infant clothes Morgan had already grown out of so they could be reused for his future baby brother or sister and after that she would move onto regular duties she performed as Ylisse's main tactician and retainer to Chrom and Queen Olivia. She also wanted to ask Olivia if she had any leftover infant clothes belonging to little Princess Lucina in case Kelli ended up having a girl. Though Olivia had fairly recently given birth to a little boy named Inigo herself, so she was very busy at this time. Frederick, of course, insisted on knitting new clothes for the new baby as well. He had already made some for Morgan and he couldn't resist adding outfits for his second child as well.
 
After donning his heavy silvery blue armor, Frederick soon made his way to the armory to meet his close childhood friend, Ralph, who also held the title of knight, though in a different sense than Frederick. He didn't wear a lot of armor and only wielded a sword despite both men having mounts, and in addition to swordplay, Ralph could lend his angelic singing voice to his allies as well. The young man's gift of song was renowned throughout the halidom. Some even believed he may be reincarnated from an ancient race of singing bird folk from another world. Of course, Ralph believed this was nonsense and that he was simply good at what he did. The dirty blonde knight was already waiting for Frederick in the armory when the latter got there, a green cloak decorated with black musical notes in the corners cascading down his back.
 
"Hey, Fred! I'm ready to go," Ralph greeted his friend with a smile. "I think this stuff has become second nature to me now after doing it for the past couple years!"
 
"Ah, Ralph, good to hear," Frederick replied, returning the gesture. "You're remembering what I've taught you well."
 
"Indeed! Though I look more forward to training than armory inspections, admittedly."
 
"Understandable. So, Ralph, I have some news for you."
 
"Oh?"
 
"Kelli and I are having another baby," Frederick announced with a smile.
 
"Wow, really? That's awesome!" Ralph complimented excitedly. "That means Morgan is going to be a big brother! Though...you don't sound quite as excited as I thought you would be. You only seem to be mildly happy."
 
"Ah, well, I am happy," Frederick replied. "But I do have my...concerns. I haven't told Kelli because I don't wish to worry her after her first pregnancy."
 
"I see. I can understand. Morgan's birth was really hectic."
 
"It was. And while Kelli has asked me to take it easy this time around, and I wish to oblige, I can't help but have my mind wander to that past incident. I never wish to go through something like that again. I thought I was going to lose both my wife and son..."
 
"Yeah, I can imagine. I don't want that to happen again either," Ralph agreed. "But Fred, don't forget that those were insane circumstances. You and Kelli were attacked and she was injured! There's very little chance this is going to happen a second time."
 
"True, and the man that was responsible was dealt with," Frederick admitted. "Even if...he had once been Kelli's friend. However, despite Tomas and his decisions, there are surely more Grimleal stragglers out there that we haven't found yet, especially since Kelli's mother is still on the run. I don't know what I would do if they found us and attempted to do something awful."
 
"Yeah, I hear that. But Lord Chrom and Lady Olivia have tightened security since then and ensured that the public knows to report anything suspicious," Ralph pointed out. "And Fred, if I know you, you will do damn near anything in your power to keep Kelli and your children safe. There's no one I know who's more adamant about that!"
 
"Heh, that is true," Frederick agreed. "And Kelli has told Chrom over and over that she doesn't want Cristina to have to live in hiding so she can be a part of our family. I wish to make this a reality myself. She is a lovely woman despite her past, and had only unwittingly become involved with the wrong people."
 
"Yeah, though I only met her once, I can totally see that," Ralph replied. "I'll do what I can to help too!"
 
"You have my thanks," Frederick said with a smile. "Now, I only wonder how well I can balance my duties and caring for two children. I will have to make certain that I put valiant effort into doing so!"
 
"Heh, if anyone can do that, Fred, I know it's you!" Ralph proclaimed, and then a punchy grin crossed his features. "Before that though, you have to worry about all of Kelli's mood swings and pregnancy cravings again!"
 
"...Oh curses," Frederick winced. "You absolutely had to remind me."
 
"Heh heh. Well, you know if you ever need help, you can call upon me. Isabelle would be more than glad to come by once in a while too."
 
"True. And if not my sister, Mother would leap at more chances to look after her grandson," Frederick recalled. "I may have to allow her, much to my chagrin. I only hope she doesn't completely spoil my child. I'm fortunate that this didn't happen to Isabelle or myself."
 
"Ha ha, I totally get it. ...Oh yeah, is it just me, or do you smell a bit like oatmeal?"
 
"...Damn it all. The odor didn't completely come out?!"
 
"Doesn't seem like it. ...Wait, Morgan threw his food on your head again, didn't he?"
 
Frederick sighed and confirmed this, only to have Ralph utterly fail to hold in chuckles of laughter.
 
"I'm beginning to wonder if I should wear a helmet when I feed him," Frederick said.
 
"That little rascal, oh my gosh. This has to be a running gag now," Ralph uttered between laughs.
 
"Shut it. And you better not have broken your promise not to tell Vaike or Lissa!" Frederick warned.
 
"Don't worry, I haven't told them. I swear. They'd never let you hear the end of it, I know."
 
"Exactly. Now let's please complete the armory inspection."
 
"Oh, of course."
 
With that, the two went to work, not hesitating to continue talking at the same time if they felt like doing so.
 
Days passed, and soon this turned into weeks and then months. As much as Frederick tried not to overdo things as he had done when Kelli was pregnant with Morgan, he had still occasionally felt the need to rush from one place to another in the palace and even into the city of Ylisstol, Ylisse's capital. He brought back needed food and supplies, periodically checked on his wife and son, and more, but Kelli reminded him yet again to slow down a little so he wasn't constantly catching his breath. Between knitting new infant clothes, caring for Morgan, training new recruits for the army, the tasks he personally did for Chrom, Olivia, and their young princess and prince, and his habit of picking up pebbles in the courtyard and other odd duties, Frederick had next to no time to do anything else other than eat and sleep. Although, one could argue that this wasn't all that abnormal for him. Even before he became a father, Frederick was always busying himself with something. Only this time, he didn't have many chances to simply look for something to do, he instead already had a full schedule practically pre-made for him. It was quite impressive that the knight captain was still able to find ways to do everything efficiently.
 
As soon as Kelli was very visibly showing, she had to stop helping Frederick with training recruits. Frederick chose to have Ralph and fellow knights Stahl and Sully aid him in her absence, though Ralph had little knowledge of instructing others on combat. Even so, they had done this before when Kelli was having Morgan, and it had gone well enough then. And this way, there was no need for someone to babysit Morgan since Kelli could remain with him. Frederick also hoped that Kelli's mood swings would be a little easier to handle this time around, but unfortunately, it seemed to be no different than when Morgan was on the way. One minute she would be screaming, yelling, or crying and the next she could be plastering kisses all over Frederick's face, sometimes right in front of Chrom and others as well, much to Frederick's embarrassment. She couldn't have picked a worse food to crave this time either, as she made Frederick, Ralph, or anyone who was willing buy whole cakes of any flavor known to them as compared to simple jars of applesauce with Morgan.
 
One day when Kelli was in her third trimester, Frederick walked into the throne room to greet Chrom and Olivia, a scroll in his slightly trembling hand. The pink-haired Olivia was cradling the tiny Prince Inigo in her arms, his head showing some blue fuzz matching Chrom's own storm blue mane. As Frederick approached them, Chrom soon noticed a trickle of sweat on the side of his retainer's head as well as his chest heaving a little more than usual.
 
"Greetings, Milord and Milady," Frederick said, almost dropping his scroll as he unrolled it. "I have finished making sure the courtyard is clear of debris, the recruits are all still on schedule with their training, the armory checks out..."
 
"Uh, Frederick, you don't look too well," Chrom inquired, plainly seeing Frederick struggling to keep his posture. "I know you're working hard and you have a lot on your plate these days, but you look exhausted. You're overworking yourself now!"
 
"Yes, Frederick, you should take a break and rest," Olivia agreed. "We don't want you making yourself ill now."
 
"Ah, I appreciate the concern, but I am fine, I assure you," Frederick said and then went onto finish his list. "And besides, after I'm done here, I must go see if Kelli has put Morgan down for his nap. She may need my assistance with how far she is into her current pregnancy. And then Ralph and I haven't even begun our own training--"
 
"Frederick, you are not fine, you're sweating and barely able to stand!" Chrom argued. "You're going to go rest and that's an order."
 
"And we'll ask others to help with your work," Olivia assured. "Kelli would be very upset to see you like this too."
 
"...Well, you're right about that," Frederick gave in. "Kelli would reprimand me for this. I suppose I ought to listen. Thank you, Milord and Milady. But do not hesitate to summon me if I am needed regardless. I will be here, it shall not take me long to recover from this!"
 
"Yes, Frederick, of course. Now go before you fall over," Chrom replied, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The young Exalt honestly could believe that Frederick would be back on his feet and completely energized soon. He had a knack for recovering from even a flu or bad cold quickly. He'd even been known to rid himself of a cold just by letting out one massive sneeze. I really ought to get Frederick to teach me his immunity secrets sometime.
 
As the time for Kelli to give birth to hers and Frederick's second child drew nearer, preparations for it became the biggest priority. They decided to move Morgan to a small toddler-size bed to make space in the crib for his new sibling. They also switched the blanket and sheets, as they decided to have the physician predict the gender and he was near one hundred percent certain that the new baby was a girl. And Frederick also knew this meant one more thing he could expect. Marie was going to bring Isabelle's old infant clothes and toys. And that she did while incredibly excited that she was going to have both a grandson and a granddaughter. James joined her, as it was close enough to Kelli's due date that they could be allowed to stay for the birth. Isabelle had already arrived earlier, as she sometimes ran errands for the palace that involved her clothing store or her kills from hunting. She was a skilled archer who could conquer some of the most difficult of wild game and would sometimes bring extra meat or deliver clothes ordered by the palace.
 
"Oh, Freddy and Isabelle dear, we're here!" Marie cried as she and her husband entered the large front doors of the palace to greet their children. "I'm so glad we made it, Kelli is due any day now, isn't she?"
 
"Yes, we are incredibly excited!" James seconded. "Hope you don't mind the...ah...extra luggage your mother has."
 
"Ah, good to see you both," Frederick replied, cringing slightly when he saw that his parents were carrying several bags. "And yes, Kelli is due very soon and she's faring well. She's also enjoyed all the new maternity dresses."
 
"Yep, I've been coming by to help a lot as well," Isabelle added.
 
"And as for the luggage...I've a feeling I don't need to inquire about what some of it is," Frederick deduced.
 
"Oh, that's good!" Marie replied. "And Freddy, you probably did already guess, but I packed and brought all of Isabelle's infant clothes and toys for the new baby! It's so wonderful that you're having a girl so we could give you this great gift! I made sure everything is there! Isabelle's dolls, stuffed Pegasus, some adorable dresses..."
 
"MOTHER!" both Frederick and Isabelle cried at the same time, the latter going very pink in the face.
 
"I appreciate this, but can't this wait until we go upstairs?" Frederick insisted.
 
"Yes, please..." Isabelle practically begged. "I don't need my infancy recited in front of everyone like you did with Frederick's at Morgan's birth!"
 
"And that is a reminder I do not need..." Frederick replied.
 
"Aw, if you insist," Marie agreed and then turned to Ylisse's rulers who were also present. "Though I feel Exalt Chrom and Queen Olivia would find all of this absolutely adorable. You know, your Majesties, I've always been so extremely proud of my children that nothing makes me happier than to see their bright shining faces."
 
"Same here!" James seconded. "I couldn't have asked for better the way Frederick has carried on the family tradition of serving the royal family. And Isabelle is my best girl and the best hunter and fashion designer you will find!"
 
"Yes, I can imagine," Chrom replied, an awkward smile while Frederick and Isabelle could only bring their hands to their faces. "We're lucky to have Frederick in our service and Isabelle has never not been of great assistance when she is needed."
 
"I'm so happy to hear!" Marie said. "By the way, I had hoped Princess Lissa was here too. She's such a darling."
 
"Ah, she would have come, as she loves spending time with the little ones, but she's deep in a pregnancy herself and isn't in any shape to travel, I'm afraid," Olivia informed. "So she has to remain with Donnel at their farm at least until after she gives birth."
 
"Oh, that's right! She's expecting her first bundle of joy!" James remembered. "Marie, we'll have to pay a visit when her little one comes."
 
"Yes, definitely," Marie agreed. "I can't believe I forgot about that. She's grown into such a fine woman now."
 
"Yes, she has," Chrom agreed. "She would have loved to see you both now though. I think she actually thinks of you two like a second set of parents since she never really knew our own."
 
"Aw, that is sweet of her. Well, we should go upstairs and get all of these little gifts organized. I'm sure Frederick and Kelli will want to make sure they have places for everything."
 
"Ah yes, thank you, Mother," Frederick obliged. "And Father, I could use your aid while you're here. You still know how to instruct recruits, correct?"
 
"Oh, of course, Fred. I'd be happy to help!" James agreed as a nostalgic smile formed on his features. "Would feel exactly like old times too."
 
"Good, thank you!"
 
"Could you possibly squeeze in a hunting trip with me too, Father?" Isabelle inquired. "Don't worry, it can wait until after Kelli gives birth."
 
"Sure, I don't see why not," James agreed. "Our hunting trips are always fun."
 
"Great, thanks!"
 
Later on, after Marie's gifts were brought to Frederick and Kelli's bedchambers and the overly loving mother and grandmother finished showering Morgan with as much love as she could, Isabelle joined her sister-in-law to help her go through the clothes and toys. Marie wanted to stay and help as well, but Ralph, who had been busy practicing his singing during their initial arrival, invited her and James to hear him. They were happy to do so since they never did get many chances to hear his voice, especially when Ralph had to travel to perform. Promising to come back and see them later, Marie departed the room with her husband to join the sensational knight.
 
With baby Morgan playing on the bed beside them, Kelli and Isabelle began looking at the gifts, the former being careful with her very round stomach. Kelli smiled as she held up a cute tiny flowered yellow dress.
 
"Oh, this is absolutely precious," she commented. "And I thought the clothes Morgan got were good! Isabelle, your mother had such good taste when she dressed you and Frederick up!"
 
"Yeah, I do suppose she did," Isabelle agreed, flipping some of her wavy brown hair behind her shoulders. "A lot of these outfits aren't half bad at all. And you know as a fashion designer I can be strict with my critique of clothing. The toys though...I can't believe I ever played with some of these. Now I know how Frederick felt when Morgan got his."
 
Isabelle then held up an old doll with rather large curly hair and a slightly ragged light blue dress.
 
"Well, I do still appreciate how much your mother does for us anyway," Kelli continued. "Even if this is quite a lot. It's almost overwhelming. Between the clothes Frederick has made and all this, it might be too much. I don't know if our baby girl will get to wear it all before she outgrows it!"
 
"Heh, I can understand that. Though I imagine Frederick would've made clothes that are a couple sizes larger than what a newborn would normally wear so they can last a while," Isabelle surmised. "You know my brother is always thinking ahead."
 
"That's for sure! And you're right, the outfits Frederick made are larger sizes so they can still be worn even when the baby grows bigger!" Kelli confirmed. "Has your mother seen them, by the way? She should, as they're impressive! This was the first time Frederick knitted dresses."
 
"I'm not sure, I'll have to ask her. But that one you showed me is indeed adorable! And stitching "Papa's Little Lady" on it is such a Frederick thing to do too."
 
Isabelle giggled upon saying her words.
 
"Yep, it's to match Morgan's little "Papa's Pride and Joy" shirt," Kelli pointed out with a chuckle.
 
"Indeed. You know, Frederick is the reason I wanted to pursue fashion," Isabelle revealed. "Did I ever tell you that? When we were growing up, I mostly followed him around like a dog. I looked up to him and liked trying to copy him sometimes when our parents were teaching him things. If he started picking up pebbles outside, I would do the same. If he was practicing cooking or cleaning, I wanted to help. He was being groomed to eventually serve the palace as a knight and retainer and I wasn't yet old enough to begin training for any sort of career. But when my brother taught me to knit and sew, I knew exactly what I wanted and the rest is history."
 
"Aw, I don't think you told me that! That's so sweet," Kelli replied with a loving smile. "Frederick told me your mother was the one who taught him knitting and sewing. It sounds like it kind of runs in the family!"
 
"Yeah, it seems so!"
 
"Indeed. Oh, and Isabelle, thank you for coming to spend time with me!" Kelli said as the two continued going through the clothes and toys. "Frederick's been so busy since our new baby is due any day now. Perhaps a little TOO busy. He keeps running back and forth from everywhere in the palace! He seems very anxious too. I keep telling him to take it easy and that nothing like Morgan's birth will happen this time, but... He's not very good at listening, even if he is trying."
 
Isabelle sighed, though it was more a nostalgic one than annoyed.
 
"Yes, that brother of mine," she replied. "He's just worried about complications occurring anyway, which I can understand after what you two went through with my nephew here. But he definitely could stand to take a chill pill sometimes. I'm glad to help, though!"
 
"Yeah, I can understand Frederick there too... I would never want a repeat of that either. I'm just afraid he's going to overwork himself so bad."
 
"I don't blame you there. I'm concerned about that myself."
 
"Well, I'm glad he has us to--AH!"
 
Kelli grimaced and clutched her stomach, a pressuring pain suddenly gripping her.
 
"Whoa! Is it happening?!" Isabelle gasped.
 
"Yeah, that was a contraction!" Kelli confirmed. "I felt one earlier too, but I wasn't sure at first that it was the real thing! I must be in labor!"
 
"Oh! Then we need to get to the infirmary! I'll help you down there and then I'll get Ralph and my brother! I'll look after Morgan too!"
 
"Ah, thank you! I guess Ralph's little performance for your parents is going to have be delayed a bit now..."
 
"Yeah, but he won't mind. Ralph's as kind and humble as they come."
 
"That's true."
 
Isabelle quickly picked her nephew up off the bed while Kelli gently hauled herself to her feet. Her sister-in-law then used her free arm to aid her out of the room and towards the nearest stairwell.
 
Later on, Ralph was pumping his legs as fast as he could down a hall looking for Frederick. Last he'd heard, Frederick had been doing some training to try relieving some of the stress and anxiety he'd been having over Kelli being so close to giving birth. However, Ralph didn't find him anywhere in the training grounds and assumed he'd left to do something else. Minutes later, the talented knight finally spotted his friend at the top of a stairwell and rushed up to him.
 
"Fred! FRED!" Ralph called frantically, his voice echoing through the stairwell.
 
"Ralph!" Frederick replied, startled by his friend as Ralph came to a halt at the top of the stairs. "What's wrong? Has Kelli gone into labor?!"
 
"Yes, Isabelle just told me!" Ralph confirmed. "We gotta get your parents! They went to grab a meal while I was getting a performance ready for them!"
 
"Oh! Oh Naga! Yes, we must!" Frederick agreed, and suddenly turned back around towards the stairs as he spoke. "You can go--!"
 
Before he could finish, however, one of his feet caught itself behind the other, forcing him to stumble forward. The knight was unable to keep his balance and before Ralph could react, he went tumbling down the stairs.
 
"AAAH!"
 
"AH! FRED! ...DAMN IT!" Ralph screamed, bringing his hands to the sides of his head as he tried to go help his friend. However, by the time Ralph could reach him, Frederick had gone down two full flights and was unconscious. One of his wrists and one of his ankles looked oddly twisted and he had a few gashes and bruises on his head, arms, and legs.
 
"Ugh, NO! Fred, you idiot!" Ralph opined in annoyance. "Kelli is so going to kill you! And maybe me too! I'll go get help!"
 
With that, he rushed off to find anyone that was close by. Eventually, he found two maids and ordered them to find Frederick's parents as well as Chrom and Olivia. The gang arrived on the scene within a few minutes, with the maids carrying a stretcher for the unconscious knight. Marie was holding her grandson and lightly cradling him, though Morgan of course was probably not even paying attention to what was happening.

 

"Oh heavens!" Marie cried. "Freddy!"
 
"What in--?!" James uttered as Ralph and the maids began lifting Frederick onto the stretcher. He was very heavy due to his muscular body, so doing so required all of their combined strength. Isabelle merely stood there and blinked in shock.
 
"Ralph, what in the name of Naga happened to my son?!" James continued. Ralph took a moment to catch his breath before answering.
 
"Ah... Yeah, uh..." Ralph began awkwardly and explained Frederick's spill in the stairwell.
 
"Oh for gods' sake..." Marie commented. "That boy needs to be more careful!"
 
"I'll say," Isabelle added. "My brother is such a dolt sometimes!"
 
"Now Isabelle, there's no need for that," James said. "But I can't deny that this probably could've easily been avoided."
 
"Yeah...sorry," Ralph replied, hanging his head.
 
"Frederick is so getting a reprimand for this," Chrom commented. "If not just from me, then from Kelli too!"
 
"She warned him to take it easy..." Olivia remembered, heaving a rather frustrated sigh.
 
Together, James, Ralph, and the two maids carried Frederick to the infirmary. Marie and the royals followed, with the doting grandmother periodically giving baby Morgan a smooch on the cheek as his expression remained fairly generic, though he was probably as confused as a baby could've been at what was going on.
 
After a number of hours passed, Kelli found herself cradling a tiny infant girl as she lay in her infirmary bed. She was exhausted and barely able to hold the baby in her arms without shaking slightly, but relieved that the birth went smoothly. Frederick was going to be happy that there were no problems. Kelli stroked the teal fuzz on her new daughter's head as she gave a weak smile, the girl's big brown eyes staring up at her.
 
"Oh, your daddy and brother are going to love you!" she said happily. "You are so adorable. I wonder where everyone is though...?"
 
The tiny girl yawned as the room went silent. Moments later, the door opened to reveal Frederick at last. Though it was more than Kelli had bargained for as her husband hobbled in on a crutch, his left foot in a cast. His right arm lay in a sling and a bandage sat on his forehead. He also looked like he was battling a small headache. Kelli's eyes widened as she gaped upon what she was seeing.
 
"What the--?! Frederick, what the hell did you do to yourself?!" she gasped.
 
"Ah..." the ailing knight began. "I'm so sorry, Kelli... What happened was... Ahem... You see... I got so anxious and excited at the same time when I learned you'd gone into labor. I turned around to come down here after Ralph told me and I...tripped and tumbled down two flights of stairs."
 
Kelli blinked before responding.
 
"Seriously?!" she retorted and slapped her face with her hand. "Oh my freaking gods. This is why I tell you to slow down!"
 
"Yes...I deeply apologize..."
 
"I'm glad you're going to be alright though. I'm assuming Isabelle, Ralph, or your parents have Morgan?"
 
"Yes, they'll be in in a moment," Frederick confirmed and continued explaining. "Ralph yelled for help, a servant summoned my family and Milord and Milady, and we all came down here to get me to a doctor before coming to wait for you to be finished in here. Milord reprimanded me for my...mishap. I feel so miserable about it myself! From now on, I'll definitely take it easier when things get...busy. I can never properly serve Chrom and Lissa or care for you and our children like this!"
 
"You're damn right! I'm glad to hear you've learned your lesson."
 
"Yes, I intend to listen better. Believe me."
 
"Good! Now let's name our new daughter."
 
"Ah, yes!"
 
Frederick then hobbled closer to get a good look at his new baby daughter.
 
"Oh, she's beautiful!" he commented with a big smile. "I see hints of your lovely teal hair color this time. I liked this one name I saw in one of Ralph's many songs, by the way. Antoinette, I believe it was."
 
"Ah, I like that a lot too," Kelli replied. "We can call her Annie for short. Especially since I can see Morgan having a hard time pronouncing Antoinette for a while once he starts talking."
 
"Indeed," Frederick agreed. "Antoinette! I've knitted you some lovely dresses to wear, but I shall make more clothes for you when I can, just as I did for your brother!"
 
"Heh, of course you will, love," Kelli commented with a small chuckle. "Now I think it's time for the others to come in so they can meet our little Annie."
 
"Of course. I shall go get them," Frederick agreed. "But one more thing before I do..."
 
Through some light pain, the knight then leaned over and met his lips with Kelli's in a loving, passionate kiss. Kelli was startled for a second, but wasn't hesitant to return the embrace. She smiled at him lovingly when they parted moments later. She could not stay angry with her husband for long, even after he'd landed himself in the infirmary alongside her, and Frederick seemed to know this.
 
"I love you, Freddy Bear."
 
"I love you too, my sweet."

A few notes:

Spoiler

- Morgan always struck me as a kid who was born premature, so I've headcanoned that he's a premie and just decided that his birth was super dramatic and stuff.
- I must admit I enjoyed characterizing Frederick's family. lol Awakening never said his parents were dead or that he didn't have any siblings! So I thought why not? It isn't farfetched considering that the only time we ever hear about his family is in a single mention of his mother in his support with Nowi and it was very brief. Marie is doting and very motherly. She's meant to be where Frederick gets a lot of his bad habits, even if he denies it. And Frederick denying it comes from his support with Maribelle where he denies being like a steward. XD James is a chivalrous though also casual former knight. Isabelle gets more of her character from him than her mother. And Isabelle herself I do kinda have to expand upon more the next time I use her. She's a fairly recent creation. And the irony that Frederick's sister hunts wild game when he hates gamey meat is too good. lol
- If you haven't already noticed, there's a naming theme going on with Frederick's family too, including Antoinette. They're all named after famous royals since Frederick himself also is. Frederick was the name of a German king. James was an English king. Isabelle was a Spanish queen. And Marie Antoinette was a French queen.
- If you're wondering about Tomas and his former friendship with Kelli/Robin, here's a bit of insight: Long before Kelli/Robin said goodbye to her memories, these two were childhood friends. They were also betrothed. Tomas went into despair and madness after Kelli/Robin disappeared and found that she'd lost her memories and was to marry Frederick instead of him. He also started calling himself Phantom. By this time, he had lost the only friends and family he knew in the Grimleal, and more or less everything he'd worked for too. I suppose it's a kind of similar situation to Berkut in Echoes, only without a throne being involved and Berkut instead sacrificing the one he loved. You can read more about Tomas/Phantom in my short story Happy Together on fanfiction.net though that one is only the prequel to the scenario where Morgan is forced to be a premature birth. I created Tomas and wrote that story before Echoes was a thing.
- Oh, and credit to @Dragoncat for the birthday sex idea. lol

 

Edited by Anacybele
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44 minutes ago, Dragoncat said:

@AnonymousSpeed This is genius omg

Many thanks.

***

So guys. I have a quandary.

Chloey is big on the the Grima x Summoner ship, right? Like, the summoner is an avatar, and Grima is, you know, M!Robin in this context, kind of.

Does this mean that we as a society have evolved to point of shipping ourselves with fictional characters whom were originally meant to be surrogates through whom we could vicariously ship ourselves with fictional characters?

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5 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Does this mean that we as a society have evolved to point of shipping ourselves with fictional characters whom were originally meant to be surrogates through whom we could vicariously ship ourselves with fictional characters?

No. I don't ship the summoner and I don't consider Robin or Corrin to be a representation of myself, personally.

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40 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Many thanks.

***

So guys. I have a quandary.

Chloey is big on the the Grima x Summoner ship, right? Like, the summoner is an avatar, and Grima is, you know, M!Robin in this context, kind of.

Does this mean that we as a society have evolved to point of shipping ourselves with fictional characters whom were originally meant to be surrogates through whom we could vicariously ship ourselves with fictional characters?

Well we would have to poll the entire internet to find that out and that would be impossible. I lean toward creating non self inserts as OC love interests for fictional characters, even if said fictional characters are ones I find attractive myself lol. I'd totally give Reyn or Dunban some loving for example...and both have full fleshed non self insert OC lady loves.

BUT Xenoblade also has a main protagonist who is his own character and not meant to be a surrogate/self interest for the player and he is awesome. Even if I swear he's my spirit animal lol. Still doesn't count.

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29 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Does this mean that we as a society have evolved to point of shipping ourselves with fictional characters whom were originally meant to be surrogates through whom we could vicariously ship ourselves with fictional characters?

There is a crude word for this, but I'm typing too slowly right now to say what it is. :dry:

 

@Azure in a Roundabout Thanks! I will enact the correction and some of the suggestions when I'm not so tired. Also, to comment on your critique (don't read if you haven't read my entry yet):

Spoiler

The beard thing I thought I handled well with Sigurd, I did make the point his lack of one is tragic. Byron... yeah that I can see reading much too humorously for the poor old Duke, and the immediately preceding line and subsequent ones do interject some humor to liven the long nostalgia trip. I think I made the point of why I included it- name someone worth reverence showing the status symbolized in facial hair and thus why Oifey wanted it- to be a better father. And parenting lay at the heart of the problem Shannan and Patty's conceived child creates for him and Shannan. But I think I need to reword that particular line of dialogue to a more somber tone, and drop "caterpillar" for insulting, but less casually comical language.

The Duke of my heart line was Eyvel being playful with Oifey, she didn't seriously mean it. That might be out of character, I could tone it down. I wrote that line after I wrote the Chapter 24x Finn reference:

Spoiler

Finn:
“Eyvel… …I wasn’t going to tell you this, but after hearing your conversation with Lord Leaf, I can’t keep it inside any longer. I know someone who looks very much like you…”

Eyvel:
“Like me…? Are you sure, Finn?”

Finn:
“Yes… Back when I was fighting alongside Lord Cuan, there was a beautiful warrior in Lord Sigurd’s army. As she stood there with her long blonde hair flowing in the wind, her sheer beauty reminded me a goddess. She was the heir to the Yungvi family, who had inherited the holy bow, the Ichival. Her name was…Briggid…”

Eyvel:
“Briggid… Are you trying to say that I am that person?”

Finn:
“Yes…”

Eyvel:
“I never knew you were such a romantic, Finn… If I was indeed a descendant of the Holy Warriors, I would have markings somewhere on my body. But alas, I don’t. You have the wrong person, Finn. My name is Eyvel…a traveling mercenary…”

, despite it coming much later in the story.

Oifey calling Brigid a Goddess was another poor choice of words on my part rooted in that Finn reference. (I hadn't realized this dated translation actually used the word "goddess" though, I'm curious how Project Exile will word this scene.)

I couldn't think of a good title of address for Brigid once Oifey learned the truth. "Lady" seemed unbefitting of Brigid, for she is more than a "mere" Lady, so I thought with her miraculous survival and the exhalations of her return in this moment, even if it would normally work for Brigid and works perfectly with the revered Goddess of Thunder. And Duchess doesn't work since she hasn't held the title in sixteen- well no, she never did actually hold that that title, Andrei killed Duke Ring and became Duke, Andrei was then killed, but then Brigid "died" at Belhalla, and then Andrei's son is killed at the end of Gen 2 and somebody else (Febail barring unit death) takes the Jungby throne.

Just to document it, my writing process began with intimate recollections between Oifey and Shannan, then I did the ceremonious introduction and a scant bit of the lunch. Then I skipped to the dinner cutting to the question of Patty asking how Oifey and Shannan met, continued through there to the very end of the story, revising my recollections along the way. And then I went back and filled in my invented background character of Clidna; named was picked by just looking up how to spell the name of Shannan's grandfather, typing it into Wikipedia, and then picking a female name in the article on this mythological dude- a daughter of his to be precise, maybe I should have saved that for Galzus's mother if I ever fanficted her some day. After her it was the lunch, and lastly the dinner prior to Patty asking of the history between Oifey and Shannan.

 

The "seven and one Crusaders" does add to eight, so I said eight, but it was a more fanciful way to do so, and references that Grannvale has seven and Issach one founding Crusader(s). I thought it had a hint of greater unity between Issach and Grannvale than saying "Grannvale, blessed by Heim, Baldr, Neir... and Issach blessed by Odr" by leaving out the particular of individual names, but I didn't want to erase the distinction between the two countries entirely. An overthought word choice on my part.

 

The choice of "mothers and fathers" wasn't due to any particular connection of Shannan to his maternal line, and more me recognizing that in Ayra and Larcei, Issach has some strong women. If they can fight as well as the menfolk for the country they love, they certainly can't be denied their historical significance.

 

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Fucking hell... I'm trying to edit my entry post again because I found a small inconsistency I forgot to fix and I also forgot to add one more thing in the notes, but this stupid forum isn't letting me. I keep getting "this post can't be edited because it's been moved or deleted or it's been too long since it was posted." I've edited posts that existed for much longer than this. What kind of dumb glitch is this? I've never had this happen before.

I need it to be fixed, so I'm probably going to PM a mod to ask for it to be fixed.

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14 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Fucking hell... I'm trying to edit my entry post again because I found a small inconsistency I forgot to fix and I also forgot to add one more thing in the notes, but this stupid forum isn't letting me. I keep getting "this post can't be edited because it's been moved or deleted or it's been too long since it was posted." I've edited posts that existed for much longer than this. What kind of dumb glitch is this? I've never had this happen before.

I need it to be fixed, so I'm probably going to PM a mod to ask for it to be fixed.

It's weird, I'm not sure what makes a post uneditable. My 8000 word monster I just edited no problem, but my much shorter reply to Azure isn't.

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