FicWad

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Chapter 8: Living Legend

Nabata Desert.

Scorching by day and frigid by night.

Uther advised the army to head towards the Nabata Desert where the "Living Legend awaits". It has been days since they first ventured into the desert. As of yet nobody has met them.

Dart and Rebecca talked a lot nowadays. The pirate listened intently to all Rebecca's stories of their past life. Every now and then he could swear that he remembered something about his previous life, but it was nothing conclusive.

That night whilst the rest of the army was sleeping, save for a few sentries, Rebecca sat alone on one of the sandy dunes. Gazing at the sky and thinking about nothing in particular. She was lost in thought and did not notice Raven sitting next to her until he spoke.

'Can't sleep?'

'Not really.'

'How's the leg doing?' Raven asked and gazed at Rebecca's face. Moonlight played over her features, making her seem fragile, vulnerable. Her hair was for once not in her trademark braided pigtails, but hung loose over her shoulders. The green bandanna was also absent.
Raven was relieved. He hated that blasted bandanna.

'I'm doing much better, thank you. Still got a bit of a limp, but Serra said that will heal with time...' she turned her face towards him now, '...I...uh...never thanked you for helping me.'

Raven resisted the urge to sweep her green bangs away from her eyes. 'No need to thank me. You would have done the same.'

Rebecca giggled as the image of her hoisting Raven into Isadora's saddle popped into her mind.

'I'm not so sure about that...how will I be able to pick you up like that? You must weigh a ton!'

'You're no lightweight either,' Raven quipped. He chuckled as Rebecca playfully punched his arm.

'Hmpf! Such the gentleman,' Rebecca sneered and turned her back on him in mock anger, sticking her nose in the air for added effect.

Raven wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him. Looking down on her face he grinned at her stunned expression. Her face was flushed from the sudden closeness. She could smell his scent and it was intoxicating. Struggling to regain her composure she eventually let out a shaky breath.

'Y-you want to give me a heart-attack? Honestly! Warn me before you do something so spontaneous!' she scolded, her grin betraying the pleasure that she felt being so close to him.

'That would defeat the purpose,' Raven stated simply.

Without warning he leaned in and kissed her. Rebecca responded to his kiss, surprising Raven. He was certain that she would resist him. Instead she encouraged him, running her hand along his day-old stubble before entwining in his hair. She pulled him towards her and Raven did likewise, pulling Rebecca towards him to deepen the kiss.
After a few moments she hesitantly pulled away. Crimson blush dominated her cheeks. She could find no words to say to him, resorting to gaze deeply into his ruby eyes.

What just happened? Rebecca thought as she looked at Raven's face, noticing his deepening blush.

Raven nervously cleared his throat and looked away. Releasing the green-haired archer he shifted uncomfortably on the sand.

'I'm sorry,' Raven said scowling at the sand. He did not dare to look at Rebecca. She was probably fuming. She had every right to be mad at him right now. How could he take advantage of her like that?!

How could I have been so stupid!! Why the hell did I do that for? Raven mentally reprimanded himself. His fists clenched and his scowl deepened.

It felt so right...NO! What am I thinking? That was WRONG! Wrong, wrong, wrong and WRONG!!!

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft hand on his cheek. Reluctantly he turned to face the still blushing Rebecca. Before Raven could react she placed soft kisses on his slightly chapped lips. Raven stiffened in surprise. His scowl deepened as he felt himself responding to her kiss, his mind shutting down completely. His lips moved roughly, passionately against hers as his self-control slipped to dangerously low levels.

Rebecca sensed this change and quickly pulled away. She did not want Raven to do something that he would later regret. Placing a last lingering kiss on the corner of his mouth Rebecca smiled at him. Her lips still tingled from the combination of his rough kiss and stubble.

'Don't be.'

He brushed her annoying bangs from her eyes with a shaky hand.

'I'm not good for you, Rebecca,' he said sadly and quickly left leaving a very confused and hurt archer on the sand dune.


The sun was beating down without mercy and Ninian felt faint from the heat, but she did not dare to complain. She dutifully walked by Eliwood's side, stretching her senses to detect any enemy. So far there was none.

'Ninian, are you all right?' Eliwood asked. His voice was thick with concern.

'Yes, lord Eliwood. I am fine. It is just the heat...' Ninian responded as she wiped the sweat from her brow with a faded piece of cloth.

'Take my arm,' the red-haired noble offered his arm to the aqua-haired dancer.

'Oh, I could not possibly...'

'It's just an arm, Ninian. Take it. You look like you'll faint in this heat,' Eliwood half offered half demanded.

Finally Ninian relented and shyly took his arm. The red-head grinned smugly at the beautiful dancer clinging to his arm.

'Lord Eliwood? Why do you treat me and my brother so...normal? Does our appearance, our abilities not bother you?' Ninian asked worriedly. Her red eyes gazed deeply into his cerulean ones.

'Ninian, when I look at you I do not see other girls. I simply see Ninian,' he said truthfully. Eliwood never knew how happy his words made her on that moment. Smiling she gazed into the distance, watching Hector give a reluctant Nils a ride on his broad shoulders. The sight elicited a small laugh from Ninian.

'You've got a beautiful smile...' Eliwood said dreamily. Ninian blushed a deep shade of pink at the complement.

Her senses sparked, ruining the perfect moment. It seemed to be happening a lot to them lately. 'Someone's under attack,' Ninian said pointing in the direction of the attack.

Within minutes Mark had his battle plan ready and deployed suitable units for a skirmish in the loose sands. Cavalry and heavily armoured knights remained behind whilst magic users, archers, flyers and swordsmen moved into the desert. Hector insisted on joining the battle even though he wore heavy cavalry armour. Mark sighed. There was no reasoning with the stubborn noble. Once Hector got an idea in his head...

Their goal was simple. Rescue whoever it was being attacked and destroy the attackers.

Much to Rebecca's relief and dismay she was paired with Will. She did not have the heart to face Raven, not yet.
Will was a fellow archer and used to be her neighbour back in her hometown in Pharae. He left with Dart five years ago in order to make their fortunes together. He was nice enough...but not too bright.
Rebecca ground her teeth to drown out Will's incessant chatter, trying desperately to focus on the battle ahead.

Two Warriors that looked disturbingly alike (and liked to complete each other's sentences) headed the enemy forces. They were attacking a lone Sage. One Warrior had blue paint over his body and the other pink.
They were no match for the Sage, however, and by the time help arrived the two Warriors were long dead.
Breathing heavily the Sage turned his wrath on every other enemy unit within sight.

Hector was roaming near the southern flank of the army, looking for any enemy units. The sun's glaring rays boiled him in his heavy armour. Bitterly he wished that he had left his armour behind.
The sharp light blurred his vision and he was all too glad to find shade. A little shelter from the heat never was such a bad idea.

'Aahh...shade...' Hector sighed in relief. He rubbed his eyes and tried to see where Lyn went, before a realization clicked in his brain. 'Shade in the desert? What the...?!' Hector nearly yelped when he saw the origin of the "shade".

A man nearly twice the size of Hector stood motionlessly behind him. He regarded Hector with an odd look.
Regaining his usual brusque composure Hector quickly went on the offence.

'What do you think you are doing sneaking up on a lord of Ostia like that?'

The man blinked. Hector nearly growled in irritation. Was this lunk as stupid as he was big?

'You are guests. I will take care of the enemy. Guests should not fight,' he said simply before walking away.
Only later would Hector learn that this man's name was Hawkeye.

'What in the blazes was that all about?' Hector asked himself. 'Oh well. Shade's gone. Might as well fight again.'

Fortunately the battle ended quickly. The Sage was rescued and the remaining enemy units routed. The army was back at the main camp, where the Sage introduced himself as Pent. He was of course none other than the Mage General and Count of Reglay.

'Do you know where we can find this "Living Legend"?' Eliwood asked. Pent chuckled in amusement.

' "Living Legend"...well that's one way to put it. I will show you the way.'
Mark was relieved to finally have a guide through the desert as was the rest of the army.

As they marched through the desert, following Pent and Hawkeye's lead, Hector and Lyn got into one of their friendly squabbles again.

'Race you to the dune,' Lyn challenged and sped off before Hector had time to respond.

'Hey! No fair. I'm wearing this armour and...HEY! Wait up!' he grumbled before taking off after Lyn.

'I don't know where those two get their energy from,' Eliwood complained as he watched his two friends chase each other through the sand.
Lyn was fleet footed and easily danced over the shifting sand, laughing at Hector's clumsiness.

'They seem to enjoy each other's company,' Ninian remarked and Eliwood nodded in agreement. If she only knew how much he enjoyed Ninian's company...

Eventually they reached a place called Arcadia. The "Living Legend" was supposed to reside within the tall tower. A small town surrouned the tower.

'The town's built on a fresh-water source,' Pent said in answer to Eliwood's unasked question. The red-headed noble nodded in awe. He did not know much about the world outside of Pharae. Quickly Pent and Hawkeye led the entire army into the tower. They descended a long flight of stairs and eventually found themselves in a cool underground chamber. On the farthest end stood an old man with a flowing grey beard.

'There is the "Living Legend" you seek,' Pent said with a bit of a chuckle. 'He is the Archsage Athos.'

'Archsage Athos?!' Eliwood and Hector gasped in unison. Even Mark had to admit that this news was shocking.

'That would mean he's over a thousand years old...' the tactician mused to himself.

'You are right, Mark. I am over a thousand years old,' Athos mused as he fixed his rheumy eyes on the group. 'But I believe that Uther has sent you here, correct?'

'He did.' Hector said simply. He still found it a little hard to believe that this graybeard was Archsage Athos. One of the Eight Generals that fought against the Dragons nearly a thousand years ago...

Eliwood then proceeded to tell Athos of their journey thusfar. Athos's eyes grew sad when he heard Nergal tried to open the Dragon's Gate. That could mean only one thing. Nergal wanted to sap the life energy of dragons...the resulting increase in his power would be catastrophic.
Listening with the patience of a grandfather Athos waited until Eliwood finished his tale. The poor lad was exhausted. Athos could not sit idly by and do nothing. This was Nergal they were dealing with!

'Head towards the Shrine of Seals in Bern. There you will find another that will help you,' Athos said. Fixing his gaze on the tactician he handed Mark a small phial of clear liquid. 'It is Afa's Drops. Give that to any unit you like. Do not waste it's properties by simply holding on to it.'

Finally he ordered Eliwood to visiualize his hometown of Pharae. Using magic he teleported the entire army, including Pent, Louise and Hawkeye, inside Castle Pharae.
There Eliwood's mother found them. She was glad to see her son alive and well. Quickly guestrooms were prepared and the army was fed. They needed the night's rest and good food before taking on the dangers of Bern.

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There's still a few more chapters to come, but the story's not too far from done now.

Oh, and Lissa thanks again for your review!!