[Fire Emblem] Prologue: The First Domino Falls

[PhoenixFlame]

-Avarice: Caledonia Capital City
Early March, 398
Prince Mekre's Coronation Day

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite the old stone walls and meager lighting, Avarice Palace was the jewel of Caledonia. While it was not an impregnable fortress, nor a massive citadel, it was as good a seat for any king. Today, the throne room is packed with nobles from across the continent, all bearing a mix of emotions from excitement to apathy as they fulfill a social obligation to witness the crowning of the new regent.

"All rise for the distinguished King Athas!" The palace guard adressed the congregation as the towering form of the old king strode into the room, clad in his gleaming gold parade armor, carrying an ornate lance that doubled in times like these as a sceptre. Athas had long been known as a mighty, peace loving and just ruler, but he would not allow his image to become soft to the public. Several clap for him, and cheers go through the room.

He turns to raise his hand upon taking the throne, "Please! Honored friends, delegates, guests... Today is not a day to celebrate me. For four decades have I served as king, and two before that as commander of my father's military forces. Yet now, I find myself too weary to properly serve our people, our allies, our friends."

Rising from the throne, he steps down level with Prince Mekre, whom stands at the head of the assembled mass, and claps his hands proudly upon the boy's shoulders. "I feel it is time for my son, and your Prince, to take my place. He's become a fine young man, and reminds me well of myself when I were his age." Turning his eyes down to meet his, he lowers his voice privately to the young prince, "You do me proud, son. I will always be here to advise you, should you-"

The moment is broken by a young Caledonian soldier bursting through the mighty double doors at the end of the throne room. "My lord! My lord!" he pants heavily, his armor stained with blood and the signs of battle, "Vendalior vanguard forces have surrounded the palace! We've no idea how, but the palace guard is significantly outnumbered!"

A stunned silence rolls over the room.

"Heinlein!" Athas growls direly.

"My liege?" The greying knight replies, unflagged by the sudden turn of events.

"Take Mekre, my daughter, and our guests, and retreat to Fort Maxis."

"Very good, my Liege."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Anachiel's quarters-

During the turmoil, Queen Aira quickly took her daughter aside, and returned to the young princess' quarters. "Anachiel..." Her mother looked at her sadly, "If Emperor Vigard has indeed changed his mind towards our peace treaty, I do not believe we are currently prepared to repulse them." She sighed, "I knew this day might come."

With a quick movement, she rushes to Anachiel's dresser, deftly pushes it aside, and opens a chest hidden in the floor panel beneath. Within lies one of the finest blades Anachiel had ever seen.

"There may be fighting ahead. This is the Earth sword, passed down to me by my mother, and a potent weapon. Use it to see your brother safely away, so that one day you might avenge us."

[Anachiel recieved the Earth (Sword), which she technically already had.]

"It might also be prudent to loot the palace treasury, lest Vendalior forces seize it in the fighting. Here, take my keys."

[Anachiel recieved Door key (2 uses) and Chest Key (5 uses)]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Eastern archer nest
-Caledonia Castle

Ernesto Diaz kicks one of the last Palace archers from his blade, leading a small group of mercenaries through one of the gaps in the palace' defenses, thanks to a traitor's help in getting them inside.

Sure, the pay is decent... Yet they're in the first wave. Was Vendalior intending to use them as cannon fodder to test the enemy's defenses, or something?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------



Phase 1, Begin

UNIT REPORT-

Level 1 Soldier (Green Soldiers, Red Soldiers (When arrived))
20hp
Iron Lance
Damage: 10
Hit: 80
Evade: -2
Attack Speed: -1
Critical Rate: 0
Defense: 0

Level 1 Fighter (Green Fighters, Red Fighters)
20hp
Steel Axe
Damage: 16
Hit: 69
Evade: 0
Attack Speed: 0
Critical Rate: 1
Defense: 2

Level 1 Mage (Enemy Mages)
16hp
Fire
Damage: 6
Hit: 94
Evade: 6
Attack Speed: 3
Critical Rate: 1
Defense: 3, Res 3

Level 1 Mercenary (DiazSqd)
20hp
Iron Sword
Damage: 9
Hit: 106
Evade: 16
Attack Speed: 8
Critical Rate: 4
Defense: 4

Level 1 Social Knight (Enemy cavalry)
22hp
Iron Sword
Damage: 10
Hit: 94
Evade: 10
Attack Speed: 5
Critical Rate: 1
Defense: 3

Level 1 Duke Knight (Enemy Boss)
34hp
Iron Lance
Damage: 18
Hit: 100
Evade: 20
Attack Speed: 10
Critical Rate: 5
Defense: 10, Res 5

[Overcast]

Wouldn't be entirely surprising. He had just started his contract with these men, he had no reputation and with that he was just another money grubbing mercenary. Just like the rest of these nobodies. Still he wasn't about to die just because these people couldn't see how important he was. Fortune had favored him with knowledge, and this castle was going to fall.

"Alright, it is about time we join the real meat of this battle. Men, tear down that wall."

There were weak points that had been installed all over the castle. It was one of the reasons this place was about to end. It was nearly indefensible at this point. It was almost tragic. Just a few well placed strikes by the boys and there would be a conveniently man sized hole for them to stumble through. Despite his knowledge he didn't know what sort of resistance he was about to meet on the other side, but he did know he had a few well built men between him and them. If all went well his sword would speak for itself, if not then he could climb over the corpses of his comrades and try to take credit for everything.

[Loyal]

The moment is broken by a young Caledonian soldier bursting through the mighty double doors at the end of the throne room. "My lord! My lord!" he pants heavily, his armor stained with blood and the signs of battle, "Vendalior vanguard forces have surrounded the palace! We've no idea how, but the palace guard is significantly outnumbered!"

Hearing these words, Alex paused, unsure of how to take the news or how to respond to it. On the one hand, this meant he was about to battle for the glory of his nation, in full view of his lord liege no less! That alone filled him with pride. But on the other hand, he never imagined that his chance to prove himself might present itself at the heart of his homeland, which gave him a sense of dread.

He looked to his senior and superior, Sir Heinlein, for guidance. But the old knight was staring unwaveringly at the king, as though the bleeding soldier had merely come in to announce that the cooking staff were prepared to serve today's meals. Alexander's gaze shifted to the king, who ordered, "Take Mekre, my daughter, and our guests, and retreat to Fort Maxis."

Heinlein affirmed the order, which was all Alexander needed to hear. He mounted his horse and rode off to battle, ready to defend everyone while they prepared to evacuate. Nobody would get by him, that much was certain!

(Alexander moves 2 Right, 4 Down, 1 Left)

[Steel Shadow]

At the kings order, Emit was already turning, his mount sensing his mood. A Vendalior force in the heart of his homeland? It shouldn't be possible. His face hardened into a scowl as he moved out of the throne room, his hand already on his sheathed sword. The pang of fear that shot through his heart was ignored. They would regret coming here.

His horse's shoes clacked loudly against the stone floors as he hurried into position to defend the evacuating nobles. His head shot from side to side as he tried to locate the first intruders. Any that stepped into his line of sight, he would cut down. Until a path was cleared, none of them would get away from him. And if he could help it, none of the attackers would so much as see the nobles.

(Emit moves 6 Down, 1 Left)

[Relm Zephyrous]

Sage Starflare wasn't in the best of situations. Normally when heading into a town, much less the capital of a city the girl was one to repress and hide her 'eccentric' dark nature, but concern for that kind of triviality was stuck in the wall with a sword meant for her heart back near the border of the countries. She didn't see this turning out well for Vendalior, and refused to come with the greedy men. This resulted in fleeing, which resulted in the scene right here of her bursting through the door out of breath looking like a ghostly shade from hell.

Perhaps later on Sage would stop and think about why she was able to just run into the palace, but not now. All on the surface of her mind was that there were a bunch of cavaliers right outside chasing her, although they were a few seconds back. The whole situation changed though as the entire castle shook with the sounds of enemy troops, did she seriously just walk into the center of a battlefield? No time to concern with that, just deal with it.

Sage saw the king and his troops, but became self-conscious at just the right moment of how she must have looked, and seemed to be a hostile, and fled from the men over to the wall on the side to buy a few precious seconds to process the battle and get away from the cavaliers apparently charging straight at her.

(Sage Moves 3 Left, 2 Down)

[DanteFalcon]

Axis had been somewhat enjoying the ceremony. The whole ceremony had a certain amount of elegance he could respect though he hated sitting around, especially under a roof when he and Spine could be flying. The wyvern seemed to rustle slightly, of a somewhat similar mindset to his companion. However the sudden shouting brought him around rather quickly.

"Vendalior vanguard forces have surrounded the palace! We've no idea how, but the palace guard is significantly outnumbered!"

This rocked Axis back slightly. Vendalior? Why would they attack even when they had sent a delegation to witness the ceremony? What were they trying to do? There had to be a mistake. It just didn't make any sense to Axis. Spine was obviously agitated from the yelling, stretching and emitting a low growl though only those who were paying attention to the winged lizard would have noticed it. Axis picked up on it right away and after one more brief thought of hesitation gave a nod and readied his lance. His mount gave what could best be described as halfway between a growl and roar, excited for the chance of combat and almost saying "About time you let me stretch out." to his rider. He took off as high as the ceilings would allow, moving to the center of the hall, the duo scanning the surrounding hallways and waiting to make a definite claim to the soon to be battlefield.

(Axis Moves 2 Left, 4 Down.)

[Menarker]

Clovis previously relaxed facial expression soured to a scowl as the bloodied Caledonian soldier burst inside during the ceremony with ill tidings. He had been standing on his feet, beside his horse with the reins held tightly and keeping it calm and collected during the proceedings. But the sudden burst of the doors and the ensuing panic caused it to rear up with a loud whinny as its hooves slammed on the floor with a crack.

"I hope I don't have to pay for that..."

In one smooth graceful motion, his foot slipped in the stirrup and his other leg soared over the mount's hind in a parabolic arc until the other slid snugly in the other. His powerful arms grabbed at his bow, with one finger cradling an arrow between it and the shaft. He galloped behind the rest, stopping shortly to address his charge.

"Princess Raelyn! I'll assist the others to create an escape route toward Fort Maxis. Let's proceed with them once the way is clear!"

------------------------

(Clovis moves 3 right, 4 Down)

[McTahr]

Mekre's gaze darted quickly between the bloodied soldier, Heinlein, and his father. The implications of his father's orders hit him, and he stood shocked for a moment. He considered that this may be the last time he'd ever see his father alive, and wished for a second chance at all of the wasted years. Too little, too late. Mekre shook his head and stepped in towards him, so that they could share a brief embrace.

"I will make this right. Thank you for everything, father."

Should they meet again, in better days, he vowed to live up to every promise he'd been pushing aside. They would be a family, even if just for a day, and make the most of it. Mekre stepped away, and managed to tear his eyes away, to face Heinlein.

"We should make haste. Let me ride with you, Heinlein, else we'll be swimming in imperials before we even make it to the door."

[PhoenixFlame]

"Yes, yes... Help the caviliers break the enemy lines, I'll go make sure Anachiel is safe!" Raelyn called back to Clovis, reigning her pegasus around and taking off down the side hall just as the Caledonian princess left her quarters.

Heinlein nodded in agreement to Mekre, offering a hand to help him onto his mount. "Up we go, boy." As he took the prince's hand, he couldn't help but feel the times when he would let the young prince ride on his lap in tandem. Of course, now Mekre was older, and wore armor, and... The experience was considerably less comfortable. Still, they manage to move down the hall in pace with Alex and Emit, whom assisted Mekre's dismounting once within range of the enemy units.

Ally Phase: The fighters, hearing a commotion in the archer nest, move towards it.

Enemy Phase: Mercenary 1 destroys the wall. 3 accompanies Ernesto outside.

The left side castle wall suffers damage! (9/20hp)

The right side castle wall suffers damage! (9/20hp)

The enemy mage in the left-side archer nest attacks his wall, reducing it to (4/10 hp)
A reinforcement proceeds up the stairwell behind him.

The enemy caviliers, weilding swords, breach the castle gate, and proceed down the hallway.

Enemy cavilier reinforcements arrive. They weild Iron Lances, with the following statistics-
HP: 20
Iron Lance-
Damage: 12
Hit: 84
Evade: 10
Attack Speed: 5
Critical Rate: 1
Defense 6



Player Phase: 2

[Relm Zephyrous]

The heat and fury of the storm was upon the castle, cracks could be heard, and suddenly before she knew it she was back up against the wall shifting left to avoid the cavalryman charging literally right at her. Too hot actually, this wall was scorching and breaking beneath her fingers.

But at the same time, she could 'see' the person doing it, and reached back with black tendrils through the cracks to suddenly grasp at the mage attacking her, and plunge those tendrils into his veins. She could barely tell what was going on around her, feeling like she was more through on the other side of the wall than currently here, and tasting blood on her tendrils already.

(Sage Moves 1 Down, 2 Left)