Fire Emblem SW

Valentia, a land with a long and rich history. Spanning centuries and even millennia, it was inevitable that many aspects of its history faded into myth and legend, which nowadays most were dismissed as mere faerie tales. One such tale pertained to an ancient underground kingdom. This did not mean that the kingdom had long been swallowed by the ground it was built upon by the passage of time, but an actual kingdom built underground. The tale talked about a curious ring, which was said to made its wielder almost impervious to any kind of magic. Should it truly exist, it would be a boon for any warrior on the battlefield. Though the kingdom’s ruins are real, the ring’s status as a faerie tale meant not many bothered with them. Not to mention, the tale also talked that the ring would be nowadays guarded by the Terrors that now prowl the ruins. Only someone truly determined or desperate would seek out to see if the faerie tale has some credence of truth.

Such was the reason that brought two women to the ruins. They were Clair and Mathilda, knights of the Zofian Deliverance. While in their long crusade against Chancellor Desaix for his treachery and act of regicide, the Deliverance had camped near the ruins. As someone familiar to the faerie tale thanks to her nursemaid, Clair thought she could sneak in the dead of night into the ruins in search of the ring. Alas, her little escapade was discovered by Mathilda. Clair was forced to confess about her plans, though still kept to herself why she sought the ring. Unable to convince the younger girl to reconsider, Mathilda instead decided to accompany her. The Deliverance wasn’t the only thing they had in common, for Clair’s brother was also Mathilda’s lover. As such, the older woman felt she had look out for the younger girl’s safety.

So it was then that the two rode towards the ruins, Clair with her pegasus, Mathilda with her horse, and reached them before long. They ventured inside, its crumbling hallways big enough for their mounts. Soon, they reached a room, and atop a pedestal was none other than that which had Clair was excited about and Mathilda skeptical: the ring. It was encrusted with blue gems, and of peculiar design. They both dismounted from their steeds and got closer to get a better look. Once their initial excitement/surprise worn off, the pegasus knight approached a hand towards the ring.

“… Hold, Clair,” Mathilda spoke out, which made the younger girl stop. “Didn’t your nursemaid said Terrors guarded the ring?” She continued sternly. “Despite our incursion so far and the ring before us, we haven’t encountered nor sight or sign of them.”

“Quite the bout of luck, wouldn’t you say?” Clair happily said. “Come now! Let us not waste it,” such she dismissed the cavalier’s earlier words.

Mathilda, for her part, closed her eyes and sighed.

“I don’t believe in such luck,” she replied. “Perhaps they are only meant to appear if the ring is…” by this point she had opened her eyes, just in time to see the pegasus knight just about to grab the ring. “Clair, wait!”

Too late, the girl had taken the ring off its resting place.