Age of Destruction: Fire Emblem CYOA

Fei - Warrior
Judoc - Halberdier
Shep - Bishop
Eun'ji - Sniper
Harv - Berserker
Kelly - Paladin
Hawke - Wyvern Lord

That... is... a... problem. We now have a 12-way tie for 6 slots. Uh...... OK, let's try... repeating the vote, everyone gets 3 picks.

Lily/Shep C
Lily/Keith C
Rakim/Isana C
Gale/Gin C
Hawke/Zenia C
Shep/Zenia C
Hawke/Harv C
Storm/Shep C
Lily/Gin C
Kelly/Harv C
Kelly/Kieth C
Zenia/Gin C

Lily/Keith C
Hawke/Zenia C
Shep/Zenia C

Lily's group pauses to re-supply at a small fort after dropping off the civilians - well, other than Janice, who still refuses to separate from Rakim.  Several people stop to replace damaged armor and upgrade equipment.

Zenia doesn't change at all, other than the addition of a new greatsheild on her back and an axe at her hip.

Harv adds a set of spikes on his shoulders, and a thick belt around his hip.

Kelly adds more armor to her mount.  She adds thicker plates to her hips and heavier greaves, but changes to a lighter helmet that lets her hair flow out.

Shep adds a belt with a tome to his outfit, and more decoration to his robes.  He replaces his boots with sandals.

Hawke adds more armor to his mount, including metal lining to his tail spines.  His new, larger shoulder and hip plates are trimmed with silver.

Storm adds a set of imposing, golden faulds to his hips.  He discards his white pants in favor of a traditional pegasus knight's skirt, leaving his legs bare down to his boots.  He exchanges his gauntlets for a smaller pair that leaves more of his arms exposed.  He adds a spike to his mount's headpiece.

Lily replaces her boots with a pair of black sandals with thick laces and high heels.  She discards her old clothing, instead opting for the dark, skintight, translucent garb of a sorceress, cut off at the waist.  It clearly reveals her pearly skin underneath, except for a thick patch across her upper back.  She covers her chest in a slightly larger silver breastplate.  A short, black cloth hangs from her silver belt.  She retains her silver circlet and cape.

---

Zenia corners Hawke before they leave.  "You, the royal guard.  I wish to speak with you for a few moments."

"...Me?" Hawke asks.

"Yes.  If you want to know about someone, it is often best to ask their bodyguard."

"I don't have much to say," Hawke says.  "I'm not paid to talk about the princess' personal life.  Rather, I'm paid to not talk about it."

"The royal guard represents the royal family.  Are you refusing a direct request from a foreign dignitary?"

Hawke is quiet for a moment.  "...Princess Lily is usually nice enough, I suppose.  She has a short temper.  She works pretty hard, takes her position seriously.  She can be a bit morbid, though she'd say she's just being realistic.  It can be pretty hard to tell how she really feels sometimes, she's very good at... that thing nobles do."

"Interesting.  Yes, these are the impressions I got.  Is she courting anyone?"

"Not to my knowledge, despite having several suitors recently."

"And she accepts a mercenary like you as a royal guard?  Without hesitation"

Hawke simply nods.  "Is there anything else?"

 "How did she earn the respect you seem to have for her?"

Hawke is taken aback.  "Huh?  I...  hm.  I... can't think of any specific reasons.  I wasn't sure how to feel about her at first, but...  I guess it's because she just never seemed to have any qualms about me."

"That's all it takes for a person to earn your respect, huh?"  Zenia folds her arms and thinks for a moment.  "I see.  That is all, you may go."

Hawke departs without a word.

Zenia feels a tap on her shoulder and whirls around with fire in her eyes.  She looks down to see Shep.  "Ah, the healer.  The one who bashed me in the head.  I have been meaning to speak with you, actually.  I want you to understand that while I will allow you to treat my wounds on the battlefield, you are not to touch me at any other time.  I have removed men's hands for less."

Shep rolls his eyes.  "Yes, yes, you're very scary."

Zenia snarls.  "And I have gouged men's eyes for less."

"I don't doubt it.  But you appreciate usefulness, correct?" Shep asks.

"...I value strength, physical or otherwise" Zenia answers.

"As long as I'm the best healer around, you'll allow me a bit of leeway so far as manners are concerned, correct?"

Zenia hesitates for a moment.  "Some small amount, I suppose.  But do not test my patience.  Speaking of which, what is the meaning of this conversation?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were doing OK after that battle the other day.  You seem fine to me."

"Yes, I am.  I am not so foolishly prideful that I won't seek help if I'm injured."

Shep eyes her suspiciously.  "I wonder.  Well, that's all, Champion Zenia."  He turns and walks away.

Zenia is left staring after him.  "How infuriatingly confident," she says.  "I expect we'll either become good friends, or I'll murder him.  Heh heh...  Perhaps both."

---

Kelly is sharpening her new sword when Keith approaches her.  "What do you want?" she asks, continuing her work.

"Oh, nothing in particular," Keith admits.

"Then... why did you approach me like you had something to say?"

"I...  I just thought it might be nice to chat a bit.  We're both cavaliers, after all!"

Kelly pauses sharpening.  "...And?"

"So... we can probably learn from each other?  Maybe share tactics or something?"  Keith suggests.  "I'm supposed to be training with Carcinan forces to learn how you all fight, and vice-versa."

"I suppose we can train together sometimes," Kelly says.  "Is that all?"

"I'm also supposed to promote goodwill between our countries..." Keith adds.

"O...kay...?" Kelly says.  "I'm not sure what you're implying."

"I was just thinking that... maybe when we aren't training, we can...Ah, nevermind.  I'll speak with you later."

Zenia x Gin C

Intermission

---

Three days later, Rand arrives in Trine.  He finds that he's actually beaten the others, including the king and archbishop; still, the garrison is ready for their arrival, even if their quick pace has caused them to arrive quite a bit earlier than expected.

He explains the events of the previous days to the garrison's temporary commander, who quietly listens to all he has to say.  When he finishes, she's silent for several minutes.  "Doran...  What would you do here?" she says softly.  "There's nothing we can do about it right now.  For the time being, we need to ensure this meeting goes smoothly."  She sends for several of her captains.  "You, double patrols.  You two, send for reinforcements.  You three, take teams of pegasus knights to intercept the archbishop, king, and princess.  Make sure to keep your eyes out for potential ambushes.  I... need to go speak with Doran's wife.  Excuse me..."

Quinn stops her.  "I...  I'll come, too."

Syliva silently joins them.

Lily's group arrives a few short hours later, along with a small team of pegasus knights.  She was certainly appreciative...

"I'm sure you're all very tired from the forced march," the leader tells them.  "You're almost a day early.  Don't worry, the prince has already arrived and explained everything to the temporary commander.  We've set his force up in some of our empty barracks - I'm sorry, we weren't expecting you until tomorrow, so..."

"It's fine," Lily assures her.  "There's further news to share, but...  If you're already at a heightened guard, then it can wait until we've had a chance to eat."

"I'll show you to your lodgings, then."

Lily steps into the room and Rand immediately jumps up.  Mina's quickly at his heels.

"Lily!" he says.  "Are you OK?  We were attacked, so I was worried-"

"Yes, so were we.  But we made it through.  Somehow."

"Thank the gods..." he says.  "...You changed your outfit?"

"So have you.  And Mina?  You cut quite a dashing figure in that armor."

"Oh, thank you, Lily.  And may I say your new outfit's absolutely stunning," Mina says.  "See Rand?  It's not so hard."

Rand ignores the jab.  "You seem to have picked up quite a few followers, as well?  I don't imagine they're all part the representative's retinue."

"I could say the same for you.  I believe some introductions are in order..."

---

The numbers actually worked out really well... That's 3/4 options each for 48 choices... This is a special occasion, don't expect this often. Choose 18.

Lily/Rand B
Lily/Alice C
Lily/Kurt C
Lily/Hyun'ji C
Storm/Allune C
Storm/Sorina C
Storm/Carin C
Storm/Eun'ji C
Gale/Alice C
Gale/Nevyn C
Gale/Suarrure C
Gale/Rand C
Shep/Allune C
Shep/Hyun'ji C
Shep/Sylvia C
Shep/Judoc C
Kelly/Nevyn C
Kelly/Quinn C
Kelly/Mina C
Kelly/Judoc C
Hawke/Sylvia C
Hawke/Fei C
Hawke/Eun'ji C
Hawke/Mina C
Rakim/Rhett C
Rakim/Eun'ji C
Rakim/Fei C
Rakim/Allune C
Harv/Rhett C
Harv/Quinn C
Harv/Sorina C
Harv/Fei C
Zenia/Hyun'ji C
Zenia/Kurt C
Zenia/Suarrure C
Zenia/Rand C
Keith/Judoc C
Keith/Sylvia C
Keith/Carin C
Keith/Nevyn C
Gin/Carin C
Gin/Sorina C
Gin/Mina C
Gin/Kurt C
Isana/Suarrure C
Isana/Quinn C
Isana/Rhett C
Isana/Alice C

(Also don't do that thing where you just quote someone else because that's booooring, make your own choices)

WHAT DID I JUST SAY?