Fire Emblem Three Houses: The Ashen Demon

Chapter 1

In memory of Billy Kametz.

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Fire Emblem Three Houses: The Ashen Demon

Friday 18th Great Tree Moon, 1180

'T-Thank you again f-for s-saving us sir,' the old man wheezed.

And he, Podrick, meant it. He'd lived in Remire Village his whole life and yet he'd never been so scared. Ronan, a pillaging warlord, had chosen Remire as his next target and had been marching with his band of men towards them.

The old man had feared the worst, and yet it'd never come to pass. He'd thanked the goddess for that. He'd prayed to her, asking for her protection, and she'd delivered. Just as the warlord and his bandits had neared their village, another group of warriors had arrived to deal with them.

At first, Podrick didn't believed they'd succeed. They looked strong yet he'd counted only fifty of them. The rumours had spoken of Ronan having a force that far outnumbered theirs. Just how could so few warriors deal with so many bandits?

The fifty warriors had left early in the morning to face them, and most of them returned in the late afternoon; limping, bruised and battered, but alive. They returned with something else as well, Ronan's head.

The man he stood before now, the one he'd just thanked, leaned against a tree just outside the village. He had a shaved head and an array of piercings and tattoos scattered across his body. A blade of grass hung from his mouth and he rolled a gold piece along his fingers.

'No bother, short stuff,' he said. 'All part of the job.'

'A p-part of'- Podrick trembled. 'I-I heard there were l-lots of bandits.'

The man nodded. 'Plenty of the assholes. (He smiled.) Guess you're lucky Jeralt the Blade Breaker and his band of mercenaries turned up in time, eh?'

'Y-Y-Yes,' Podrick stammered, nodding his head. 'You m-must be really strong.'

The man chuckled. 'We're the finest mercenary group in all Fódlan. All the nations of this land, the Adrestian Empire, the Kingdom of Faerghus and the Leicester Alliance all know about us, but you don't?'

Podrick shook his head. 'F-Forgiv-ve me, I'-

'I'm teasing ya,' the man said, still gazing down at his hands. 'We ain't that big-headed. If anything, we like to keep on the low down. Our leader doesn't like attracting too much attention.'

Podrick fell silent. The mercenary continued to roll a gold piece along his fingers.

'You need something?' he asked.

Podrick jumped, remembering the basket of bread in his hand. 'Oh I- uh, brought f-food to thank you,'

'Nah I'm good,' the mercenary replied. 'I did huntin' earlier, you save that for yourself.'

'R-Right,' Podrick said. 'Well, w-what about t-that man over there?'

He raised a trembling hand and pointed. He pointed to an area at the front of the village where a large blanket of trees sat. At the edge of them he saw a mercenary crouched down.

For the first time since they'd started speaking, the tattooed mercenary lifted his head. He gazed at the other mercenary and then shook his head. 'He'll be fine as well. Don't worry about him.'

Podrick frowned. 'S-Should I-I not give him the offer anyway?'

The mercenary looked at him. A crazed look sparkled in his eyes and his mouth formed into a grin, flashing the few teeth he had left.