He found her in the field, and fate changed. But they still had much to learn about the past - and the future. A Fire Emblem: Awakening novelization.
~Cover art by Liirin Risun~
Validar's face twisted with fury. "Wretch... you're making this much harder than it need be."
His long fingers hooked around Elysa's neck, and shoved her roughly backwards, painfully bending her over the altar. She instinctively pried at the hand choking her, but Validar grabbed her by the right wrist, and slammed the back of her hand, bearing the Mark, into the altar. Searing pain lanced up her arm, and the world around her throbbed black and red.
Validar smiled cruelly, and just as Aversa flew over the altar, he dissipated into black mist, teleporting across the room as Aversa's spear buried itself beside Elysa where he had just stood.
Aversa pulled her sister upright by the collar. "Keep it together... stay with us," she hissed. Elysa trembled.
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Chrom saw Elysa sinking to her knees by the altar, and Aversa stood over her, facing outwards to protect her sister from anyone who dared to approach. He gritted his teeth — loathe as he was to trust Aversa, it was his only option. A Grimleal with an axe was coming at him from the right, and he brought Falchion up to swing a parry. Sparks flew as the axe caught on his blade, and the Grimleal growled in Chrom's face. He heard another battlecry from over the Grimleal's shoulder, and then the parallel Falchion appeared through the Grimleal's chest. Lucina pulled her sword free, blood dripping from the Grimleal's wound. He fell to his knees and slumped to the floor. She gave her father a brief nod, before turning to engage the others who had rushed into the room.
Where Validar had reappeared, a dark vortex of magic was spiraling out across the room. He flung a dark spear at the Shepherds. Kellam raised his shield to block it, but it passed right through, embedding itself in the knight's shoulder. Cherche whipped around, turning her attention to the dark mage, and Minerva roared a challenge. Validar lifted his hand, and the flux of magic swirled around the wyvern, trapping it in a vortex of the dark barrier.
"Validar...!" Chrom charged the Grimleal leader, swinging Falchion in a wide arc as he drew near. Sparks and shadows flew from Validar's hands as he dodged and ducked under Chrom's attacks. His own offensive spells of dark magic left smoldering marks on the ground, just inches behind where Chrom had stood. Validar gritted his teeth as Chrom's swings grew closer and closer. He and leapt away, channeling his magic into one large burst, which blew Chrom backwards across the room and into a pillar with enough force for it to crumble slightly.
He gasped, the wind knocked out of his chest, and struggled to his feet, using his blade as a crutch. Validar laughed, and Chrom looked up through blurred vision to see a dark orb of magic flying directly at him. There was no time to leap out of the way.
Then light exploded before him as the spell was countered by a ball of red lightning, sending fireworks across the room. Chrom looked to the altar, and he saw Elysa struggling to her feet. Her extended hand still sparked with the remnants of her arcthunder. Seeing his daughter stand up, Validar scowled, and disappeared again, to hover above them all close to the ceiling.
