Fire Emblem: Dyad of Time

ACT I, CHAPTER 3: AT A COST

ACT 1, CHAPTER 3: AT A COST

[The past. Sophia is walking through the temple, helping the monks recover. In the temple gardens, she comes across a very ill, middle-aged burly man with glasses and a brown bushy beard. He is hunched over something with a large blanket over himself, and appears to be inscribing something on parchment with his quill.]

Sophia: Ah, excuse me, sir. Are you hurt? I can offer to take a look at your wounds.

Burly man: It's fine, thank you. My illness cannot be treated.

Sophia: Have the spirits ailed you? I have exorcised them all from the others.

Burly man: ... my case is different. All the monks here have tried everything, and they're among the best in the land. Nothing can be done. I've been living in this temple, biding my time, preparing to die. I'm ready. [He coughs]

Sophia: I am so sorry to hear that. [She notices what he is watching, and her face glows up] Pardon me sir, is that a Crescent herb you are watching?

Burly man: [smiles] Why yes it is. These plants are hard to find, so I took the chance to write a poem about its features. The way it looks, how it shines by itself amongst the darkness it resides in... you know your herbs?

Sophia: Yes sir, I am quite fond of them. Ever since I was a child, I have loved taking care of all sorts of plants and watching them grow.

Burly man: Ha, well it's not every day you find someone as interested in them as you. There are collections upon collections of preserved herbs stored in the books of the library. Would you want me to show you around?

Sophia: Well, I have just finished caring for most of the people here, so yes, that would be nice.

Burly man: Alright, then. By the way, my name is Hermann.

Sophia: Mines is Sophia. I am pleased to meet you.

[They head into the library, and into a secluded area filled with stacks of parchment lining the tall shelves. Sophia is in awe at the spectacle]

Sophia: These books are quite new. Did someone write them?

Hermann: Well, I did.

Sophia: You wrote all of this?

Hermann: I sure did. They're just a bunch of musings about things I've picked up during my travels, and some ideas I've had about how people should live.

Sophia: That is interesting. May I take a look?

Hermann: Knock yourself out.

[He shows her a few writings, and Sophia is engrossed in them.]

Sophia: These ideas... they're wonderful.

Hermann: You really think so?

Sophia: Yes. Something was troubling me before, but now, I have finally laid it to rest.

Hermann: What was bothering if, if you don't mind saying?

Sophia: I was saddened by the destruction of Kronos Jungles. With the Fire Emblem, I saw into the future and saw that its fate did not change. Was it inevitable? To have built such a beautiful place, only to destine it to meet such a horrific end?

Hermann: Those who follow Batova would say its destiny is a sacrifice to allow the rest of the world to escape the Merciless Hunger.

Sophia: But your writings have shown me a different view, and one that I think would be very beautiful, if it were to be finished. Growing up in the Sisterly Order, I have been taught that Myonkos works like a clock- each soul is a gear, and must not leave the position designed just for them. If just one leaves, the whole clock may fall apart. Of course, this is merely an analogy; the actual workings are too complex to be understood by any human.