Fire Emblem Three Houses: Risings

Chapter 1: Beyond the Ruin

"No, it's alright. I definitely should answer for my actions. Yes, I was the one who lead the attack on the church, but like I told the king and the archbishop, these people and I didn't mean actual harm to come to those in the monastery walls," Lancer replied as Lorenz nodded.

"That's all I wanted to hear. I just needed to hear of it myself. Sometimes I have a hard time believing that king of ours, especially now that he has even more power over me," Lorenz said with an annoyed sigh. Lancer raised an eyebrow as Marianne giggled a bit.

"Don't mind him. They've been going at it for years now. It's just playful banter between the two. In fact, they were even in the same house together back when we were students in the monastery," Marianne said as Lancer looked astonished.

"And I won't let him get the best of me...Again," Lorenz paused before bringing his attention back to Lancer. "If you may, can you bring us to where the tracks supposably end?"

A few miles away from the village, Lancer lead the way for the king's allies. They eventually reached a clearing, and even Marianne and Lorenz could see that the tracks really did end.

"Oh dear...The tracks really do disappear here in the middle of nowhere it seems," Marianne noted before she got off of her Pegasus.

"We don't have really good trackers, so when we lost the trail here, we weren't sure what else to do," Lancer replied.

"Not to worry. My lovely wife has mastered many different types of spells. I'm sure she can handle this one," Lorenz said with a small smile as Marianne blushed, hiding her smile of appreciation.

Lancer made some room for her, stepping aside as she kneeled down. Rubbing her hands together, she placed them onto the ground. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as her hands began to glowed a light blue. After a moment passed, the light around her hands revealed more tracks heading further down into the forest clearing.

"Someone cloaked this area with a very strong spell. This wasn't the work of an ordinary mage," She said as she continued to work her magic.

"Do you know of anyone who can wield magic in the village?" Lorenz as Lancer as he shook his head. "Then...I fear that Claude was truly right. This must be the work of The Ones who Slither in the Dark." His hand clenched tighter around his lance as Marianne's magic continued to reveal more tracks. Suddenly, a destroyed fortress came into view out of thin air, making everyone but Marianne jump in surprise.

"My lady, are you seeing this?" Lorenz asked quickly.

"Y-Yes. I managed to deactivate the cloaking spell. It took a lot out of me, but I'll manage," She said as she lifted her hands from the ground and opened her eyes. Lorenz, despite the sudden danger, got off of his horse and helped her to her feet. He even helped her back onto her Pegasus before getting back onto his horse.

"There had been a fortress here this whole time?" Lancer asked in shock. This was the first time he had ever seen it, and he practically grew up around this area.

"It appears so, but even then...It looks more like a pile of rubble. It's been reduced to ruins," Lorenz replied. "Judging by how it looks, this was done on purpose. Someone was trying to cover up something, possibly from us."

"Should we go back and report this to Claude?" Marianne asked as Lorenz thought about it for a moment.

"I'm sure we can get more information. The place is abandoned. The more detailed we can be, the better it'll be for us later when we report this back," Lorenz answered as she nodded.

"Agreed," She said as the group began moving towards the fallen fortress. There was a terrible feeling around the castle and it loomed over the group. Something very bad had occurred here recently. Stopping in front of the fortress, Lorenz and the soldiers got off of their horses, and he helped Marianne off of her companion.