Fire Emblem 8: "Promotion" (original draft)

[aviatrix]

Yes, I know I haven't written anything in this journal for months (though you may have noticed me lurking around, occasionally; yes, I do read my friends' list, even though I'm not very sociable. ;P)

Anyways, this is my entry for the fe_contest "Game Mechanics" prompt... In theory. I was happily finishing it up... Until I noticed the word limit.

Cue me swearing and frantically trying to cut it down. (It stood at about 1200 words before I was finished; then I got it down to 1040, and I still hadn't finished it. XP) Apparently I suck at cutting down my writing, even though I know it's wordier than it could be.

Regardless, I'm posting the current version here... I'm going to continue my attempt to cut it down and make it eligible for FE Contest (hopefully before the deadline tomorrow).

BTW, it's another Lute and Artur piece. ;) Game mechanic used should be pretty obvious, from the title.


As Artur strolled through the army camp one afternoon, he paused for a moment; he thought he had caught a glimpse of a familiar figure sitting by themselves, in front of a campfire.

He was not mistaken. Even though he could only see her from behind, Artur instantly recognized Lute's posture; her head was slightly bowed, as if she was staring intently at something before her. (Knowing Lute, this was most likely the case.)

And because Artur knew her so well, he was almost positive that the object she was so intent upon was a bug or reptile of some sort... He shuddered.

Despite himself, Artur caught himself leaning over to get a better look at what had caught Lute's attention... His brow then furrowed.

"Uh, Lute?" Artur found himself saying. "Why are you staring at the back of your hand?"

Lute shifted slightly. As she did so, Artur noticed that her right hand wasn't empty as he had first thought; there was a silver ring with a red jewel on her index finger, which he realized she must've been focused upon. Artur found himself unconsciously feeling for a similar ring on his own hand; he had just received one recently, as well.

Lute didn't seem to acknowledge his presence, at first; clearly, she was still absorbed in gazing at her ring. So Artur was caught off guard when she finally spoke.

"What do you know about Guiding Rings, Artur?" she asked.

Artur blinked. Lute's tone just now was reminiscent of one of his instructors back at the academy, prompting him to recall his studies.

"Well, Guiding Rings focus one's magic," began Artur. "Because they are artifacts of power, they are usually only presented to scholars who have mastered magic of a certain level, and have decided what branches of magic they wish to focus their studies upon. Once they have chosen their path, they are given a title, such as Sage, or Bishop, and the like..." He trailed off.

"That's right. Guiding Rings are inherently magical." Lute held up her hand, causing the firelight to flicker off her ring's silver band, and making its red jewel gleam.

"But what of those medals that soldiers recieve when they are promoted?" she asked him. "Surely they're magical, as well?"

Artur blinked again. "What, you mean like the Knight Crests? They aren't magic."

"Oh no? Then why are they only given to a Knight when he becomes a General? Or a Cavalier when he becomes a Paladin?

"The Knight Crest is merely a medal of valour," said Artur patiently. "They're just awarded to soldiers who have distinguished themselves in battle."

"But how does that make it any different than what a Guiding Ring is to us?" Lute pointed out.

Artur shook his head. "Look, there's nothing magical about it. They're passed down for generations--"

"So are the rings," interrupted Lute.

"--but they don't make the soldier who carries it more powerful, like the rings do for us magic users." Artur concluded. "They are simply a token of gratitude from a knight's lord, for a job well done."

Lute raised an eyebrow at this. "Oh, really? Then you believe this to be true for any item awarded to a newly promoted soldier?"

Artur nodded. "That's right. Take Elysian Whips, for example. From what I've heard, they're given by a superior officer to their subordinates, once a Pegasus or Wyvern Knight has been promoted.

"Really? I thought they were actually used on them when they were promoted. You know..."

Lute made a suggestive motion with her hand, causing Artur flush.

"Um, no, I'm pretty sure that's not the way it works," he managed to choke out.

"Really? Perhaps we should ask one of the pegasus or wyvern knights, so they can clarify."

Artur flushed even redder. "I don't think that would be such a good idea..."

Lost in thought, Lute was oblivious to Artur's obvious discomfort.

"Still, I might be willing to concede your previous point... I can certainly see something like a Hero Crest being considered a medal of valour," she said, with some reluctance (and for which Artur was secretly relieved). "But what about items like the Ocean Seal? The social hierachy of pirates are far different than that of a lord and his knights."

"I've heard such medallions bring you luck at sea, and are only given to pirates when they consider you one of their own," said Artur. "Orion's Bolts are similar in that respect; I've been told they're made from enemy arrowheads that have just barely missed slaying a soldier in battle."

Lute's brow furrowed. "That doesn't make sense. Wouldn't it be more logical to make one from an arrowhead that had slain many enemies in battle, instead? I would consider that far more lucky, in my opinion."

"You do have a point there," admitted Artur. "It might be more difficult to retrieve such an arrowhead, though." *Especially considering that you would have to cut it out of a fallen enemies' wound,* he thought to himself sadly.

"And what about the Master Seal?" asked Lute, raising an eyebrow. "Do you truly believe that such an artifact has no mystical properties, at all?"

"I suppose I must admit that the Master Seal might be magical," Artur conceded. "It's an object so ancient and revered, that any soldier would be honoured to recieve it as a reward, regardless of their background or profession."

"But as for the other items... Such medals might appear to make their owners more powerful, but I believe that's because the soldiers themselves wish themselves to be deserving of such accolades, and strive to be better at their professions because of it... There's no mystical power involved, at all."

"You're just saying that, though," Lute pointed out. "You have no actual proof that such items aren't magical, do you?"

"I suppose not," Artur admitted.

Lute had a thoughtful look on her face. Artur recognized that expression; it was the one Lute got when she was about to come up with an experiment of some sort (usually involving him).

"Well, there's only one way to settle this, isn't there?" she proclaimed. "We should acquire one of these supposed promotion items, and examine them for any magical properties."

Artur couldn't help but notice the use of the word 'we' in Lute's previous sentence.

"Um, I'm pretty sure that most soldiers in our army wouldn't appreciate you borrowing their prized medals, so you can perform experiments on them," he said nervously.

"Oh, I didn't plan on asking first."

Artur gulped. He had plenty of first-hand experience with being a part of Lute's so-called experiments, and most objects that came under her 'careful' scrutiny were lucky to come out intact, if at all... He himself could attest to that.

And Artur was certain that the average burly soldier would not be happy to find that one of their most prized possessions had disappeared, only to have it returned to them, reduced to mere slag.

Even though he knew it would be a daunting task, Artur attempted to talk Lute out of this course of action. First, he tried reason: he explained to her that stealing from the other soldiers would most likely get her kicked out of the army, even if she 'returned it after she was done'.

When that didn't work, he tried begging and pleading; and when that didn't work, Artur made some promises to Lute that he was certain he was going to regret later... But finally, with much reluctance (and to Artur's great relief), she agreed not to commit larceny for the sake of satisfying her own curiosity.

So Lute walked away, looking somewhat discouraged... Artur felt a bit guilty for quelling her inquisitive nature, but knew it was for the best (though he was worried that Lute's curiosity might get the better of her, eventually).

Yet despite his misgivings, Lute was true to her word; she never did look into whether or not promotion items had mystical properties, just as she had promised.

But from that moment on, Artur could never watch a soldier's promotion ceremony without wondering if there was some truth to Lute's theory, after all.


EDIT 07/18/11: Posting the original draft here, not the 1000 word version I edited for FE Contest (I had to cut out some lines I liked for that ;).