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Featured: Tears of the Elder Dragon

Rune Factory 4

Copyright © Marvelous

I love this tune from the game

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Merric's eyes fill with seriousness as he pulls himself away from my gaze on his, and up to Chrom, "So, Vladimir's purpose that last battle was not to attack me, but indirectly attacking Star, because he knew she would try to protect me?"

Merric looks away, "... Yes. As you know, the Dark Lord has been chasing my mother since she was a child. I have heard several things from her and my grandmother that it is normal if a dark magician gets attacked by the Dark Lord, even all of their life. Every time the Dark Lord tries again, they become stronger, learning from their previous attempts, hoping to finally become stronger than their target,"

Merric looks up and finds my gaze, "The Dark Lord knows he can use Daein to destroy Ylisse while searching for my mother. Ever since he found her, he has been using Daein to chip away, hoping to make everyone dear to her suffer before taking her power,"

I look away, holding away tears as I listen to his words and feel something bubble up within me. His words make sense. Everything that has happened prior their arrival and even after, all of those attacks on Lucina, Myst and the surrounding towns, were all planned to lure me out, attack and then pull away, hoping to land blows that hurt.

And I did not catch on. I let the Dark Lord do this to me. And I was about to fall for his trap to capture me and take me away forever, plundering my home into darkness.

I turn back towards him, a single tear defeats me and slides down my cheek, "So, I am not the only one who was lost...? The presence of Ragnell tells me this..." My voice comes out weak.

Merric slowly nods as he studies me, "So I lost to him. And Ylisse perished because of it," Merric's mouth opens slightly and sadness washes through his eyes, "I—I tried, but I was young then. When I figured out nothing I could do will help, I was devastated,"

I keep my gaze down as I feel Ike's presence beside me and Papa's strong grip on my shoulder, "I see. So it was more than just me you came back for... At first, before I knew who you were, I thought both of you hated me,"

Merric and Lance's eyes widen and I do not let them say anything yet by placing my hand up in front of them, "It was just the way you acted, the things you said and the actions you took. They just made me feel like you were against me. But I felt nothing negative towards me so I was conflicted and confused,"

Lance steps forward with a worried look in his eye, "Hate you? We were afraid of that, Ma," Sadness fills Lance's eyes as he looks at me, "That is why we wanted to keep our identities hidden because we knew you might feel that way. We originally just wanted to come in with our identity hidden to get in, stop the events from happening and get out, but you made that harder than we anticipated,"

Merric approaches me quickly, almost pushing Lance out of his way and he finds my gaze. Something is appearing in his eyes as he studies me, "What? Hate you?" The look he gives me almost looks hurt. Sadness flushes over him, he raises his hands up, holds them together and keeps them up near his chest. His hair partly covers his eyes as he looks back at me with partially shadowed eyes.

"No! It's not like you are the best mother in the world or anything!" A single tear falls down his face. I cannot hide the surprise in my eyes as my mouth opens marginally. I watch my son and bring up my hands to press against my chest, "You do everything so perfect and... I wanted to do nothing but learn all that you knew and impress you. I wanted you to be proud of me..."

He searches my face for a moment, then turns away, with what looks to be a heartbroken look on his face and his blond bangs are swaying slightly in front of his face. He drops his arms back behind his cape, "I still want and always have wanted that. I might not have shown it much... but..."

I faintly see some tears fall down Merric's face behind his golden bangs that are shadowing him. I feel almost speechless as I stare back at my sons, who all along I have started to believe they hated me and were someone completely different. Now I find out they are my sons and they adore me, which seems to be the opposite of how they previously acted. I know it was to hide their identities and they are here for something specific that me knowing might have been an issue, but I am having a difficult time getting over how much of a loss for words I have currently.

A smile appears on my lips as more tears slowly begin to slide down my face, "Merric... Lance... I have always been proud of you. I know now your intentions and I know now that you have never hated me,"

Merric jerks his gaze back to mine and a half smile creeps up on his lips as Lance smiles at me from behind him, "We have always been proud of you. I mean..." Ike steps in front of me to face his sons and they both turn and look up at him.

"Just look at you both now. Merric, you have grown much stronger than your mother at a young age. You learned to control Falchion, like way before your mother ever tried wielding it for real and not just for fun or because her father asked her to," As Ike tells Merric this, something flashes in his eyes before being concealed by some other emotion. The second one looks slightly saddening but it is quickly pushed away as Merric studies his father.

Ike smiles down at Merric before turning to face Lance. His face brightens slightly as his smile increases, "And you, boy, Lance, you have grown into a strong Swordmaster. I can tell that you wield Ragnell with purpose by in just the way you stand there with it,"

Lance has Ragnell resting on his left shoulder with the point out behind him and his other hand resting on his hip. Ragnell is so long, it stretches quite a distance behind him. I see Ike stand this way quite often and I am sure Lance learned to do that from him.

Lance looks astonished for a short moment before smiling again, "So you did notice what class I chose, Pa. It was one of the ones you suggested to me... so I used it," Some of Lance's dark blue hair falls down from his sweatband and slightly shades the left side of his face. Something slightly appears from within his cape and I see Papa immediately notice it.

Papa's eyes shine slightly and he steps forward, taking a good look at his grandson. Lance looks at him wearily, like he is wondering what has interested him so. Ike is watching his father with a curiousness in his sapphire eyes as they slide back and forth between him and his son.

Papa smiles wide and looks over at his son while gesturing towards his grandson, "Look closer, boy,"

Papa turns back and crosses his arms proudly, "You have Urvan,"

Wha—Urvan? Is that—?

Ike steps closer and a smile appears across his face. It is his proud fatherly smile again that Lance always can give to him. Papa smiles with him and turns back to Lance, "Yes, Papa Greil. I do have him," Lance pulls an axe out with his right hand from within his cape. When I look at it for a moment, I do recognize it.

It's Papa's axe. Lance has Papa's axe! That is impressive. I did not expect him to take it up.

"Oh, do you know how to wield him, boy?"

Lance nods and hands Ragnell to Papa to place Urvan into his strong hand. Lance swings it around with a single smooth motion and then swiftly rests it where he just held Ragnell on his left shoulder.

"Ah, very impressive, boy,"

"I got it from Pa. He took it when you passed away," Lance reaches out and gives Papa a hug, "I have missed you as well, Papa Greil,"

"Ah, I see. Hmm, I suppose that is where you should have got it from," Papa hands Lance back Ragnell after he puts it back within his cape resting on his hip.

When I turn back to Merric, I see him watching all of us wearily, with something hiding within his eyes. I tilt my head slightly and he notices me. A saddened look appears on his face faintly and he looks away while his face becomes slightly shadowed once again by his hair.

Merric? Is there more he still has not told me yet?

Like Merric hears me, he turns his eyes back to mine while they are shadowed behind his bangs, "I... I cannot stay, Ma,"

What?

"W—Why?" He should stay. He is still a member of our mercenaries. Now that he is here, he can help me fight the Dark Lord, right?

"You should stay with us. Aren't you going to help us fight Daein and the Dark Lord?"

He shakes his head at me with a sense of sorrow washing over his face and eyes. The look he is giving me now with his eyes breaks my heart. Where is this extreme sadness coming from all of a sudden?

"N—No... I cannot,"

"But—?"

"I cannot help you at all and I cannot return home. I cannot stay and I must leave, now that my work is complete,"

Nothing? But why?

"What is wrong? Why not?"

Merric sweeps his eyes from mine up to his father then over to his brother. Lance gives him a saddened look and a shallow nod like he already knows what his reasons are. Merric looks back to mine and another stronger wave of sadness washes over him, "I am cursed, Ma," He says softly.

C—Cursed?

I feel every emotion drain from me as a tear slides down Merric's face once again. There is only one thing I know of that he could have possibly have done to become cursed.

"Is it how you travelled here? You never told me. Is that why?" I think I know what he is about to tell me...

"Y—Yeah, Ma... Look, I know you are not my real mother, but I cannot go back to see her if my mission is successful. I left home knowing that. You cannot possibly understand what it felt like knowing that,"

He looks away, with a distance to him like he is instinctively putting back up his emotional wall, "I had no choice. I am stuck here. I did not do this just for the sake of saving you for my selfish purposes. I had two reasons why and here they are," As he speaks to me, he goes back and forth between looking at me with his shadowed eyes to looking off into the distance.

"I did it so these boys right here..." As he says this, I realize little Merric went to get little Lance and they are standing near me, "... will have you at least. Even though I lost her forever. The other reason being I had to as to save Ylisse from this war. You, Ma... you are the key,"

The key? I... I think I know now what he means. There are more things to this than I thought...

"In my time, after you became cursed and ill, we were trapped in a never ending time of a war we could not win. The Dark Lord knew this and made Ylisse suffer for as long as possible before closing in to take it all,"

Another tear slides down the other side of his face as he speaks, looking away from me now, "The Dark Lord, he... He killed everyone right on front of me,"

More tears slide down and his voice becomes slightly shaky as he speaks, "After your death, everyone was lost. I took Lance and fled. I learned the spell Mire, knowing its power is the only thing I can do to stop this, and used its might to travel back in time, accepting its consequences. It took me a long time to learn the spell. But once I did, I became cursed and used the power it gave me to stop these events from happening again,"

He did learn it. I figured it out when he said he was cursed.

I stop fighting the tears back and I take a step closer to Merric with a slight stern look on my face, "I knew it. You did learn Mire after I told you not to!"

Merric turns back to look at me with a stern look of his own, being covered with tears flowing down his face, "Look, Ma! Stop thinking about me for once and think of you! Please!" His bright emerald eyes plead with mine as his eyes soften, "It was the only way! You know this! You must! I was given extreme strength and power from the spell, Ma, but I am cursed. I cannot ever return home. I cannot ever use this power to help you without hurting anyone. And if I try to reverse the curse, I will hurt the ones closest to me,"

He studies my face as his defensive wall drops completely, making him look vulnerable. I have never seen him with his guard lowered like this before, "But now that you are not cursed, you can stop the Dark Lord from tearing Ylisse to pieces and win the war, Ma. You will be free. Ylisse will be free,"

His voice trails off and he whispers the last word, free. He pauses and glances up to his father before looking back to mine, keeping his voice in a soft whisper, "Now that my work is complete, I should leave,"

Several tears fall down my face at once and I reach out to my son, "M—Merric..."

He just shakes his head at me and backs away out of my reach, hiding his face from view as he turns away from me. His voice in a complete whisper now, "Don't worry about me, Ma. I—I knew this from the start. This is why I did not want to reveal myself in the first place... I am sorry..."

He brings up his right hand and his dark magic is encompassing it, "I cannot stay here... Come find me later..." He brings his hand up further and the dark magic beams swallow him up.

"Merric...!" I choke out.

Before he completely disappears, he whispers one last word to me, "Please," and is gone. I feel the largest sensation to sob and I feel myself sink to the ground beneath me with my face in my hands. I feel arms wrap around me and I know it is Ike.

"We will find him again, Hun," Ike says to me softly while wrapping me in his arms. I bury my face away in his shoulder and silently sob until there are no more tears left to cry.

~~~

Ike leads me through the dark woods near camp until he brings me to the same place I found him before when he proposed to me. Just like Ike guessed, Merric is standing there watching the horizon similarly to the way Ike stood there previously with his back to us. When we approach closer, Merric turns around slightly and his left eye is the only thing I see from underneath his golden bangs and the moonlight faintly glowing behind him lighting him up from the other side.

"So, you cannot stay with us?" Ike asks softly and gently with his deep voice.

Merric shakes his head slightly, "No. If I stay, I will hurt someone. Similarly, to when I almost did to my brother as a child. The day I learned to control Falchion. It is just more likely now, Pa. I am surprised I did not hurt Ma that day I sparred with her," He slides his eyes to mine as he says this. I can see the hurt and pain he is hiding from view in his eye as he looks at me.

I open my arms out and he allows me a simple embrace before pulling away from me, "I love you, Ma," he says simply. He gives one to Ike as well, "I love you too, Pa,"

He turns away from us once again, throwing himself in shadow with his cape, "I will be around... If you need me... I will be there..." he whispers softly.

Seconds after he says this, his dark magic envelops him and he is gone.

(whoa) So a lot happened here. Like a ton. Any questions? Please ask!

That is all of it. Now you know Merric very well. He has become transparent and if you do know him well, you know he hates feeling vulnerable.

Now you should understand why Mire is so dangerous. Now you should understand why Merric and Lance did the things they did throughout the story.

This is my favorite part and the end to this scene. Tell me what you think!