#clarere audere gaudere | memories

[memorylcst]

Children Lost In Time | Pt III

          Getting out of the ruined temple had been easier than expected, though the twins put that more to the fact that the other party there had gotten involved in a battle with the zombie monsters. The twins were sure that at some point they had been seen by that group, but their quick thinking was able to get both of them out of there without getting caught. Now they continued away from the temple, with no real destination in mind yet other than away from that place. 

         Although, the sun was beginning to set at this point, and the twins weren’t all that sure that they wanted to sleep outside… Then again at this point, any sleep would be more than welcome for them, and they could take turns sleeping in case of an attack.

         “Li’l Shepherds! Li’l Shepherds wait!” 

         Marc and Morgan both stopped at the call, half turning to look for the person calling out without letting go of the other’s hand. They watched somewhat confused as a village woman headed their way, after a moment letting go of their hands to turn and face her fully, only to join them again a moment later.

           “Us?” They asked their voices in equally confused unison.

         “Well, I don’t see any other around. Ain’t you two part-a the group? They had another wearing that there coat.” 

         The twins could only exchange a look between them, unable to properly answer the woman about being part of the group she was speaking of. They didn’t really remember anything about Shepherds, but... their mother wore a coat like theirs. Thankfully this woman didn’t seem to expect an answer. 

         “See here them monsters seem ta get stronger at night ‘n we can’t let you li’l ‘uns face that. Come, we’ll take care o’ you tonight. We owe those fellows fer savin’ us.” The woman walked around behind them and started to usher both twins through the village gates. 

         Allowing themselves to be herded the twins exchanged a look. This woman didn’t seem dangerous, and they had no better leads or ideas. They knew that their mother, Robin, wore a coat identical to theirs so… That had to be why they were thought to be these Shepherds. Maybe… If they followed rumors of the Shepherds they’d be able to catch up? It seemed like a good enough idea at the moment, but more than that the twins couldn’t deny that being able to sleep somewhere relatively safe was appealing. That was probably what truly made them go along with this woman’s urging without any protest. 

         The twins stayed with the village woman for two days, just long enough to recover from their exhaustion and make a plan on what to do next. That plan of course was to find their mother because once they were back together with her everything would have to fall back into place. The only problem they had was figuring out where she was, and how to get there. 

         Which turned out to not be that much of a problem, as the woman who took them in overheard them talking of their dilemma. She told them that their group was marching towards Vlam, which happened to be invading, and so their best bet would be to head for the port city. She pulled out a map from a drawer and showed it to them, before telling the twins that they could have it.  They tried to protest again, but she was more stubborn than they were, and made sense in pointing out it didn’t do her much good gathering dust on a shelf; so in the end, they could only give her their thanks. 

         That wasn’t the only time something like that happened though. When the two of them went to buy supplies from in town for their trip they found that prices didn’t quite add up, being less than they were supposed to be when they went to pay for them. The blacksmith actually gave Marc a new sword, complaining that the one that the boy carried was too big for him. A woman of the village gave Morgan a fire tome explaining that she couldn’t use it but was sure the girl would be able to.

         “This is the weirdest place…” Morgan muttered as she packed things into a bag for their trip. “What kind of people just give things away?” 

         “They’re just trying to express their thanks to the Shepherds… I think.” Marc replied as he tied his own bag closed. 

         “Mrmph.” Morgan’s displeased noise told Marc all he needed for a reply. 

         They weren’t even sure they were part of this group, so accepting the kindness and thanks was… Weird for them. It wasn’t that they weren’t grateful for it, because they truly were but at the same time… Not knowing, more importantly not saying that they didn’t know, made them feel like they were also taking advantage of these people. 

         Marc sighed, shouldering his bag, his sister following suit a beat later. “Let’s give our thanks, and say goodbye. We have a long trip, and we shouldn’t impose any longer.”

         “Sounds good to me.”

[memorylcst]

clarere audere gaudere | in somnis veritas 

          A little boy of about six peeked around the corner searching the room quietly for someone. When he spotted the person he was looking for a smile lit his face and the child came out from behind his corner. “Papa!” 

         The other person in the room stopped what he was doing, lowering his sword and turning to face the little one. Somehow it was hard to identify exactly who he was with his plain clothing and his face unclear, but still, the boy knew he hadn’t mistaken this man. It was his father for sure, and though his face wasn’t clear the smile the man wore was one the boy knew well.  

         “Hello, Marc.” 

         With a child’s laugh, Marc ran over to the man, taking the greeting as an invitation to come closer. His father knelt down to his level as he got closer, though curiously the man’s face didn’t get any clearer to the boy outside of his tender smile. Not that Marc minded that at all, taking joy in the affectionate hair ruffle he received. 

         “Is your sister here as well?” 

         Marc shook his head at the question, his tiny hands reaching up to gently remove and then hold the hand resting on his head. “No, she’s with Mamma right now. Mor said it was girls only.” His little nose wrinkled at that statement, not liking having been left out of whatever his mother and twin sister were doing. 

         “Girls only was it? Then why don’t you go and get the wooden swords, and we can practice together. Boys only.” 

         The little boy’s face lit up, excitement starting to build as he nodded, “Uhn! I’ll get them!” Letting go of his father’s big hand Marc scurried off to get the wooden practice swords to the sound of a chuckle. Morgan might have been with their Mamma, probably studying magic or something cool like that, but he got to practice swords with their father! 

         When Marc returned moments later he was trying very hard not to trip over the swords carried in his arms who was on his feet again, sword sheathed at his side, waiting for him. The man gave a small laugh, meeting the boy partway before receiving the practice sword that Marc gave him. 

         “That’s my boy. Now, can you show your papa what you remember from last time?”

         “Ok!” Marc said with a nod and he changed his hold on the wooden sword so he’d be holding it properly. 

[memorylcst]

Children Lost In Time | Pt IV

          A week of travel gave the twins a good idea of what was going on in the world, even if they still didn’t know much about what was going on with themselves. Although even if the twins didn’t have a map, it would turn out that the Shepherds weren’t hard to track. They were… Awfully busy people. Every so often the twins would stop at a village, or a travel house and talk with the people and always there would be someone who could tell them of the Shepherds in some way or another. A few times even they had been asked to pass along thanks to the group from people they had saved.

         “Busybodies, I think they’re busybodies,” Morgan said with a shake of her head as they parted from some other travelers they had stopped a moment to talk to, making sure they were still on the right path to the port city.

         Marc couldn’t help but laugh at his sister, “They sound like good people though. I’m looking forward to meeting them. Aren’t you?” 

         “I didn’t say that! I just said I think they’re busybodies. How many fights have they gotten into in order to save people? That doesn’t sound very efficient for an army.” Morgan retorted as they started walking again. 

         “Yes, yes.” 

         The girl huffed and turned her face away from her brother in a pout before she asked, “So what did that peddler say?” 

         “Ah, well, we’re about a day away if we keep a leisurely pace, half that if we hurry. It sounds like they’re setting sail tomorrow so…” Marc trailed off, only to get cuffed on the shoulder by his sister who started walking faster, then starting to jog. 

         “Stupid, say that sooner! Hurry up if we miss them now Naga only knows how long it’ll be until we can catch up!” 

         Marc picked up his pace to follow her, “Morgan don’t be hasty! You’re going to trip!” She looked back over her shoulder and stuck out her tongue before breaking out into a run, Marc groaning before he did the same. 

         They reached the port at about midday, the city bustling with lively people everywhere. Both children looked around a bit bewildered, and a little overwhelmed by the sights, the noise, and the smells. Their entire time since they had woken in that field neither had been in a place bigger than a small village, so what was laid out before them was… A lot. 

         “So…” Morgan moved a little closer to her brother’s side, her free hand reaching for his own to hold as if she were afraid that they would be separated in such a crowd.

         “Now we find Mother, and tell her what happened,” Marc replied quietly as his gaze moved from here to there searching for a clue of where they needed to go next. Finally, he started forward, leading his sister by the hand through the crowds of people. 

         Finally, they reached the docks, and it became even more obvious as to where they needed to go, however, the twins stopped a bit away, standing side by side as they watched the ships being loaded with supplies. 

         “You ready?” 

         “Not at all… You?” 

         “We… Have no proof.”

         “Great, well, let’s go.” The twins looked at each other and nodded, letting go of the other’s hands before heading right for the ship with the most people lingering at the end of the gangplank. It was truly now or never, and though their hearts were racing a mile a minute they did their best to keep calm outwardly at least.

         “Excuse me!” When Marc called out the small group of warriors, two men and a woman, stopped talking, looking at them with what turned into curious gazes. He managed to give them a boyish smile, stamping down on the urge to hold onto his sister’s hand again like an unsure child, “We’re looking for Robin.”

         “And what would two kiddos want with our great tactician?” One of the men asked. Admittedly he looked familiar... Maybe… Or maybe they were trying too hard to remember something that wasn’t there anyway. It was hard for them to tell right now. 

         The twins exchanged a look with each other, before looking back at the group. Morgan smiled at them brightly as she replied, “We’re the great tactician’s children of course. Now can we get through?”

         A shocked pause held between everyone before one of the group, the only woman, turned and left after saying, “I’ll get Chrom and Robin.”

         Morgan nodded her head in agreement waving with a cheery smile, while Marc looked curiously at the remaining people. “You believe us?” The boy could hardly believe it, especially given what they had heard was going on at the time. 

         The man who hadn’t spoken to them before smiled, a hand raising to scratch the back of his neck. “Well, you two certainly wouldn’t be the first kids to join us from the future, and you don’t seem like you’re lying.”

         Marc couldn’t help but frown a bit in his own confusion. The future? That certainly didn’t seem right, after all, time travel was... Well impossible!

         “Are these the two that say they’re Robin’s kids?” A voice from a bit away spoke, and the twins looked past the two men they had been left with up to the ship, there two new faces were present. One a man with blue hair, his clothes similar in color save for his cape, that was familiar, someone they surely knew they just... Couldn’t quite remember yet. 

         At his right though, there was the person the twins had been looking for.

[memorylcst]

Children Lost In Time | Pt II

          When Marc woke he felt as if someone had hit him in the head with the flat side of an axe. A low groan passed his lips from the pain, and he started to curl into a ball in hopes that it would help, hands coming up to cradle his head only to find he had to let go of something. 

         Barely his eyes opened, blurry vision greeted mostly with dirt and grass, a little beyond that a larger form. “Nnnnn?” 

         Slowly he pushed himself up with the arm that was already underneath him. Where… Where was he? Sitting up on his knees made his head spin, but he wouldn’t lay back down, a vague feeling telling him he couldn’t do so yet. Looking at his other hand Marc found it held onto a sword, its gold hilt ornately decorated and adorned with a red gem, that felt heavy in his hand.

         Was this… his? Where did he get it from?

         Another groan caught his attention because it wasn’t one from him, and Marc’s gaze shifted past his sword to a small form not too far from him, actually within arms reach, in a coat identical to the one he was wearing that curled up into a ball. That was….

         Who was that? The boy frowned, his head tilting a bit as he stared his free hand coming up to cradle his head again. This was… This person… He should know… his same coat, his same hair… “Mor...ga..n?” That name, was it theirs? “Mor... gan.” He repeated it slowly again remembering that yes, this was their, no her, name. 

         Morgan, his sister, his twin. 

         “Ugh!” Marc pressed the heel of his palm against his forehead as if that would help. Gods this hurt! Why did his head hurt so much? Ah, but he could remember… He could remember he has a sister and mother, and… there were others too that were blurry. Actually, there was so much that was blurry to him right now. His head was heavy, throbbing, and foggy all at the same time. What an unpleasant feeling it was.

         Noise in the not too far distance made the boy jump, and look around startled. He saw nothing so far but… For how long?

         “Morgan, Morgan get up!” Reaching out he shook his sister’s shoulder, relieved when he heard her groan again even though it sounded like she too was in pain. “Up! We need to go!” His voice was urgent, borderline panicky as he changed his grip on the sword he kept in his hand, driving the blade into the ground near him and using it to help him stand. 

         Again his head spun, eyes closing tight as his body swayed and it took every ounce of willpower he had to stay on his feet. Once he was stable though he reached down and hauled his dazed sister up as well.

         “Who…?” Her voice was slow and confused though she didn’t fight against him. 

         “Your brother.” Marc slipped her arm that he held around his neck and wrapped his free hand around her back to help support her. 

         “Ma..rc?”

         “Yeah,” As he answered his sister, the boy also grabbed onto the sword he had woken with again pulling it from the ground this time. “We have to go now, think later.” 

         “Nngh, my… Head...” Her own free hand which was clutching onto a thick book started to come up as if to press against her face before seeming to change her mind. 

         “I know, I know…” He replied starting to get them to walk forwards, hopefully to a safer place than this… wherever they were.

         It was a temple of sorts, ruined and overrun with monsters, but a temple nonetheless. Thankfully ruined temples provided plenty of places to hide for clever children such as themselves, and the twins took advantage of that and the fact that the monsters here weren’t all that bright. They had discovered that so long as they remained out of sight and quiet the awful creatures would go right past the little hideaway that the twins had created for themselves. 

         Then there was the matter of the other sounds they had heard, ones that sounded like a group of people who had entered the temple. Either treasure hunters or brigands the twins figured, and neither were the type of people that they wanted to get involved with.

         Though both Marc and Morgan had found they could fight, quite well at that, right now they needed a break. Just a moment of time to recover from the shocks that had been coming since they awoke; to stop and figure out what was going on, and what to do next. Sadly between the two of them they had a whole lot of… Nothing.

        The twins could remember things, how to fight, how to speak, and who they were to each other, they could remember little else. Not why they were at these ruins. Not what they had been doing before being here. They didn’t know why they had the obviously valuable sword and tome that were in their possession. Also, the one person they could remember was their mother, and they had no clues as to where she was or how to find her. 

        It was… Scary.

        “We can’t stay here,” Morgan said quietly as she hugged her knees to her chest, watching her brother carefully as he flipped through the pages of her tome, Goetia, looking for clues that she might have missed. “Nothing good will come of it.”

        Her brother looked up from his reading, seeming as tired as she felt despite the fact that both of them had been conscious for several hours at most. She couldn’t blame him for looking like that though. Everything that was piling up was exhausting, taxing what mental capacity they had. “We should wait for those people to leave first.”

        Logically Morgan could understand why he wanted to wait. Fighting those zombie monsters when they crossed paths was one thing, but actual people… Could they do that? Especially him who used a sword. Sure Marc didn’t want to fight against people, but still… Morgan didn’t want to wait. She believed that they couldn’t wait, the longer they stayed here the more likely they were to have something bad happen.

        “We can sneak around them.” She said confidently, smiling for her twin as she started to unwrap from her little balled-up position. She grasped her brother’s sword, since he had her tome, ignoring the strange unsettling feeling that came from having it in her hand. “Think Marc, what would Mother do? She wouldn’t hide in a corner would she?” 

        The girl checked outside of their hiding spot before stepping out of it, and then turning back to hold out her free hand for him to take as she still smiled, “Come on, you trust me right?” 

        He looked up at her, just watching for a moment before he closed the tome, and took her offered hand. This time she was the one to pull him up to his feet, helping him out of their hiding place at the same time. There was no real question of if Marc trusted her or not, not only were they siblings but they were all the other had right now.

        The two of them exchanged their weapons, Morgan glad to have the sword out of her hand, and nodded to each other. They would sneak past the other people and get out of this ruined temple.

[memorylcst]

Children Lost In Time | Pt I

          It wasn’t until a sword was placed in Marc’s hands, a Goetia tome in Morgan’s, and a kiss on each of their foreheads did the twins really got the feeling that something was wrong here. Never mind that their missing mother suddenly showed up in their tent in the dead of night to urge them to get up and dressed, and then go on an adventure through the woods to some ruins away from the camp and everyone else. 

         “What is this sword, and Mother why did you bring us here?” With his questions Marc tried to give the sword back to his mother, it was a beautiful sword and he didn’t have the skill to use it he was sure. “It’s the middle of the night, let’s go back to camp. Everyone has been worried!”

         Unlike her brother Morgan held the tome she had been given close to her, hugging it, “Where have you been?! Do you know what everyone is saying?!” Morgan’s questions were made as more of a demand, “And I can’t even use this magic!” 

         “Quiet both of you.”

         The twins stiffened at Robin’s command, the cold and strict tone one they were unfamiliar with from she who was usually patient with them. After a moment their mother made a pained noise, raising a hand to her face which was concealed partially under her hood still. 

         “Nngh, I’m sorry Marc, Morgan. There… Is not much time left.” 

         “We don’t understand...” Both of them spoke at the same time, feeling incredibly lost and confused with no idea what was going on. It had nothing to do with being tired either, both were fully awake now just missing pieces to complete a very important picture. They each took a step closer to their mother, who in turn stepped back raising a finger in a familiar wait gesture. 

         “I need you two to go on a trip for me, if you stay here there will only be more to regret. I hope you never grow into them, but that sword and tome will help you in an emergency.”

         It was an explanation… sort of. Their mother was still hiding something, the twins could tell that much easily. Morgan frowned at her, her next question a plain complaint, “Mother couldn’t this have waited until morning?” 

         That at least got a small chuckle from the woman as she shook her head, “I’m sorry dear, I must see you off now.” 

         The twins exchanged a look, having one of their silent discussions this time on what to do. Their conversation was cut short though when they heard the voices of the older kids calling for them. “Ah...” They both half turned in the direction they were being called from, but rather than calling out in return, they looked back to their mother curiously.

         Their Mother too seemed to be looking past them in the direction that the noise was coming from, “I will apologize for you, we can’t wait.” With that she wasted no more time, opening a tome they had never seen before and beginning to actually recite a spell. 

         “Mother-!” The two were cut off as symbols written in a magic light appeared under their feet, a circle of light springing up around them. “Mother what is this?!” Morgan freed a hand and thrust it out towards the light, only to pull in back with a hiss. It had hurt! 

         “What are you doing!?” A new voice, Cynthia’s voice, shouted, grabbing the twins’ attention. “Everyone over here!” 

         “Cynthia?! No, don’t come!” Morgan turned to shout at their friend, barely able to see beyond the curtain of light, let alone see where he was. However she knew for certain that she shouldn’t come, none of their comrades should come. It was one of those feelings that she was learning not to ignore. “Get out of here! Run!” 

         “Mother please listen! Stop this!” Marc turned to plead with their mother, hoping that he could get her to stop before the spell was complete. “Isn’t it better that we work together? Morgan and I have been wanting to talk to you!” 

         “This is goodbye my children.” Their mother spoke to them, but her voice was strained and not right, making Morgan turn back to look in the direction her silhouette was, Marc, leaning towards her like he wanted to run to her side. “Remember… I love you, Always.” 

         The ground beneath their feet disappeared, and there was a moment of weightlessness that sparked fear in both siblings, each reaching out a hand for their last remaining parent, “Mother!” 

         And then they fell.

[memorylcst]

    Bright, Daring, Joyful

clarere audere gaudere | marc 

clarere audere gaudere | marc info

clarere audere gaudere | musing

clarere audere gaudere | gallery

clarere audere gaudere | aesthetic

clarere audere gaudere | playlist

clarere audere gaudere | memories

[memorylcst]

clarere audere gaudere

Marc took an interest in swordsmanship at a young age purely because it was something that his father did. For many years one of his favorite things to do was watch his father train, especially so if his mother and father were sparring together. Marc could sit and watch his father for hours, sometimes doing other things like coloring or drawing as well, but usually just watching his father. 

He was five when he first asked his father to teach him, and his very amused father agreed. That year Marc learned how to hold a sword, but everything else was really more of them playing together then it was the child learning anything. Not too long after he turned seven was when his father started slowly turning their play into actual lessons, gently correcting Marc’s stance or hold on his wooden sword. However that would be cut short as it would be during his seventh year that Marc would also lose his father.

Even with his father gone Marc continued to practice swordsmanship, though now it was no longer play. Having watched his father for so long the boy was able to remember most parts of his sword style. So at seven, almost eight years old, would start coming every day to the place where his father would train and go through the movements that he remembered. This was one of the ways he tried to cope with the loss of his father.

Though he was left alone at first, eventually several of the Shepherds would help Marc learn how to properly wield a sword while maintaining his father’s style. The main person to help him would be Chrom, sometimes making Marc wonder if his mother asked the King to but never voicing the thought, but he would also receive help from Frederick.

Chrom gave him his first real sword when he was ten, and made Marc cry when he said “Your father would be proud.” As he continued to train and developed his skills his usual sparring partners would be Lucina and the other sword wielding children of the Shepherds, and Marc would grow into his father’s steady and simple sword style.

These days Marc doesn’t really remember how he came to learn to fight with a sword, just that he can and the movements have been drilled into his body to the point where he doesn’t really need to think about it. He does suspect that it has to do with the Father he can’t remember, the feeling he gets when he pick up a sword similar to the one he gets when he tries to remember the man. If he tries Marc can faintly remember being corrected on things by both Chrom or Frederick, but all other memories are simply not there.