#fe8week

"I want you to come back to Jehanna with me."

Artur, too absorbed in his book to hear Joshua clearly, never rose his head. Joshua set his hand in the middle of the page and that got his attention right away. He closed the book and put it down, eyebrow raised.

"What is it?"

"I said, I want you to come back to Jehanna with me."

Artur's eyebrows shot up in shock, his face flared bright red. Was this what Joshua really wanted? He couldn't quite picture himself in the middle of the desert, now that the war was over and the stones were all reclaimed he had planned to return to his village. He wasn't sure if Lute would join him, but there was a strong feeling that she would. 

"A-Are you sure? Um... please don't think me rude of asking, but why me?"

Joshua stared at Artur as if he grew a second head.

"I want you by my side, of course. And we can't exactly do that if you go back to that tiny village, right?" Joshua flashed his smile, he knew it was Artur's favorite, a weakness he exploited with ease. Artur knitted his hands together and bowed his head to hide how red his face got. He couldn't believe the Prince of Jehanna, even if Joshua hated being called that, had requested for him to return to his kingdom. His chest swelled and his heart beat hard against his ribs, a lifetime with Joshua was something Artur didn't want to give away so easily.

"I... Joshua, I... I'm absolutely flattered," Artur grinned and wiped at his eyes, emotion had overcome him. His chest shook as he pressed a hand over his heart, he choked up even with a smile from ear to ear. "I'm more than honored that... that you chose me."

"Think about it," Joshua knelt down and grasped the monk's hand tight in his own gloved ones, his eyes as bright as the sun. "Eirika and Ephraim will be busy rebuilding Renais. Innes and Tana have to return to Frelia. But me? I'm all on my own without you. I need you to return with me. We can work to strengthen what Mother left behind, make it even better than before. I can run Caellach out of town, I can bring some order to the land so there's peace, I--" The redhead faltered a little, but took a deep breath to right himself and re-find his place. "I just need you with me to do it. I can't do it alone."

Arthur's hand moved to his mouth and covered it slightly, by now there were pinpricks of tears at the corners of his eyes. It was a huge task, colossal even. The countryside needed to be healed, the people needed order and their leader returned to make things right. Could they really do it? Was it possible for them, even if Jehanna was only a realm of swords and sand? How would they react to a man of the cloth? And Joshua, would he be alright readjusting to the duties of king?

Artur gave a sigh and settled his shoulders as Joshua's fingers intertwined with his. He was stupid, there was no need to worry about any of that. They'd be together on this, through whatever it took. Even if this mountain to climb was taller than the heavens itself, as long as they were hand in hand they would continue each step forward.

"... Yes, of course. Of course I'll assist you in anything you need, Joshua. I don't want to leave your side either, not with what you have to return to. I'd be absolutely willing to lend my help towards your aching countrymen, and to you as well." 

Joshua's smile crinkled up the corners of his eyes and he dropped a hand behind his back. As he fished for something from his dark tunic, Artur tilted his head in confusion. Seconds later, the myrmidon produced a pair of rings; each a solid silver band with five tiny rubies stamped along one end. Artur gave a gasp, both hands flew to his bright red face as his eyes turned as wide as dinner plates. Joshua, ever the flirt, had taken things seriously?!

"Then, as custom... would you marry me, Artur? And help me restore Jehanna?" 

For once, Joshua's hands trembled even as his voice stayed strong. It wasn't out of fright of rejection, more out of sheer unbridled joy that he had gotten to ask the question in the first place. Tears streamed down Artur's face and stained his white robes, he shoved his book aside and embraced the myrmidon with all he could muster. 

"I thought one yes was enough, but yes! Yes yes yes! Praise the Blessed Dragon, yes!" Artur laughed and nuzzled his nose into Joshua's neck, he stepped back only for a moment, the ring slid onto his finger. "We'll have a proper ceremony in Jehanna, with all the fanfare you can imagine. But I trust you can at least bless the marriage on your own terms, right?" There was that rogue-ish smile again, Artur's heart fluttered as he giggled, swept up for a quick kiss. It was the sweetest thing either had ever tasted. Afterwards, Artur leaned away a little and wiped his eyes clear.

"Certainly, the divine light from above has blessed me enough with being able to meet you."

To cover the general timeline of the war, here is what is established in the following chapters:

Prologue: Year 803 (counting since the defeat of the Demon King. This info is also basically useless to us since we don’t have any months.)

A New Journey: A year and a half since the twins have seen Lyon

Chapter 9B: To get from Port Kiris to Rausten by boat through the North Sea will take 10 days (ended up taking a roundabout route)

Chapter 14B: A year since Vigarde died and Lyon freed the Demon King’s soul. The war started an indeterminate time later.

Chapter 16: Six months since Monica died (assuming that Seth is counting from the time of the chapter)

Chapter 18B: The events of Chapter 20/Final Chapter will take place in 10 days

Final Chapter (Ephraim): Two years since they’ve met (the real) Lyon

From the above, we can estimate that 6 months pass between A New Journey and the final chapter (approximately 12 chapters). 6 months, with the above assumption I decided on, is approximately 180 days / 26 weeks. Because the events from Chapter 18 to the Final Chapter happen in the span of 10 days, we’ll subtract those 10 days to get 170 days between A New Journey and Chapter 18. Assuming that the time between chapters is relatively even, the time between each chapter, from Chapters 8-18, is around 17 days / 2½ weeks, rounded up.

With the above calculation, that makes Chapter 14B take place around 102 days / 3½ months after A New Journey. That makes it around 21 months (almost 1¾ years) since the twins had seen Lyon. Since Knoll states that Vigarde’s death happened a year before Chapter 14, that means he died around 9 months after the twins last saw Lyon (and 9 months before A New Journey).

Doing the math:

1½ years since they last saw Lyon = 18 months = 540 days

17 days x 6 chapters = 102 days = 3.4 months

540 + 102 = 642 days / 21.4 months since the twins last saw Lyon

1 year since Vigarde died = 12 mo. = 360 days 642 - 360 = 282 days = 9.4 months between the last meeting and Vigarde’s death

While Duessel and Knoll’s support suggests that Lyon started the war against Renais immediately after reviving Vigarde, it seems quite unlikely (Knoll himself says that only Lyon knows when he decided to go to war). Even if we assume the chapters in Eirika’s first third of the story (Chapters 1-8) are the same length as Chapters 9-18, her campaign to find Ephraim would only cover 4½ months. Considering the script itself claimed Renais was unable to mount any resistance, it seems pretty unlikely that it would take the first 4½ months since Vigarde’s death for Grado to take Renais’ capital and start the story.

Furthermore, there’s the matter of Monica’s death in relation to the invasion. Seth tells Ephraim that Monica had died some 6 months prior to Chapter 16. From the prior calculations, Chapter 16 takes place around 34 days after Chapter 14′s events. If Monica died 6 months prior, that puts her death at 16½ months after the last meeting with Lyon, making a 3½-month gap between Vigarde and Monica’s deaths.

Doing the math:

540 days + 136 days (between ANJ-Ch16) = 676 days / 22½ months since they’ve seen Lyon

22.5 months - 6 months = 16.5 months / 495 days between the last meeting and Monica’s death

360 days + 34 days = 394 days / 13 months since Vigarde died

16.5 - 13 = 3.5 months between Vigarde and Monica’s deaths

Given that Seth doesn’t express any surprise that Orson knew of Monica’s death, that means that Orson was in Castle Renais when she died and not off with Ephraim. Since Ephraim’s dialogue in that chapter suggests that he immediately took off when Grado invaded, we can infer that Renais wasn’t yet at war when Monica died.

If those 3½ months between Vigarde and Monica’s death were peaceful, and the first third of the game actually takes 4½ months, then that leaves a month from when the invasion of Renais began and when Grado takes over the capital--a much more reasonable time frame.

(On that note, we don’t know how long it took for Lyon to revive Vigarde. Lyon and his mages were concerned about the rumors flying around, so there was at least enough time for people to be suspect about Vigarde’s disappearance. As historical reference, Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s death was kept a secret for two months, with certain members of his entourage going through great lengths to disguise his death and keep up appearances.)

After this, the rest of the game’s timeline is pretty straightforward. Ten days pass between Chapter 18 and Chapter 20, which we know from Lyon’s conversation with Ephraim in Chapter 18. He says that “Ten days from now… When the moon is swallowed by shadow… In Darkling Woods, I will perform a ceremony…” (As an aside, that means it’s a new moon. But the only other time the moon is referenced is in Syrene and Moulder’s supports, so that’s the furthest we’ll get with that.)

The battle in Chapter 19 seems to take place the night that the group arrives in Rausten Court, and the text suggests that they leave the next day. At the most, they spent two days in Rausten, as the second day was spent going to the temple and stocking up. Based on the world map and the length of the paths, it probably took 3 days to get from Neleras Peak to Rausten Court, and 5 from Rausten Court to Darkling Woods.

Then, when the twins finally reunite with Lyon, Ephraim tells Lyon in his route that it has been two years since they’ve last met (the real) him. In the flashback at the beginning of the chapter, a box states that the flashback takes place 1½ years ago, but it’s wrong and whoever devised the script didn’t bother making a box that would say “2 years ago.”

As a final wrap-up, here’s the game’s timeline I’ve deduced based on my calculations:

Ephraim and Eirika part ways with Lyon at Grado Keep - Our benchmark

Vigarde dies - 9 months after #1

Monica dies - 12½ months after #1

Grado invades Renais - Soon after #3

Castle Renais is captured, Eirika flees Renais - Around a month after #4

Ephraim and Eirika reunite - 1½ years after #1, 9 months after #2

Eirika defeats Carlyle but fails to save Ismaire, while Ephraim defeats Vigarde - 1¾ years after #1, 3½ months after #6

The twins retake Castle Renais - A month after #7, a year and 10 months since #1

The sun woke Lute up first, but the chime from her cellphone that got her straight out of bed. She threw off the covers and resisted the urge to coil back under them as the cold air hit her. Her hand outstretched and fumbled around the nightstand, it knocked over the tissue box and pushed aside a pair of socks. Across the screen, in tiny letters, was a response from Vanessa. 

'Just got on flight. Seeya in 6 hours <3' Lute cradled the phone and gave a sleepy grin, with a gleeful giggle she tapped out a reply. 'See you then!!'

Though part of her wanted to roll back over and sleep, she had six hours after all, Lute stared at the ceiling. What would she wear? What would she say? It had only been two months since Vanessa left for the trip, to Lute it felt like at least two eternities. Their apartment was just so much empty space without her presence inside it. She'd never say it aloud, Lute wasn't into that mushy stuff like Vanessa was. 

"Still..." she hummed to herself, hands folded across her wrinkled tanktop from a terrible night of sleep. "I should do something special." But what, exactly? Lute wouldn't throw a party, not even one between the two of them. She wouldn't have time to cook dinner, it'd be too cold when Vanessa got home. She sat up on the edge of the bed and kicked aside one of her sketchbooks, it careened into a pile of them in the corner and nearly knocked the leg of her paint table. 

Across the stained wood table was a large easel and several containers of splattered paints. She'd forgotten she started a commission and didn't finish it, but that could wait. Vanessa was more important, Vanessa was always more important. If she got chewed out, it wouldn't matter.

With a huff she pushed herself off of the sheets, there was no time for sleep now. She was awake, and she'd stay that way. She shoved aside more sketchbooks and dried up bottles of paint, she certainly missed the other's penchant for cleanliness. As she waded through her own mess, she winced some of her toes stepped in wet red paint. Lute would have to consider a thorough cleaning, but not now. She reached her closet behind a filled laundry basket, pushed the door open and stared at the clothes inside. Time to pick an outfit to wow her girlfriend.

-------- "Thanks, keep the change." Lute stepped out of the cab and shut the door. The fall weather was crisp, she liked it best that way. It allowed her to wear cardigans, like the favorite one she wore today. Wine red and with tiny white lace attached to the sleeves, a pleated chocolate brown skirt and long black thigh high socks. In the back of her head, she heard Vanessa's voice; 'You really should wear more colors, Lute! They'd look so nice with your hair!' Lute withheld an eyeroll, even at the imaginary voice. The airport wasn't as populated as the holidays, no one traveled much in October. Give it a month or two and that'll change, Lute laughed to herself.  

She pulled her phone from her bag and flipped through the recent texts. Vanessa was at one of the farther gates in the terminal, so it would be a bit before she finished through security and made her way to the large open lobby. So Lute parked herself on a bench and pulled her sketchbook from her bag, flipped open to a fresh page, and scanned the crowd. There was a man with a trilby hat and suit slumped in a chair four feet away, completely asleep. Lute gently sketched his slumped shoulders and rounded belly, careful to detail the folds in the suit and the leather straps on his suitcase. Her pencil moved fast but always with purpose, Lute never made strokes she couldn't take away.

Another text chime from her phone and Lute dropped her drawing immediately. 'Look to your left. Did you miss me?'

Lute blinked a few times and as she looked over, she almost dropped her phone. There, underneath the terminal sign, was Vanessa. A rolling bag was parked at her side, a long black coat to protect against the chill and bright red scarf wrapped around her neck. Against her short green hair, her smile looked absolutely radiant. Lute could hardly breathe for a moment, but in a blur she stuffed her things into her bag and raced across the polished linoleum. Every footstep pounded alongside her heartbeat, she'd never felt this hard of a tug toward a single person before. Was she just a wayward moon, and Vanessa her home planet she orbited? There were no words, Lute's chest swelled as she reached Vanessa and they embraced tightly, the shorter girl on her tiptoes. 

"It's so great to see you again!" Vanessa laughed and re-positioned her arms under Lute's shoulders, picked her up and spun her around a few times. "But jeez, I didn't think you missed me this much! Or is this only a coincidence?" Lute gave a delighted sigh, Vanessa smelled like cinnamon and she's absolutely hooked.

Lute doesn't say a word, she's buried her nose into Vanessa's warm neck. Vanessa gave a squeak and nearly dropped her out of surprise, but caught her at the last second. Lute never gave her a chance to say anything more, she kissed her hard. Cold lips cradled warm ones, a perfect equilibrium. She missed this most of all. Vanessa blushed cherry red, only a few shades above her scarf's color. She set Lute back on the ground but Lute doesn't pull away just yet, her cold fingers climbed inside Vanessa's jacket and caused another squeak. They parted and Vanessa rubbed her neck to warm it back up.