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Come with me to Melior
In the footsteps of the hero and his shopkeeper
And we'll help ourselves to love.
- Astra, This is the Day (3151, Year 369 of the Fifth Epoch)
Darling, it doesn't matter how many allusions you make to modern poetry and ancient shopkeepers. It was sweet when you proposed marriage with a deftly written letter, but that was a matter less grave. We are not going to make up this way. This cannot be smoothed over with graceful words and a delicate touch.
I will not accept your apologies unless we can have a conversation. And if you will not talk to me, I will leave you like Soan fled from Begnion. I will leave you like kindness from the heart of Ashera. I will leave you like Nola left her false life.
You do not know inside the heart of Larabel, nor do I know Ike's gaze. I am tired of this metaphor. I would ask you not to use it, but perhaps it is appropriate. It is appropriate for how acted our relationship has become.
Will you talk after supper, Norris?
Rose
- Personal communications (3150, Year 368 of the Fifth Epoch)
Any thorough treatment of founding myths would be remiss to exclude the Epic of Ike. As the reader is doubtlessly familiar with this legend, I will briefly cover the most relevant points to our study.
[...]
There is little doubt that Ike was a real beorc who lived around the beginning of the Third Epoch. Engravings in the Melior Palace detailing his movements establish his existence in connection with Crimea's decisive victory over its neighbor, Dayne1, in 645 2E. However, his connection to the world war three years later is suspect. All references to his actions in this war are at best minimal and at worst vague. Indeed, the complete silence of the sources toward any further deeds of this supposed hero after 648 suggests that his pivotal role in the Asheran War may have been invented by later powers in Crimea to reinforce its pro-unification ideology2. Other scholars (e.g., Homel (337)) speculate that Ike did participate in the Asheran War as a prominent figurehead, and died before its conclusion. Contemporary sources say that he “left on a journey3,” a claim for which we have no supporting nor refuting evidence.
[...]
Despite these accomplishments attributed to him, as a result of Tremblance's work Ike is best remembered not as a savior, but as a romantic. Our earliest reference to the tale of Ike and his beloved comes from a mention in Helodotus's writings of a bardsong referencing his affection toward the shopkeeper. The song in question, unfortunately, has been lost to time.
1 デイン, also rendered “Dein,” “Dain,” less frequently “Daein,” controversially “Arturia”. See Salem's work (341) on alternative readings of Ancient Tellian iconography, especially with regards to ララベル, the shopkeeper “Larabel.”
2 As first suggested by Azer et al. (297)
3 Note that there would have been no other continent to journey to at the start of the Third Epoch. It would be thirty years from the absence of the Goddesses before the ocean would finish returning to its pre-flood formation, and the other continents were still submerged.
- Lord Baskus, Origins: The Mythology of Peoples Present and Past, Ch. 6 (3137, Year 355 of the Fifth Epoch)
“Because when this is over,” Lara said, “I'll forget you, and you'll forget me.”
Halen stepped up to her. She was facing a tree with her arms crossed in a gesture of self-comfort. “Lara, I'm not going to forget you.”
“You're going to finish your mission, aren't you? You're going to shatter the last crystal... aren't you? You know what will happen then.”
“No one knows what will happen then. And I'll remember you. I'll make sure of it.” Halen laid his hand on Lara's shoulder. She turned her head, her dark curls brushing against his thumb.
“That's strange,” she murmured.
“What is?”
“Just then, you reminded me of someone....” Lara spent a moment looking at him, her eyes going no higher than his chin. “No... it's probably just deja vu.”
A chill rippled through Halen's body. Was it the ghost of the man whose existence he had replaced? Did Ike still haunt this timeline he had created?
“It's a memory,” he said, brushing these thoughts away. “It's just like I said. We won't forget completely.”
- Sheena of Gaddos, Sage Halen and the Crystals of Time (3123, Year 341 of the Fifth Epoch)
LARABEL
But soft! Now comes the young commander.
[IKE enters.]
Prithee, sir, what has brought you to this place?
IKE
I merely pass through to the deck.
LARABEL
[Aside] He came not for me. [to IKE] Grant me one moment,
if one so highly has the time to give
to a lowly shopkeeper such as I?
IKE
Others may choose to call me general,
yet from thee I wish to hear only “Ike” –
what troubles thee, maiden?
LARABEL
From the bowels of this vessel I watch'd
the battle of two days afore. Oh, fright!
That the Empire should set crows upon us!
One did fix his beady eye upon you,
while you fought his companion unawares.
“General, behind thee!” I did warn you.
And then with a single stroke of your sword,
you felled him!
IKE
Aye. 'Twas a pity, for he fought and died
for naught but gold. Were he of my father's
mind, he would have found a worthier death.
LARABEL
And that is why I – no, I must not say!
IKE
Prithee speak.
LARABEL
O, me! No, no, never can I say it,
even should Ashera turn me to stone!
IKE
You trouble yourself with guarding secrets,
but for naught. Only one condition brings
women to swoon so.
LARABEL
My general, do not speak it aloud!
Were it given voice, I could not keep it
from feeding on that humor of fire
until it would engulf all the nations
in song and gossip of naught but scandal.
For your own sake I beseech you to halt
the perilous march of your wanton words,
or you shall be remembered not for your
honor, nor your valor, but for this thing
which matters not. For you I shall bear this
burden in silence alone.
IKE
Fair maiden, for thine sacrifice this day,
I shall see the day when we may depart
from this land and its noisome shiftless maids
to live together.
LARABEL
O, Ike!
IKE
For now I leave thee at thy counsel. [Exit]
LARABEL
O, Ike! O, my lord! Didst thou speak truly?
Dost thou share the light that shines in mine heart?
O passion, o burning I dare not name,
sleep, be silent lest his image profane.
But what's this? A thought takes root in mine head:
The young general, like by fortune led,
must come to me for the army's supplies.
Staves, medicines, now treasure to these eyes!
For as dukes seek art and Charmers seek power,
I starve for but glimpses of my hero.
He shall come! And I shall provide for him
now, armaments for another's usage,
but – perchance! – should he join me in marriage,
as he did promise, I shall tend to him
with a gentle hand and a patient ear.
O, may this war finish within the year!
Should I wait o'erlong, I know not what might
befall my lovestruck constitution. Ike!
My hero, lead on! [Exit]
- Sir Tremblance, Ike and Larabel I.v.22-84 (2751, Year 926 of the Fourth Epoch)
- The anterior wall of the Three Mugs' Tavern in Melior (Viewed 1971, Year 146 of the Fourth Epoch)
It's said there'll be war
Between all the world's nations
Between people of all stations
As there was once before.
In war there's battle and death,
Cannons explodin'll tear off yer head.
But watch, ye at home in yer bed,
For the taxes'll take 'til there's noth'n left!
(Ha ha ha.)
Oi! But we've lived through 'em before.
What ye say to a song
Of that Hero from the last?
(Aye!)
This fellow Ike, a mer'nary be,
Son o' his father and loyal was he,
Helpin' a princess, now come and see!
This fellow Ike, a general be!
From Ike the general's sword, a thrust
In any chance ye grant him, aye!
In war there're women, catch yer eye,
If yer a man, ye'll do as ye must!
This fellow Ike, a mer'nary be,
Son o' his father and loyal was he,
Helpin' a princess, now come and see!
This fellow Ike, a general be!
Marchin' in twain with the dark-haired lass,
A hundr'd steps from th'field to th'tent,
Mashing their faces, two hours he spent,
Drivin' his worth up th'shopkeeper's ass!
This fellow Ike, a mer'nary be,
Son o' his father and loyal was he,
Helpin' a princess, now come and see!
This fellow Ike, a general be!
- Bard song, originating from around 1824 (Year 1175 of the Third Epoch)
Some might ask, but what of the promises made to the Goddess? What of the lessons learned at Sienne?
Indeed, what lesson was learned at Sienne? The Goddess who unconditionally shunned war, and those who followed her, fell by might alone. It was by might, not justice, that the bodies of our kin littered the Tower of Guidance.
There are those who call Ike “hero”. Be wary of their number. Even should he be blameless of the slaughter of our people – And how could he be blameless! – he was the one who brought Unionist ideals to prominence: ideals that would bring wounded Goldoa to prostrate itself before Begnion. Yes, that hero, who laid with the one who stripped the royal family down to a single child! He is the progenitor of this era in which are condemned to silence against the union of beorc and laguz, against the seizure of laguz birthright by beorc child after beorc child until we will have birthed our way out of existence.
Against all these things – the extortion of our food to Grann, the whittling of our land by Hatari, the robbery of our few surviving people by beorckind – we must use our full strength to act.
I do not shun kindness, nor do I reject the value of diplomacy. However, there comes a time when we can no longer tolerate trespass upon our dignity. And then, if they will not listen, we must take up arms. We can no longer call “friend” those who treat us as enemies. If force it must be, then force it shall be.
The ancient king's folly of clinging to peace brought death to our people and shattered our nation. Let us not follow him, and drive Goldoa to its grave. May our people, our proud first nation of the world, live!
- Roki, speech at the Goldoan capital in the spring of 1821 (Year 1172 of the Third Epoch)
What I Think About Ike
by Pamela
My opinion essay is on Ike the hero. Ike was a hero who fought the goddess. Because of Ike, everyone is nice to each other. People used to hate the laguz and marked people for no good reason. It was discrimination. Ike put a stop to it. That's why Ike is a hero. Union Day is his holiday.
Ike's best friend was a marked person. After the war, they traveled together. Some people think that Ike traveled with the shopkeeper. They are wrong because that didn't happen. All the books say that Ike left with his friend. They're just discriminating because they want to say Ike didn't make friends with marked people. You can't make up history because you don't like the facts. That's why I think Ike left with his friend.
- Grade school assignment in Nevassa, 1440 (Year 791 of the Third Epoch)
5:32 And departing from Sienne, the heretic Ike came upon Gaddos.
5:33 But the people of Gaddos were pious, and said to him, “You have gone against Ashera. We will offer you no shelter.”
5:34 Thus the Heretic and his army brought terror upon the people of Gaddos.
5:35 Between that day and the next, eighty men, fifty women, and thirty children were murdered by their hand.
5:36 And the Heretic and his minions feasted upon their hearts, and his Branded disciple used their blood to perform dark rites.
5:52 And so it came to pass that Mark, the last of the people of Gaddos, overwhelmed the forces of the Heretic with an army one tenth their size; with the blessings of Ashera he defeated them upon their own vessel.
5:53 And he lifted the head of the Heretic from off him, and hung him from the mast, and the birds feasted from his flesh; and he lifted the head of the Branded, who was closest to his word, and hung him also;
5:54 And he lifted the heads of the followers, who had obeyed the word of the Heretic and accompanied him in sin, but laid them to rest in the sea, for though they had sinned they did not conceive of evil;
5:56 Thus Ashera avenged her people of Gaddos.
- The Tome of Ashera, Dummi 5:32-36,52-56 (First written 1032, Year 383 of the Third Epoch)
Folde of Begnion. 635 - 683
The Hero of the Blue Flames. 657. Oil on canvas with wood frame, 60 1/2 x 49”.
Permanent collection.
Currently the most famous depiction of General Ike, leading the united forces away from the Tower of Guidance in the aftermath of the World War. Although commissioned and created within Begnion, Folde's choice in focus is unusually impartial, with Apostle Queen Micaiah second to the general, and his own Empress third alongside King Kurthnaga and the strategist Soren. The reason for depicting the strategist with such significance is still debated. This was Folde's last finished oil painting before his abrupt switch to sculpture in 660.
- Object label at the Gallery of Tanas (Viewed 821, Year 172 of the Third Epoch)
Don't be down. It's just a little rain. – No, no, you stay right here. Or do you want to get soaking wet?
That's what I thought.
Settle down – Ramya, you give him his toy back! – settle down! I'll tell you all a story, okay? Now, do you all want one with a lot of fighting, or something more... romantic?
Oh, of course, you always want the one with the dragon army. Don't you ever get tired of that one? Even a little?
Yes. That's a great, idea, Lamir. Let me tell you all a bit about that meathead General Ike.
Well, have you met him, Ramya? He was such a meathead! Worse than that Kyza. Well, worse than Kyza was then, anyway. I don't know if anyone could be worse than Kyza now. Anyway, I know just the story about this sword-swinging beorc general. A love story.
Yes! Our hero Ike was in looove! So this was right before we fought the Goddess, Ashera –
– No, we fought Lehran after the dragons, remember? – So, right before we fought her, I was applying a little medicine to a gash across my leg, where a spirit had got me ... it was kind of annoying, it was right across my knee so I couldn't bandage it ... the scar is right here, look. So, when I finished putting some medicine on it, I was going to return the rest of it to the General. That's when I saw that he was talking with his staff officer!
Yes, Soren. I've mentioned him before, remember? You can ask King Skrimir and he'll tell you all about him. Promise. Anyway, those two talked a lot. I mean a general should talk with his staff officer, but these two talked a lot, and I wondered what they were saying at a time like this.
Well, maybe I was eavesdropping, but what if that grumpy tactician was planning to use me as bait?! I had to watch out for my tail out there, you know!
Yes, he sent the hawk army off as bait quite a few times!
Anyway, let me tell you what I heard! Soren looked ... well, really sad. He was saying about how he'd traveled looking for Ike.
It's true! And then! And then, this grumpy meatheaded general went right up to him and put his arms around him! And he said something like, “It'll all be okay...”
I'm not making this up! Captain Ranulf said they went off traveling together, too! They were so in love!
Well! You tell us a story then!
- Lyre, a conversation in 654 (Year 5 of the Third Epoch)
“I won't die, Ike. I vow to remain by your side as long as I draw the breath of life.”