Fire Emblem Cipher: S01-001E

Proof of the True Hero-King, Episode 1: Duel! The Warblade that Sowed Battle!

In the year 30XX, one would think that simple concepts such as war would be but a myth, a tale to be never spoken of. However, in Shouzou High School in Neo Tokyo, over 86% of the student population and a fair amount of faculty would disagree, being players of the ever-growing game known as Fire Emblem Cipher, a card game based on a series of strategy role-playing games of tactics, of swords and magic, of a world in war.

In fact, in room 2-D, a game of Cipher was happening between two third-years, Minami Minako and Oshiro Rokuro.
GAME STATE - Minako (3 cards in hand): 0 Orbs, Rokuro (4 cards in hand): 1 Orb
BOND AREA	 [Talysian Mercenary, Ogma];[Face-down Card];[Myrmidon from Parts Unknown, Athena]
BACK LINE		[-]
FRONT LINE		[Lodestar, Marth*](70 ATK)([Crown-Prince of Altea, Marth])
FRONT LINE		[Wellspring of Youth, Nowi](50+30 ATK)
BACK LINE		[Protector of Ylisse, Chrom*](70 ATK)([Crown-Prince of Ylisse, Chrom])
BOND AREA	 [Amnesia-Stricken Tactician, Robin (Female)];[Face-down Card];[Face-down Card];[Gynophobic Swordsman, Lon'qu];[Pegasus Knight Paragon, Cordelia];[Face-down Card]

"There's no way you can win, Minako, I'm hiding behind an invincible wall. Just give it up already!" Rokuro declares, unknowing of the machinations of the duelist whose wiles and deck had won her the last ten local tourneys, only in one of which he himself had attained fourth place.

Minako's turn - Start Phase.
"Just youuu wait, Rokuro. I'll show you how it's done," Minako would look at the cards in her hand, then to her right, smirking. "Are you watching? It's my turn. Draw!" And so, she drew a card. (Minako's hand: 3 -> 4)

"During my Start Phase, all of my units are untapped." Rokuro seems completely fazed by Minako explaining the game.

"Afterwards, my Bond Phase! During this phase, I can place down a card from my hand into my Bond Area." She placed [Crimson Myrmidon, Navarre] into the Bond Area, face-up. "You can place a card of any cost, in most cases." (Minako's hand: 4 -> 3)

"Next, my Deployment Phase! Here, I can deploy any cards in my hand onto the field," She then raises a finger. "But! I have to follow three rules."
"One! The total Field Cost of the units I deploy cannot exceed the number of cards in my Bond Area." The cost of the cards in her hand, with everything else obscured by her hand, are 3, 1, and 1.
"Two! I must control a face-up card in my Bond Area whose Insignia matches that of cards I deploy." All the cards in her hand are red, and so are the cards in her Bond Area.
"And three! I cannot deploy a unit whose name is the same as that of another unit I control." Two of her cards are the same: [Talysian Fighter, Bord].
"So, let's try this, shall we? First, I'll deploy [Steel Swordsman, Ogma], then [Talysian Fighter, Bord]!" She places down both cards from her hand onto the Front Line with Marth. (Minako's hand: 3 -> 1)
"Because I deployed a Field Cost 2 or lower unit, two effects activate!" She points to Marth. "First, Marth's 'Hero of Light' skill activates, which lets me move a unit you control in the Rear Line - Chrom!" Rokuro moves Chrom to the Front Line, quirking an eye. "Second, Ogma's 'Talysian Guard Captain' skill activates, increasing both his and Bord's Attack by 10!" (Ogma's ATK 60 -> 70, Bord's ATK 30 -> 40) "And during my turn, with 'Fighter's Expertise', Bord's Attack increases by 20!" (Bord's ATK 40 -> 60)
Rokuro would sneer at Bord. "It's only 60 Attack. What's he gonna do, miss on Chrom?"

"I'll show you the power of my army! Action Phase!" She would place her hand on Marth, turning his card sideways. "By tapping a unit I control, I can declare an attack with it on a unit within its attack range!" Both Chrom and Nowi are in the Front Line.
Rokuro takes this time to catch up to Minako's reasoning. "A unit in the Front Line with a Range of 1 can attack an enemy unit in the Front Line... Wait! That means Nowi's-"
"That's right! Marth, attack Chrom!"
"When battling, we reveal the top card of our decks. This is our support," Minato reveals [Talysian Mercenary, Ogma: 10 Support], while Rokuro reveals [Young Prodigy, Cordelia: 30]. "Next, any Support Skills the revealed card with their conditions fulfilled activate. Because I'm attacking, Ogma's Attack Emblem activates, increasing Marth's Attack by 20!" (Marth's ATK 70 -> 90)
"After that, we add our supporting card's Support to our units' Attack! If my unit's Attack is greater than yours after that, then your unit's defeated," 90 + 10 = 70 + 30. Minako smirks wider, pointing to Rokuro, who would defeatedly announce the battle's result
"Because it's a tie, the attacking unit wins the battle. My Champion was defeated, so I have to add a card from my Orb Area to my hand." He adds his last Orb to his hand. (Rokuro's Orbs: 1 -> 0) "After battle, the supporting cards are sent to our Retreat."
Minako taps Ogma next. "Alright! Ogma, attack Chrom!" (Supports: [Princess of Altea, Elice: 20] [Sprightly Cleric, Lissa: 20]) Rokuro would place down [Protector of Ylisse, Chrom] from his hand onto the table. "When a unit I control is attacked, I can discard a card with the same name as that unit to declare a Godspeed Evasion! This means I survive that battle."
She would put on very gritted-together face, placing her supporting card to her Retreat as he put both the discarded Chrom and Lissa into his. "But there is no penalty for attacking a unit, and not destroying it. I've still got one more attack!" Minako taps Bord. "Bord, attack Chrom!" (Supports: [Talysian Fighter, Bord: 10] [Princess of Ylisse, Lissa: 10]) Rokuro takes over the explanation. "Because your unit was supported by a card with the same name, it's treated as if he didn't have a Support, which means I don't-"
Minako slaps down the last card in her hand, [Talysian Fighter, Bord], onto the table, shouting at the top of her lungs as she slammed the table with both hands. "When one of my units attacks, by discarding a card with the same name as that unit, I can declare a Critical Hit, DOUBLING ITS TOTAL ATTACK!" (Bord's ATK: 60 -> 120)

He stared, slack-jawed, at the table, trembling, then, taking out a smartphone with a Shiida keychain from his hoodie pockets, grabs his cards, and bolts out of the room, crying.

Fully smug, Minako would triumphantly place both hands on her hips. "Because he couldn't take any more Orbs, Rokuro lost, and Minako wins! Again!" Picking up the smartphone, she would saunter over to the boy watching from the next row over. He shared the same brown eyes as her, but his hair was a tad darker, and much shorter, too. "You shouldn't let yourself get pushed around so much, Minato. At this rate, you won't even be half a man!"
Brightening up from being given the smartphone, he would chuckle abashedly. "I'm not as good as dueling as you are, sis. Besides, I like to watch you duel."
Flipping her hair with a huff, Minako would shake her head. "You need to learn how to duel, if you wanna get anywhere, Minato! Anyway, it's late, and I've got a meeting with the Student Council Prez. If you could get home, and prepare dinner, that'd be nice, too."
"Alright, sis," A sigh from Minato, who pocketed the smartphone as he got up from his seat. "How about katsudon? Isn't the tournament soon?"

A giggle, in response. "Well, isn't that sweet of my lil' bro, preparing for my victory like that!" Ruffling his hair, the two would part ways...
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The setting sun provided a pleasant backdrop for the student council room, what with Kita Tetsuya standing in front of the lone window located behind the head of the room's table, basking in all its glory. A third-year of fine stature, as the first-year girls would have one know, and sharply dressed, when not out playing soccer. (Though some of his more loose-lipped admirers confess to having seen him wearing a shirt and tie on some occasions of practice, and if one were to press further, she may faint from the sheer bliss of remembering.)

As expected, Minako came, albeit at least half a minute late, if the reflection of the clock on the window glass was to be trusted. Even if she did say that she would be dueling beforehand, a meeting was a meeting.

"I am glad you are at least... somewhat on time," Turning to face her, Tetsuya would give a bow, picking up a clipboard and pen from the table, then walking towards Minako, handing them to her. "So I presume you have made your decision, miss Minami?"
"'Course I have, prez," Pen and paper in hand, she would look down the many names written down, hastily scribbling a "Minami" down, but hesitant to finish the signing.
"Are you... sure about this? I know it must be hard on you, but-"
"Ain't the champ here for nothing, prez. It'll be fine. All or nothing now, right?" Finishing with an elegant stroke of the pen, Minako would hand back the clipboard and pen, to which Tetsuya would accept with a reluctant sigh.
"Very well. I suppose this is fate, in a way. Farewell for now, miss Minami," With that, the third-years parted.
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Outside, the sun was positioned such that light struck one's back, instead of one's front, though for Minako, light was always best when it was right above her. As she walked, a pair of second-year girls passed by her, talking at length about some topic or the other.

"Hey, so have you heard about the Regional Cipher Tournament?" Both seemed to have red-and-white headbands holding their hair up.
"Yeah, aren't signups closing today?"
"No no no, where it's happening, girl. The Regionals are gonna be held HERE, in Neo Tokyo!" Minako would roll her eyes. Such were the masses who took not dueling seriously at all.
"For reals?! I heard the top duelists in the region are gonna be there. Oh, man, it's gonna be amazing!"
"You're kidding. Himura Ryouta's gonna be there?" Such a prospect made the second-year ecstatic, having to literally hold herself together, her eyes held between her pinkies and ring fingers. "Ohmygosh, it's gonna be great! Do you think we could get his autograph?"
"Not only that, but I heard that European guy, Sieghard, will be in the tournament, too." Minako snorted, forced to cover her mouth with her hand to hold her back from intense cackling. Anyone with even a basic knowledge of the school news learned of that a week before the press actually knew about it, and maybe both Sieghard and Ryouta participating in it a few days after.
"Oh! That reminds me of this doujin I bought recently! It's about how Ryouta and Sieghard..."

Thankfully, wherever those two girls were going, it was nowhere close to where Minako was going, saving her from having to endure gagging herself on such information.
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The next day, at the school bulletin board, a new announcement was posted during lunch break, and to nobody's surprise, almost everyone huddled around it. Yoshida Nobu jostled through this crowd, smartphone in one hand, and practically dragging Minato's arm in the other.

"Nobu, you don't need to-" Minato's protest was cut off by his head bumping into some poor first-year's shoulder.
"Minato, I'm your friend. Friends don't let friends not see the Regional results. They force them into seeing it," Nobu stopped to aim his smartphone's camera onto the bulletin board, steadying his hand for a good aim. "As a man of competition, I have to-" He lowers his smartphone to squint at the board.
"Nobu?" Now that he wasn't being pulled around like a ragdoll, Minato properly stood up, following where his friend was looking. "What's wron-" His jaw dropped.

The new announcement was a list of all the entrants for the Regional Cipher Tournament from the school. At the bottom was written "All entrant names are final. All of the above entrants, and only those entrants, may participate in the Regional Cipher Tournament." The one name that stood out to him was his own: Minami Minato, 1st Year. The only "1st Year" he saw, skimming the list. He felt the eyes that were now trained upon him, each and every one of them wondering how he had managed to get on there, and not them. The disparity of age and experience felt palpable, as if he was in a pit match against the entire world. Or, at the very least, against the Regional's participants.

Nobu took this opportunity to grab a surprised Minato, arm wrapped around his shoulders. "Dude! I did NOT know you were gonna sign up! I mean, sure, it's not like you're the most open person in the world, but you could've told your best friend. Like, what the heck? You, in the Regionals? Hello, greatness, and goodbye, mediocrity!"
He paused his speech, releasing Minato. "Wait a second, wasn't your sis signing up for it? She's not on that list! What're we gonna do, Minato?"
Minato simply shrugged. "I'll just tell sis. She'll understand, right?"
Nobu blinked. "Wait, are you just gonna TELL her? Dude, if she figures out that YOU got in, and she didn't, she'd flip her lid! You know how hard she wanted to get into the Regionals. The 'no-substitute' ruling's been in place for like, three years! And not to be rude, or anything, but I have never seen you duel well at all." The tell-tale ringing of the bell signaled their time to part. "Well, good luck gettin' outta this one alive, Minato."
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As per usual, and unlike yesterday, Minako was at home earlier than Minato, busy looking at her deck. At the very least, he was surprised when she hugged him from behind, as he headed for his room.
"He~ey, don't think I noticed my little bro getting into the Regionals," She gave him a little squeeze. Minako wasn't exactly the most endowed of girls at school, but she was certainly much stronger than he was.
"Dying... here..." Minato managed to gasp out, and to his relief, his sister was gracious enough to let him go with only a few pats on the head. "I'm not a kid any more, you know. I just... wanna make something out of this."
The air stood still, as if to attention. It was a strange feeling for Minato, familiar, yet rare, all the same. As Minato turned him to face her. Gone now was the usual playful smirk. "If you want to duel, then you need a deck." A familiar glint of blue could be spotted, pressed between her thumb and two fingers. As she raised it to Minato's eyes, he read the card on the bottom: B01-003HN. Crown Prince of Altea, Marth.
"Sis, I don't think I should-" He stepped back, but she made no movement, no word. "You really do believe in me, don't you?"

As he felt the weight of each of those fifty cards fall into his hand, he felt a hint of satisfaction from her, a sign of the Minako he knew still present, and always there to support him.
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Next episode: A showdown of wills! The Blade of Light faces the Sealed Dragon Slayer! Does Minato have what it takes to win with a deck that's not even his own? Find out next time on Fire Emblem Cipher: Proof of the True Hero-King!

For more information on Fire Emblem Cipher, visit https://serenesforest.net/wiki/index.php/Fire_Emblem_TCG.