Title: The Hanged Man
Chapter: Prologue - 10,000 Horses
Author: Aviy
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Suikoden I and IV
Disclaimer: Writing mine, characters not, except for when they are.
Notes: This is Tedfic. Though I'm a yaoi fangirl, this isn't a yaoi story, however there will be overtones of shounen-ai at times, and occational referrences to homosexual relations.
This Tedfic is going to be epic, as in multichaptered, I have no idea how long it's going to take me, so if you hate waiting between chapters feel free to check back in like six months and hope I'm done.

CC muchly loved.

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He sat down at the edge of one of a dozen holes and let his legs hang off into the empty space. They weren't much more than ditches really, barely suitable for their purpose, but it was all he had to offer. Digging six foot graves for every body there would have taken him a week at least. He just wasn't that strong anymore, and since he'd given away his Water Rune to... who was it? Yes, to the aspiring doctor... that left him with only one rune, and it didn't want to help him shift dirt.

His hands had been covered with calluses for years, but they still blistered and burned thanks to the shovel's splintered handle. The bandages over his right hand were too worn to offer any real protection. And of course, his back ached like an old man's from the work.

He very nearly smiled at the bad joke, except that he'd told himself so many of them over the years that they'd lost their amusement. Plus, it was hard to find anything funny when you were tired enough, and he was exhausted in so many ways that had nothing to do with the body.

Almost he let himself lie back, almost he thought to rest, if for just a little while.

The shovel was cast aside and he stood up abruptly, before he could think about it. There were only a few hours of light left to work in and if he let himself stop now the corpses would only smell worse in the morning.

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The tin spoon clattered back into the bowl and General Teo McDohl sat back with a satisfied sigh. Not because his stomach was warmed with good food after a long day, but because he'd once again successfully completed his mission of packing in the army's gruel.

First Lieutenant Jeffory Tabbs was laughing at him from just inside the tent, and when Teo turned a cutting glance to him, the subordinate and old friend only grinned widely. "We're all looking forward to being home again, sir." And he nodded a shaggy blond head at the General's empty bowl. "Though not for your reasons, seein' as my wife can't cook anything better than that. We can't all have a Gremio working for us."

Teo leaned forward, pushing the bowl to his desk's corner where it would be recovered later by whatever unlucky private got stuck with dish duty. "Though not for lack of trying on your part."

"Told you about that, huh?" Tabbs sighed and rocked back on his heels. At times Teo would call him to rein, because of all the generals serving under Emperor Barbarossa he was the least likely to be considered lenient. But Tabbs was an old friend, a thing that even the strict General McDohl could appreciate as long as there weren't too many witnesses. "Never had a chance, you know? I offered twice what you pay, would've tried for three times, and he just looked at me, apologized, and offered me a pot of stew to take home." Tabbs flashed back at Teo a sheepish grin, which Cleo had once priced at ten thousand bits. "I took it, of course. Can't turn down free food, yanno? Good food, anyway."

"So that's where my leftovers went," Teo muttered gruffly, and he frowned at Tabbs hard enough that the man knew not to take it seriously. "Remind me to talk to Gremio about feeding beggars."

Tabbs winced, holding a hand over his stung heart. "But sir! You simply don't understand! Perhaps you should visit when we reach Gregminster. Sally'd love to have you..."

"No thank you," Teo coughed. "If she's really pregnant again I think it's best an old soldier like me stay out of her way."

"She's always pregnant." Tabbs argued, though not sounding very upset about it at all. "I wish I could use your excu-"

Teo grimaced and interrupted his friend before he could again bring up the fact which of them was a decade older than the other. "The last time I dared to visit Sally spent the entire evening hinting that I don't pay you enough."

"Only because you don't." He was grinning, watching Teo over his nose, eyes sparkling. It was Tabbs' favorite conversation, and they both knew where it was going.

Teo refused to reward his Lieutenant with an exasperated sigh. "Have you decided to accept a promotion then?"

That was it, they both knew already that he would refuse, just like he'd been refusing for the pastfour years. Tabbs loved his position and had no ambition to rise any higher in the ranks. Teo, who Tabbs had called the raw personification of ambition and loyalty, never really did understand it.

"You know I can't, sir. If I got a promotion I would have to do something besides stand here, and whoever replaced me might not know how to keep you from going so ridged that you might shat-"

Tabbs paused mid-word, and the General automatically followed his eyes to the doorway. From outside there came a scuff of boots and a brief clank of armor as the visitors were stopped by two soldiers keeping guard outside the General's tent. Tabbs leaned casually to the side, tilting his head to eavesdrop on the argument outside. After a moment he looked slightly confused, and with a salute, slipped outside to look into the issue himself.

Watching him go, Teo carefully withheld a sigh, instead forcing his attention to the paperwork kept in precise stacks on his desk. He would not trade his position or reputation in the army for anything, but he couldn't deny that he felt trapped at times. Fenced in by his desk, the unbalanced chair, and his personal tent.

The First Lieutenant wasn't away long, but by the time he returned Teo had already gotten back to work. Beginning with the first handful of reports from a stack of papers at least a dozen handfuls high.

"Sir," Tabbs announced, then waited for the General to acknowledge him. Teo was always relieved when Tabbs reminded him that he could act according to protocol when necessary.

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, the scouts you sent to check into the reported skirmish to the west have returned."

He knew it couldn't be good. Any good news would be no news, and if that was the case then he wouldn't have men waiting outside his tent to report to him personally. Teo removed his reading glasses and set them aside. "Let them in, I'll hear their report."

Tabbs nodded and pulled aside the tent flap, waving two soldiers in. They stood before Teo's desk side-by-side and saluted sharply. One introduced himself as Sergeant Biggs and his companion as Sergeant Wedge, and at the General's nod went straight to their report.

"Sir," Biggs began, "We're afraid the rumors were true. Roughly six leagues due west are the remains of a small farming village. We saw strong evidence to suggest it was work of the rebels refusing to concede Geil Rugner's defeat."

Wedge looked sorely tempted to spit, and probably only restrained himself for the sake of Teo's rug. "Emperor Barbarossa has held the throne for over two years now an' still these bastards take innocent lives against his name."

The General only slowly shook his head. He had seen enough war not to be surprised by these events, but as with many aspects of the soldier's life, it was something you could only learn from first hand experience. War was always going on, even in times of peace. "Were there any survivors?"

Biggs spoke again, nodding sadly. "Just one, sir. A young boy. He was burying the dead when we found him."

"We brought him with us." Wedge added quickly, though he looked unsure and Teo wondered if his men would believe he would reprimand them for not leaving an orphan in a dead village. "He...didn't want to come, but we couldn't hardly leave a boy in a place like that..."

Teo only nodded, and they both looked relieved at their General's agreement. "Did you let him finish?"

They blinked at him. "Sir?"

Teo frowned. "That boy was burying his home. Did you let him finish?"

"Ah..." They were nervous again, standing more rigidly than protocol demanded. Biggs licked his lips before he spoke. "I...believe so, Sir. We didn't ask, y'see but... we looked through the village for clues and didn't see any bodies anywhere."

Nodding vigorously, Wedge seemed more than eager enough to jump on this answer, "That's right, sir. An' there were an awful lot of graves, enough for such a small place."

The General weighed them for a moment. Most of the time that was all that necessary to hunt out a lie from his men. Tabs had assured him more than once that his stare was more than intimidating enough, and his rank was just gravy.

The Sergeants continued to look nervous, but didn't balk, and after a moment Teo nodded. "Thank you for your work, gentlemen. Get yourselves food and rest; we leave for Gregminster at dawn. You're dismissed."

Biggs and Wedge grinned at him widely, crooked smiles that the General suspected Cleo wouldn't pay even ten bits to see, and saluted. "Sir!"

When they were gone Teo unfolded his reading glasses once more and placed them on his nose. "Tabbs, I'd like to meet that boy. Bring him here once he's been given something to eat."

"Sir." Tabbs saluted and also disappeared past the tent flaps.

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It was over an hour later when the boy was brought to visit, but Teo was glad enough for the distraction. The paperwork had to get done, certainly, but it wasn't so urgent that he would pass up a reasonable chance to look at something besides the numbers indicating his army's ever-dwindling funds.

"Sir," Tabbs announced, pulling aside the cloth and letting himself in. He ushered a grumpy looking half-grown boy before him. "This is Ted, the sole survivor of the rebels' attack. Ted, I'm sure you've heard of General Teo McDohl."

It was more common than not for anyone who entered the General's personal tent to be at least somewhat nervous. Ted couldn't be a year over fifteen, if that, but at best he seemed bored, as if Teo wasn't worth his time and not the other way around.

"No, actually."

Tabbs coughed quietly at Ted's indifferent reply, and Teo didn't need to look closely to know that his fist was hiding a smile. The Lieutenant had never been one for polite formalities either. Teo ignored his friend and folded his hands over unfinished documents after laying aside his glasses. "My name is hardly something that should concern a boy out in the country anyway. I heard what happened to the villagers, Ted. I'm sorry for your loss."

Ted grimaced, and Teo hadn't missed the fact that he was dry eyed for someone whose family had been casualties of a war no longer being fought. In fact, he really didn't seem like much of a farm boy at all. Ted was young, certainly, caught in the gangly years where nothing quite fit - after baby fat began to fall away but before muscles began to find definition. His hair was caramel and stuck out wildly at his forehead, and the rest was long enough to be tied at his nape. The only unusual thing was the long, dark cloak he wore. Its color was now lost under years of dirt, mud, and rain. Not the type of thing a child with a home and family wore.

"Don't be." The boy shrugged, indifferent. "It's not my loss. I didn't live there."

Teo again thought of the cloak and this time also noticed bandages wrapped securely around Ted's right palm. They weren't quite as ratty as the cloak, but they came close. It seemed like only the tight layers kept them from falling off completely. If Ted was trying to avoid infection, he had the wrong idea. "If it wasn't your village, why were you burying the dead? Or do you deny that too?"

"I..." Ted hesitated, seeming uncomfortable, and looked at the tent's entryway like he might just walk out. When Tabb's hand fell to rest on Ted's shoulder the boy only shrugged it off irritably and took a pointed step away from the Lieutenant, but it was enough to get him to answer the question. "Yeah, that's what I was doing. Someone had to."

When Ted moved away Tabbs tilted back on his heels, stuck his hands in his pockets and watched carefully. It was an old habit of his, meaning Tabbs was both confused and intrigued.

It could be a lie; Ted's story sounded too absurd to be the truth, but Teo didn't see a reason for it. Either way, it didn't matter. He was obviously a child of Toran, and if he had no one to go to then he would go to the orphanage. It wasn't hard to believe that a young boy might want to take care of himself after the death of his parents, but that didn't mean he should be allowed to. With all the beasts that roamed between the towns it would be kinder to simply have him executed.

Still, it was best to be sure. "Alright. That was an honorable thing for you to do, boy. But if that wasn't your village, then where is it?"

Ted merely looked at him. He had no trouble meeting the General's eyes, and in that moment Teo saw what must've been a mistake. That perhaps the poor lighting in his tent was causing the man to look like a boy, that in the dimness his wrinkles had faded from sight. Because Teo was not a spiritual man, nor did he believe in fate or the super natural. But he had met the eyes of many warriors, of kings and queens and witches, of saints and sinners, and of war-scarred orphans. And Ted's eyes belonged to none of those at all; the only time the General had ever seen that look before was in man pulled from the charred ruins of Kalekka. Having lost everyone and everything he'd fought to protect, in the end he was too tired to even kill himself.

Teo's lips tightened and he allowed himself to blink only once, ridding himself of the hallucination by sheer force of will. The lighting was fine and so were his eyes. Ted was a child, barely older than his own son. If his eyes seemed old it was only because he'd experienced something horrific at such an age.

The General nodded to Tabbs, who placed a hand to Ted's shoulder, ready to lead him out. "You will stay with us until we reach Gregminster tomorrow evening, then you will be delivered to the orphanage fo-"

For a while now he'd been wondering if anything would cause the boy to react.

"WHAT?"

Apparently, something would.

Tabbs coughed, and the General realized perhaps he was being too lenient. It had been a long time since anyone dared raise their voice like that at him. Looking at Ted sternly he opened his mouth to explain, as patiently as he felt willing to, when the boy interrupted him yet again.

"You're probably just trying to be... noble... or something." Ted had shaken off Tabb's hand and took a step toward the General. Not threatening, but hardly pleading. Ted had traded his look of boredom for one of annoyance, as if Teo was going out of his way to be inconvenient. "But I don't need to go to an orphanage. Really. Just tell your men to give me back my bow and I'll leave."

It was starting to feel like a very long night. "Whatever you think of my motives," Teo assured, meeting the boy's eyes again and this time refusing to think of them as half dead. "You're still just a child, barely older than my own son. I can't let you wander the countryside at your age. If you have no parents to go to then it has to be the orphanage."

The boy's features twisted, but he managed to keep himself to only one word. "Lenankamp."

"Your parents are there?" Tabbs prompted when the General said nothing.

"Yes." It was a lie, of course. They all knew it, and each knew the others knew it. Ted was trying to get away on a pretense.

After several seconds, Teo nodded. He would not let a child, an orphan, spark his temper. At this stage a boy needed a guide, not a commander, and Teo only considered himself fit to offer the latter. "Very well. If that's true then you'll be welcome to send them a letter from the orphanage in Gregminster, where they can go to retrieve you." Of course, he would also not lose to such a child. "Lieutenant Tabbs, please take Ted back to the barracks and see that he has somewhere to sleep. Oh, and make sure a medic takes a look at his hand."

Ted's eyes widened and his right hand fled into the folds of his cloak, as if moving fast enough could keep Teo from having seen in the first place. It was likely that he would have protested more, and from the look about him Teo imagined that argument would have involved several words children are often punished for saying, but Tabbs was a good man. In a single smooth motion Ted was turned around and let from the tent, though lesser soldiers might have found it necessarily to carry the boy.

The protests came anyway, the curses as well, and for several seconds Teo could hear Ted's muffled voice from beyond the tent walls.

When he was finally alone again General Teo McDohl leaned back in his favorite uncomfortable chair, for just a moment, and let out all the sighs he'd contained that day. It would certainly be good to be home.

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BG music: Candlebox - 10,000 Horses
Follow-up stuffs: Not much to say overall. I did my research, as much as I could for this project. But because of the way the gensui games are done... with the first one coming out over ten years ago and the most recent one 'connecting' to that via Ted... well... there are multiple holes and inconsistancies. For example, Teo is said to have picked Ted up as an orphan of War, only the latest war was the War of Succession which happened seven years prior to Gensui1's start, but I find it unlikely that Ted lived in the McDohl household that long. Or that Ted should be physically about 20, between when his village went boom and how much time he spent on the Fog Captain's Ship (ten years).

In the end, I've worked with them where I can, used them where I can, and totally ignored them when I felt like it. Hopefully you'll find my version pieces together nicely as we go. If not...that's what the review button is for >D

Much love to Ruu, who willingly acts as my personal spellchecker, among other things, and doesn't complain too much.

Much hate to Ruu, for no, this is NOT a Teo/Ted fic. Perv.

And again, I like CC, CC grants you and endless supply of invisible, intangible cookies.