Chapter 1
Jill sat outside her tent, staring at the stars in wonder. She was dressed in a simple tunic and trousers, having left her armor in her tent. She could never properly relax while wearing so much metal, the mere presence of the stuff unnerved her for some reason. She was on her way to assignment in the most important port city of Crimea. She traveled alone, and she preferred it that way. She herd a twig snap and she was instantly on her feet, prepared to fight.
A cloaked form stepped out into the clearing. He was about six feet tall and his features were all hidden by his cloak. "Jill, Wyvern Rider of Daein. I have been searching for you for quite some time." The man said as he adjusted the longbow and quiver of arrows slung across his back.
"What do you want with me?" Jill asked as she backed away cautiously.
"I wish to inform you of your true heritage." The man stated, confusing Jill.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Jill asked.
"You know your family is not originally from Daein, correct?" The man asked.
"Yes. Our Wyvern Rider unit was from Begnion. Why do you ask?" Jill said, still not lowering her guard.
"That is correct, but your family has a much longer history." The man said as he lowered himself into a crouch. "You might want to sit down. This will take a while." He said, prompting Jill to sit. "During the beorc enslavement of the laguz, there was a family of beorc mages that experimented with removing a laguz's power to change, essentially tuning laguz into beorc. They had enslaved one of the noble families of Gallia. It was on this family that they performed their sick tests. They eventually found a way to do it."
"What does this have to do with me?" Jill asked.
"The laguz family that the beorc experimented on were your ancestors." The man stated with certainty.
"That can't be true. If I were sub-human, I'd have some sort of ears or tail." Jill stated arrogantly, causing the man in front of her to hiss.
"Don't ever use that word in front of laguz! They would kill you." The man stated.
"What proof do you have that I'm sub… laguz." Jill said, deciding to humor the crazy man in hopes that he would go away.
"My family used to protect yours." He said.
"Right. I don't believe you."
"Really? You have an unexplainable distaste for iron and steel correct?"
"True…"
"You have always been, more graceful and better balanced then your beorc peers correct?"
"Yes… what does that have to do with anything?"
"Those two things are typical signs of cat laguz. One more question, your family on average never died of old age did they? They always died in battle, correct?"
Jill thought about it for a moment. "You're right. I never noticed it before but every member of my family died in battle or from illness. And they always retained their young looks far after they should have shown signs of age… Wait a second! If your family served mine, that would make you laguz! But you carry beorc weapons. You're lying!"
"No I'm not." The man said as he stood. "I am laguz, but I was exiled from Gallia. My power abandoned me." He said as he lowered his hood. His striking violet eyes glimmered in the moonlight. His long midnight hair was shot though with streaks of violet that matched his eyes, and was tied back in a loose ponytail. He had two black slashes adorning his cheeks. But what confirmed his story were the two black cat ears that poked out of his hair. He fingered his katana belted to his right hip before moving to the twin knives on his left. "I lost my ability to transform and was exiled for it. A laguz that can't change is defenseless, so I took up beorc tools."
"Okay. Let's say I believe you. What does it change? There's now way to reverse the process." Jill said.
"Actually there is. My friend Cryo is a descendent of the family that performed the original spell and he has found a way to undo it."
"And if what you say is true, then why should I trust a member of the family that did this to me?" Jill asked, getting angry at the injustice brought down on her ancestors.
"Because he is branded, half laguz. He was thrown out of his family for what he is and now he seeks to right their wrongs."
Jill didn't know why, but for some reason she felt compelled to believe the laguz. "Alright I believe you. But before I go with you to meet your friend, I want to know your name."
"I am Kumori." He said before turning to walk off. "Come, if we hurry we can correct this wrong tonight."
Kumori led her away from the port city she was supposed to report to in the morning. They traveled deeper into the forest, until Jill spotted the light of a campfire. They entered the clearing to see two people seated on either side of the fire. One was wearing flowing black robes cinched at his waist with a golden sash that marked him as a mage. His obsidian hair was chopped short and spiked above his head. He had a golden diamond in the center of his forehead marking him as the branded. His wine colored eyes met Jill's as they approached. The second man wore a long sleeved black tunic under a dark gray sleeveless shirt. He wore black trousers with holes ripped in the knees and sandals instead of typical traveling boots. He completed the ensemble with a red scarf that hung to his ankles. At his side were a bow and a quiver of arrows. He had a pair of brown hawks wings folded along his back and his shaggy blonde hair was cut at shoulder length. He looked up with brown eyes as Jill entered the clearing.
"Ah, you found her." The mage said as he rose from his seat by the fire.
"Jill, this is Cryo, he is the mage that will return your power to you. The other one is Grim. We don't know his real name but we call him that because he doesn't talk much. He is like me, but don't make a big deal about it." Kumori said as he led Jill over to Cryo. "How long will this take? I was hoping to join Lethe's group before they left."
"It shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Please sit and be very still." Cryo said, indicating Jill should sit. "Don't worry the spell will be completely painless." Cryo reassured her as he drew arcane runes in the dirt around Jill. When he was done, Cryo drew a knife and slashed his left wrist. He walked around the runes, dripping his blood on them. "All of the most powerful spells require some sort of blood sacrifice." He explained as the runes glowed a bright red. Cryo stepped up in front of Jill. "As soon as my blood touches your skin, the spell will activate and your power will be drawn out. This is you last chance to back out." He said solemnly.
"Do it." Jill said.
Cryo stretched his palm over Jill's head and a few drops of his blood dripped across her face. As soon as the blood made contact with her skin, the runes surrounding the two glowed with the intensity of the sun. There was a massive explosion of arcane force, which hurled Cryo back. Grim caught him, saving him from a nasty fall. The light slowly dimmed, leaving Jill sitting in the center of a circle of charred earth. Two red cat ears poked out of her hair and a red tail had torn through her pants. She opened her eyes to reveal her cat-like pupils.
"Wow… Everything looks so much clearer…" Jill said in amazement. She continued to look around, determined to take everything in.
Kumori walked over to her and helped her up. "We need to go. We have to gather your things at your camp and get to the city. We have a mercenary group to find."
"You mean to join Greil's Mercenaries?" Jill asked in shock. "They are enemies of Daein!"
"So are you now." Grim said, before he turned and vanished into the forest.
"He has a point. You asked for it, now you really don't have anywhere else to go, unless you want to venture to Gallia alone." Kumori said.
"No, I think I'll go with you." Jill said, clearly afraid of being alone in Gallia so soon after her transformation. "That way I can have some time to adjust to my new… outlook." She said.
"Wise move. Now we must go. We have a long distance to travel and a short time to do it in." Cryo said as he finished bandaging his wrist.
Several Hours Later
The four of them had not stopped all night. The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon when they finally caught first sight of the city. Jill had decided to forgo her armor, but had donned a tan cloak to hide her new features form the townspeople. She carried her lance in a sure grip as she thought back to the night before. She had decided to release her wyvern; it was too easy to track. She had no worries for the animal though; it would find its way back to her father. They entered the town with no problems and began to search for Greil's Mercenary company. As they passed one of the many taverns in the city, they heard an outbreak of screams from farther down the street.
"Grim, what's happening?" Kumori asked.
The hawk stared for a few moments before answering. "The townspeople have discovered a cat laguz. I believe it is Ranulf. He seems to refuse to fight back."
"Then we must help him!" Kumori said as he turned to dash up the street.
"Hold! A mercenary is dispersing them. It appears to be Greil's son. Let us speak with them." Grim said as he hurried up the street, followed by the rest of the group. As they arrived, one of the townsfolk spotted the arriving Daein soldiers and called out.
"Life can never be easy…" The blue haired teen muttered. "We have to get to the docks."
"I'll distract as many as I can." Ranulf said as he transformed and dashed out of town, prompting several Daein soldiers to follow him.
"Well that's a few less, but what about the rest…"
"Perhaps we can be of assistance." Kumori said as they arrived on the scene.
"Who are…?" Ike began only to be cut off.
"Kumori! I thought you died!" Lethe exclaimed.
"You know each other?" Ike asked.
"We served the king together before he was exiled. But that was years ago."
"Can we catch up later? I believe where we are is about to become very dangerous." Cryo said as he glanced at the advancing Daein soldiers.
"Looks like we'll have to fight our way to the docks. Does that offer for help still stand?" Ike asked.
"Yes. Now can we go?" Kumori asked.
"Alright, let's go!" Ike shouted as Cryo got sick of the advancing spearmen and hurled a large fireball into their midst. The fireball exploded, hurling the soldiers to the ground.
Grim threw his cloak off and took to the sky as he drew his bow. Jill resettled her spear in her grip as more soldiers appeared. All around the Greil Mercenaries were readying weapons. They began to move toward the docks when black armored Daein troops emerged, cutting them off. The Daein troops and the Greil Mercenaries stared at one another for a few seconds until an arrow from above hissed into a spearman's neck, killing him. As if a switch had been flipped, the black armored soldiers charged. Rolf, Kumori and Grim started firing arrows as fast as they could, trying to thin out the numbers before they got too close. More effective at this were Soren and Cryo, as they started hurling spells. Jill took a spot next to Lethe and leveled her lance at their charging foes. Some of the soldiers paused in recognition.
"Miss Jill, what are you doing with them?" One of the Daein soldiers asked.
Lethe looked at Jill and was about to pounce on her when a stray arrow took the hood from her head, revealing her new ears. Lethe immediately calmed down and faced the Daein troops once more.
"I am here because I'm finally doing something for myself instead of my country. You will receive no mercy from me!" Jill shouted as she thrust her lance into the chest of one of the nearby soldiers.
The fighting was intense as the Greil Mercenaries moved toward the docks, but they arrived with little trouble. As their boat sailed out of the harbor, Ike, Titania, and Soren spoke to the new arrivals.
"Why did you help us?" Soren asked, trying to figure out their angle.
"We helped because I was once from Gallia. I only acted as my king would have wanted." Kumori stated.
Titania spoke up. "Now I recognize that lance design. You're from Daein aren't you?" She asked, indicating Jill.
"Originally, yes." Jill said as she pulled her hood down once more. "But things have changed."
"How? Its impossible to turn beorc into laguz." Soren said.
"That is true, but Jill here was never beorc to begin with. Her ancestors were laguz who had their power stolen. I simply retuned what was lost." Cryo replied.
"I'm sure Cryo and Grim here can answer all of your questions, Jill and I must speak with the laguz traveling with you." Kumori said as he grabbed Jill's arm and went in search of Lethe. They found her on the bow of the ship, staring off at the horizon.
"What do you want Kumori?" Lethe asked without turning around.
"I need you help. I need you to help me teach this girl about the beast tribes of Gallia."
"Why should I? You abandoned me in Gallia and never sent news. I thought you had died." Lethe growled.
"I had no choice. After my exile, I became as despised as the branded. No one would talk to me, let alone deliver a message." Kumori said. "I'm sorry that I worried you."
"Worried? I mourned your passing! A laguz without the power is as good as helpless." Lethe snarled.
"There was nothing I could do! I was barred from the country and you would have never accepted a message from a beorc! Any beast tribe laguz knew of my condition and treated me like scum, when they even bothered to acknowledge that I existed at all! I'm sorry that I left you, but what other choice did I have?" Kumori asked.
"If you had asked, I would have gone with you." Lethe said, finally turning to face the two laguz. Kumori was shocked to see tears in her eyes. "I loved you. And for 10 years I had no idea if you were alive or dead."
"I'm truly sorry." Kumori said as he stepped forward and drew Lethe into his arms. "I'm sorry for those 10 years, but I'm here now, and I don't intend to leave for a long time. Not unless Jill leaves." Kumori said. He felt Lethe stiffen at his last words. "Before you get angry, she is a member of the family mine once guarded. I have found her and I intend to keep her safe. That is why I follow her."
Lethe purred softly at Kumori's words. She started slightly when an extra pair of arms wrapped around her.
"I feel for your loss Lethe. I will not force him to leave you again. All I ask is that you help me to learn all I need to know." Jill whispered in Lethe's ear.
"Alright, I'll do it. Let's go below. We can start now."
Saxyguy – Alright that's chapter one. Just a few things to clarify, all of the main pairings have been decided, but if you me good enough reason, I may be talked into changing them. Also, the twin knives Kumori carries are the knives Legolas uses from LOTR, cuz those knives are badass and you all know it! That's all until next time! Ja ne!