Fire Emblem:
The Blazing Blade
Part 1: The Usurper's Throne
Chapter 1: A Girl From the Plains
Ohhhh, my head. What the heck happened to me? I feel like I got stepped on by a horse. Wait, why is everything so dark? Okay, try opening the eyes. No? That's creepy. What happened? Wait, who am I? Everything's so fuzzy. Come on, there's got to be something in this head of mine. Battle tactics? Useful, but not what I need. Just a name. I need a name. Nidan? Nidan! Okay, I'm Nidan. One mystery solved.
Now, what happened? Bright light. Blue sky. Trees, I remember trees. Why are trees important? Bandits? Oh yeah, bandits came from the trees. They tried to surprise me. Fought them off. I can fight? Moving on. One got a lucky blow to my head. Opened eyes, he was about to behead me. Used... magic? I can use magic? No I can't. Or, I can? I can, but not advisable. Hurts a lot for some reason. Don't use magic.
"Are you awake?" a feminine voice asked.
My ears are working? Then my eyes can't be far behind!
Nidan slowly forced his eyes open. He was staring at a tent ceiling. It was made of simple canvas, and obviously meant for just one person, judging by the size. He sat up. The tent was full of minor belongings, with a small cooking area on the opposite end of the bed he was in.
There was a young woman with a bowl of soup in her hands at the cooking area. She was gorgeous, with a well-built frame and long green hair contained in a pony-tail. She was coming over to give him the soup.
"I said, are you awake?" the woman repeated.
"Yeah," Nidan groaned.
"Good. I made something for you." She handed him the bowl of soup.
"Thank you," Nidan said, taking a sip of the soup. "It's good."
The woman smiled. "Thank you. It's an older recipe, but it's always been one of my favorites." The woman went back to the cooking area to serve herself some soup.
"I'm Lyn," she said as she poured her bowl. "What's your name?"
"My name's Nidan," Nidan replied.
"Nidan," Lyn repeated as she sat in a makeshift chair to eat her soup. "What an odd name. Is it foreign?" Before Nidan could reply, "Oh, but don't mind me, it's a good name."
"Thanks, I guess," Nidan answered. The two of them sat in silence for a moment as they finished their respective bowls of soup. Nidan realized that the more he ate, the hungrier he was. How long had it been since he had eaten? He had no idea.
"More?" he asked, holding his bowl out.
Lyn set her finished bowl aside and went to pour him some more soup.
"What brings you out to Sacae?" she asked.
Nidan scratched his head. "I can't remember. I think I might have a bit of amnesia."
Lyn looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. That doesn't surprise me though. That bump on your head looks pretty bad."
Nidan sent an exploratory hand up to his head. To his dismay and pain, there was quite a large bump on the back of his head. That sucker hurt like heck.
"Careful," Lyn admonished. There was a short pause. "What do you remember?"
Nidan thought for a minute. "I know how to speak, obviously. I know the basic geography of Elibe. I know that I can fight and am good with tactics."
"Anything else?" Lyn asked him.
"Besides my name? No," Nidan replied with a shake of his head. "I have no idea what I was doing, or what kind of person I am." Nidan shuddered at the implications of what he had just said.
"That must be scary," Lyn told him.
"You have no idea," Nidan responded. "But I get to wake up to someone nice. Someone upstairs really cut me a break there."
Lyn smiled and lightly blushed at the complement. Nidan finished up the second serving of soup in silence.
"So," Nidan said after Lyn had taken care of his soup bowl, "what are you doing helping random strangers? Isn't that, I don't know, dangerous?"
Lyn was about to respond when screaming came from outside the tent. Lyn immediately darted to the side of the bed and picked up a sheathed katana.
"I'll check it out," she stated simply. "Your stuff is in the corner over there." Lyn pointed at a spot to Nidan's right, just past the cooking area. Then, she disappeared out of the front flap.
Nidan got up out of the bed, and found out that he was currently shirtless. No doubt so that Lyn could bandage his torso. Must have been an injury he couldn't remember at the moment. He went to the pile that was supposedly his stuff. He pulled on the shirt that was in it. He picked up a bag full of what appeared to be papers. Probably strategy notes. He then pulled out a belt with two beautiful katana on it. The hilts were pristine and very ornate, but had no cross-guard where the hilt met the blade. Nidan didn't think about it too much as he placed the swords at his waist. Lastly, he pulled a cloak out of the pile. It was a simple, greenish-brown cloak with a hood. As soon as he threw it around his neck, he knew he loved it. He threw the hood up, and already felt more like himself, whatever that meant.
"Bandits!" Lyn called as she returned to the tent. "The tribesmen in the nearby camp are hiding from them, but it's only a matter of time before the bandits drag them all out." Lyn's face was frowning and determined. "I have to help them. It doesn't look like there are too many bandits. I'm sure I can take them. You stay here."
Lyn turned to leave, but Nidan grabbed her by the shoulder. "I can help you. I told you that I have tactics and that I can fight right?"
"But, your injur-"
"Don't worry about it," Nidan assured. "We both stand a better chance of surviving if I go with you."
Lyn didn't think about it anymore and just said, "Alright, but stick close."
"Can do," Nidan stated, drawing one of his katana into his right hand.
They both rushed out of Lyn's tent. The day was beautiful, was the first thing that Nidan noticed when he got outside. Then he noted the terrain. That was always the first thing a tactician notes when going into battle. It was relatively flat, with golden grass everywhere, interspersed with a few trees. Directly across from them was a camp full of hut-like tents. There were also five bandits just outside the village.
Alright, Nidan thought, if they stay with their backs turned, we can wipe at least two of them before they even know we're here. Those axes look slow and clumsy, so the survivors shouldn't be hard to kill off, then we go for-
"Hey!" Lyn shouted. "Get away from them!"
So much for that plan. Okay, new plan. Four of the bandits started charging towards them. They had maybe 15 seconds before the two groups met. The last bandit, probably the leader, stayed to watch.
"Lyn," Nidan said, "We take out the two in the center, I'll get the left one, you get the right one. Then double back and hit the other two as quickly as possible. Go!"
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, NOW! Nidan ducked the clumsy slice of his target and put his katana through the bandit's gut. Nidan then dug in his heels and turned around, just in time to see the first two bandits fall. The other two were still turning from the sudden loss of their friends. Lyn and Nidan rushed forward in tandem, meeting their respective bandits at the same time.
The bandit that Nidan had attacked blocked the first strike, making Nidan back off. The bandit took a huge overhead swing, which Nidan sidestepped. As the dolt tried to pull his axe out of the ground, Nidan sent his sword through the bandit's heart.
In one smooth motion, Nidan removed the sword from his victim and turned to face the leader, who was clearly not happy with his group being annihilated like they were. Nidan took note of Lyn joining him on the right.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ON BATTA THE BEAST?!" the leader yelled. "NO ONE CAN TAKE ON BATTA THE BEAST!"
"Together," Nidan stated simply. Lyn nodded in response.
Together, they charged Batta, as the bandit called himself. Batta drew two massive axes from his back, their silver-grey blades glinting dangerously in the sunlight.
"Careful," Nidan whispered, "this one's better than his minions."
Lyn nodded in understanding.
"COME ON!" Batta screamed, charging forward.
Despite his rage, his stance clearly showed that Batta knew what he was doing. Lyn and Nidan met Batta a little ways away from the village. Nidan moved to attack, but Batta blocked it with the flat of his axe. Lyn's strike was met similarly. Not hesitating, both Lyn and Nidan struck again, this time with more precision. Batta was still able to block them, and came down with both axes. Lyn and Nidan had to jump back to avoid the heavy, dangerous weapons. Batta didn't let up, focusing his wrath on Lyn. Nidan flanked to Batta's back, and was preparing to run him through when Batta spun on one foot, axes ripping through the air in deadly arcs. Nidan was once again forced to jump back.
When Batta stopped his spin, he was facing Nidan. The burly bandit came forward, axes held ready. Nidan blocked one and sidestepped the other, grunting at the amount of force it took to hold back Batta's blow. Nidan, with great effort and another grunt, pushed Batta's arm back, and took a stab at the bandit. Batta blocked it with the axe that Nidan had earlier blocked, while rotating his other arm to block an incoming attack from Lyn. Batta shoved them both back and raised his axes to kill the reeling duo.
Nidan and Lyn recovered faster than Batta expected. Both swordsman and swordswoman saw their opportunity. Together, they buried their blades in Batta's torso.
"But, how?" Batta rasped, axes thudding into the dirt. The big man collapsed with a thump.
Lyn doubled over with a huff. She was a good swordswoman, but she wasn't very durable, Nidan noted. Then he looked a little closer. Her tunic had a red spot on the left.
"You're hurt!" Nidan exclaimed.
"It's nothing," Lyn stated. "A vulnerary should take care of it."
Lyn started digging around her satchel. A piece of memory hit Nidan's head. He dug through his own bag, pulling out a vulnerary, offering it to Lyn. Lyn stopped looking through her pack and gratefully accepted Nidan's offering. She quickly popped the cap and took a drink. She then replaced the cap and handed the vulnerary back to Nidan.
"You know," Nidan said, taking a step closer, "if you put a little of this," he shook the vulnerary, "in the wound, it'll be less likely to leave a scar."
"No, I didn't know that," Lyn stated. "Well, go ahead."
Nidan popped the cap off the vulnerary and gently moved Lyn's tunic away from the injury. It was a small gash just above her hip.
"Fair warning," Nidan stated, "this is really going to hurt."
He quickly dripped some of the blue liquid into the wound. Lyn hissed in pain as the vulnerary finished its work. He stepped back as the wound began healing in earnest.
"All better," Nidan stated.
"Thank you," Lyn replied.
Nidan heard frantic footsteps coming from behind them. Both he and Lyn turned, seeing a man coming from the set of huts that the bandits had been terrorizing.
"Thank you very much, Lady Lyn," the man said. He was older, and what gray hair he had was rapidly receding. His outfit was worn, but was clearly that of a chieftain. "And thanks to you mister…?"
"Nidan," Nidan offered. "My name's Nidan."
"Thank you, Mister Nidan," the chieftain said.
"You're most welcome," Lyn and Nidan said in tandem.
"Is there anything that we can offer you in return?"
"No," Lyn stated. "Your safety from those monsters is reward enough."
"Well, my thanks again," the chieftains said, turning to tend to his people.
Lyn had a strange look in her eye that Nidan couldn't understand. He shrugged it off as he headed back to Lyn's tent. If Lyn wanted to tell him what that was all about, she would. He heard Lyn's footsteps following him.
Nidan stretched long as soon as he woke up. He'd have to thank Lyn for letting him use her bedroll. That thing was comfortable. He slowly sat up, eyes still half-lidded from sleep.
The rest of the previous day had gone by uneventfully. Lyn and Nidan talked a lot about what essentially amounted to nothing. They shared tidbits of information, which was awkward for Nidan, given his lack of memory. It was weird for Nidan. He had just gotten amnesia and he met someone immediately after whom he trusted indefinitely. How does that even happen?
Nidan finished forcing his eyes open and looked around. The tent was empty, but that didn't surprise him. Lyn had talked about enjoying sleeping under the stars after all. She was likely still outside. Nidan noticed that much of the tents contents, which weren't many, had already been packed. So Lyn had already woken up.
Nidan pulled himself out of the bedroll. He looked for his shirt, which he had flung aside haphazardly before hitting the sack the night before. He found it and shrugged it on, following that with his cloak. He let out a soft, contented smile as he felt the now-familiar weight of his cloak settling on. Lastly, he strapped on his swords.
When he stepped outside, Lyn was placing the last of her cooking material in her sack. Nidan had to admit, he was disappointed that she was already moving on.
"Leaving already?" Nidan asked.
"Yeah," Lyn stated, tying the last strap on, sealing the bag. "Do you mind rolling up the bed you slept in?"
"Not at all," Nidan said, disappearing back into Lyn's tent.
He reappeared with a tied bedroll. Lyn promptly took it and tied it to her sack. She let out a little sigh and stood.
"Are you not taking the tent?" Nidan asked her.
"It's not mine," the green-haired girl responded. "The tribe elder from yesterday let me use it."
"Well that was certainly nice of him."
"Mm-hm."
There was a brief pause.
"Where are you going now?" Nidan questioned.
"Truthfully," Lyn began, "I don't know."
"Really? Then why are you already packed. This tribe looks like they would be nice to live with. I'm sure that they would welcome you with open arms after yesterday."
"No," Lyn stated firmly. "I have to leave these plains."
"What for?" Nidan asked again.
Lyn was silent. Nidan sighed, thinking he wasn't going to get anything out of her.
"Well, I wish you the best," Nidan told her sincerely.
"What about you?" Lyn asked him.
"I don't know. I was thinking about traveling west. The region Lycia interested me greatly while I was looking over my maps yesterday."
"Let me go with you!" Lyn blurted out.
"Excuse me?" Nidan asked genuinely shocked.
"I want to come with you. With your strategy and my skill, we could make it anywhere. You'll be the master strategist and I'd be your peerless warrior!"
"Where did this come from? Don't you have family that would miss you?"
Tears sprung to Lyn's eyes.
"Hey," Nidan stated, "I didn't mean to-"
"No," Lyn stated, "I think you should know this."
Lyn took a deep breath, fighting the tears that were at her eyes.
"My family is gone. I-I used to live in the Lorca tribe. A month ago, there was an attack. Bandits raided in the night and," Lyn let out a soft sob. "There was so much blood," tears flowed freely now. "So few of us made it. My mother and father," more tears, "they're gone. I may have been the chieftain's daughter, but my people are old-fashioned. They wouldn't follow a woman. No one would follow me."
Nidan took a step back in shock. That was just, just… there were no words to describe the injustice of it. Nidan felt very sorry for Lyn's loneliness. That must have been terrible to live through. Nidan also respected her a great deal more now. To have gone through such horrors and still be the amazing person that he had met the day before took a great deal of strength. To still be able to love after being hurt took great heart.
"I'm sorry," Lyn stated, "I didn't mean to vent."
"Don't you ever apologize for what you went through," Nidan stated. "Especially not to me. I admire that you could go through something so awful and still be the wonderful woman I met yesterday."
"Thank you," Lyn said softly, tears stopping.
"You can certainly come with me," Nidan continued. "I'll be the master strategist and you'll be my peerless warrior."
That brought a smile to Lyn's face.
A/N So, that is the start of my FE7 novelization. I hope you all like it. This story is dedicated to Metallover, author of Fire Emblem Awakening: Invisible Ties. His amazing story inspired me to write my own. Also, a side note, there is a reason I used my own custom name for the tactician as opposed to "Mark." However, that reason does not come into play for a long, long time.