The man walked up the stairs of the palace, his bow in his hand and his quiver over his shoulder.
"Ha!" The teenager shouted as his arrow struck the ring outside of the bull's eye, "Beat that!"
"Maybe I will!" his friend shouted back.
"And maybe you won't."
"And maybe I will."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"All right then, try it." The teenager gave him the bow. His friend notched an arrow and pulled the bow up, taking careful aim. He released the arrow and sent it flying just inside the bull's eye. "Hell yeah!"
"Lucky shot..."
A small, 10-year-old boy watched them shoot arrows at the target from his seat on a log, shaking his head. Those morons...
"Hey, kid!" the teenager shouted. "What are you looking at?"
The boy just shrugged and looked away, not wanting to create a scene.
"Do good to talk to me, are you? Why don't you try?" When the boy did not answer, the teenager laughed. "Ha! I thought so! You're just some stupid little kid!"
That stung the boy's pride. He was nothing like the other children his age in the village. While they all shouted and laughed and threw rocks at old men, he sat in his home alone, thinking. He knew he was worth more than that. The boy picked up his bow and walked over to the boys. He notched one of his own arrows, and lifted up the bow he had carved himself out of a branch from the tree in his backyard. He pulled his hand back to his ear, just as his father had taught him, and sighted the target. His hand released its grip on the arrow, and sent it flying down the range. He lowered his bow and walked away. He did not need to see the arrow pierce the target or hear the surprised gasps of the two teenagers to know that it had hit dead-center.
He knew it was treason, what he was doing, but he didn't care. It wasn't worth it anymore. He wasn't going to fight for the people that had used him and his fellows as disposal pawns anymore.
He sat on a log, carving a new bow. Yesterday, a group of boys had set upon him while he was practicing shooting targets and had beaten him and smashed his bow. He was so totally preoccupied with making the bow perfect that he didn't hear someone coming up behind him.
"Um, excuse me?"
He turned around and saw one of the boys who had helped beat him up yesterday. He looked away.
"Um... I... I just wanted to say... I'm sorry... I'm sorry I hurt you yesterday..."
The boy continued carving his bow.
"Will... will you forgive me?"
The boy looked back at the one behind him. He saw genuine guilt in his eyes. He smiled and nodded.
He opened his mouth in surprise. "You will?"
The boy nodded.
He smiled. "Thank you. My name's Rámon. Can we be friends?"
The boy nodded one more time.
He remembered the days before he joined up. He remembered being comfortable, moderately wealthy, and above all... happy.
The boy had grown up to become a man. He lived in Nevassa, and worked as a hunter during the fall, and as a bounty hunter, along with his childhood friend Rámon, during the rest of the year. Nevassa was abuzz with rumors, as King Pelleas himself had just announced that Daein would be joining Begnion in the war against the Laguz Alliance, and army recruitment booths were set up at every street corner. He heard snippets of conversation as townspeople passed him, most about the sudden war.
"Finally, we're going to screw those sub-humans so hard they won't know what hit them..."
"Why are we going to war? And with Begnion of all people. We're still reconstructing..."
"Damn the sub-humans, they'll get what's comin' to them sure enough! You don't fight Beorcs and expect to win..."
The man had never met a laguz, or so-called sub-human, and didn't understand the prejudice against them, and wasn't really considering joining the army.
"Hey, man, what's up?" Rámon had just come back from checking out the latest bounties. "I didn't see anything interesting, just some low-level thieves and bandits, nothing worth our time." He took a bite out of an apple. "It's been really slow for weeks now."
The man nodded his agreement. The crime rates normally went down during the spring, when anyone could get a job working the fields.
Rámon looked at the nearest registration booth. "You know, I was thinking of joining the army and going to fight. Ever since my dad told me tales of fighting for Daein, I've always dreamt of going to battle."
He glanced at Rámon, knowing that if Rámon joined, he would join, too.
Rámon looked at him. "Will you join with me? I know it'll be hard and dangerous and there aren't many opportunities to get laid, but hey, it'll be fun."
The man looked at the ground and nodded.
As he sat in a lounge, waiting to meet the man he came to see, he remembered his first battle. He remembered that battle was nothing like the songs said it was like...
In a distant part of his mind, the man found it ironic that the first time he met a laguz, it was in battle, but the front of his mind was too busy surviving to notice. He fired three arrows in quick succession, slaying two laguz and mortally wounding a third. He was part of the advance guard, the unit assigned to protect the Silver-Haired Maiden in battle. It was the first battle Daein had participated in during the war, and all ready he was regretting joining the army. He and Rámon had been assigned to different units, and so he never even saw his friend anymore anyway. He gasped as the claws of a cat laguz grazed his side, and he forced himself to pay attention. He jumped back as the cat swung at him with his claws, at fired an arrow in between it's eye's.
"Nice!" said General Leonardo. "Maybe you'll give me a run for my money someday."
He lifted his bow again and continued picking off laguz soldiers. He spied an untransformed tiger and set his sights on that when- WHAM!! His head was slammed by the paw of a giant tiger laguz, who wasted no time in leaping at him while he was blinded by the blood pouring out of his head wound. The tiger's face was contorted into a snarl as he jumped at him, when he was suddenly struck through the side of his head by an arrow. The tiger's body fell onto his legs, and the man almost shouted with pain. He put his and over his head wound to stop the blood flow and looked up. He saw General Leonardo standing next to him.
"Careful." And with that, he walked away.
"Excuse me?" A pretty young attendant was standing in front of him. "The Duke of Persis will see you now."
The man nodded and stepped into the Prime Minister's office, touching the scar on his forehead, and wondering why he had ever decided to do this.
It was Daein's last stand. The apostle's army and the laguz alliance were steadily advancing through Daein territory, and all of Daein's remaining soldiers were stationed in this castle. The man was ordered to man the upper right ballista, and one of the men ordered to guard him from attack was Rámon. When he learned that Rámon was going to be near him this battle, he was ecstatic. He knew that if they were to die, they would do so together.
"So, you're still alive," Rámon said, stabbing his greatlance into the ground. "How did you manage that?" The two childhood friends embraced, and took position as the watch shouted the alarm.
The gate soon fell. Laguz were pouring into the castle, and behind them came the famous General Ike. The man saw Ike standing outside of his ballista range, and knew that he was a hero, no matter who he fought for.
The laguz outnumbered the Daein soldiers three to one, but not a single one let the thought of surrendering cross their mind. They all believed in Lady Micaiah, the beautiful silver-haired maiden, and King Pelleas, the one who had led the Liberation Army and forced Begnion out of Daein. The man picked all of the hawks he saw out of the sky, and when he couldn't see any in range, he tried shooting the beast laguz, though that wasn't very effective. Even though he was able to hurt the laguz a little, they still kept coming full force, and one by one the Daein army was being widdled down. Soon, most of the frontlines had been obliterated, and the generals of the army themselves were forced to keep the laguz out of the castle.
"Watch out!" Rámon shouted.
"Lord Persis, this man is here to see you."
"Thank you," the Duke of Persis said, and dismissed the attendant. He turned to the man. "I received your letter. You are one of the best marksmen in the Daein army, are you not?"
The man nodded.
"Hmm... I believe you can help me, but it won't be by joining the Apsotle's army."
The man looked up in surprise.
"No, I have a much better place to send you... You will be able to help me very much, very much indeed..." The Duke stared at the man with his piercing, blue eyes. "Would you object to assisting me in my goal?"
The man hesitated.
"You would be able to fight those who betrayed you, as well as help me. If you agree, you will stay here with me until the time comes for you to go to battle."
The man looked deep into the eyes of the Duke, and saw kindness there. He nodded.
The Duke smiled. "Thank you."
The man looked to his right and saw that several laguz had came through a side entrance near his ballista. One of them had jumped up and killed a bishop, and was now fighting Rámon.
"I've got this one, get the others!" Rámon screamed as the man tried to help him. "Hurry!"
The man jumped down a ledge into a small courtyard and pulled up his bow. He shot an arrow straight threw the head of one into the side of another, killing the first and wounding the second. A cat lunged at him, claws gleaming in the sunlight. The blow hit him in the shoulder, and he reeled back in pain. Before he knew it, a second had struck his side, and he fell over, bleeding perfusively. He blocked the next attack with his bow, and kicked the beast off of him. The body of the tiger Rámon had just killed fell next to him as he staggered to his feet. Rámon jumped down and engaged two of the remaining laguz in combat, his spear swirling around wildly. The man notched an arrow and let it fly, killing another laguz. He avoided the next attack and slew the beast at close range. The others were more wary now, circling him. He used the momentary relief from the fighting to patch up his wound with a vulenary, and then notched another arrow.
Two days later, the man stood outside the place, his shock and fear evident by the expression on his face. Statues. They were all statues. Every single person in the city was turned to stone. The man fell to his knees, unable to comprehend what had happened. It was a dream, it had to be a dream. He had woken up that morning to a massive flash of light, and when he went outside to investigate, the first thing he noticed was the silence. He had woken up late, and the city should be bustling with the noises of the markets and playing children, by there was nothing. Then he saw the statues. Everywhere.Foosteps suddenly sounded from behind him, and the man spun around, his eyes wild.
The Duke of Persis stepped up next to him, his long, black hair swirling behind him. "And the Goddess has awakened... and passed her judgement upon us." He sighed, gazing at the endless statues which surrounded them. "The laguz and beorc had no right to live, they had broken their covenent with the Goddess, and she has judged them." He turned to the man. "Will you still help me? We will go to the tower to assist the Goddess in her will." He pointed to the Tower of Guidance, which, once as dark as stone, was now glowing brighter than the sun. "The Goddess' enemies will try to destroy her, and it will be our duty to protect her. Will you help me?"
The man looked at the statues and almost shot the Duke himself, but when he turned around and looked in the Duke's eyes, he saw the same kindness he had seen earlier, but now with a hint of sadness deep within them. He nodded.
The arrow struck a cat in the chest, slaying it. The two others looked at each other and nodded, and both circled around him on opposite sides. The man turned around and around, watching them. He faced the one in front of him and notched an arrow. He heard a swishing noise behind him and ducked as the other cat jumped over his head. The man lashed out with his foot, knocking the one in the air off balance and shot it between the eyes. The final cat's eyes showed fury as it let loose a massive roar. The man rolled his eyes and fired one last arrow through its throat.
The man stood in the Tower of Guidance, surrounded by brain-dead warriors the Goddess Ashera had brought from the grave. They were waiting for the the followers of the Goddess Yune to arrive, so they could keep them from reaching Ashera. The man sat on the floor carving a wood branch he had brought into the tower with him. He was using all his skill to create his new bow, using every technique his father had taught him. Finally, he finished. He held the bow up to the light. It was a work of art. It was beautiful, yet practical, and could shoot at one and two range. He strung the bow just as the door to the tower opened, and light spilled in from the outside.
The man turned around to face his friend and saw the most horrifying sight of his life. His friend's bloody body lay on top of the corpse of a disembowled tiger, blood flow steadily out of both of thier bodies. The remaining tiger stood over Rámon, a wicked grin on his face, his paw in the air so hw could thrust his claws through Rámon's throat. The man shouted in fury. He charged the tiger, all thoughts of using his bow vanished from his mind. The tiger looked up in time to see the man's foot crash into it's face. It recoiled in pain, growling. It looked back at the man, it's face bloody, and it charged. The sidestepped the tiger's attack and kicked out again. The tiger backed up, and glared at him. The man notched an arrow, but the tiger leaped at him before he managed to shoot it. The tiger layed a glancing blow on the man's shoulder, and he was knocked back several feet onto the ground. Still laying on the ground, he lifted his bow up and shot his arrow. The tiger jumped up to avoid it and charged him. The man lay there, too weak from blood loss the move, and waited for the end. The tiger launched itself into the air, roaring.
The followers of Yune stormed the tower. The generals of Senator Lekain and Hetzel charged the heretics, but were all killed. The man lifted the bow he made and fired it, over the chasm he stood next to. The soldiers he was facing were all amazing, and shrugged off all of his arrows. The man sighed. He heard a crashing sound to his right and saw that the general charged with guarding the landing he stood on fall to his knees, mortally wounded by his former general, Edward. Just then, another man ran by Edward and looked at him. Their eyes met.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this," Leonardo said. "You showed a lot of promise." He raised his bow.
The man braced himself for impact, but it never came. He heard a skidding noise, and saw the tiger lying on the gorund several feet away, a steel greatlance buried deep within it. The man looked around and saw Rámon, kneeling on the ground, blood pouring from dozens of wounds.
Rámon smiled weakly. "Looks like I've... saved your ass again..." He coughed up blood onto his hand. The man tried to run over, but Rámon held up his hand. "Don't. I'm done. There's no way I can survive now..." He coughed again, spraying blood all over the surrounding stone. "Leave me. I'm not worth it anyway." He collapsed to the ground. The man ran over to him and turned him over, onto his back. Rámon looked at him through half-closed eyelids. "Goodbye..." His muscles relaxed, and his body fell limp in the man's arms.
The man did nothing as his former general lifted up his bow and notched an arrow. He did nothing when Leonardo sighted him, and fired. He did nothing when he saw the arrow flying right to him. As the arrow struck his chest, he knew it was fatal. The man's fingers dropped the bow onto the ground, and the man fell backwards. All he did was smile.
The alarm sounded. "Retreat! Retreat! Retreat into the castle!" shouted a captain. The man saw the remaining Daein soldiers fleeing up the stairs to the castle doors, and laguz bounding up the stairs after them. The man watched for a moment, before dropping his friend's body. He picked up his bow, and left the fortress through the door the laguz who killed Rámon had come from, and walked. He walked away from Daein, away from the laguz, away from the corpses of all those who had died. He walked away.