Note: Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance or Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Or any Fire Emblem for that matter. No character or location from the games that may appear here belongs to me, sans any original of my own invention. Fire Emblem belongs to Intelligent Systems.
WARNINGS: THERE WILL BE MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T FINISHED RADIANT DAWN! This story will also have dark moments, or may turn out to be fully dark in nature. You have been warned.
Part I: Where Dawn Never Comes
Prologue: A Chance Meeting
Tellius is the crib of life. It is all that remains of a wondrous little world, where life and peace thrived.
Once, amazing beings ruled the world, neither laguz nor beorc.
Once, these beings lived in absolute harmony.
Once, there was a Mother Goddess named Ashunera.
Once, long ago, Tellius was but a single speck upon the world.
As crib of life, naturally Tellius had to deal with all kinds of characters in its history.
Naturally it had to deal with all sorts of situations.
Naturally, every now and again, a single, improbable event, leads to the most monumental of catastrophes.
Slosh slosh
So went the sound. Sans the sound of a running river, the occasional grunt and the low howl of the cold winds, nothing else could be heard. Even the very critters that were either pests or food that dwelt around the area were silent. Such was the ghastly day that Rudis found herself waking up to.
Slosh slosh
"Hhrrg… Hmmp… What a terrible day…", grumbled the old woman as she went about her business, which was to try and scrub off all the dirt and mud off the clothes she had in her hands. A small, worn and decayed wooden basket was at her side on the riverbed, small pieces of fabric that could be described as nothing else but rags, and a few old dresses, haphazardly thrown onto it, all similarly dirty. A smaller pail was nearby, in which there was some wool, and a strange, foul-smelling liquid.
The clothes themselves were in bad shape, most had small holes, and some were missing sections of fabric altogether. Rags for clothing was nearly all they had, never mind the food and water. Especially the water.
Slosh slosh
Rudis herself had seen better days. Gray, disarrayed and badly cut short hair. A small hump visible on her back. Stress lines clearly on her old, slightly pale face. An almost permanent frown. Though she had pride in her strength and endurance, at sixty-nine years old, even she would, grudgingly, admit that she was getting too old for this. Things were easier before her husband went and got himself killed. Casting an angry glance to the skies, she grunted, cursing the bastard for his overconfidence.
Slosh slosh
"Hrrmg… there…", she let out, throwing the stupid cloth to the bigger basket as if it was trash. She took a moment to use her hands to force her back to straighten, loud, audible pops and cracks heard. A small sigh of relief was let out. When her brief respite ended, she eyed the rest of the clothes left to clean disdainfully. "Those brats back home b'tter hafe made som'ting good…", she growled out lowly, nearly incomprehensibly thanks to missing various teeth and barely opening her mouth. With another grunt, she set back to work in finishing her task…
Slosh slosh slosh slosh slosh…
Ow… It hurts… it hurts…
…
Mommy… Grandmother… it hurts…
…
Help me… Save me…
…
Please… I can hear him…
…
Please… no… not again… I want to forget…
No!
Who…?
You mustn't!
Why? It hurts…
The pain will stop. I promise you! But you mustn't! You must not lose sight of yourself!
But I want to forget…
Don't!
Forget… Forget all this happened… Forget… I must…
No! Wait! Listen to me! Please!
Forget… Forget… For…get…
Listen to me! Listen to me! Do not neglect your past! Listen! Hey! HEY! LISTEN!
…
A low sizzling alerted the girl that the stew was nearly ready. Foregoing finishing her lecture until later, she left the two misbehaviors to themselves, who happily raced back outside to keep playing. Slowly lifting only a part some of the slightly bent cover, she sniffed a little. No, not quite. It still needed something else to add some more flavor. Pondering this, she left in search of something to improve the dinner. She only hoped they still had some herb or something like it in a cupboard.
Sancti sighed, slightly blowing some dark brown hair away from her face. Sometimes, being the oldest one was tough. Even so, she had work to do. She had to finish her duties for the day after all; she did not wish Rudis to strike her again for "shirking work".
She thought to herself, as she went about; "Sometimes, I wish I had a little girl I could shape into and call a sister…"
Of course, little did the seventeen-year old know, that her wish would come true before dinner even began…
"Ooffgh… Finish…" .
It had taken slightly longer than usual, given how dirty the clothes were, but that did not surprise Rudis. The kids were growing every day, so of course they would be more energetic the older they grew. Already she could see more troublemakers growing amongst the orphans, though she could tell some of them would grow to be pretty strong men in the future. Good. That would mean they could do all the stinking chores for her when she was too old for those. She was getting too old. Perhaps it was time for some of them to begin making themselves useful, because she wasn't getting any younger.
Naturally, being in such a cranky mood, it was little surprise that she did not notice how the flow of the murky waters had slightly changed. Or how the water had turned just the slightest hint of red. Up until now she had busied herself with putting things into the baskets and preparing to leave, that is, until something rather… colorful caught her eye. Red. A bright red color that contrasted strongly with the dark and bleak landscape. And… was that silver? Rudis stared at that one.
Indeed, what seemed like a red cloak with silver tendrils was lying on the bank, slightly obstructing and changing the water flow. Upon closer inspection, the water seeping into the cloth revealed the shivering form of a young girl. Rudis was completely perplexed. A young girl, who did not seem older than five or so years old, was lying, cold and alone, abandoned, upon the riverbank of the river of Occursus, dressed in what was obviously very fine red clothing, complete with a nearly sparkling mane of long, silver hair. The only other thing she could make out of this was the black tome she barely held onto with her small hands, which had letters in a language she had never seen in her life.
A grin slowly formed itself on her face. What luck! She could take this cloth for herself! Her frame having become smaller across the years, it would fit her a little snugly, but comfortably. Or, she could carefully undo it, and use the fine silks to make herself something else. Or she could even take the silks and hope for a merchant of some kind to pass nearby and offer him the silks in exchange for food! Yes, what luck she had!
As for the kid… That's where her thoughts derailed. What would she do with it? She wanted, needed, that cloak of hers. Perhaps she could just leave her here, to fend for herself. She was a person who had suffered much because of poverty, so surely, she could excuse this act. Of course the grim future that awaited the child did not escape her if she did as such; she would most likely freeze to death without the robes, and even if she didn't, there was a chance one of those rare hungry animals might get to her… and eat her alive if she wasn't already dead by that point.
Blast it, she couldn't just take her home! The place was crammed as it was, and she did not need another sniveling brat who could do nothing! No matter how she looked or dressed like, this was Levidensis! The poor province of Daein! A hell on earth for those unlucky enough to be born here! She was already occupied enough, taking care of a bunch of orphans back home! There was no need for some lost noble or something! She'd probably led a better life than her in those few years her body had! And yet…
The girl's whimpers would not cease. Her body's shaking would not stop. Her silent tears, which she had only just notice, too, showed no signs of stopping. And, to her horror, the various bruises that adorned her frail-looking arms, the cuts on what she could barely make out as legs, beaten and one in and odd-angle, definitely broken, and the way her blood stained the gravel and water… The mark on the girl's palm…
A Half-breed? Just her luck… Being a half-breed reduced the chances of life for the girl. Such monsters… freaks of nature… Nothing good could come out of the union of a human and a sub-human! Nothing! Not even a tortured soul like this one…
…
Guilt was an interesting thing. It was funny too, in a cruel way. Like nearly all forms of psychological stimuli that are known as emotions, guilt, too, could make people do wonderful things just as much as they could do horrible things. Guilt was like a crushing weight on the mind, remorse and repentance for actions carried out by mind or will. Guilt compels one to seek a way to rid oneself of it, by attempting to do the opposite of what caused the guilt. Guilt also happened to be what was currently striking Rudis now. Since when did she grow so soft? Must have been the kids, she supposed.
She was faced with a choice, a difficult choice that was both life-changing for both, as well as monumental in the sense of what it represented for the world. Not that any knew this. She could take the cloak like she originally planned to; at the very least, she would not be cold in the night's anymore. She could also sell it away and live off the money for awhile too… And leave the child to die alone.
She could turn around, and act as if nothing ever happened. She knew what it meant to live in Levidensis. There was no way anyone born in it knew this girl, so no one would miss her. Simply ignore her, grab her things and go, and be done with it. And live as she always lived. Plagued by guilt, forever.
She could… end it. End the monster, save it the pain of its existence and that of the tumultuous life that no doubt awaited it. The hatred of humankind, the disdain of sub-humans and the judgment of the Goddess. Just a light twist of the neck with her strong hands would do… No. No! She would definitely not do this! She would not take a child's life!
Never. Call her an old wretch, a bitch, a poor mongrel, anything, but never a child killer.
So… That left her with…
Could she? Take another kid and raise it? She already had plenty… Could one more hurt? The thing was even beaten and bleeding. So—
"G…"
Hmm? She said something… "Wha?"
"Gr…Grand…mother… help… me…"
"Grandmother…"
Stirring more and more, the child curled into herself, showing signs of waking. Rudis crouched near her, watching impassive as the girl's eyes moved behind her eyelids, ever so slowly, coming closer to awakening. And at last, the lids slowly rose, and Rudis found herself staring at the sad face of an orphan. A face sadder than any other she had ever contemplated.
"Well damn… Kiddo, you 'ave some really pretty eyes 'ere.", she chuckled, grabbing some of the long hair that nearly covered the girl's eyes. "And silver 'air… har har har har!" The girl looked quite meek, but also somewhat… indignant? Well, this was one interesting kid.
"Well, looks like I've got anot'er mouth ta feed. No 'elping it. Can ya walk?" The girl seemed confused, but tried to stand. Immediately she fell, crying out in pain and further aggravating her wounds. Rudis winced. "Ok c'mere you—", but stopped, when the silver-haired kid vehemently shook her head. She watched, with silent amazement, as the girl grasped the old woman's shoulder before holding her breath and slowly, through clenched teeth and tears, through sheer force of will, began to stand. Slowly and slowly, she rose.
With a final push onto Rudis' shoulder, she managed to rise. Almost instantly she leant into Rudis for support, using only her left leg to stand, letting out a scream into Rudis' chest. Somewhat awkwardly, she rubbed the kid's back, though it was a somewhat rough motion given her nature. Inwardly, her respect for the half-breed went up a notch. Most of her boys would have been crying pitifully about how they wanted her to carry them. The ones that didn't wouldn't have managed the feat completely.
"As I 'as saying, c'mere you." Turning, she let the girl rest on her back. Very carefully, she made her wrap her fragile arms around her neck, and slowly felt for the legs. When she felt the arms tighten sharply, she knew she had them. Slowly she grabbed them and placed them at the sides of her waist. She could vaguely feel the right leg weakly pressing into her to keep herself from falling, but felt no response from the broken appendage. "But of course.", she thought. Grabbing the both of her baskets with the right hand, she used her left to sustain the left one in a way that would least hurt the girl.
Finally, carefully she stood, taking her time to balance herself with the charge on her back. Throughout all this, she could barely hear the girl weeping. Some of the silver hair was draping over her shoulders. Up close, she could see that the luscious locks were also somewhat matted in dirt and blood.
"So 'ven that was harmd…", she sighed. This was going to be a long trip… "''Ey, kid. Ya got a name?" She could feel the negative shake of her head. "Dressed lik that? Ya ain't got one, or ya don't 'emember? …Nod once fer the first, twice fer the second." Two nods. Rudis herself nodded. "So ya don't remember… Well I'll call ya…"
…
…
…
…
…
She could practically feel the kid's impatience. Damn it.
"…Thing's harder than I thought. Heck with it. 'll just let Sancti do it. What'ver. Hope ya'r ready kid, 'cause this one's a long trip."
Feeling the girl's slow nod, she quickly went on her way. Already she was recalling her usual route back home…
…
..
.
.
..
…
It's no use… She's already completely lost herself…
But…
I can't give up… I will NOT give up.
For her sake. For the world's sake!
I will save you…
…
..
.
Sometimes, we let our ambitions define us. Sometimes, we let our wishes define us. Sometimes, we are forced to define our wishes and our ambitions. Sometimes, we are forced to make the distinction between them. Sometimes, they are one and the same. Sometimes, they are polar opposites. Sometimes, one or the other is right. Sometimes, both of them are right. But many times, one must be chosen over the other. For the old Rudis, who was worn and rugged from her extended life as just another Daein of a poverish little village... That day, when she met the young girl on that river, she was forced to choose between an easier life for herself. Or to offer a chance to live to another. One who's kin many would call monsters that were never meant to be. For the old Rudis, whose heart was dry from suffering and stress. That day, nearing the hills were dawn never comes. Upon the soil of Levidensis. At the riverbank of Occursus.
And into the golden eyes of an abandoned, orphan child.
She saw...
The promise of what she always desired. What she always had. What she only then realized she had.
Someone to call her family.
...You have no idea how hard it is to write Rudis' speech pattern to me.
Anyways, I'm new to this section of . Radiant Dawn was always a great game to me, and I always had this little desire to write a story for it one day... Especially for Micaiah. Believe it or not people, I liked her character. Plus, her mysterious past... It reeks of an untold story.
What is the point of this story?
One. To explore the possible past of Micaiah. Her early life, why she isn't the Apostle. What happened? I'll try to answer these in my way.
Two. A simultaneous deviation from the cannon, at least in some part. You can already see some of it in this prologue in fact.
Three. I just like Micaiah. Deal with it.
Four. I needed something to keep myself occupied for the moment. Also, to prevent myself from getting rusty.
Anyways, liked it? Hated it? Please read and review if possible. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but flames aren't. So if you hate Micaiah and will review only to complain about it, then please don't.