Authoress: Hey, everyone! I promised a companion fic to "The Bloodline"...so, here it is! I did this mostly because there are some parts of the other story best explained from Ivan's point-of-view. That, and I felt like putting him in a yaoi pairing and torturing him like I did Raguna in the other one. Anyway, this contains yaoi and mpreg.

Title: The Bloodline 2: Ivan's Tale

Rating: "T" for "teen"

Summary: Wonder what was going through Ivan's head after his brother disappeared? Follow the merchant as he depicts his side of "The Bloodline." A companion fic, set 1 1/2 years before Rune Factory and goes through the timeline of "The Bloodline." Conatins yaoi & mpreg.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory; that's Natsume's job.

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PROLOGUE

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Sunny days are usually considered a blessing.

For Ivan, this was especially true. After trodding through the icy chill of winter, he was glad to see some warm weather again. It was a bit nippy but, to someone who had been traveling non-stop since dawn with a huge pack attached to his back, the lovely spring climate made him feel icky, exhausted.

With some difficulty, Ivan shrugged off the enormous, cumbersome pack and let it fall at the roots of a nearby tree. He collapsed beside it.

"Whew!" he wiped his brow on his sleeve.

Ivan hadn't realized just how tired he actually was until he was off his feet. He leaned back against the trunk of the great oak tree. A cool breeze laced with the remnants of winter's breath blew around him, calming him.

Ivan looked to the sky.

How long had he been going on like this? A year, year-and-a-half since had passed since he first donned the guise of a traveling merchant. That whole time, he had persistently scoured the whole country of Norad, even snuck over into the Sechs Empire a few times. But he had always come up empty-handed.

It wasn't some artifact that Ivan was looking for. It was much more precious a treasure than that. Nor was he on a quest for inner peace. Until he found what he was looking for, he could not rest.

No, what Ivan sought, searched with his entire heart and soul, spent day upon day seeking out until he was nearly ready to collapse, was his brother, Raguna.

Raguna…

His full name had been Raguna il Terrable du Domin'ion, one of the three remaining heirs to a great bloodline that had been kept secret by his clan since its founding. The other two were Ivan himself and their uncle. All three of them were Norad Knights, an elitist band of guardians headed by King Gilbert of Norad himself.

It had been hard…losing his brother. They had been very close, seeing as how the siblings were but a few years apart in age difference. His little brother had always looked up to him, and even though their uncle had taken care of them since their father's death, it was Ivan who always looked after Raguna.

Raguna…I said I would always protect you…

Ivan sighed.

But I failed.

Logically, there had been nothing that Ivan could have done. They had been out on patrol that day when Sechs soldiers ambushed them. Several of the knights had been wounded; Ivan himself had taken an arrow to the leg. If it hadn't been for Raguna, they all may have died.

Another breeze fanned Ivan's brow.

He thought back. By the time he had regained his senses from the attack, a Sechs soldier had come upon him, spear at the ready. Ivan had lost his sword when he fell from his monster, and nothing had been within reach to use as a weapon. As the man closed in on him, Ivan braced himself for his impending death.

Obviously, it never came. Raguna saw the man and tackled him to the ground, snapping the spear's head against the ground in the process. The man lashed out at the boy, but Raguna was too quick. Pelting the soldier with rocks and taunts, he drew him off into the woods.

Then the strangest thing happened. The moment Raguna left, the leader of the Sechs' regiment called retreat. Ivan knew from experience that you were lucky if you wound up a captive from a Sechs attack.

He panicked. His little brother was out there! Pushing himself up on his good leg, he nabbed a sword from one of his companions and limped as fast as he could after Raguna. He called out to him, not caring if the other Sechs found him. It didn't matter what happened to him. Ivan just wanted to protect his brother.

The forest soon ended at a vast cliff. Ivan had searched all over it, daring to peek over the edge to see Raguna had…

But he had not. In fact, there was no trace of his brother or the Sechs soldiers. If not for his own injuries and those of the other knights, and the broken spear left behind by Ivan's attacker, it was as though the attack had never occurred at all.

It didn't take long for Ivan to realize that the ambush had been only a distraction. It was well-known that the Norad Knights were made up entirely of Earthmates. Most likely, they had only attacked to weaken the forces so that a prisoner could be more easily taken.

Unfortunately, that prisoner had been Raguna.

And so, the moment his leg was useful again (he only waited that long because his uncle forced him to wait until his injuries healed), Ivan donned the guise of a traveling merchant and set out after his brother.

Sadly, the whole plan had been fruitless. Months had gone by without even a sign of Raguna. Ivan knew his brother was still alive, but he was beginning to give up hope of ever seeing him again.

Sighing, the merchant pushed himself up and grabbed his pack. Leaving the shade of the tree, he sauntered back onto the path and set out again.

He was in the far eastern province of Norad now---well, the southeastern region of it, anyway. The place he was heading to was a relatively new town, founded about twenty years ago on the outskirts of the Sechs empire. Even though it was surrounded by danger, the town was small and relatively unnoticeable. Besides, it was hard to sneak a huge platoon through the densely-forested area, so it was relatively safe.

Ivan had only been to Kardia a few times in his life. From what he had learned, the citizens were a mix of Norad blood, former Sechs citizens, and refugees from conquered Sechs provinces. He had yet to meet any of the latter, but the mayor told him of a man and his foster daughter who came from one of the farthest regions in the empire. If Ivan couldn't find any clues to Raguna's whereabouts there, perhaps, at least, he could learn about what had happened to some of the other conquered lands.

Of course, Ivan could never have guessed what really awaited him in Kardia, or just how big a part the town would soon play in his life.