Note: As usual, I am open to any and all comments, criticisms, praises, etc. Hate the story? Go ahead and give me a review that says how much you hate it! Love it? Write a review stating how you're enchanted with the characters and their actions! From now on, any author notes that I feel like writing will come at the end of the chapter.
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. They are all copywritten to Intelligent Systems. Rod, on the other hand, is what I have made the FE7 tactician, codenamed "MARK". His personality and name are mine. Nyeh! This disclaimer goes for all ensuing chapters... Anyway, to the story.
Chapter I – False Friends
My name is Erk. Erk Reglay, to be precise. I am the adoptive son of Pent, Count Reglay, the Mage General of Etruria. I have decided to write these, my memoirs-
"If these are anyones memoirs, they are obviously mine, being a prodigy and all."
Oh, that. That was my associate, Lute. She thinks she's the best thing since Nino, but she's not as good as she believes.
"I never!"
As I was saying, I, with the assistance of my colleagues, have decided to write these memoirs of our adventures to save the world. It has come to our attention that the story has become a bit—changed—from the reality of the situation. So, without further ado, I would like to explain the true events of the attack on this planet.
I was fifteen at the time when I was reunited with a… friend of mine. I had just exited a village in northern Laus when I was suddenly attacked by assailants, who, as far as I could tell, were Marquess Laus's royal guard. I was able to hold them off with the thunder tome I carried; dodging blow after blow with my dodging prowess. Lance after sword, I dodged, striking back with my thunder. Everything was going fine, as I knocked them out one by one, when, suddenly, a cavalier took me by surprise, attacking me from the rear. I had barely enough time to move so that he would not be able to thrust his blade through my heart. I attacked him with my thunder, feeling great anger toward this mindless drone who served Lord Darin Marquess Laus. He fell, quite dead, but I wasn't in the best shape myself, bleeding gratuitously from my side. I fell down, my vision blurring, and as I lost my consciousness, only one thought crossed my mind. "Lady Priscilla… I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you…"
"ERKY!"
At the sound of that voice, I immediately closed my eyes, and fainted. I did not stay unconscious for very long, though, for I soon felt my wound closing up and the energy returning to my body. I opened my eyes and looked up into the face of a pink-haired, pig-tailed cleric girl. I bolted up from my position and backed away a few steps, a panicked look on my face. "Why Elimine? Why have you done this to me?"
"Erky! Erky! Oh, I was so worried! Are you okay?" The pink-haired devil looked at me, her eyes filled with worry, and I wept on the inside, knowing that I wouldn't be able to escape her grasp again.
"I'm quite alright, Serra," I replied, regaining my composure and brushing the dust off my cloak. With a flourish of said item, I turned around and said, "Now if you excuse me, Serra, I must be going to-"
I was cut off as she jumped onto my back and gave me a bear hug, a feat that I was surprised her tiny body could accomplish with such strength. "Erk, I know you. You never have a job, why don't you join up with me?"
My eye twitched minutely as I rubbed my hand through my purple hair. "Really, Serra, you were the last person I wanted to see," I sighed.
"Oh that's so sweet! You wanted to see me again!" cried the cleric girl.
"No, what I meant was that I have to attend to my job as Lady Priscilla's body guard, and that I do not like you."
"You're such a joker, Erky!" she squeezed me even tighter, and I felt the air start to leave my body. As my face started to turn blue, she grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the village, and, resigned to my fate, I complied. As if to mirror my subdued mood, rain began to poor from the sky, as if to weep for my pathetic predicament. Just as I was thinking matters couldn't get any worse, a soldier jumped out from the foliage. He charged us, and Serra shrieked (rather squeekily, I might add) as I pushed her out of the way and dodged the charging battler. "Erky! Erky! Fry him!" Serra once more yelled in her squeeky manner.
"I would if I could, but it's raining and I only have a thunder tome on me," I replied, a subdued look on my visage. The soldier had turned around and hurled his lance at Serra. I threw my self at her, knocking both of us down, but saving her life.
"WHAT DOES THAT MATTER?" she said from under me.
"Thunder is a tome with an electrical attribute…" I replied as I extended my hand to help her up. She took it, and I hoisted her back to her feet. The soldier had called for a few friends by this point, and now two more soldiers were charging us.
"Erky, I don't see where you're going with this?" Once again, I pushed the, if I may say, rather stupid cleric girl, out of the way of the incoming lancers.
I sighed, "If I cast thunder, the electricity will travel from rain drop to rain drop and across the ground, striking everyone within, oh, I'd say a three mile radius."
"You mean we're going to die!"
"Quite possibly, though I do not intend to-"
"OH ERKY, I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I'M TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE!" the annoying cleric girl clung to my neck, and I sighed once more. 'Such a drama queen,' I thought, though that doesn't mean that Serra was not beautiful, for she was very beautiful, but only that she was very annoying, and very inhibiting.
While we had conversed, the three soldiers had taken up strategic attacking positions upon myself and Serra. Now, those very soldiers were charging toward us, with reckless abandon, knowing that we were very defenseless. "Serra, if you want to live, let go of me and run."
The soldiers were only a few yards away from us now, and Serra squeezed ever tighter. "Oh, Erky, I can't let go! I'm too afraid!"
As the soldiers advanced, I resolved myself to death, when, suddenly, I heard a familiar voice from behind me. "Wind," it sounded, and at the utterance of the word, the three soldiers were struck dead by… the wind? The same voice spoke from behind me, and the rain began to pick up, "Are you alright?" it asked.
I turned around, Serra still clinging to me like a vexing clamp of death, and looked into the face of a familiar mage. He was about my height, perhaps I was a smidgeon taller. His hair was tied in a double ponytail, and was blackest as blackest night. His black robes contrasted my crimson cloak. A small smirk appeared on both our faces as I replied, "I'm fine Soren, and you?"
Before Soren could reply, Serra shouted, "Excuse me! I am not okay! I almost died! Not to mention the fact that this rain is ruining my hair!" A rather repulsed face appeared on the young cleric's visage, and I knew that if I didn't find soldier for my uppity charge, she'd give me so much hell.
"Come on Soren, if we don't find shelter now, I'm afraid that we won't be leaving alive." Soren stepped behind me. I looked down at Serra, "Where to now?"
"Lord Eliwood has a camp just to the east of here," she replied.
"Then let's-" and the cleric cut me off again.
"Erky, dear, would you carry me?" she batted her eyelashes and made a rather sad face, and I felt my insides melt, and was ashamed. With a sigh, I extended my arms and lifted her off the ground. Soren only snickered as we began to walk towards the camp.
We arrived at the camp about a half-hour later where Lord Eliwood's men were regrouping. There were also two blue-haired men whom I had never met before, along with many other people who were unknown to me, all of whom were busy running this way and that. I found a tent to stash Serra, and, after coaxing her into leaving me be, I was finally able to catch up with my friend, Soren. "So, Soren. What have you been doing since you left Master Pent's tutelage?" I asked.
"I returned to the mercenary group that I had spent most of my life with. That's where I've been ever since. If I'm not around, I'm sure they'd go out of their way to get themselves killed with their general disregard for their own safety…" Soren replied, shaking his head.
"Hmm... I see. Master Pent and Lady Louise are fine, just so you know."
"That's very nice to know."
"Yes, but what brings you here, my friend?"
"As I said, I belong to a mercenary troop. They call themselves the Greil Mercenaries. We left the continent of Tellius to find the kidnapped Princess Crimea. Once we arrived on Elibe, we learned that she had been captured by Marquess Laus before the Daeins could get to her, and so we came here. When we arrived, we met Lord Eliwood, Lord Hector, and their men. After discussing it, we realized that our goals were similar, and I suggested that we join forces and coordinate our attacks. Their tactician, Rod, agreed. They sent me to scout the north since the other soldiers were dealing with Laus's main force, and that's when I found you and—Serra, was her name—and rescued you." As Soren finished telling me this story (the short version I assumed) we arrived in front of, what I assumed to be, the tactician's tent. This was soon confirmed when Soren spoke, "This is the tactician's tent. I have to report in, but you are welcome to join me if you wish."
He opened the flap, and a tenor voice rang out, "Ah, Soren, you're back!" We stepped in, and I saw the tactician, Rod. He was writing furiously as he moved little figurines of (I assumed) everyone in Lord Eliwood's small army. His hair was short and green, not unlike the bushes and trees around the Laus countryside, and it matched his green traveler's cloak. Even from his sitting height, I was able to tell that he was about as tall as Soren and myself, but this may have been because I was finally able to recognize him. "You see, I could really use your advice on-" Rod stopped as he lifted his head and took notice of me for the first time since I had entered the tent. He blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes, and blinked once more before speaking, "Erk… Erk, is that really you?" He quickly stood to his feet and rushed over to me, and I smiled a friendly smile, "Erk! It really is you! It's great to see you again, buddy!"
"It is nice to see you too, Rod. Who would have thought I'd be reuniting with so many… familiar people?" I said.
Rod's expression didn't seem to take any offense to what I said, and he spoke, "You found Serra, didn't you?" he asked.
"Yes I did…"
"Oh well, 'tis a shame…" he lowered his head while he spoke, letting a little moment of silence pass for the grievances I had suffered. Once that moment passed, he continued talking, "Erk, I don't mean to push you into anything you don't want to do, but it'd be great if you'd lend us your strength one more time. We're on a quest to find Lord Eliwood's father, and-"
I cut him off, which was something I did not normally do, "Rod, I'm perfectly willing to join your cause under one condition."
"Name it, and we-" Rod was cut off once more, this time by Soren.
"We will do what we can, but I do not promise anything that does not benefit the Greil Mercenaries."
"I would not dream of putting you, the mercenaries, or Lord Eliwood's men at any disadvantage," I began, not at all surprised by my friend's somewhat curt reply, "I simply ask that, if you can, you help me reach the village a bit south west of this location. I have been charged with escorting a Lady Priscilla, formerly of House Cornwall, and I had traveled to the northern village to find assistance with the villagers. You see, Marquess Laus has become rather smitten with her, and I can't help her find her brother if she's being stalked by an—let's not mince any words—old pervert."
Soren and Rod consulted with each other momentarily, and I was not quite able to hear what they were saying, but it was obviously on the subject of whether to assist me or not. I waited for a few moments before they came to their decision. They both looked at me, and Soren was the first to speak up, "We have decided that it would be prudent to assist you in rescuing Lady Priscilla. We came to this course of action under the pretense that having a Lycian House, former or not, in our debt would likely be useful to us in the future."
"Oh, stuff it, Soren. Erk, you're our friend, so how could we say no."
"Thank you," I replied, showing my gratitude with a short bow.
Rod made a strange gesture with his hand, as if to signify that such formalities were unnecessary, and shook my shoulder. "Hmm… now who to-" once again, Rod was stopped by someone else's voice.
"Rod! We've got trouble! Pirates! To the south!" came the voice, and a figure stepped into the tent, soaking wet. His hair was blue, and he was much taller than myself. His tunic matched the color of his hair, and his red cape billowed down to the ground. His head was adorned with a green bandana and fierce eyes, and he carried a sword, streaked with blood.
"Pirates, this close to the capital?" replied Rod.
"They must be here due to chaos caused by the fighting," injected Soren.
"It doesn't matter why they're here, we've gotta do something about it!" said the blue-haired youth.
Rod thought for a moment, and replied, "Ike, go find Eliwood, Matthew, Guy, and Mia and tell them to go take care of that coastline!"
Ike quickly turned, his cape billowing upward, and answered, "Roger!" and ran off.
Soren searched his robes for a few moments before he produced his wind tome. He threw it to me, and I caught it. "You'll probably need this."
"Thanks."
Rod turned to look at Soren, "Soren, who isn't currently engaged with the enemy?"
"Dorcas, Bartre, and Boyd are the only ones not fighting at the moment. They've just returned to give some things to Merlinus that they found on a few corpses."
"Good. Soren, could you get them for me?"
"Yes," and with that, Soren stepped out into the overcast sky, returning moments later with three burly axemen, one of which I recognized.
Rod looked them over before addressing them, "Gentleman, this is Erk. I want you to go with him to the village in the southwest. There are pirates about and we have to warn the villagers just in case they are able to break through our defensive line. Once you've warned the villagers, you are to help Erk find a woman named Priscilla, who he was separated from." The three of them looked at Rod, waiting for him to continue.
"What are you waiting for?" asked Soren. "You have your orders. Lord Elbert Recovery Army, move out." With that, the three axemen grabbed me and we rushed out into the rain.
It had been about thirty minutes since we had set out, and the rain hadn't let up at all. I had my hood up over my head, trying to shield myself from it. The brown-haired one, who I took to be Bartre, and the green-haired one, who I took to be Boyd, were in deep conversation, and Dorcas walked stoically in front of me. I had decided that I should try to reacquaint myself with this fellow, for we were together a year ago, when Lady Lyndis battled her granduncle for the throne, which was rightfully her grandfather's. I took a few steps forward, and fell into stride with the large, muscular man. "How have you been, Dorcas?"
Dorcas only looked forward, remaining silent.
"Still as quiet as ever, I see."
Suddenly, he looked down at me, with something akin to surprise, but far more subdued, on his visage, "Oh, I'm sorry Erk, I was in thought. Did you ask me something?"
"I only asked how things were going?"
"Natalie is still recovering."
"So I take it that that's your reason for being here."
"Yes."
"I see…" Dorcas always struck me as an honorable man. He was willing to risk his life to earn enough money so that he could pay for an operation for his wife. I was reflecting on this, when the other two axemen walked up to us.
"So, is this the village?" Boyd asked, indicating the village about one hundred yards away.
"Yes, it-" suddenly, an axe whizzed by my head, "What the!"
The three men took fighter's stances and Dorcas spoke, "The pirates, they must have broken through."
"Or come from another point!" added Boyd.
"Well then-" I was interrupted by loud yelling.
"BARTRE SMASH!" shouted the brown-haired axeman as he charged in the direction of the axe that had just shot past my head, where a pirate stood.
"Shiver me timbers! YAR! Yar. Yar…" said the pirate. He took up a new axe and charged toward Bartre in the same manner that Bartre charged him. There was no trading of blows though, as the pirate was immediately punched in the stomach and then cleaved in two by Bartre's wild style.
"Dear sweet Elimine, he's irrational!" I said.
"Yes," was Dorcas's reply, "It's something you have to get used to."
Bartre walked back towards us, swinging his axe helter-skelter as he chanted, "Bartre smashed! Bartre crushed! Bartre grind your bones to dust!" He continued his chant in a sing song fashion until an axe flew right into his back, leaving a surprisingly small gash for someone wearing no armor. With that, he flew into a rage, and yelled, "BARTRE SMASH!" once more. This time, though, there were a few more pirates.
I smacked my head and grabbed Soren's wind tome, "Does he ever think before he does something?" I said taking up a position behind the two remaining axemen as they ran forward into battle.
"No," came Dorcas's reply as he struck a pirate with his axe, unseaming the poor knave from nave to chops. Dorcas continued fighting pirate after pirate, leaving nothing spared. It seemed, to me at least, that Dorcas had no difficulty with the dispatching of these pirates.
Boyd too, seemed to be having an easy time with fighting these saturated stealers. He would dodge and counter his foes with ease, and, with each foe slain, would make the strange gesture of flicking his nose with his thumb and say, "Is that all ya got?" before continuing.
I also was not finding these foes challenging in the least; unleashing wind strike after wind strike, defeating pirate after pirate. I felt pleased with myself, but that pleasure quickly went away when I noticed a large, ominous, weather-defying shadow behind me.
"Heh… Well that's the last of them," said Boyd, once again flicking his nose and looking rather happy.
"Shh. Listen," I whispered.
Boyd silenced himself and as we turned around, we noticed a large squad of cavaliers running straight towards us. Then we noticed something that was, needless to say, rather disconcerting. "Oh, for the love of Elimine…"
"BARTRE SMASH!" Bartre yelled as he charged straight into the cavaliers, which I estimated to number twenty or so.
"No Bartre!" Boyd shouted, before mumbling a curse and setting after him. Dorcas only shook his head.
I peered through the rain and was able to distinguish who was leading the cavalry charge. I told this to Dorcas, "Dorcas, that's Erik, Marquess Laus's son, leading that charge. I've heard that he is a cunning fighter. We'll have to be careful." He nodded, and we ran off after the two other fighters.
The cavaliers continued to charge; a few of them began to throw javelins, rather inaccurately I might add, as we rushed ever closer together. In only a few seconds, they were upon us. Bartre immediately began hacking at whatever got within a five-foot radius of him, yelling such things as "BARTRE DESTROY!" and "BARTRE WIN DAY!", and not caring what or who succeeded to hit him. Boyd and Dorcas took a much more careful approach to combat, as they, needless to say, had quite a few more brain cells than Bartre. They attempted to bob and weave into the heart of the cavalry division and attack from the inside. This was working surprisingly well, and I surmise it was because the horses were not particularly adept at working in rain. I attacked from a distance with Soren's wind tome. Together we were able to do quite a bit of damage. To be more specific, we were indeed able to defeat the entire division, except for one, who I recognized as Erik.
"I am Erik," he began, a look both smug and frightened somehow adorning his face, "Son of Marquess Laus, the next in line for the throne! You have no chance against me! Fear my godlike powers!" With that, he charged right for me. Unfortunately for him, I was able to dodge out of the way and counterattack with the wind tome, and knock his silver lance right out of his hand. He sat on his mount momentarily, as if stunned, and then charged me again, without a single weapon. I began to wonder if he was really as cunning as the rumors had said as I dodged and attacked again. "Blasted! Hold still!" he shouted, charging at me once more.
"And I thought Bartre was dumb…" came Boyd's voice as he threw an axe right at the horse before Erik had even gotten within ten yards of my person. Lucky for Erik, though, he was able to rear up and evade the attack. He stopped to calm his horse, and, angered by Boyd's observation, charged him, never thinking to pick up one of the numerous weapons now strewn across the corpses of his fallen comrades.
"Why you!" he yelled, racing towards Boyd at full speed.
Boyd only did the strange nose flicking motion again before he moved out of the way, and yelled, "Toro! Toro!" before snickering.
"Why you!" Erik yelled again, before charging Boyd at a great velocity.
"Toro! Toro!" shouted Boyd, dodging again, and flicking his nose. This action repeated itself for a good twenty minutes: Erik yelling "Why you!" in indignation, and charging Boyd, while Boyd simply moved out of the way. Now, you may be wondering why none of us decided to finish the poor sap. To be frank, it was far too comical to let end. For me, it was akin to launching a fireball at Serra's head and watching her shriek in pure, unadulterated horror while running around in circles because she was losing her precious hair. Well, perhaps it wasn't that funny, but it was funny enough nonetheless. Even Dorcas, usually ever so stoic, had cracked a smile and was chuckling.
Alas, our fun ended when a red and blue streak zoomed pass and slammed into Erik's horse. The horse slumped over dead, and Erik fell over, hitting his head. He stood to his feet, preparing to utter something inane, but cut himself short when his gaze fell upon Lord Eliwood and one of the blue-haired men I noticed earlier. "You!" he shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at the two of them, "I hate you! HATE! HATE! HATE!"
"Oh, put a cork in it you cry baby," said the blue-haired man. "Can I kill him, Eliwood?"
"What?" Erik yelled, though no one paid him any attention.
"Hector!" replied Lord Eliwood.
"Oh, come on, Eliwood," said Lord Eliwood's companion, who I assumed was Hector, "He tried to kill us!"
"That doesn't justify the taking of his life, Hector."
"He hates me."
"Your point?"
"He hates you."
"And?"
"He's the one who stole that teddy bear from you in literature class last year."
"Craven cur!" yelled Lord Eliwood as he lifted his rapier and lunged at the now cowering Erik. Erik shrieked in terror and pleaded for mercy as Lord Eliwood filled him full of pin-sized holes. I had to turn away from the shear horror of it all. Eventually, the screams stopped, and I presumed the poor man dead. I turned my head to take a good look at him, and, surprisingly, I saw that he was not dead. Oh, he was full of so many puncture wounds that I thought he should have been long dead, but he was not. I looked at Lord Eliwood, and noticed that he wore a crazed, yet satisfied, look on his face.
"Please let me die…" wheezed Erik.
"Not a single one of those wounds will kill you, but you will lie there, unable to move or retrieve any sort of help for at least a few hours. You'll slowly suffer there, bleeding… and bleeding… and bleeding!" Lord Eliwood let out an uncharacteristic maniacal laugh, before mumbling, "Serves you right for stealing Señor Snookums!"
The axemen and I just looked at each other, shocked and frightened, before sneaking off into the village and leaving the three nobles to talk amongst themselves. We entered the village and headed for the closest inn, which is where I had asked Priscilla to wait for me. We entered the building, and I was instantly chilled, seeing as I had been in the rain for about two hours. I noticed Priscilla sitting in a corner, and before I could even take a step towards her, she had already gotten up and rushed over to me. "Erk! Erk! Are you okay!"
"I'm fine, Lady Priscilla."
"No you're not! You've been in battle, haven't you? Let me see your wounds." She lifted the heal staff she carried and placed over my shoulder. A small light was emitted, and I felt a very small cut reseal itself.
"Thanks, Lady Priscilla. Lord Darin won't be bothering you anymore."
"You mean-"
"We just dealt with a large amount of Laus soldiers, not to mention defeated his son and joining up with Lord Eliwood's army—he's not going to be a problem anymore." Priscilla gave me one of the largest, and, frankly, most painful hugs I've ever felt in my life.
"Oh, thank you Erk! Thank you!"
"Now isn't that sweet?" interjected Boyd.
I gave him a friendly glare, before replying, "Oh shut up and let's go." We left the inn, stopping at the stable to pick up Priscilla's horse, and headed out the village, where the rest of the army had gathered and were taking turns kicking Erik's motionless body. I made my way over to where the two tacticians and the lords stood, taking note of a green-haired cavalier who was smiling disturbingly.
"Mission complete, boss," said Boyd, getting in a stance of mock attention.
Ike took a few steps forward and smacked him in the head before saying, "Grow up, Boyd."
Rod looked at Priscilla for a few moments, "So this is your charge, eh Erk?" Rod walked up to her and extended his hand, "Nice to meet ya, Priscilla." Priscilla gave him her hand, obviously expecting him to kiss it, but, instead, he shook it profusely, shaking her as well.
"Ni-ni-ni-nice to me-me-meet you t-too."
"Cut it out, Rod," I said.
"Oh, right, sorry."
"So, what's going on?"
"Well," Soren started, "It seems Darin has left his son behind, which has caused said son to get into as close of fetal position as he can and cry. We have also discovered that Darin is headed for Caelin, and he is on the attack. We were just discussing whether to head to Lord Hausin's aid or not."
"Of course we're going to help him!" Rod began, "I spent a year with his granddaughter, escorting her to him. We overthrew his usurper brother. We went through a lot together, and darn it, she isn't dying now! Besides, Darin still has that woman you're looking for."
"Actually, Rod, after questioning the Marquess's weasel-like son, I have learned that Princess Elincia is being held in a place called the Darkling Woods, somewhere in a place called Magvel."
"Then leave if you want! I say we help Lyn!"
Lord Eliwood smiled and turned his head toward Hector, "You heard the tactician, we're helping Lyn. We've got to tell everyone to be ready to move out in the morning."
"Why not now?" asked Hector.
"Everyone's far to tired to start now."
"Right." With that, he and Hector ran off to inform the Lord Elbert Recovery Army of their orders.
Soren watched them go before speaking, "Ike, I suggest-"
"We're staying Soren. The Greil Mercenaries don't go back on a contract. Besides, these are good people. I hope you're okay with that."
"You are the commander Ike. Your orders are to be followed."
"Thanks, Soren." Ike turned to address his men, "Greil Mercenaries, we move out tomorrow morning for Caelin. We're all on watch duty until further notice. With that said, everyone, try to relax a little." With that, he walked off to do mercenary-management work I suppose.
I searched my robes for the tome Soren gave me. Finding it, I handed it to him, "Soren, here's your wind tome back."
He shook his head and pushed it back in my hand, "Keep it, I don't need it, I have a spare."
"Oh, thanks. So when do you think we'll leave."
"The sooner we leave, the sooner we save Lyn, and Wil, and Kent, and Sain, and Florina," said Rod. He didn't hesitate before continuing, "We're leaving at the crack of dawn."
"If we're leaving that early, we better get some rest." I said, turning toward Lady Priscilla, who had been silently sitting there, listening to us. "Let's find you a room in the castle, Lady Priscilla."
"Okay," she said. We walked off for the castle, where I found her a room and took one for myself close by. I collapsed on the bed in the room and went to sleep. That was how I was first entangled in saving the world.