It's been a while since I've wrote anything on this site. Crazy...

Anywho, R & R is appreciated, also if you spot any errors I've missed, be sure to point them out so I can edit them out.

Cover Image is not made by me, check out Hanisu93 on Deviantart.

:)

Opaque light; that was all he could see. He reached his hand out, but could not see it. His body felt almost weightless, as if he were floating in water. He tried to avoid the light by closing his eyes, but it passed through his mind like a dagger through paper. His thoughts entertained the possibility that he was dead, but he wondered if the mind truly was conscious after death.

After what felt like an eternity, the blinding light gave way, his eyes were still closed, going from a white fluorescent to an almost pitch black. He took a breath for the first time, the soft scent of what seemed to be cherry blossoms. He squint his eyes; faint chirping from birds met his ears. A small blue bird had flown past his vision, the pedals from sakura trees giving chase in the soft breeze.

The mercenary sat up, glancing to the ground at his side. On the long grass next to him sat his golden holy sword. He scanned his surrounding, noticing the vast field he laid in, the occasional sakura tree rustling in the breeze, and distant mountains peaking out over the horizon. The sky was clear with only a few puffy white clouds here or there.

He raised his hand in front of his face, examining his palm, then the back of his hand. He sighed in relief, he wasn't dead after all. Making it to his feet whilst grabbing his sword, his vantage point has slightly changed. He scanned the horizon for any signs of life. When he saw nothing of interest, he stretched his body, grunting deeply as an occasional joint popped around his body.

"Okay then, let's get a move on." he said to himself.

He had been walking for at least an hour, admiring the landscape around him. He had never seen a sakura tree or these kinds of birds in his life. The land was truly beautiful, a nice contrast compared to the lands beyond Tellius, which were either frozen tundra that expanded out forever, or a burning hot desert, cruel in its touch to any man or woman foolish enough to wander its landscape.

Maybe he was dead. He had been wandering for some time past Tellius, and in that time, he had never seen a soul, save for the occasional animal he would need to hunt in order to survive. A year was quite a long time for someone never to meet another human being, but his mind was unaffected, if anything, the time he spent alone let him think about the events of his life leading up to his leaving of Tellius. It was all so unusual to him; his time of war seemed like an entire lifetime ago, his only reminder of that past was his holy sword Ragnell.

Was it wise to remove such a weapon of importance, a weapon so pivotal to his homes history? Many men and woman have wielded this blade in its time, but it was every bit of himself, a constant reminder of what he had been through, his growth as a warrior. This blade would remain at his side until the dusts of his bones were long gone. He sighed, peaking out to a close mountain. Near the bottom was a large building, he assumed it was a castle, though he didn't recognize the architecture style. This land was proving to be quite foreign to him. He felt a slight chill upon seeing the building; it was the first he'd seen in a very long time.

As he approached the castle walls, he studied the oriental architecture. It was quite appealing to look at. Many villagers and soldiers wandered about near the entrance, some of them meeting eye contact with the mercenary. A few woman holding baskets eyed him, whispering to each other as he made his way up the stairs toward the interior of the castle walls. When he made it up, he notice several buildings neatly constructed near the center roadway leading up to the castle. On the right side of the fortress, there were dozens of tents, probably for the soldiers stationed here. Though there was a presence of armed men, their numbers appeared small for a force meant to protect an entire castle.

A young lady walking past noticed the mercenary aimlessly looking around, "Excuse me sir, do you need something?"

He looked over to her. This was the first time someone had spoken to him since he had left Tellius, "No, I'm just taking in my surrounding." He replied.

"So you're a traveler then?" she had stopped to face him. "How long have you been traveling stranger?"

The mercenary was hesitant on giving any details of his home, the last thing he needed was to find out his feats of the past had made it out this far, in other words, making his leaving of Tellius truly in vain.

"It was quite a long journey I'm afraid." He replied.

The woman smiled, "Well I'm sure after such a long journey, one would grow hungry. Would you like my husband and me to fix you up something?"

The mercenary smiled, "Very kind of you, but I'll have to pass." The mercenary nodded to the woman as she wandered away. A passing soldier caught Ike's attention. "Excuse me…" the soldier met eyes with the mercenary. "Could you tell me where we are, I've just been on a long journey."

"We're at Fort Ozaki, along the border of the kingdoms Hoshido and Nohr." He answered

'Nohr and Hoshido… I'm not familiar with those names. I must be a long way from home' he thought to himself.

"Unfortunately the two kingdoms are at war with each other. Fortunately for us, this here castle can't be found by the rival kingdoms; I think it's protected by some form of magic or something." The soldier continued.

"If you're not allied with either kingdom, who is it you serve then?" The mercenary asked.

"The Lady of this castle, she's quite personable," he answered, "And one hell of a warrior." The mercenary wasn't too fond of royalty, but if she was the kind to stand on the front lines with her men, she already earned a good deal of respect from him. The mercenary, upon hearing several merchants walking behind him stepped out of their way. They all smiled to him as they passed by. He watched as they wandered into their respective stalls and shops, this made the mercenary realize something. He was broke, having barely brought any money with him, and he was more than certain his money was no good here.

"This Lady of yours, does she pay well?" he asked the soldier.

"As best she can... They've been a little short on funds and materials recently, so it has been a little tough as of late." the soldier replied, "Though, I suppose the cause we're fighting for is worth all the hardships. Are you looking to enlist, traveler?" he asked.

The mercenary found it unusual for someone of royalty to be so short staffed, and short on money, but he simply brushed the thoughts away as soon as they came. "No, I don't know what your kingdoms are going through, but I'm simply a mercenary." he responded, "I don't intend on getting involved in any wars."

The soldier sighed, "That's a shame, judging by your looks, we could have used a man like you. Heck, we could use anyone right now." the soldiers eyes lit up at a thought he had. "But you know, our Lady has a way of convincing people to join us... Perhaps she'll make you reconsider?"

The mercenary grimaced, he hadn't planned on meeting with any royalty, especially one involved in a war, but he felt a side of curiosity, both at meeting the Lady of this castle, and understanding the situation she was involved in. "Very well... I'll meet with her..."

"Oh good, hopefully she isn't busy right now. It was nice meeting with you traveler, I hope you'll consider joining us." he smiled kindly, walking in the direction of the keep.

After a few minutes, and a few conversations with more passerby's, he could see a woman in silver colored armor making her way towards him. He crossed his arms, thinking over on how he should introduce himself. He realized he probably should confirm that his accomplishments in Tellius were indeed not known here. He didn't want another Lord dragging him into another war.

"Hello…" she simply said when she approached him. He nodded in reply. "One of my men told me you're a traveler from outside Nohr and Hoshido. What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Ike. Heard of me? I'm with the Greil Mercenaries."

She shook her head, "I'm afraid not…" she replied. "Should I have? She asked.

Ike didn't respond to her question. He looked over her physique. "You're the Lady of this castle?"

She wore silver armor with a black center piece, being covered from the neck down in it, though Ike couldn't make out whether it was metal or leather armor. Her wavy hair was long and silver, a little messy, complementing her pinkish red eyes, along with pointed ears. He noticed she was also bare foot, and had a long blue cape that buckled around her upper chest.

"Hmph… You look fairly strong." Ike realized that came out quite aggressive as she began to reach for a sword by her side. He sighed, "Oh, take your hand off your weapon. I'm not here to fight you."

The Lady nodded, returning to a more relaxed stance, "Sorry, I'm not usually so quick to the blade; it's just... not the first time someone has tried to assassinate me as of late." She twirled a lock of her hair, "So, what brings you here, Ike?"

"I was on a journey when I was struck by a burst of light, next thing I knew, I was here. I don't know what snatched me away, though." He replied.

"That's terrible…" she grimaced, "Is there anything I could do to help you in anyway?" she brightened a smile of reassurance to Ike, which made him smirk in return.

"Say, what's your name?" he asked

"Corrin." She replied.

"Corrin is it? A fine name." He smiled. "I've spoken to a few of your friends, they have told me a bit of this place. One offered to feed me. I guess kind people exist everywhere."

Corrin laughed a little, "I'm glad we could assist you." Ike was surprised by the hospitality of Corrin; she certainly wasn't your normal princess, giving off more of a regular average person vibe. He didn't know why, but he wanted to return the favor somehow.

"I would like to show my thanks, if you'll accept a gift…" Ike pulled out a spare piece of armor he had in his satchel, it was identical to the one he wore on his shoulder. Having expected to do many battles after his departure from Tellius, Ike knew that his armor would either be destroyed or lost somehow, so he brought spares with him just in case. However, right now, he realized Corrin may have needed it more than he did.

"Oh Ike you don't have to do that…" she was hesitant on accepting the gift, but when Ike's eyebrow rose, she felt it would be rude not to accept. "But thank you, we could use all the armor we can get our hands on." She wasn't lying; her renegade of soldiers were both short on money and supplies.

"Thank you for the hospitality, Corrin. Been a pleasure meeting you." Corrin's face changed to one of concern.

"You don't want to maybe stay here at the castle to rest?" she asked, Ike shook his head in response.

"I'm leaving to explore this world of yours, seems interesting. I suspect we will meet again… somehow. So, until then, Goodbye."

"Thank you, Ike, it was a pleasure meeting you as well." She smiled warmly. "Please be careful where ever you go. I hope we meet again soon."

Ike nodded, making his way back down the stairs. Corrin simply watched him, a feeling of guilt came over her. Maybe she should have tried harder to convince him to stay. He was a man of few words it seemed... she was truely hopeful he would make it back to the her castle safely.

Ike was nearing the foothills of a mountain range. He had been traveling for days, and was feeling the full brunt of his exhaustion. He took the occasional break here and there, stopping in whatever small village he passed through to get a drink at their pubs and whatnot, soaking in information about the two kingdoms.

As for sleep, he hadn't done much of it. The way he looked at it, sleep wasn't something that came to him easily, so why bother?

The sun was resting slightly over the mountain ranges behind him, meaning it was likely around one or two in the afternoon. Ike was walking through a rocky field, looking to the ground, ensuring that he wouldn't trip on any stones.

The tip of Ragnell would occasionally glance over the larger ones. Ike had still carried this weapon the great distance he traveled, yet the number of times he actually used it was none. In his home world, beyond the lands of Tellius, there weren't any people. He knew if he did find anyone, they would be incredibly hostile. However, these occurrences never happened, making his burden of carrying Ragnell all the more unnecessary in his mind. A part of him hated this sword, but he knew it had become a part of who he was. In that sense, maybe he loved it, even if he didn't like himself entirely.

His mind drifted to Corrin. He wondered what had brought her at odds with the two rival kingdoms. She certainly didn't appear to be the aggressive type; she was quite soft in her demeanor. He wouldn't want to pry though. He'd seen too much war, more than most would see in their lifetime. But would his heart know peace. His body was still very reckless, there was still that urge to keep fighting, to keep moving.

His heart may have been heavy, but is feet were light, and they had carried him far. The castle Corrin was at was largely defenseless. For a princess, she certainly didn't have any army. What royal family was she a part of, and why has she turned her back on them? Whatever the warring kingdoms were going through, Ike had a gut feeling that Corrin was at the center of it all. Whatever role she was playing was likely pivotal to the fate of the entire continent. He knew that role all too well…

He was torn from his thoughts when he saw what looked to be smoke. He rounded a corner, seeing a village not too far away. There was a fire, and people were all running about. Some of them looked to be wielding weapons. These figures were grabbing the unarmed ones, bringing them closer to the village center. Even from here, he could make out yelling, and cries of distress.

"Bandits…" Ike whispered. He has dealt with scum like this before. He knew he had to help, so without a second thought, he sprinted full force toward the village.

"Please sir, we can't give you any more of our food." An older woman pleaded to a man holding a basket full of vegetables. "Winter is coming; we won't have enough to feed our children."

"Lookin' like you'll be eat'n them then, hehe." The bandit replied, pushing her out of his way.

"Giver here, laddie, it's only food son." Another bandit gawked, as he pried a box from a boy. "I said, giver here boy!" With a strong jolt, he pulled the box from the boy, who had fallen into a pile of mud. A young girl came to help him, but the bandit pushed her down as well.

"Bahahahaha, pathetic, weak villagers!" another cheered him on, holding a torch that he threw into a stable. The hay quickly set aflame, the whole coral burning with a fury. Children were being rounded up by a bandit holding an axe, tossing them into a corner; they coughed as they inhaled smoke from the burning buildings.

"Listen here ol' village master, it's not my fault you lot don't know the law of the land. I have men to feed, try to be reasonable." The chief bandit said, his arms crossed, standing in front of the main village inn.

"Your men have no authority here! You can't keep coming here, season after season, taking our food!" The village master pointed accusingly at the chief.

"Well, by the looks of it, yes we can, and can, we willin'… Hahahaha!" the chief mocked.

"Why you, I won't let you do this!" the village master took a swing at the chief, who simply dodged this, punching the old man in the stomach.

"Grandpa!" a young teenage boy cried. He ran to aid his grandfather, but was hit in the spine with a club.

The chief kneeled down to the old man, placing his hand on the old man's head, forcing it back down into the mud.

"That'll cost ya extra, old man…" he looked to a bandit standing next to him, then to the man's grandson. "Why don't ya watch us gut yer boy like a fish, Hmm?" the two bandits next to him burst out laughing. The old man tired to sit up, but chief pushed him back down with his boot.

"Bring 'm here boys, hehe!" the chief pulled out a short sword, "We'll give this welp a good ol' cuttin." The old man tried to plead, but was short breathed with the boot against his chest.

A bandit grabbed the boy by the hair, pulling him closer to the chief. A girl on the far end of the village watched on in fear.

"Brother, no!" she began running towards him, but a bandit grabbed her by the waist. She struggled to break free.

"Hehe, you a mighty pretty one, I thinkin of keepin ya." She let out several squeals, pushing against the man's chest. "Cry, cry honey, ain't no one gonna save ya." There was a wave of bluish energy. The man turned in time to see a certain mercenary thrust his sword forward. The bandit's cry of pain caught the attention of all the raiders.

The chief, who had his blade pointed to the boy turned to see as one of his men slid off the golden blade of Ragnell. All grew deadly silent. Ike met gazes with the chief.

"You bunch of cowards, preying upon the defenseless." Ike turned to face the chief. Bandits were circling around him.

"You mighty dumb to do that boy, killin' one of my men, do you know who it is you face?!" the chief cried out.

"Why does that matter?" Ike paused, locking his glare with several of the bandits, "You are all going to die here today." All the bandits let out breathy chuckles.

"Look around ya, boy…" Ike did just so, "Last I checked, you were outnumbered." The chief taunted.

"No matter, I already know how this ends." Ike retorted.

"And how is that, laddie?"

"With my sword in your stomach." Ike smirked.

The bandit chief's leer expression disappeared. He was now gritting his teeth. "You know, I was considerin' lettin ya live sell sword, but my mercy is about at its limits…" he smirked again. "But I'm feelin mighty generous, so if ya turn tail now, I won't have any hard feelin."

Ike scanned the faces of the bandits. There was around twenty or so…. They all brandished their weapons with barbaric intensity, blood thirsty at the battle ahead. Several of the villagers watched in suspense. The intense stare down between Ike and the leader was deafening to the ears. The chief's grin fell.

Finally, with a throaty chuckle Ike smirked, raising Ragnell behind him in a taunting fashion, "Let's dance…"

The four closest to Ike bolted toward him, holding their blades high above their heads. Ike back flipped behind them, he slid his thumb across the green gem of Ragnell, swinging it in a horizontal motion. A wave of blue flames shot out from Ragnell, slicing through their thin leather armor and into their stomachs.

All four of them collapsed, a fifth bandit with an axe ran up from behind Ike, bringing his axe down with both hands. Ike blocked this with Ragnell, heaving his force up to throw the bandit off balance.

Ike couldn't finish him, as another bandit with a short sword ran up, catching Ike before he could kill the axe wielder. Ike leaped back, dodging, and blocking several swings from the sword user. Ike let him make contact with his blade, throwing the bandit off balance; Ike lifted Ragnell high, bringing it straight down.

The bandit lifted his sword up, but Ragnell shattered straight through it, the golden blade connecting with the top of his skull. The bandit fell, lifeless. Two other sword users attacked Ike, as well as the previous axe user. A bandit on a roof top was shooting down arrows, Ike avoiding each shot, as well as a swing from the axe user.

"Arg!" A bandit with a metal club took a strong swing, but Ike caught his wrist, grabbing his other arm, the mercenary hoisted him up on his back. Ike used this man as a shield to block several shots from the archer.

"Ah! Ahh! Ahhhh!" he cried as each arrow impacted against his back. Ike threw him off and into the two sword users, they pushed his lifeless body off, bolting back for Ike.

Ike blocked one bandits swing with Ragnell, socking the other hard in the face with his gauntlet. The bandit rived in pain, holding his face. Ike focused on the still active fighter. He swayed in and out of the way of several swings, gliding Ragnell across the ground to slice the man's feet. As he collapsed, Ike plunged his sword down. The other bandit looked over, his partner now dead.

"Come'er!" He shouted out. Ike dug his heels into the mud, blocking the man's powerful swing. The raider's blade cracked down the center, but Ragnell simply glistened. Ike grinded his blade along the bandit's; sparks flew out as Ike spun around into a kneeling stance, swinging Ragnell with one hand across the bandits mid torso.

Ike stood, an arrow barely missing him. He looked up to the archer, who was now on a higher roof. He shot out another arrow, Ike rolled out of its range.

"I need to take care of that archer." Ike whispered.

Ike ducked behind a barrel.

'THUD!' An arrow impacted against it. Ike looked over the barrel; the archer was nocking another arrow. Ike pondered, but was interrupted by the axe user from before.

"Arg!" He brought his axe down, Ike rolled away, as the axe split the barrel in two. "Get over here, boyo!" the bandit cried.

The bandit swung again, Ike and him now engaged in a lock. Ike and the bandit starred intensely at each other. The raider smelled horrid, and his scarring face wasn't a pretty sight. Ike peered over his shoulder; the archer knocked an arrow and was aiming for Ike

"Hmmm…." Ike grimaced, heaving up with all his strength, the axe user was thrown off balance long enough for Ike to glance at the archer. He let the arrow fly, and as it was inches away from hitting Ike, he had caught it mid air. He spun around, tossing the arrow back at the archer. It hit him square in his chest, yelping in pain, the archer fell off the other side of the roof and out of sight.

The axe user having regained his balance charged Ike. "Ahhhhh!" he shouted. Behind him were several spear brandishing bandits. Ike tossed Ragnell high into the sky. 'Yune, grant me strength…'

Ike leapt high into the sky, catching Ragnell mid air. "Aether!" Ike fell back to earth, the blade casting a massive blue beam. All the bandits in front of Ike were hit by the blue flames; each one flew in a different direction collapsing onto the soil lifeless.

Three more tried to charge at Ike from behind, but Ike spun on his heel, his sword quickly cutting them all down immediately. Ike turned to face the chief, who had two more bandits beside himself.

"Looks like it's just us now?" Ike taunted.

"You think you're so tuff, kid! You have no idea who you're messing with!" He grabbed a spear, one that's blade was crackling with electricity.

"Great, a Levin Spear… just what I need." Ike mumbled. The bandit hit the blade against the ground, a beam of light shooting out from the tip. Ike dodged this, pressing his finger against Ragnell's jewel, Ike shot out a fiery beam from his blade.

The bandit rolled, dodging the inferno beam. One of his men was hit, flying back through the wall of the building behind him. "You cocky little freak!" the chief spat out.

Ike charged, avoiding another beam from the spear. Ike swung Ragnell upward, the heavy blade almost disarming the chief. The chief spun around, a current of electricity tracing the path of the spearhead. Ike went prone, rolling forward as the man stabbed at Ike on the ground.

The last bandit ran at Ike with his sword high above his head, Ike simply caught him in a chokehold, tossing him into the chief's next assault with his spear's range attack. The chief growled in anger, burning rage taking him over, he sprinted at Ike

Ike twisted around the chief, holding Ragnell with one hand; he used his other to guide his blade in a stabbing motion, right through the man's iron armor, and into his stomach.

The bandit stood there, wide eyed, mouth open. He peered down to the golden blade in his stomach. Ike was smirking.

"See, I told you." The man grunted slightly, Ike patted him on the head as he pushed him off his blade. The man lay on the ground for several moments letting out several weak breaths, before they all ceased. Ike took a deep breath, looking around to the now tamed village, its fires put out by the villagers.

"You still got it, Ike." He mumbled to himself. The faint feeling of pride came over him. Even after all this time, he was still the warrior he was when he left his home. As this thought passed through his mind, a chill of fear come over him….

There was no avoiding word of this battle getting out. He hoped it wouldn't reach the ears of the lords of the two kingdoms.

Sooooo... I hope ya'll liked it. I had bit of trouble writing Ike and Corrin's interaction, it kind of comes off as robotic. Unfortunately, I wanted to use the dialogue of Ike's Amiibo, but I don't know just how well it fits in an actual conversation... oh well.

In any case, R&R if you'd like. As I stated before, if you see any errors I missed, be sure to point them out.

As said before, the cover image is by Hanisu93 on Deviantart, be sure to go show her some support.

I'm not sure how long it'll take me to finish this story, but I'll probably start working on the second chapter soon.

:)