The First Tactician (A Fire Emblem: Fates Fanfiction)

Chapter 1: Awakening

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. I own my OCs.

"text": Dialogue

'text': Thought

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A young man woke up from a deep and relaxing sleep. He was laying flat on his back, in the middle of large plain. There seemed to be two sides at war, one with a blackened horserider and another with a red footsoldier. Both armies charged at each other, with the two generals leading the assault. On the outskirts of the clash, there were other soldiers. One side contained a mage on horseback, a cleric on horseback, and a dragon rider. The other had a bowman, a healer, a pegasus rider, and an oddly dressed woman wielding a sword.

Out of the corner of this man's eye, he could see more troops. 'At this point, I'm going to have to name the sides...' He dubbed the dark side the name 'Shadows' and the red side 'Stars'. The Shadows had a mage with a peculiar hat, a thief with a bow, a cleric with a tome on horseback, and a female axe wielder. The Stars side had a... ninja, a plated bow-woman, a man wielding an assortment of weapons, and a shaky villager with a spear. The mage seemed to be arguing with the ninja, and they suddenly broke out into combat. A stray arrow came at him...

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"GAH!" The man shot up from a bed. He looked around. The surroundings were unfamiliar. He was in a room that was barely lit, with almost no furniture. If he didn't know any better, this could've been a cell. He heard footsteps coming from the nearby hall. The man that had rushed in seemed like the mage on horseback from the Shadows side. "Gods, your scream had worried me." He lit a candle in the room. "Might I ask, why were you outside our fortress?"

"I'm sorry... outside your fortress? I don't recall ever seeing this place." He swung his legs off the bed. "Although... I have seen you before."

The man directed his attention to the stranger. "Oh? Please, do tell where you saw me."

"Well, I... huh. I don't exactly remember." He scratched his head. "I am sure I've seen you before. It's just... I have this feeling there's more to it."

"I'm sorry to say you're a threat to this territory. If you could explain yourself, that would be wonderful. That doesn't seem like an option, as you can't recall anything." The mage stood from his chair. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

He nodded. "Of course. My name is Shay. What might yours be?"

"I am Leo. Prince of Nohr." He put his hands behind his back, seeming to adjust his posture.

"F-Forgive me for addressing you so casually, Prince Leo." Shay stood up from the bed, brushing himself off.

Leo let a slight chuckle out. "Please. I don't like being refered to as a Prince." Examining the stranger's appearance, he opened the door to let him out of the room. "A question before you depart. What is your profession? Your clothes are very odd."

"Hm?" Shay looked at his attire. "Ah. I'm a tactician by trade. I can show you..." He looked around the room. "Where's my bag?"

"Your bag? Oh, the satchel you came in with." He pointed to the bed. "Right there, hanging off the banister."

Shay walked up and rummaged the bag. "Here we go." He procured a book from it. "It's filled with battle strategies. Do you take an interest in tactical combat?"

"Why, yes. I'm afraid this isn't the time for that. I suggest you leave at once." Leo directed out into the hall.

Shay sighed. "Perhaps another time." Grabbing his bag, he walked out into the fortress' halls. In was barren, just like his room, containing no sense of furniture or light. The entrance wasn't too far off from the room he was staying in, so it was an easy walk. He opened the door...

... and the bridge to the fort was crawling with bandits. "Oy! Give us a sum of gold and we might let you live."

The tactician backed into the hall. He called out to no one in particular. "There's bandits outside!" The sound of multiple footsteps could be heard from around the corner. It was Leo, the general from the Shadow- or Nohrian side, and the oddly dressed woman. "About fifteen of them."

"Gods! Why today?" The general grabbed the shoulder of the woman. "It seems your test will be a real battle, Corrin."

"Alright Xander, I won't dissapoint." She looked at the stranger. "Who might you be?"

Shay flinched. "I'm Shay, a tactician. A pleasure to meet you." He extended his hand, but quickly retracted it. "Maybe we should save introductions until after we deal with these ruffians."

The general nodded. "I agree. A little pest control is in order. Shall we?" He looked at Leo.

"Of course." He grabbed his tome, while opening the door.

(Battle Theme: Awakening- Prelude, Ablaze)

Shay brushed the side of his satchel, and felt an object sticking out from it. "Hmm?" He dug into the bag to find a Thunder tome inside. "Ah."

Leo looked at the tactician. "You know magic?"

"I think? I don't know..." He closed his satchel, examining the field. "We could send a separate party to engage the archers and mercenaries while the other defeats the fighters." Shay looked at Corrin. "Can you fight?"

She nodded. "I sure can."

"Prince Leo and Xander should engage the archers while Corrin and I take on the axe wielders." The tactician suggested.

Leo nodded. "We'll have an advantage over them, brother." The mage looked to his older sibling.

"Very well." Xander grabbed his sword, which seemed to ooze a dark aura. "If we complete our objectives accordingly, this battle is won."

A bandit from the other side was having a loud conversation with what seemed to be the leader. "... but bossman Spek... these blokes seem like royals..." The boss struck the man down in an instant.

Spek shouted to his fellow bandits. "Let's show these guys what real warriors look like!" As soon as he finished those words, a large portion of the bandits were defeated. The killer was a tactician wielding a tome. "Everyone! Target that tactician!"

Shay shot another thunderbolt into the enemy. "Well. This is easy." He didn't account for another fighter coming behind him. Luckily, Corrin was able to stop the ruffian's attack and kill him. "Corrin! Thank you, that would've been a nasty blow." The tactician looked at the lady, who was shaking. "Corrin? What's wrong?!" She didn't answer. "Gods... I'll protect you." He stood his ground, and shouted to the two Princes. "Lord Xander! Lord Leo! Change of plans, defeat the commander!" Shay grabbed the bronze sword from Corrin's hands. Also, it started to rain. It became harder to see the enemies.

Barely, he could see two axe-wielders charging him. He blocked the one and slipped past the other, then he cut one down. Quickly, she cut down the other. "How..." Corrin squeaked out. "How do you kill people... so easily?" She was still shaking like a leaf.

He flinched. "I-I don't..." Shay sighed. "It doesn't come to me at ease..." Hearing a fighter from behind, the tactician readied a block which came through. He managed to grunt out a response through blocking. "I... just think... how I-" Parrying, he cut down the foe. "-can save others by cutting down a foe."

Corrin was heavily breathing. "I... I want peace... for everyone..." She was shaking harder, now.

"Gods... at this point-" An enemy snuck up and struck him. "ARGH!" Shay fell down, hard, on his back.

"NO!" The princess shouted. She grabbed the blade from his hands and stabbed the foe, and charged forward. She managed to pierce two other brigands in the process before retracting the blade. Quickly, Corrin went to Shay's side. "A-Are... are you hurt?"

The tactician proped himself on the bridge's stone rails. "A little graze like that won't kill me..." He laughed. "I was just surprised. The rain concealed him well."

"Shay!" Shouted the Crown Prince. "We've taken care of the commander! The rest of the bandits have retreated."

"Thank the gods..." The princess said. "Here, give me your arm." She helped Shay up and put his arm around her. The tactician grunted in pain, as there was a cut across his chest. "Oh... that's bad."

Xander and Leo joined the pair. "Is he injured? Don't worry. Elise is here, she can surely heal him." Reassured the Crown Prince.

"You're going to be fine, okay?" Corrin said to Shay. There was no response. "Shay? Shay!" She moved a bit, and his head rolled back. Snores escaped his mouth. "Fast asleep, huh?"

Leo chuckled. "Funny. Not too long ago he was asleep. You would think he'd be wide awake now." The group laughed a bit, before heading back to the gates.

Shay smiled in his sleep, as if he could hear their conversation.

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A/N: It's done. A new chapter has opened up. To anyone who enjoyed Lineage Intertwined, forgive me. I thought the writing of it was very bland, and I hope to improve on it with this.

Until next time!

-Guardian Demon