Author's Note: Yes, this is a story written back in high school. I wrote this chapter by playing the game and following the script at the time, and I indeed named my tactician Avalon. This chapter is the first I've done in describing combat and should be marked as T.

Prologue: A Girl from the Plains

A lone wyvern rider streaked across the skies of Sacae as the storm raged. The wyvern hissed in pain as the rain drops stung its face and wounds like needles, but pressed on with its master's desperate pleas.

"Brother? Are we going to die?"

The Wyvern Knight, a young man in his late twenties, turned to the teenage girl that clung to his dark blue battle armor. His long, silver blonde hair shielded her from the harsh weather and he gave her a comforting smile.

"No, dear sister, we will not die," he softly replied, kissing her cheek. "But I would rather fall to Bern as a deserter than see you die."

The wyvern growled in agreement, making the knight's sister giggle slightly.

"See? Zatal wants you safe, too."

"Thank you, Tarik," his sister sighed as the sound of a monstrous roar came to her ears. "What was that?"

"Bounty hunters!" Tarik gasped, readying his lance. "So, our 'great' king does fear us!"

Suddenly, an arrow hit Zatal in its arm, making it rear up like a stallion.

"Tarik!"

He saw his little sister lose her grip on him and begin to fall to the ground.

"No! Avalon!" Tarik cried, trying to grab her back up. The last thing he saw as she vanished from his sight was a lance wielding rider raging toward him.

"AGH!!!"

The cries of both knight and wyvern shook the girl as she began to tumble through the muddy grasslands until she slid headfirst into an exposed rock. The world began to blur around her.

"T… Tarik… don't leave me…"

The following morning brought a beautiful sunrise as the breeze swayed the grasses of the Sacae Plains. A young woman stopped her horse and got off to look around. She pulled her long, emerald green hair into a ponytail and sighed.

"Why did I come out here?" She asked herself, looking to her horse that just shook its head. "Something just doesn't feel right today."

She then noticed something in the grass where birds were circling over. She slid down the embankment and pushed the grass aside to find a girl her age lying unconscious in the mud. The girl had various cuts and bruises all over her body and when the young woman swept a lock of hair from the stranger's face found a bloody gash on her forehead.

"I better get you home!"

The young girl soon awoke to find herself in a nice warm bed and that her wounds were neatly dressed. She felt the bandage on her head and winced in pain after touching it.

"Oww…" she whimpered sitting up. "Where am I?"

"Oh. Are you awake?"

The girl turned to see the green haired woman in a light blue dress standing in the doorway. She then came over to the bed and sat down. The girl had a momentary look of shock as she noticed the slits of the woman's skirt were right to her hips.

"Are you okay?" The young woman inquired.

The girl carefully rubbed her head and sighed, "How did I get here?"

"I found you unconscious on the plains this morning." The woman explained, continuing when the girl lightly nodded in recognition. "I am Lyn, of the Lorca tribe. You're safe now."

"That's a relief." The stranger breathed a sigh of the same. She then noticed a small, leather bound notebook on the nightstand and picked it up.

"Who are you?" Lyn asked, seeing the stranger's confused expression. "Can you remember your name?"

The girl opened the notebook and on the first page read, "Avalon, Tactician-in-Training".

"I think it's Avalon."

"Avalon?" Lyn repeated the name as she began to gently brush Avalon's shoulder length golden blonde hair. "What an odd-sounding name," Avalon shrugged slightly. "But pay me no mind. It is a good name."

"As is Lyn," Avalon grinned.

"I can see by your attire that you are a traveler. What brings you to the Sacae Plains?"

Avalon thought a moment and shivered. All she could remember was someone screaming out her name.

"I… don't know."

BOOM!

"What was that?" Avalon asked when Lyn dropped the brush.

"I'll go see what's happening." Lyn said walking out the door. "Avalon, wait here for me."

After Lyn exited the room, Avalon jumped out of bed and rushed over to a window. She ducked down as a group of axe-wielding men trudged past the tented home toward a nearby village.

"Avalon! They're bandits!" Lyn cried, rushing back into the room. "They must have come down from the Bern Mountains."

"Bern…" Avalon began to shiver. "Those brigands are probably going to raid the local villages."

"I have to stop them!" Lyn exclaimed, grabbing a sword that sat beside her bed. "If that's all of them, I think I can handle them on my own. You'll be safe in here, Avalon!"

"Uh, no," Avalon grimaced, shaking off her fear and grabbing a cloak to wrap around her tattered clothes as she followed Lyn out of the small house. "I want to help! It's the least I can do for you taking care of me!"

"Are you sure?" Lyn inquired, pointing out her guest's wounds. She could only look on as Avalon scanned the various swords, lances, and bows and arrows that adorned the wall before them. "Well, can you use a weapon?"

"I'm not sure." Avalon mused, confused by the sensation to grab up the lance and sword before her. "But I remember that I have become a bit of a strategist, or a tactician to be more specific."

"A tactician…" Lyn sighed in admiration. "Very well, we'll go together!"

"Yay!" Avalon cheered, jumping up and down.

Lyn could see Avalon's demeanor change as they neared the ravaged village. Avalon's amber eyes narrowed when she noticed six bandits within the village.

"Okay, Lyn," she said, hiding behind one of the homes. "When the bandits turn away, that's when we strike."

"'We'?" Lyn gave her a skeptical look. "You don't have a weapon."

She could see Avalon's body tense up and her expression was of one who had seen war.

"I'll manage," Avalon growled eying three of the brigands like a cat would a little mouse. "If you don't get them when they're blind-sided, you can dodge their attack and go in for the kill."

Lyn nodded, noticing the bandits' wielding axes that could get stuck in the ground, walls, or a thick tree easily. Avalon then pulled out a concealed dagger and asked, "Ready?"

"Yeah,"

"NOW!"

Lyn gasped as Avalon pounced on one of the bandits from behind and easily dispatched him with a well aimed stab in the back. Lyn followed suit and slashed the brigand before her in the chest, causing a deep gash that would slowly kill him. Avalon had her hands full with a second bandit that struggled to fight back when she saw something that nearly made her heart stop.

"Lyn! Behind you!"

Lyn jumped aside before an axe blade grazed her shoulder. She snarled at the bandit who laughed at her injury and lunged at him, running her sword through him. The brigand then fell to the ground after Lyn pulled her sword back, feeling his life draining away.

"Wow!" Avalon gasped, dispatching the bandit before her and absent-mindedly wiped the blood off her dagger. "So, that's the mastery of the Lorca swordsmanship."

"Nooo!"

Avalon soon diverted her attention to a brigand that was trying to grab up a plainswoman that was on the ground.

"Stop! Get your hands off me!"

Avalon then picked up a rock and hissed in anger at the woman's suffering. She knew exactly what the bandit was going for and it was not a lust for blood. Avalon flung the rock at the enemy's head.

"AGH!" The bandit roared, feeling the back of his head to find the wound with blood trickling down his back. He turned to see Avalon standing a few feet away with a defiant expression. "Why you little--!"

Avalon gasped as the brigand rushed toward her. She looked around for something to defend herself with, only finding a lance lying beside her. She grabbed it up and held it out blade, closing her eyes.

"RAGH!"

Avalon felt something wet splatter on her and her hands had the same wet sensation. She opened her eyes to see the brigand stopped in his tracks with the silver lance straight through his abdomen. Avalon then reeled back at the sight of blood on her clothes and hands, bringing her weapon out and leaving the bandit to fall dead.

"How?" Avalon gasped, noticing the plainswoman's shocked expression. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," the woman nodded. "Are you a Wyvern Knight of Bern?"

"I don't remember, but that sounds familiar."

"Amnesia," the woman sighed to herself, then concluded, "thank you for saving me."

"Well, I didn't want to see you get hurt," Avalon said, beginning to tense up again.

"Who do you think you are?"

Avalon rushed back over to Lyn to find a bandit staring her down. This bandit was smaller than the rest in muscle mass, very well showing with the casual raggedy attire that was typical of his kind. Lyn noticed the man wore a green head band and figured that he was the leader.

"So, you think you can stand up to Batta the Beast?" The brigand chuckled, frowning as Avalon paid no attention to him.

"Confident, isn't he?" Avalon stated.

"Yeah," Lyn said. "Avalon, if I fall, I want you to flee. You must escape!"

Avalon stood there, dagger and lance in hand, with a defeated look as she sat down.

"Just be careful, Lyn. You are bleeding after all."

Lyn grimaced, noticing the blood trickling down her arm.

"I'll be fine," Lyn growled, lunging at Batta. "Yaa!"

Her iron sword clashed with his axe, throwing sparks in all directions.

"You really think you can beat me?" Batta questioned, surprised to see Lyn hold her ground. "You couldn't even protect your family."

Lyn pulled away and slammed into Batta for the final blow. Avalon stood up, using the lance as a support and walked up to Lyn. As Batta fell to the ground, Lyn sheathed her sword and said, "You were wrong."

"How…" Batta grunted. "How did you--" He paused when Avalon came into his view, standing over him looking very much like a Wyvern Knight. "You… Bern!"

He then fell over dead with a fearful look on his face.

"Again with Bern," Lyn sighed in exasperation. "You must have quite the checkered past to be seen as Bernese."

"Yeah, I guess…" Avalon mumbled, beginning to swoon. "Uhh…"

"Avalon!" Lyn cried. "Not again!"

The next morning, Lyn was examining Avalon's weapons as her new friend was resting. She marveled at the craftsmanship of the dagger, the ornate red markings of the hilt telling it came from the Pherae province of Lycia. Lyn then set her sights upon the lance.

"Wow!" Lyn whispered, focused on the ferocious ruby red blade of the lance. "This is definitely the weapon of a Wyvern Knight. But why would she know how to use it?"

"No…"

Lyn turned to see Avalon still asleep, but talking.

"Tarik… don't let them get me." Avalon shivered as Lyn came closer. "They know… they know we're leaving!"

"Leaving?" Lyn sighed, noticing Avalon's eyes flutter open. "You okay? That fight must have taken a lot out of you."

"I guess," Avalon yawned. "Did I do something?"

"You were talking in your sleep." Lyn replied, sitting down beside her. "You sounded like someone was after you."

"Did I mention a name?"

"Yes, Tarik." Lyn said.

Avalon sat up at that and let out a cry of shock. The fog of amnesia was slowly lifting from her memory, letting the events of her dream reveal their reality. She could now clearly remember the young man in dark blue armor on a wyvern trying to catch her from falling.

Avalon!

"Tarik!" Avalon whimpered. "Lyn, he's my brother!"

"What happened to him?"

"Don't know," Avalon huffed, trying to hold back tears. "I remember hearing screams of pain before blacking out."

"Oh," Lyn sighed. "I'm guessing that you learned how to fight from your brother." Avalon only nodded. "Well, I guess you will be leaving soon. Would you allow me to travel with you?"

"What?" Avalon stuttered out in confusion. "Would your parents approve of this?"

"My parents died six months ago in a bandit attack. The Lorca tribe was scattered after my father's death." Lyn explained, the terrible memory hurting her still. "I'm the last of my tribe."

"I… I'm sorry, I didn't know," Avalon apologized.

"No, I'm sorry. I've been alone for so long." Lyn corrected, drying her tears. "But no more, I will shed no more tears." She stood up and held her sword in its scabbard. "Avalon, I want to get stronger so I can avenge my father and I won't if I just sit here being alone."

"And you want me to help?" Avalon finished.

"Please tell me you'll train me; that you'll let me travel with you!" Lyn pleaded.

Avalon smiled at Lyn and replied, "Sure, I need a friend right now."

"Thank you!" Lyn chirped, hugging Avalon by the neck. "We'll be better off working together, I know it. You'll be my master strategist, and I'll be your peerless warrior! We can do it, right?"

"Yep," Avalon got up and getting her weapons, declared. "All right, to adventure!"

As she gently pulled the horse's reins, Lyn looked at her home for possibly the last time. Avalon could not help but have one thought that might have been a message.

'Travel with Lyn, Avalon. Give her your aid and master the art of combat.'