This is one of my first fanfiction attempts, so I hope it is well received and reviewed. This is an exercise for me, a task I've given myself to keep me working on the aspects of storytelling that usually frustrate and overwhelm me.

This is a self-insert story, following myself as I am thrust into the world of Fire Emblem Awakening, shortly before the plot really begins.

I would like to thank Gone2GroundEX and lambentLodestar, who are my inspiration for writing this particular style of work. Without their examples and advice, I likely would have avoided doing a self-insert. If you have yet to read their works (Asleep or Daydreams and Nightmares, respectively), give them a shot, they're well worth reading.

-Chapter 01: A Rude Awakening-

I awoke to a bright light in my eyes.

Seriously? Who the heck turns on the lights on someone sleeping?

As I fade back to consciousness, however, I realize that I'm not in my own room or bed. Instead, I seem to be in the middle of a field of grass. Blinking and looking around, not only do I not see a familiar building, but I also don't see any signs of people at all.

This doesn't make any sense. Someone would have had to break into my home, kidnap me, and dump me in the middle of a field. Where I don't wake up until midday. Possible, I suppose, especially if they drugged me, but hardly likely, and it doesn't really give a REASON for that activity. Besides, I'm not feeling disoriented.

And I wasn't. Still a little groggy, since I had just woken up, but it wasn't any worse than a usual morning. I also noticed, however, that I wasn't in my own clothes. Instead, I was wearing some light clothes covered by a thick robe. And at my side hung a sword.

Oh, goody, and my clothes have been replaced by something from a Renaissance Fair. Conclusion: I've been dragged into a LARP against my will.

I also noticed a weight on my back and noticed I had a pack on. Opening it up, I discovered a few leatherbound books, some golden coins, a rope, a knife, some flint, and a skin of liquid.

Seriously, a skin? Who the heck even MAKES these? Not LARPers, then. Too few take things this seriously. A historical society? But they're usually not the kind to kidnap people.

Still, no point to sitting around. I needed to start finding my way back. I wasn't feeling particularly bad, but who knows how long I'd been out there in the sun. I needed to find my way back to civilization.

Step One: Find water. If I can find a river, I can probably follow it to a city at some point.

There was no water in sight, but there was a fairly tall hill not too far away. Climbing it, I took a look at the landscape around me.

That looks like a lake in the far distance, but THAT looks like a small town. Success.

Once I got to town I could figure out where I was, and hopefully from there get home and figure out how I got stuck out here in the first place.

And find out who took my pajamas.

Over the course of the next hour I made the several mile trek to the town, my spirits sinking as I did so.

I live in a major metropolitan area, I don't know of any field THIS big within the entire metroplex, let alone within easy driving distance.

As I neared the town, my worries took a greater toll on my mind.

That is NOT modern architecture. Heck, I don't think Texas has EVER had buildings in that style, so it couldn't even be a historical town like Colonial Williamsburg. Just where the heck have I been taken?

Trying to calm myself, I finally enter the town. It's a nice little place built, as I had initially suspected, near a river. Or, rather, around a river. The banks had been built up with bricks, and the river split and flowed around buildings and through numerous paddlewheels.

Ok, so I have even less of a clue where I am than I did before, but I have to admit that this is a fascinating place. OH MY GOSH, is that a FORGE? Awesome!

I couldn't help it, I'd always enjoyed metalworking. I stood outside for a while and watched the blacksmith at work. He was probably in his forties, bald on top, with a nice mustouche. As I watched he poured metal into a stone mold. I also saw, to my surprise, that he appeared to be working with bronze, rather than iron or steel.

Again, an anachronism. If this WAS a historical recreation, the period being represented should be long past the Bronze Age. Heck, there's all sorts of Iron in the buildings around here. So why would he be crafting something from Bronze? Not that that keeps it from being all sorts of awesome.

Taking a break as the metal cooled in the mold, the blacksmith looked up at me.

"Can I help ye, lad?"

"Oh, sorry. I was just enjoying watching you work. I've always been a fan of metalworking. I was wondering where I was, though. I seem to have gotten lost.", I replied. Better to keep things simple until I know what's going on and how I got here.

"A wanderer, eh? Well, you're in Southtown right now. Not a whole lot of interest here, though you're welcome to stay and watch, I suppose. But if you're looking for work, you'll probably have better luck heading north to Ylisstol."

"WHAT?!"

Ok, shouting was probably a bad idea, but I couldn't really help it. While I had considered the possibility of being in a LARP, this was really a bit overboard. I mean, recreating an entire town, from a video game? It just didn't make sense. Awakening may have been popular, but no way it has a fanbase this large, this dedicated, and this diverse. Even if you could find a few who would be dedicated enough to build an entire town like this (not going to happen. Locations aren't important enough to replicate in this much detail), they also have enough people to populate it realistically? Yeah, right.

The blacksmith, and a goodly portion of the villagers, were staring at me. Not really surprising, considering how loud I'd just shouted.

"Sorry, sir. I simply wasn't expecting to have gotten so far south without realizing it. My goal was indeed quite a ways north of here. I need to get moving. If you'll excuse me."

I stumbled away, before turning and heading up the road he'd indicated, my mind racing.

Ok, what the heck is going on? There is no possible way I'm in Ylisse, it's a FICTIONAL COUNTRY. So, possibilities. Well, I could be having a psychotic break. Although this seems a bit too far out of left field to be anything short of a COMPLETE meltdown, and a little too well crafted for that. A dream? More likely, I suppose. I have had lucid dreams before, including some which felt like they covered months of time. But I've never felt so out of place or aware of everything around in one of my dreams...

My thoughts continued to analyze the situation, discarding possibility after possibility, as I walked several miles up the road. I didn't even notice the time going by until the sun started to drop and the land got darker.

Perfect. And I was so freaked out that I missed the opportunity to get a meal and a stay at the inn. I HATE camping. Oh, well, at least it's a breezy day.

The road had been starting to lead to a more heavily wooded area, and I did not want to go traipsing through the woods at night. So I chose a tree near the road, but far enough from the woods for comfort, and settled in for the night. One advantage to the robe was that it was fairly comfortable for sleeping in, despite not having blankets.

I considered starting a fire, but decided against it for the time being. Too close to the forest on a windy night was not an ideal setup. Better to try to get a feel for how cold the night was going to get before I started a fire. So instead, I pulled up to read until the sun went fully down and the night closed in.

The first book I pulled out was nearly completely illegible. Not really surprising, I suppose. If this was supposed to be Ylisse, than I guess that would make this a magical tome, and I hardly have the training to understand one, let alone use it. The other books, however, turned out to be somewhat more useful.

Let's see, what do we have here. A Treatise on Tactics. On the Nature of Magic. The Collected Sagas. Well, at least I've got some reading that should prove interesting. Although, A Treatise on Tactics... I'm not going to turn out to be Robin, am I? Robe, sword, tome. No Brand of the Fell Dragon, that I can see, but I can't exactly hold this place to a logical standard, since it is IMPOSSIBLE FOR IT TO EXIST.

I decided to crack open On the Nature of Magic, which turned about to be a fairly deep analytical work on how magic operated. It also contained theories on where it came from and how the different branches related to each other. Oddly enough, although it didn't include information on the Anima Trinity of Magic, it did include information on Light Magic, despite there not being any in Awakening.

This is fascinating. The branches of magic are quite a bit more distinct than they appear in the games. While each branch can use tomes as a power source or focus, how each type of magic operates is drastically different. Elder Magic is much more based in ritual and knowledge of bonds. That would explain the focus on magic circles and glyphs among Dark Mages, especially in the GBA versions. I guess that explains its relative rarity. But I wonder why we didn't encounter any Light Mages in Awakening, if the magic itself exists.

Pausing for a moment, I pulled out the tome I hadn't been able to read.

Let's see. Going from color of the leather, I'd have to guess this is either a Light tome or a Lightning Tome. But Lightning Tomes in Ylisse had a Lightning Bolt on the cover. So it's either the only Light Tome in all of Ylisse, or there's another inconsistency. Or it's not a magical tome and it's just written in another language. That'd be more fitting with my luck so far.

I went back to reading On the Nature of Magic, hoping to glean some insight into the workings of this world, or some information on how I got here. I continued to read until the shadows became too prevalent to see clearly. I then repacked the books and settled down, deciding it was warm enough that I didn't need a fire after all.

No information on how to get home. And not even anything useful like "here's how to operate a Fire Tome". It may have been fascinating reading, but it's not really helpful to my current predicament. It's far too detailed to be a random work, though. Like the town, it's too real to be mad imaginings or a trick. What have I gotten myself in to?

I awoke to a familiar face looking down on me.

Whuzzat? Ok, whatever this insanity is, it's not over yet, because THAT would be Chrom. You have GOT to be kidding me.

"This isn't exactly the safest place to bed down for the night, friend."

Well, that's not the game's dialogue, but this DOES seem to be the recruitment event. So I'm Robin, am I? Fan-smegging-tastic. I may be a great tactician in the game, but I'm not sure how well that would translate to a real-life scenario.

Still, with no other real recourse, I accepted his hand up (once again noting the lack of a Brand on mine own), and was pulled to my feet.

"May I ask your name?"

Well, if I'm Robin, I'm supposed to be an amnesiac about everything, including my name. But Chrom's already split from the game's dialogue. So just how far should I take this? Oh, to heck with it.

I sighed, before replying softly.

"...Robin."

The reaction to this was rather unexpected. Chrom uttered a short "Huh?", and got the most comedic look of confusion on his face. But the real shocker came from the female voice behind me.

"That's MY name!"

Feel free to offer an advice or insight that you have. While I of course prefer positive feedback, this is meant to be something to learn from.

I hope you all enjoy this, and look forward to seeing more.