Stigma of Chaos
Prologue
They call us by many names.
To the Beorc, we are the Branded; to the Laguz, the Parentless.
Yet be it for our stigmas or our mixed blood, it matters not; we are shunned by the world all the same. We are neither Beorc nor Laguz, but some horrible abomination in between. While the Beorc fear and hate us, the Laguz deny us our heritage and refuse to acknowledge our existence at all. The world has changed much, but this discrimination has only worsened with time.
It has been four hundred years since the last major war encompassed the whole of Tellius. That conflict was the final trigger in the unraveling of an eons old prophecy of the Goddess. She had decreed that there would be no wars before the due time of her awakening, lest she awaken early and punish the world for it.
Of course, that is impossible to ask of mortals.
A stone spell descended over the world as the Goddess awoke, and those of weak mind were petrified. Yet none of we Branded were ever affected. The original purpose of the war became petty and forgotten with the appearance of this threat, and the remaining individuals who survived the spell united as one under the command of a young mercenary with heroic renown. They marched to Sienne, capital of Begnion, to the sky scraping tower that had been the resting place of Ashera for so long. They hoped to oppose the Goddess in her judgement.
At the end of that war four hundred years ago, in an event which most Branded are old enough to remember - not the Laguz, as the event has been wiped from all their minds - the Tower of Guidance in Sienne was rocked with absolute and tremorous power. The Goddess of Chaos, our ally, was sealed, and the rebellious Beorc and Laguz who opposed Ashera, destroyed. With them, the chance to uncover the truth of ancient lies and the chance for us Branded to live freely.
The ones turned to stone when the Goddess of Order first awakened were never saved and those who perished in vain at the Tower of Guidance were never avenged. Yet the Goddess, impressed by the strong resistance at the Tower and the cooperative will of both Beorc and Laguz, gave the world another chance.
It is true that the world was saved from a silent fate of stone as the Goddess stalled her judgement. Yet Ashera's last chance was one where the world could simply not be led astray. If such a thing as free will existed before, now it is gone. Taken away.
As a result, there is no war. No conflict among nations. No Chaos to balance out the strictest Order. With the people devoid of chaotic incensions, the world prospers quietly.
The Goddess has created an ideal world. Laguz and Beorc have been completely segregated to opposite ends of Tellius, Order brought to east and west. She has stopped the senseless bloodshed that was prominent before her awakening and has effectively saved the civilizations of human and beast from themselves.
Only we Branded, born from violation of the Goddess's supreme Order, remain unaffected still. In a world of Order, we bring Chaos. We are the last remnants of a world of the past long dead - a world now believed to be a dark and bloody age before the Goddess's awakening and the salvation that came with her. We are the ancient monsters parents now warn their children with at night, except we are only too real.
People are afraid of what they do not comprehend. Fear breeds hate until they are soon one and the same.
The Beorc and Laguz have been at each other's throats for longer than I can remember, contrary to older legends that speak of a time where beast and man were united and the Goddess was still whole. The Order believes conflict comes from the meeting of these two civilizations and sees fit to keep them apart. Times have changed and we Branded, a species that should not even exist because we are proof that Laguz and Beorc can somehow coexist, are deemed a threat that the Order must eliminate.
The Order itself is no worse than the political corruption in Begnion's Senate all those years ago. Ashera handed the world to them and returned to her sleep. They follow her last absolute and supreme order: To keep the peace. Fueled by religious inanity, they do good and foul in the Goddess's name. And Ashera, secluded in her tower of dreams once again, turns a blind eye.
To survive, we are forced to hide our mixed blood. Should what we are be brought to local light, our very births a supposed sin to Ashera herself, a swift pursual is imminent. Those who know of its existence flee to a city in the desert of Grann - a hidden colony that will soon become too large to hide from the Order's keen eyes. Those without the knowledge remain cursed as they wander, forever hunted in Begnion. Never staying anywhere too long lest their ageless complexions be discovered, those who are lucky have less conspicuous traits that allow them to pass off their abnormal powers as protections from the spirits.
Wherever we go, we bring disruption to Order. That is our ability. A small burst of chaos that brings with it bright life, not the submissive and apathetic people the Order has raised in this age.
Crimea and Daein are myths now, only Begnion and the Laguz nations thrive still. Their forsaken cities stand still, decayed and crumbled, and all of their past inhabitants locked silent in a perpetual fate. We Branded are the only ones who know where their secrets are located. We nurture the slightest hope that they may hold a key to changing the world's current fate, one set in a stone wrought by divine hands so many years ago.
In that war's shattering end, someone precious was lost at the Tower of Guidance. The world's final hope perished along with the man I owed my life, and his memory has since been silenced. There is little I can do to rectify the consequences of my failure as his tactician, yet never will I forget him no matter how many centuries my odious blood allows me to live.
~xxx~
..
.
Yeah! Try as I might, I still dunno where the idea for this story came from! I will be switching to third person next chapter - my comfort zone. I felt it was necessary to do this prologue in first to give some insight. Basically Ike and Co. failed at the end of Radiant Dawn and the Order took over and grew into a bigger organization since then. Soren's survived and gotten over the loss...more or less. All the Branded from Path of Radiance/ Radiant Dawn will appear or be mentioned. The Branded characters need more love. ;]
Today is 12/21/12 by the way. Nobody will remember today's so called apocalypse twenty years from now, but whoa. COMMENCE NEW ERA!
Edit late July2015: wow how did those last sentences become... so self depreciation i am much sorry too sorry not sorry
I want to thank everyone for their support, I'm so glad people are enjoying this story! My writing's grown a lot with it.