Hey all! This is my first fanfic, and I am really excited to bring it into ! Just so all of you know, this is a self-insert of Fire Emblem: Awakening. It's one of my favorite games, so I hope that this fic will do it justice.

About the title, I chose the title as a reference to a story I heard was written by Plato.

In the story, several prisoners are locked away somewhere dark. These prisoners live there their whole lives, and the cell is all they will ever know. A fire is the only source of light, but it is placed around a corner, such that the only world they can see is the wall across from them and the shadows cast upon it by guards and equipment passing by. Eventually, one prisoner escapes and discovers the physical world we know, with color, dimension and texture. This prisoner learns that the world he had once known was literally and figuratively a mere shadow of the world that existed around it.

I kind of liked that story, and since I'm basing it off of a "journey between worlds" kind of thing, I thought it was a cool and appropriate title. I spent a long time figuring it out, so I had to say something.

A couple warnings: This fic is rated M for possibly containing drugs, sex (don't worry I won't gross you out), violence, and criminal activity. For now, M is a safety because at least one of these things will pop up. Our world can be an awful place, why shouldn't theirs be one too? It also makes the little bits of good that come out all the sweeter. Also, I am writing this fic where I am aware of the events of the game prior to my insertion into the fic, so there are going to be some SERIOUS SPOILERS. Don't want 'em? Save the story for after you beat the game. No promise that I will finish it or of an update schedule, shouldn't be a problem, because I doubt it will gain much popularity to begin with. But that aside, we should be good to go. Oh yeah, I'm also a nerd. You have now been warned.

Another thing that may confuse you: Phane is Robin. Robin didn't sound very Egyptian or desert-esque, so I changed his name. Based it off of Phanes, a Greek god and captain of the guard in Egypt? I couldn't find too much information on the person.

Just a quick disclaimer (and this applies to this chapter, as well as all subsequent chapters in this story):

I do not own the Fire Emblem Franchise, or any of its games. I do not own any of the referenced products in this story either, i.e. movies, games, electronic equipment, etc.

A Leap from the Shadows

Prologue: Into the Storm

4 Years Ago

Tap. Tap. Taptaptap. Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap...

I looked up at the clock.

12:30 a.m.

I sighed in relief.

Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap...

I look up again.

1:53 a.m.

I wipe some sweat and look back down.

Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap...

I looked up at the clock again. I was always fighting the clock. No matter how hard I tried, time seemed to catch up to me. A little mistake here, a missed part there, it all added up. It always did. It always will.

4:24 a.m.

I can feel my heart racing, and my fingers hurt a little.

Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap...

I don't know why I was remembering this. I don't think I knew then, either. It was some paper for physics class from some time. It was something that should have become another memory forgotten the moment I had finished making it. And yet there it was, glaring at me through the computer screen in my mind. Something about Newton's third law; for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. One thing will always lead to another.

I was lying down. Soft, green grass all around me, trees swaying at the edge of my vision. I watched clouds, large and white, roll above me. Birds were singing. An iPod pumped out some tinny sounding Queen. The air was cool. If I had to guess, this was spring, but I would be wrong. This was actually a miraculously out of place day at the end of June. It had been a week since I had graduated high school, and there I was, lying in the comfort of my backyard.

'The past week has been strange,' I mused as I absentmindedly tapped the pause button on the music player.

From the moment I started school, there was an end. Just as when I was born, a time was created in the future in which I will die, when school began for me, a time was created where it would finish. In a sense, I realized how close I was to that time. With college, school wasn't leaving, but taking a new shape and form in my life. It felt strange because, for the first time, when I looked back upon my school experiences, I was remembering as an adult.

As a result, I'd been thinking about my past quite a bit in the past few weeks. That paper I wrote for English, the time I finally beat the Mass Effect Trilogy, only to complain about the ending with my friends later, were all memories that I couldn't help but feel leave a hole in my chest. Probably because they'll never come back.

"Let's see… George! Can you tell us why Athena served as judge in Orestes trial?"

"Um…" I jerked my head up and looked around, disoriented from my sudden awakening, "Two-thirds?"

The class laughed

'Then again, there are probably some memories worth leaving behind.' I mentally shrugged and readjusted my glasses. I tossed the iPod to the side and lie back down again. Relishing the blissful experience of an afternoon on the lawn.

I don't remember how long I dozed for. I do remember waking up, and deciding it was time to spend some time on the internet. As I went up to my room, I grabbed a bag of chips from the kitchen.

My room isn't anything special. I'm a neat freak and the easiest way to keep things organized, is to "have" less to organize. In other words, my room is incredibly bare, despite the fact that I'm a packrat in nature. So, what you see is a dresser and book shelf share a corner. On the adjacent wall, is my desk, and next to the wall across, is my bed. Aside from that is a small shelf to hold my cameras, because I can.

What you don't see is my secret stash of junk stored in boxes, organized and labeled, under my bed. The other boxes in my closet, also organized and labeled. Or the trash I have crammed in one or two of my desk drawers. Some of it is homework from elementary school. Some is the wires for electronics I own, old and new. Some are even keychains I have amassed over the years. All of it organized, yet hidden. Stashed away, and stubbornly avoiding the garbage can.

It didn't irritate me. I actually enjoyed it. It's not as though I loved that stuff; none of it was sentimental to me. But, if I needed it later, I had it. At least, that was what I told myself. As one might be able to tell, from the sheer quantity of stuff, I never needed it.

At my desk, I stared at the beat-up box next to the computer. It didn't actually look that worn. In fact, it probably stood out and seemed to be in such disrepair because it was next to the computer. The computer was a sleek laptop that lie almost flush against the desk, with a paper-thin screen that glowed dimly. Recently purchased for another four years in school, it hummed, "future". The box, on the other hand, was a plastic cube with a handle built in the back. Quite literally, nothing more than a plastic box with some buttons. It was scratched all along the sides and top, where a small plastic disc embedded within indicated what it was: GAMECUBE.

"You can't have everything, George."

There they were again. The memories. It must have been 11 years ago when I got that thing.

I was planning on taking the thing college. I left it on my desk so I wouldn't forget to take it out of storage when I would start packing in a couple months. It also went through a couple of plays the past weekend, just to ensure it still worked. It did, old faithful.

A strange sensation passed over me and a crazy idea flew into my head. For some reason unknown, I felt as though I would never see the gaming console again. It was so ridiculous, it pained me. But I looked away anyway. 'Just to be sure'.

When I looked back, the console was still there. I shook my head and returned my attention to the computer.

The afternoon passed quickly after that. The internet is such an easy and wonderful way to lose yourself, mostly to videos on YouTube and chatting on Facebook. Time sped up. An hour felt like minutes, which flew by like seconds. Soon I had already eaten dinner and the day had gone and I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep.

Outside the window across from the bed, a fitful summer storm showered down.

Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap…

Trees rustled restlessly as the wind howled against them.

Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap…

Large, heavy drops fell upon the windows.

Taptaptaptaptap…

Within the protection of my home, the storm seemed distant. And I felt the paradoxical serenity that came with being inside during a heavy rain. I turned my head to face the window across from me, and looked out.

As I gazed outside, I couldn't help but feel as though there were something out there, waiting for me. Something I needed to remember. It was an incredibly irritating feeling. It nagged at me until any notion of wanting to go to sleep was gone. I stared intensely at the window, racking my brain for what could be out there.

Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap…

Several minutes passed.

'Wait, wasn't I listening to my iPod earlier?'

As that realization dawned upon me, dread filled the pit of my stomach. I got up from bed as quietly as I could and glanced at the clock as I put on a raincoat.

12:04 a.m.

I silently crept out of my room, heading for the back door. I then stepped out, and into the storm.

'I must have turned it off and forgot I had it when I went in.' I reasoned before mentally reprimanding myself, 'dammit, how could I have been so careless with something so important?'.

The air was much harsher than the trees let on, and the sheer force of the gust that hit me as I stepped out knocked me back a little. I closed the door as quietly as I could, but it was hard to tell whether or not the sound of the door was drowned out by the wind. I ran out to the lawn, desperate to search for my lost device, and fell to my knees. The wind picked up, and I couldn't hear anything over its roar any longer.

Somewhere, I knew that this couldn't be right. I knew that the weatherman had explicitly said tonight would be clear. I knew that if the wind was blowing this bad, even this late at night, that some people would be awake. There was no way the neighborhood could be this dark. And I knew that there was no conceivable way the wind could be blowing this hard to begin with. At the moment, however, I was only concerned with my little music player.

That iPod was the first and last thing I received from my late Grandfather, if my parents aren't included. I don't remember too much about him, since I got it when I was just starting middle school, and he only visited once a year. He lived quite far away. But any time we met, he talked to me earnestly, listening to my elementary school plights as though they were on the news with the presidential election. Even though I was too young to know who he was, I still loved and respected him a lot.

'Geez, what was that, 7 years ago?'. It was a crappy 2nd generation touch, but it still plays music fine and so I never felt the need to replace it. Besides, whenever I listened to music on it, I felt like I was returning what he had done for me. I felt like I had become the listener, and he was the speaker. It was ridiculous, but at least it made me feel better for knowing so little about him.

That in mind, I crawled around, searching with my hands as the wind picked up even more and my eyes teared up in protest. It didn't matter, I couldn't have spotted it anyway. The rain was actually painful now. I continued to search while mentally kicking myself, 'If only I remembered, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be here in this stupid, fucking rain.'.

"Aha!" I shouted as I reached out, grabbing at the wet, glass screen with my right hand. I could not hear my own voice, but I didn't care. One of the few things sentimental to me was in my grasp, and I was fine with that.

The world, however, did not seem to agree. The wind, already howling at god-knows-what speed, became even faster. My raincoat, already rendered useless, began to tear as my body was actually lifted off the ground. I desperately grabbed for the ground below me screaming, probably, like a little girl.

Perhaps if I let go of the iPod and grabbed the grass below with both hands, I might have been able to keep a hold. The mp3 player no doubt would go flying away in the wind, however, I might have been safe if I let go.

But I was not ready to give up my victory. So, clutching the small brick in my right hand, my left hand reached out, only to tear up a handful of soft, green, weedy material with it. I looked in horror at my left hand as I was swept up further. I could no longer reach the ground now. 'At least my glasses are safe inside.'

With that, the wind picked me up, and cast me off. And all went dark.

11 Years Ago

"Mommy, daddy, why can't I keep those toys?" I glanced forlornly at a small pile of stuffed animals and action figures.

"Because," my father started, "Life is about borrowing."

"In the course of your life," my mother continued, "you have to both give and get. You can't always choose what it is you get to donate or receive."

"But in this case, you can. You got a new GameCube, right? You won't have time to play with all your toys, even if you wanted to. You have a choice right now, son." My father looked at me with warm eyes.

"There are children who have no toys, if you can at least give them the ones you won't play with anymore, right?"

I looked at my parents, eyes wide. They always had some wise answer to my questions. Suddenly I felt foolish, and selfish. Of course I wasn't going to play with them as much anymore. The choice was so easy! "Mommy, daddy, I think you're right. I'll give them away."

They smiled, "See? You can't have everything, George."

Chapter 1: Discovery

"Ow…"

My head hurt. My legs hurt. Simply put, I felt like I had been placed in a blender. Not quite the experience of a lifetime. On top of that, something poked uncomfortably into my back, which kindasortareally sucked. I slowly opened my eyes, only to close them again as white, hot pain shot into them.

'Damn, it's bright… where am I?' I thought as I tried to open them again. I racked my brain for memories. "No. Not the cat video memories," I grumbled, 'How the hell I got to where I am now memories, thank you very much.' It was something about rain and wind. A lot of wind. There was a storm. 'Yeah, I remember the storm, the iPod, and being whisked away to… here. But where is here?'

I finally managed to open my eyes to see a beautiful early autumn scene above me. The morning air was cool, the sky was a lively blue, and the beginnings of autumn touched the trees. There were no paths and no animals. Only the trees and underbrush were present.

I was lying flat on a jagged branch on the forest floor, the source of my back discomfort. My arms and legs were spread out, and my head rested awkwardly next to a tree trunk. Tightly squeezed in my right hand, was my iPod. Its screen was cracked, and it clearly no longer worked. My blue rain jacket was torn down the front, right next to the zipper, exposing the plaid pajama shirt I had on. And, as if to condemn me more, I was covered in mud. Head to toe, any part of me that didn't have twigs and leaves stuck, was covered in the brown, pasty substance.

No, this was not what I expected Wednesday morning to be. 'But hey, at least I have all of me.'

'This is bad,' I started to panic. 'This is so, so very bad. There are no woods by my house. A whole season has passed. I have no phone, food, water, shelter or means of finding that stuff… this is really bad.' I noticed my breathing starting to speed up, and the sky and trees above me seemed to stretch out, making me feel smaller and more lost than ever before. 'I have to get out of here.'

I slowly shifted my body up, groaning in protest. 'Note to self: sleeping alone in the mud and rain, lying on a tree branch, results in joint pain, soreness and bruises upon waking up.' Hopefully, I wouldn't need to remember that. I sat up, and took stock of my surroundings. Tall maple trees surrounded a small grove of oak trees. Thick, green, thorny patches of underbrush wrapped themselves between the trees, reaching for the few rays of light that shone through. I was lucky enough to land on a small cluster of grass and weeds that struggled in the shadows of the surrounding plants.

Unfortunately, that was just about the only lucky thing to happen to me. I stuffed the iPod into my pocket and began wandering around only to yelp as pain shot into my left foot. "Ow! Shit! Augh!" I screamed as I plopped myself back onto the grassy spot where I woke up. I looked up at the sky, "For all that is good, what the fuck is happening?" I asked to nobody in particular. "None of this makes any sense…" I mumbled.

Done with my rant, I cradled my foot, taking a moment to inspect it. A sharp rock hidden in the grass seemed to have sliced it. 'What was I even thinking going out without shoe-'

"Maybe if you asked nicely, you might get some help," a voice said. It was bright and perky.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice, but empty forest surrounded me.

I groaned, "Wanna come out and see me? Or am I going crazy?" this was not helping my situation.

"Try looking up," the same voice replied, it was almost giddy with… excitement?

'Okay, so I'm not crazy. And this person can help me.'

"Great, I was really hoping that you could help me out here," I began, turning my head up, "you see, I'm pretty lost right now, any idea where…" I trailed off, leaving my sentence unfinished.

Above me, in the tree branches, was a boy dressed in what more or less resembled a couple of brown sacks assembled to look like clothes. His arms and legs were thin and his whole form, much like mine at the time, was covered in mud. I couldn't tell if his hair was brown, or if it was just the dirt. Whatever the case, the mud helped to mask his appearance in the mass of branches around him. I couldn't make out how he looked beyond that. Without my glasses, he was more or less an ambiguous blob of brown. None of this took away from the most unusual thing about him: the dead rabbit in his right hand. 'At least, the gray blob in his right hand' I mentally amended.

I looked at him and smiled awkwardly. This kid was strange. Who still goes hunting for food? Even more, who goes hunting in the middle of the suburbs? Who knows what kind of chemical junk that rabbit might have eaten? Whatever it is, it'd probably poison me, or at least cause some strange medical condition. God, this whole situation was messed up on so many levels.

I shifted glances from the hare swaying several feet from my face and the grinning boy a little higher above me. "On second thought, maybe you need the help," I said, only a little nervous. "What have you got the rabbit for?"

"This thing?" he said, smiling wider than ever and stepping down a couple of branches, so that I could see him a little better. "It's dinner. I caught it this morning." I couldn't see it, but I could imagine that his eyes were sparkling with amusement and he leaned in closer, almost curiously. "I was watching you. You look funny." The kid really needed to calm down a little. Besides, don't kids have better things to do than watch strangers? Especially strangers who were making a fool of themselves?

"Um. Okay…" I mumbled, scooting away awkwardly a little and shifting my attention back to my still-hurting foot. I was now certain that the thing in his hand was a hare, as it was only a couple yards from my face now. He held the feet of the rabbit in such a way that the rabbit was facing me. There was something seriously freaky about having to stare at the cold, lifeless eyes of the animal. 'Nope. Doesn't matter how blurry-ish those eyes were. They will always be creepy.'

'No doubt that thing is packed with whatever drugs people feed their lawns with around here' I repeated to myself, trying to shrug it off. I wasn't making him eat it and he sure as hell wasn't going to make me.

"Anyway," he replied casually, "You seem pretty lost and wounded, don't cha'? Well, my folks don't live to far from here, and I can get you patched up super quick." He ripped off a piece of his pants… sack… sack-pants? And handed it to me. The strip of cloth was rough and looked dirty, but I just shrugged again.

'Beggars can't be choosers.'

I began wrapping my foot up, brushing away dirt and little bits of leaves that got stuck to the part around the gash at the bottom. On closer inspection, the cut was small, and only went just a little below the skin. The blood had already begun clotting, and the initial shock was gone, leaving a dull throbbing in its place.

When I was done, I turned to the kid to find that he was eyeing me. He was clearly sizing me up. Such a serious face was pretty unsettling to see on a child. 'Also a weird personality shift.'

"You aren't from around here, aren't you." It was a statement. He was looking for a very specific answer, but I could not tell what.

'And he's definitely wary of me.'

"Yeah, I need to get to a payphone or bus stop or something. From there, I should be able to get home. There should be one somewhere in the nearest city or something."

He cocked his head to the side and frowned a bit. "What's a payphone? What's a bus stop?" he asked.

"Um…" I didn't know what to say. He was at most fourteen, probably twelve, he should be able to tell what a payphone or a bus stop was. "Err…" damn, this question had me like a deer in headlights, but his confusion looked so real. I sighed, a little frustrated. "Okay, so a payphone is a phone that you pay to use. You simply put some money into a slot on the booth and you can use the phone for a short amount of time. A bus stop is a place where you can wait for a bus to come and take you to a number of other stops." I was rubbing my temples now. This kid had a way with throwing me off. First his clothing, then his rabbit, and now this?

His confusion didn't disappear, though. It intensified. His brow furrowed as I spoke and he squinted his eyes suspiciously at me. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to ask something else, but I wasn't letting him have it.

"Just… get me to a road or something. I think I can take it from there." I exhaled. Something wasn't right.

He nodded and grinned, confusion disappearing from his face. I guess he really didn't care, or maybe his curiosity outdid his lack of trust in me. Whatever it was, he scrambled down the trunk and stood next to me. When he climbed down I was able to get a better look at him. His hair was blonde, mud and dirt was just caked on to the point that it was difficult to tell, but I could see small clusters of golden hair dangling from his head. The blurry mass that was his face cleared up and I could see a pair of hazel eyes peering back at me through the muddy mask. As the details became clearer, I could tell that he was dirtier than I originally thought and that his clothes were more or less rags barely held intact by thin threads here and there. Little nicks and scrapes made themselves visible on his body too.

"I can get you there," he said cheerfully, starting to lead the way, "Where are you from? I figure you must be one of them city folks ma talks about. Are you from Southtown?"

"No…" I said slowly following clumsily behind. My poor sight wasn't helping. 'God, why does that name sound so familiar? I don't live near a Southtown.' I stored Southtown as a place to remember. "I live in a suburb nearby. At least, I think it is."

"What's a suburb?"

"Know what, never mind."

I was having a hard time keeping up. I was taking every step carefully now. I watched for low hanging branches, vines, thorny bushes, and basically anything else that could or would hurt me. I almost tripped over a branch, twice. It was starting to get to feel like the forest was trying to hurt me.

Not having my glasses made it even more difficult. It was easy to pick out large, jagged objects sticking out of the ground, but small sharp things blurred into the surroundings. With my poor eyesight, I couldn't spot them and had to use my feet to spot them. My feet would tentatively approach the surface it wanted to land on, gently tap the ground and feel for anything sharp, and then step. It slowed me down quite a bit, but I managed to follow along.

"So, I don't think that I've introduced myself. What's your name? I'm George, by the way." I stumbled through a couple of thorny bushes, cursing.

He hummed thoughtfully. "Well," he animated the word for emphasis, "I don't think my name is that cool. I want my name to be something heroic, so I wish my name was something like Marth, or Ike. I like Ike; I think it would be a good name for me."

I burst out laughing. "Marth?" I asked incredulously, a few feet behind him, "As in, the character from the video game? Do you realize how many kids at school would make fun of you?"

Sam stopped and looked at me, and quirked his brow. "Everyone wishes they were named Marth." He said it as though he was explaining it to somebody from another planet. "And you keep using these strange words. What's a video game? And school?"

"I can't explain all these things to you… just forget I said anything" I sighed. Sam was walking with a little spring in his step, completely oblivious to my scrutiny. 'This kid is either seriously out of place, or is trolling me to hell and back.'

"Anyway, you still haven't told me your name."

"Oh yeah! I'm Sam. Do you wanna be friends?" God, this kid was too much.

"We could be, but we probably won't see each other again once I get to the first road." I answered doubtfully. No point in lying.

"Oh, okay." The words came out softly, without shock. It was clear he was somewhat used to rejection. "It's a big world, I guess."

"Yeah..." I could already feel pangs of guilt hit me. Sam's shoulders slouched, and his eyes no longer seemed to hold their amused twinkle. With every step we took, my desire to take the words back increased. 'Stupid! He's just a child, would it have hurt to entertain him a little?'

We came out of the wilderness of the woods and on to a rough, muddy path. This path was a lot easier to walk on for me. There were no more hidden rocks or pointy sticks on the ground. I caught up to him and smiled awkwardly, "So... What do you like to do?"

Something about those words didn't sit well with me. 'No,' I thought, 'those weren't the right words, but then what were?'

His smile came back, yet his eyes remained dim. "I like all kinds of things! I like running and hunting and playing and talking and eating... But if I had to choose my favorite, it would probably be..." He smiled again and looked up at the sky. "It would probably be drawing. It would definitely be drawing!"

"That's awesome!" I exclaimed, a little over exaggeratedly. I had to do my best to make up for my mistake. It was nice to see that his smile was now genuine. It was as if thinking about his favorite hobby brought life to his eyes again. "What kinds of things do you draw?"

"Oh," he sighed and looked off into the trees, "I draw all kinds of things I see around. I draw horses, and cows and chickens and ducks. But I draw them in the dirt. See, my parents can't afford paper." He zoned out and stared into the distance for a while, as if thinking of a world where he had the cash for paper.

"Oh," Was all I had, I didn't quite know how to respond to that, "I'm sorry."

We walked quietly after that. Enjoying the peaceful view of the wilderness around us. I realized that Sam was pretty calm despite seeing some random guy out in the woods, but I suppose I was pretty calm for someone who was that guy out in the woods. At least, now I was.

'Who knows?' I speculated, 'If Sam hadn't found me, I might be screaming curses at the sky.' After all, he did have a sort of child-like confidence that seemed to assuage my confusion.

I decided that after I got to the road and navigated for a bit, I would be home. I couldn't have gone that far away. When that would happen, though, I probably would forget the whole thing ever happened, whether Sam liked it or not. 'Whatever. I'll miss Sam. He's such an interesting person.'

I looked over at the youth, "Tell me about yourself."

'Never, nevernevernevernevernever have I regretted such words.' I told myself.

We had long since left the forest for a wide, hilly meadow. The meadow was a stark contrast to the woods. Compared to the colorful greens and reds and yellows and earthy browns of the forest, the meadow was simply yellow and blue. Clouds had gone, and the air dried out. The only vegetation was a wide expanse of dry, golden weeds that wilted under the post-noon sky.

'Probably two o'clock'

We had also reached a road quite a while ago, but it was a dirt road and had no sign to indicate a location of sorts. So I was still as effectively lost as I was before. Moreover, for all the distance I could now see, I couldn't see a single housing complex. There were no apartment buildings in the distance. There were no buildings at all. I insisted that there had to be an asphalt road, to which Sam had only given me strange looks. 'The storm must have taken me further than I thought,' was the only thing I could tell myself.

The walking had lasted about an hour now, and I had begun to wonder what the heck drove the poor guy to walk an hour away from home to get a measly little rabbit. I never got to asking, though, and I had a feeling I never would.

The more pressing matter was the talking. Turned out that it really was one of his favorite things to do. Since I had asked him about himself, Sam had proceeded to tell me the story of his life. At first, his stories were somewhat interesting. He told me about why he went to the forest, and what he loved about being there. I tuned in and out of the conversation occasionally, mostly just nodding along.

Sam took a huge breath "And then…"

"Listen Sam, I would love to listen to the rest of your story, but you seem tired. I think you might need a break." I tried my best to sound concerned, 'More than that, I need a break.'

He frowned a bit at this, but conceded that he might be a bit tired. "Okay, but remind me to tell you about the part where I caught this huge snake." He stretched his arms out as if to indicate that it was larger than life, "It fed us for a whole day! But anyway, what about you? What do you like to do?"

I took a deep breath in through my nose and exhaled through my mouth. "Okay, I guess I could tell you about myself." At least I didn't have to hear another hunting story. Can't blame the kid for trying to be creative, though. He managed to come up with all sorts of make-believe animals, things like fox-people and dragons. Like I said, some of it was pretty entertaining.

"I like to swim and run competitively, at least I did when I was in high school. I play some games, lots of portable ones. I suppose that doesn't matter too much though. You see, I have a dream." At this, Sam perked up.

"A dream?" he squinted at me, "you don't look very sleepy."

"No," I laughed, "not that kind of dream. The kind of dream I have is a goal, a place where I want to be in the future. Anyway, my dream is to be an astronaut." I said wistfully, "In the future, space travel will probably have advanced with the use of lighter materials. More lucky people will be able to go to space, and I want to be one of them." I drifted off into a daze as I imagined being weightless among the stars.

"I don't think I will ever understand the things you talk about." Sam said, snapping me out of my reverie.

"Man, you can't say you've never heard of space travel!" I said, aghast, "Come on, tell me you've heard of Apollo Eleven, or the space race, or the USSR? Do you even know what country we're in right now?"

"Never heard of them," he dismissed, "And of course I know what country I'm in. I'm in Ylisse right now. I don't know what sort of kooky stuff you've been told, but I never heard of nonsense like space travel, or video games or bus stops." He swung the rabbit at me defensively. "Anyway, we're almost at my village, I bet ma can get you sorted out to go to Southtown after that."

"Alright. Whatever." This had been most of our walk. When he wasn't telling me something about the snakes and rabbits, I was pointing out the bits that didn't make any sense. Marth had only been the first example of this. Followed by mages, knights, Plegia, and now Ylisse. At this point, I had all but given up. 'If the kid has his way, we're in a play-through of Awakening' I mentally chuckled.

"Anyway, what's your dream, Sam? You've probably got some idea for what you want, even if it won't last."

It was Sam's turn to feel out of place. He furrowed his brow thoughtfully before he answered. "I think I want to be an artist. But I don't want to draw. I want to make sculptures, even though I've never made one before, I think it would be cool."

"I see." I flexed and made a silly pose, "how about sculpting me?"

Sam laughed. His laugh was light and lively, yet it seemed to shake his thin frame entirely as it came out. "I guess I could, but my dream will probably never happen. I'm too poor, and I live in a small farming village, so farming is probably all I will ever know. We're actually getting pretty close now."

I looked around.

"See?" he said, pointing into the distance, "that's where I live." About three miles ahead of us, in a small valley, was a small village. A couple houses scattered around it, with large growing fields next to them. Some of them had barns where I had no doubt some livestock was being kept.

All that said, I saw no electric lights. There were no tractors. No trucks. No metal silos. Even with my poor vision, I should have spotted these things.

Just dirt, shacks and farms.

'I suppose I should have expected as much, considering the way he acts.' I looked over at the boy, who obliviously walked along, gazing happily at what was no doubt his home.

I gazed ahead again and admired the view. Although it meant that I was farther away from home than I thought, it was nice to see a place untainted by technology. It was nature and man, something only romanticized in books and movies nowadays. The air may have been dry, the grass yellow and the ground dusty, but the place seemed to have its own beauty. I squinted as something briefly flashed in my eyes.

"Say, Sam," I probed cautiously, "is it only me, or is there something shiny there?" I pointed to a spot in the sky that sparkled briefly. It disappeared, and sparkled again. I probably never would have noticed it if the object hadn't been so shiny. Everything was a blur to me, after all. 'Please be an airplane, dammit.' I prayed silently. 'Some sign, any sign of technology.'

Sam squinted at the spot, bringing his hand up to shield his eyes from the afternoon sun. "Can't say I know what it is, but it looks like it's headed for the village. Let's check it out." He took off in a light jog, leaving a small trail of dust as his sandals kicked up small clumps of dirt.

I groaned. I had been walking barefoot for a good hour or so. One foot was wounded. "This" I ground out, "is not okay." I started to jog to catch up and for once, it wasn't difficult. My feet may have hurt, but my legs have gone through longer runs. I would just have to tough it out.

We ran side by side for a while, and covered the ground pretty quickly. I could feel my heart race. 'Chances are, if Sam hasn't been messing with me the whole time, he didn't know what an airplane or drone is.' I hoped with all my might, 'Chances are, that in an area like here, there's bound to be an Airforce testing base or something.'

I had never seen such sparse land before. All around, for miles, were nothing but empty land, save the village. The land was grassy and hilly, but there were no people. It was the perfect place to test new aviation equipment. If anything went wrong, nobody would get hurt, no forests would be damaged, no property would be lost. Leveling an airstrip would be a small price to pay for said benefits.

At the prospect of knowing my location, I experienced a kind of euphoria that made the time seem to fly by. And before I knew it, we were in the center of the village.

The village was made up of about twenty to fifty buildings, all formed around a circle in the center. It was nothing fancy; all the buildings were single-story. The main road was mostly just dirt and dust, as were the three subsidiary roads that branched from the circle. Along these tributary streets were another couple of buildings. The circle itself was a wide dirt ring with a stage in the center, no doubt for small public demonstrations held among the locals.

Entering the circle, Sam and I approached a small but growing crowd of people who stood before the stage-structure. They were all looking up, so we followed. I could feel my heart sink as I recognized the sparkle from before, accompanied by a set of large leathery wings and a long tail.

Before me, and everyone else present, was a large lizard with wings. A dragon. It flapped its wings and descended upon us. Four claw-talon-feet things settled down on the wooden platform, making gentle clacking noises.

It would be fair to say that my jaw was on the floor. This was no animatronic. No gears or springs operated this beast. Beneath the thick, scaly skin on its jaw, sinewy muscle flexed and stretched. On its belly was a series of small metal plates tied together into a sort of armor. The armor attached to a leather saddle that rested upon the dragon's back. And upon the leather saddle, was a man in a mail tunic, leather pants and boots, and a shiny metal helmet.

At this moment I realized three very crucial things. First: Sam was not the misplaced individual. Second: I was the misplaced individual. And third: I wasn't getting home anytime soon.

"We're not in Kansas anymore," I said dumbly under my breath as realization slammed into me like a truck. This meant so many things. I was wrong about so many things. 'God damn… how did this happen?"

The armored man scanned the small group before him. Looking for someone, or something. As he checked us, I checked him. On closer inspection, the armor both he and his mount wore were in disrepair. I could see faint blurs of brown and orange where the protective gear had rusted. The leather bindings for the armor had frayed badly in some parts, and fist sized holes were present in his chain mail.

I turned to Sam, "What kind of monster is that?" I whispered. My voice quivered, panic undisguised. I was scared, but I wasn't just going to do something to get me killed. 'Who knows? The big lizard might only eat prey that it has to chase. I read that snakes do something like that…' my mind was on overload.

He turned to me, his expression was serious, like the one he had when he was inspecting me. "I reckon that's a wyvern. Never seen one before. Ma told me stories about them though."

The man looked around him once more. Whatever it was he was searching for, he didn't find it. "I come in peace," were the first words to leave his mouth. "I cannot tell you why I am here, but I need some food and money. If you have any to spare, then you will give it to me." His tone indicated command. He stood on elevated ground, seated atop a twenty foot lizard. Like hell anyone would put up a fight with him. "Leave it on this platform within half the hour. If I am not satisfied when I return, there will be consequences."

I turned, once again, to Sam. He seemed to be doing all the explaining to me. 'Funny,' I thought, 'considering that I believed I would be the one explaining the essential things of my world.' I guess I miscalculated the situation. I just had to miscalculate on this many levels.

"Sam," I started, "who is this guy?" It didn't seem right that some guy could just come and demand what he wanted. He was like the ultimate douche.

Sam shook his head. "I don't know, but chances are, we'll have to do as he says. He's got one of them magic doohickeys on him." He nodded towards the man's waist, where a small tome was attached via a thin, red string.

'Chances are, if he's got a dragon, he's probably got magic too.' I nodded in mute agreement.

"I desire 10 fithes of grain, and all the money you have. Satisfy this, and you will all live." With that said, the mysterious rider clicked his heels, and flew off.

The crowd that had gathered around him began to disperse into the buildings. At first, I thought that they were simply ignoring the man's commands, and returning to their business. But that thought quickly dissolved when men and women began returning with handfuls of coins and sacks that no doubt carried the grain the man requested.

"Why can he just take what he needs? Don't you want to fight back?" None of this made any sense to me. There were so many of them, and one of him. It would only take one fatal hit from a lucky villager to take him out. Even with his magic, weapons and armor, the man on the wyvern stood no chance against the fifty or so villagers assembled before him.

Sam shook his head, looking at the ground. "The guy has magic. None of us stand a chance against that. We don't even have real weapons. We might have wanted to fight back, but after my pa and half the others died trying... Well, we can't lose the other half."

"Oh." This word was becoming my catchphrase. The people couldn't rise up. Not even against one measly soldier. "So this guy has been on you for a while?"

Sam shook his head again. "It's a different guy every time. Sometimes we see two guys in a week, sometimes nobody comes for a month, or a couple months. If a guy comes, it means he was passing by, and happened to notice us. Usually, we're so secluded that people don't see us, or are too far away to, but lately, more people have been coming, and they're all wyvern men too."

"So that means we should go get something too. If we hold out on the guy, we'll die, right?" Man, just when I thought I understood the kid, the world has to come and screw me over with dragons, and magic and all this kind of bullshit.

Sam sighed this time, "I thought you were the one that couldn't answer all the questions. No, my family doesn't have any money. Nobody protects our village because we aren't technically part of a kingdom. We're basically a border tribe. But this means that we can get by without coin; we trade furs and cloth or other stuff for what we need around here. Only a couple of folks have money, and even then, not much of it."

I sat down on the dirt where I was standing, and Sam followed. I stared forward at the empty stage in front of us. "Sam, you weren't kidding when you said that you don't know what a bus is." I had to know for sure.

"I was not."

"And you were serious when you said we were in Ylisse?"

"I was. Although we don't pay taxes. Our relationship with them is kind of strange…"

"I'm sorry Sam."

"What for?"

"I made fun of you and laughed at your stories. I didn't take you seriously. I didn't believe you. But I guess I was wrong." I felt shame build up inside of me. I was an asshole to him, and he had the patience to answer all my questions and console my fear.

Sam grinned. "Aw, what are you saying that for? No hard feelings, I guess you just got lost and don't know anything about the place. I never told you this, but I met a boy from the city once. He was going to another city to see his gran'ma. Well, this boy didn't understand a word I said about farms, and I didn't understand a word he said about the city. But that didn't make him mean or anything. We just came from different places, that's all."

I was smiling too now, "Sam, you sure you don't know what school is? Because that was a good way of putting it."

He scoffed. "Who says I need school to be smart? Anyway, putting together words is easy if you are smart."

I laughed. 'I really like this kid now. When did that happen?' I glanced at the dirt and an idea came to me. I began picking out stones from the dust. "So as soon as that guy gets what he wants he'll be gone?"

"Sure. People like him aren't too bad anyway. They take what they can carry and that's it. It's not like they're willing to search us for what little money we have anyway, and 10 fithes of grain isn't much anyway. It's not like they can hurt us either, because they might need us for food later if they pass by again. They really are only a small, but scary, annoyance."

"Hm." I had cleared the pebbles in an arc around me, and set about flattening the ground there. Just like that, some of my fears, not all of them, had vanished. "Do they normally come by horse or something? You said you've never seen a wyvern before."

"Yeah. Wyverns have been coming quite a bit, lately, but I only heard about them, since I was off in the woods or something when they came by."

"Ok. How's this?" I asked. I pointed to the patch of dirt before us. It was about the size of a small poster, and it was cleared of rocks and sloppily leveled. "Draw something for me."

I expected Sam to smile, but he didn't. He wouldn't even look me in the eye. "I've never had anybody see me draw. It's kind of embarrassing…"

I laughed again. "How are you ever going to pursue your dream if you won't let anybody see you do it? You can't become a successful artist that nobody knows about."

"I… I guess you're right." He leaned forward in the dirt and began drawing, face becoming serious once again. Using his finger to make depressions in the dirt, he slowly, yet decisively, moved his hands.

I watched patiently as he drew in the dirt. 'Twenty-four hours ago, I would have thought I was crazy. Twenty-four hours ago, I didn't believe in dragons. Twenty-four hours ago…'

Time passed, and before I knew it. The wyvern returned. I still had a lot of unanswered questions, both about the place and how I got there, but I decided it would be best if I simply enjoyed things for a moment before delving into that stuff. 'It can wait.'

I stared up as I heard the sound of the wyvern's roar. It shook the very Earth I stood on, and I shuddered for a moment, imagining what facing that thing would be like. As the dragon descended, a crowd gathered once again, drawn to the sound of its cry. The crowd this time was smaller, probably because nobody considered the prospect of danger.

When the dragon landed, the man dismounted and gathered up small sacks of grain that sat on the dirt in front of him. A couple measly copper coins sat in a small stack next to them. Sam and I sat and watched as he brought all of the goods and loaded them.

"I still don't like this guy." I muttered. Sam nodded in agreement.

After he had loaded everything onto the wyvern's saddle, and placed the coins in a pouch on his side, he turned to the gathered people. "I wish to thank you and apologize." He raised his left hand. "I wish to thank you for your generosity…"

'It's not like these people had a choice.'

"… And apologize for your destruction."

'… Wait, What?'

"You see, all of you have already witnessed my presence." He said calmly, "And I can't have anybody reveal that I was here. Better that people thought it was some brigand raid than that I was here." He raised his hands and started mumbling something.

'This is bad.'

A small pool of light was forming around the gauntlets of the wyvern rider. As this light gathered around him, he moved his hands to point toward a butcher shop with large meats hanging in the windows.

"Fire."

Upon his command, the pool suddenly gathered into a ball. The ball of light swirled momentarily before it shot out at the building, setting it aflame. There was no blast, no explosion. Only a burst of light, and then fire.

There was silence for a moment as the crowd failed to comprehend what had happened. It had all happened so quickly. One moment, he was about to leave, the next, he was shooting fireballs at people. After it had clicked, there was panic. The small number of people gathered screamed and fled. People who stayed inside poked their heads out of their doors and windows before joining. At the same time, the fire continued to spread.

Meanwhile, armored douchebag dismounted and began to chant, a little louder this time. He only had his left hand raised this time, drawing a single edged sword with the other. Another burst of light, and another building aflame. He began slashing and cutting at the people around him. In their confusion, they could not see what was coming, and fell. He was approaching us, and quickly too.

"Sam, we have to get out of here." I turned to Sam, who looked shocked and horrified, and I looked forward, but I was too late, he was upon us.

A rusty sword came forward in a stabbing motion meant to impale my gut.

"Watch out!" the youth dove from next to me, bringing me to the ground. I yelped in shock as the blade passed, but missed me. "Pretend you're dead." He whispered from on top of me. Sam had tackled me to the ground, leaving us both sprawled out uncomfortably.

'What? Why would that work?' The guy clearly missed me, and I was clearly still alive. There was no way he would simply walk away. I closed my eyes and braced for my death. But it didn't come.

Sam had been right… again. But for once, I was excited about it. Soon, the screams stopped and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the wyvern disembark. Shining armor glinting from atop.

I sat up immediately, "What? How did you know? Jesus, you sweat like a pig. It's all hot and sticky and… oh no."

I realized what had happened. Why the mage had walked away. I realized that Sam was not sweating, that he was bleeding. That he had been stabbed as he pushed me, and the mage had thought that two birds were killed with one stone. He rolled off my body weakly and moaned.

'Shitshitshitshitshit…'

I ripped my shirt off and pressed it against the dark red splotch below his armpit.

"I… I guess I'm a hero now…" Sam muttered dumbly.

"No, NO!" I shouted. "Why did you do that? Why, Sam? You barely know me. How could you do that to yourself? How am I going to live with this?" I was shouting now. "How am I going to live with this… Sam?

"George," he ignored me, "I'm sorry..." He was gasping for air, choking as blood filled his lungs. "You... Couldn't find home..." In his last moments, life burned brightly in his whole form, before it was abruptly whisked away. His body fell, limp in my arms.

"No." I whispered, "No, Sam. You're just a kid! Children don't die, not like this..." God, I was sobbing now. "Sam... Y-you still haven't t-told me about the snake you caught." But Sam wasn't listening. "Y-you told m-m-me that I h-had to know that one..."

"I want to be your friend, Sam."

Finally, the right words. They were too late.

His eyes were cold and dead, despite the warm glow of fire that reflected off of them. Blood trickled down the corners of his mouth, still open.

Still, something I had forgotten hours ago remained. In his right hand, clutched tightly, was the rabbit.

AN:

Okay, so that's the prologue! It feels really exciting to be finally posting this, especially after so much time spent planning. Anyway, please review it! I'm always trying to find new ways to improve my writing, but if anyone has any recommendations, then I will be sure to put it into consideration. I'll also probably rewrite this chapter as time goes on and I get a better feel for where this story is heading. Thanks for reading this far and I hope you enjoyed it!

AN:

A shout-out to my first two reviewers: Xelixion and NekoPantera! Thanks for the support, guys! Anyway, on to the story!

Ooookay. So that's that chapter. Kind of ended sadly. I know what you're all thinking: Why did I have Sam enter and die in the same chapter? Well… that's going to set my character up for what he's going to do in the future. (Hopefully) something creative.

Also, I'm posting this sort of late at night, so any uber dumb things I did will hopefully be corrected as I continue revising the story. Don't worry, all minor things… hopefully. I don't plan on rewriting the whole chapter. Actually, I'll promise this much: If I am making changes to a story or chapter, I'll probably make them small unless the problem is super huge.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading this far! I hope you all enjoyed it, and please review it so I can improve! Next chapter, things will finally start cranking and we'll be meeting some REAL characters! I know, it's so exciting!

A shout-out to my first two reviewers: Xelixion and NekoPantera! Thanks for the support, guys! Anyway, on to the story!

EDIT: So, I kept the old notes… not sure why. But I decided to combine these two chapters because its been bothering me that the chapter numbers don't line up with the numbers that gives them. I'm a little weird like that…