Hello Everyone! Here's the story before Imperial Flames! (See? I told ya'll I had a story to lead up to it!)
A/N: Sorry about the long update. Decided to revise some aspects of the story as well as change the rating. I hope y'all like it!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING FROM THE FIRE EMBLEM SERIES ONLY MY OWN OC'S.
Prologue I: Vespa Patrol
Location: Village of Vespa, Kingdom of Caiber
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The sensation that he was swimming felt odd. He knew the village of Vespa was no where near any of the major streams or rivers in Caiber. Suddenly, a cold chill went up his spine and, like magic, Albert Stahl's eyes shot wide open and he leapt from his bed and headbutted the wooden bucket that had just emptied it's contents all over him and his bed.
As soon as Albert's senses focused, he saw, and heard, Felix Aricson, his best friend, hooting and laughing right there in the doorway, holding the rope that was strung to the aforementioned bucket. He had started laughing when Albert had come awake and leapt from the bed and then looked at his best friend.
"Well sleeping beauty, you awake now?"
Albert responded by growling and throwing a nearby goblet at his friend. Felix laughed again and ducked, the goblet sailing over his head and a moment later a metalic clang followed by a startled curse echoed up the stairs. Felix scratched his chin and looked back at Albert, eyes filled with mirth.
"Accuracy could use some work; still though, at least a 'C' for knocking Georgie's helm off his head."
By this time Albert was now awake (whether he liked it or not). He pulled on his boots and tightened the belts on his leather cuirass. Reaching down, he grabbed the scabbard of his iron sword and fastened it. Now dressed and equipped for the day, he stepped out of his room in the inn and walked down the steps.
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When Albert reached the bottom of the steps, he looked in the dining hall and found his other squadmates in the Vespa Militia. First of course there was Felix, who was still looking rather pleased with himself after this morning's stunt, his blue eyes still twinkling with mischief. Felix was a young man in his early twenties and the youngest son of the village horse breeder. He wasn't going to amount to much in his father's expectations, having no interest in horses other than riding them from place top place and constantly getting into fights with his older brothers.
When he had joined the militia, his father had disowned him and told the commander that Felix was his problem now; the commander had then promptly (and in many people's eyes, rightfully) knocked the horse breeder flat on his rear, minus a few teeth. He stood six foot even, broad muscles from his years swinging heavy axes around as both a lumberjack and a militiaman. He was dressed plainly for the day, a leather curaiss covering his worn and ragged blue shirt, worn brown trousers, and his old black leather boots. His pitch black hair sticking out at odd angles denoting he had only been awake slightly longer than Albert.
Seated next to him was the archer of the squad, Callen Moss, often enough called 'Cal'. Cal was what most would call the 'black sheep' of the Moss family. While most of the family were horsemen of some renown, Cal couldn't ride a horse properly to save his life. His attempts to ride often had unpredictable (and hilarious) ends. Most notable was the time a horse threw him and he crashed through the door to the inn's outhouse and landed head first in the privvy. This was just after Felix had gotten out after regretting pigging out during the inn's 'Ten Bean Spectacular Dinner'.
Needless to say Cal's normally flame red hair was died brown for a few days and the entire village kept a minimum of sixty paces from him and avoided standing downwind of him for just as long. Also unlike the rest of his family, he was thin and wiry. He could outrun anyone in the village and was also the deadliest bowman in the woods.
Next to Cal sat his big brother, George Moss, who was busy trying to remove a small dent from his helm and scowling at both Felix and Albert. George was by no means a harsh man. In his late twenties he was actually called by many the 'Gentle Giant'. George stood seven foot six and his body was built like a brick wall. He was also considered to be one of the best looking men in the militia, his brown eyes matched his hair which he kept cropped short so it wouldn't catch in his helm. Despite this, he tended to be somewhat aloof when women spoke to him.
Unlike his brother, who was the worst horseman in the village, George was one of the best. He had often dreamed of leaving Vespa and heading for Castle Vaile to recieve knight's training, however, the loss of his father had all but stopped those plans cold. His lance work was what had secured his place in the militia.
The last member of the squad was the only woman in the squad, Kate Alwinn, the only other sword user in the squad aside from him. She was the only daughter of the mayor of Vespa. Her lithe body concealed a will of iron and a held a strength equal to that of steel. The death of her mother at the hands of bandits was the driving force behind her learning the ways of the sword. Revenge against the bandits was one reason, the other was so that she wasn't defenseless should the same party of bandits return one day. Her long golden hair covered one of her green eyes, the other eye was somewhat unfocused, showing that she, like Felix and Albert, was still plagued by sleep.
Her sword was nearby on the weapon rack, as were the others. George's spear was resting by the wall alongside Felix's axe and Cal's bow. When Albert stepped in the hall, Kate looked up at him and smiled.
"Well Al, looks like Felix finally got you up huh? I told him it would take more than one bucket of water to wake you up. Looks like I was wrong." She reached into the coin purse at her belt and handed Felix five coins from it, to which Felix's smile got wider.
Albert chuckled at the fact he was the subject of a bet and sat down at the table and grabbed two of the still warm biscuits and began to help himself to what breakfast was left over. As he began to eat, he turned to Felix.
"So, what does the Captain have for us to do today, more patrols?" Felix looked down at his drink and nodded.
"We are to patrol along the valley today alongside Max and Aban's squads. We get the roads thanks to George being a Cavalier, Max gets the riverbank, and Aban gets the hunting trails. To be honest, I don't know the reason for all these patrols. I mean, seriously, Vespa is out in the middle of the Caiber Forest, we border the Hyras Desert to the west and the more 'civilized lands' to the east. We are far from the borders with the Chronos Empire with all their troubles and rebellions, and we are far from Castle Vaile and those scheming councilors, nobles and their ilk. Who would attack us out here, and what for? Trees? Dirt? Manure? Face it, as militia, we will be stuck here performing patrols until we are all grey and wrinkled."
"If you have something to say about my ordering your patrols Felix, all you have to do is say so and I'll put you on grave detail at the old cemetary."
Everyone turned to see the commander of the militia, Captain Vesper Santon. He was a mountain of a man that made even George look small, and was trained in the art of the sword and axe. He had come to Vespa some twenty years ago and was a complete enigma.
According to one story, he had been a hero in some foreign war, in another, a warrior wrongly accused of some great crime. The most popular, yet outlandish story was that he had once been one of the Knights Vanguard in the Knightdom of Gawain, and a general in the Knightdom's Armies. It was this story that most of the children and young men in the village chose to believe. The militia also chose to believe this story for, true or false, it didn't change the fact that time and time again Vesper had proven himself in patrols and battle against both the animals in the wild and the occasional bandit that thought to invade.
Upon seeing their Captain, Felix paled and began stammering. He stopped when Vesper raised his hand.
"You are right about one thing though, it has been too long since I sent a patrol out into the woods. Albert, you and your Rangers will be reassigned for today, as you know three of Brock's squad are down with colds, the damn result of that 'cold water sobering' technique of his. You know the one where he ducks the drunkards heads into tubs of cold water several times? Anyway, I'm sending Gordon with you and your squad and he will be patrolling the western forest. Here, look on the map here. This will be your squads first time patrolling the western forest close to the desert. If all goes well, this patrol will only last a few days. As a precaution, because we've recently had bandits sighted in that area, I'll be sending Miles' squad with you as well. Now unless Felix has any objections about this patrol route, finish your breakfasts and equip yourselves accordingly. Oh and by the way, Albert, before you do anything else, it has reached my ears that Felix has been slacking off in his training. I want you and George to head for the practice field and put him through his paces. See if he's as sharp as he always says he is." Felix groaned, while Albert nodded and George grinned wickedly at Felix. As he turned to leave, Vesper caught himself and turned back.
"Also, Albert, I want you to undergo some training as well. I want to see how your arm has healed up after that drunken bull riding idea of Felix's." Felix chuckled remembering the event while again Albert nodded.
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As the group,including Vesper, stepped out to the field, Vesper grabbed the practice weapons: a sword, a lance, and an axe. The axe he tossed to Felix, the lance to George, and to Albert, the sword. He turned to Felix.
"Alright Felix, you and George go first. Standard training rules: As in combat, anything goes. To 'kill' your opponent you must first score two 'wounding blows' then one 'killing' blow. Three strikes. Let's see if Felix can pull it off."
Felix dropped into his fighting stance as did George. Felix smirked.
"Nice to see you get off your high horse and fight on the ground for a change, don't worry Georgie, I'll go easy on ya." George chuckled.
"Remember Felix, never underestimate your opponent, you just might get a nasty surprise. Now, have at thee!"
Felix charged at the dismounted cavalier, axe raised. George laughed and easily sidestepped the clumsy swing. He spun the lance around and struck Felix in the chest with the haft of the weapon, winding him. George laughed and spun around cracking Felix over the head with the sackcloth wrapped 'head' of the lance, knocking Felix face first into the mud and then tapped him on the back with the weapon as Vesper called to hold.
As Felix got up and wiped himself off, George rested on the lance, looked at the beaten fighter, and chuckled lightly.
"Oh yes, I can certainly see the results of your type of training. Would you like to go again or will you stay there wallowing in your pain and pride?"
Without warning, Felix roared and charged George again, launching into a flurry of blows. George, momentarily surprised, was able to block most of the blows, however, two of the wild strikes got through. The first knocked the lance aside, the second was only a glancing blow, but it turned George's helmet halfway around his head, partilly blinding him.
George tried to counter, however, Felix easily dodged and cracked him on the back with the wooden practice axe. George held up a hand signalling he yielded. Felix counted his blows, realized he'd landed the two training blows and the final 'killing' blow. Smiling, he turned to face Albert.
"Got anything smart to say to me Al?" Albert shrugged.
"Why waste breath when it's your actions the commander wants to see? Besides, I'm the one the commander wants to see. Ready yourself!"
With a flourish, Albert readied his practice sword. Likewise flourishing, Felix readied his axe. They stood a few paces from each other staring each other down. With a yell, Felix rushed Albert. Albert blocked the downward strike and parried, striking Relix across the ribs. Spun to dodged another strike from Felix and struck him again across the back.
"One more hit and you are defeated." Felix smirked.
"Good thing I'm just getting warmed up."
Felix brought the axe down over Albert's head. Albert quickly blocked the blow by getting his sword under the head of the axe and flipped the axe away. Albert was just in time to see Felix headbutt him, knocking him back.
Albert struggled to keep his balance, however, he was on the ground and at Felix's mercy. Rule one of combat was never get knocked to the ground. Albert kicked at Felix and rolled away and stood up.
Readying his sword again, Albert feinted left and then rolled right, catching Felix by complete surprise. The sword came down and stopped just a hair from Felix's neck. Albert smiled.
"Dead."
"Damn, oh well, sword beats axe as the lessons go, eh?"
Albert turned to the Captain and rested on the practice sword.
"Was Felix's performance up to your expectations sir?" Vesper nodded.
"Indeed, my fears are abated, at least about his combat skills. I still will not allow him next to my daughter however. I have also seen enough to feel confident about restoring you to the combat roster. Now that this is out of the way, gentlemen, and lady, head for the smithy and get your equipment. Especially you Albert, I've heard your sword is about due for some repairs."
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Albert looked over the condition of his sword. True, the iron sword was still in good condition, however, due to his intense practice sessions with Felix and George before his injury, the blade had developed several nicks in it. He felt uneasy looking down the length of iron. He finally decided to head for the smithy before he did anything else. When he arrived at the smithy, he saw Felix there as well. The smith, John, was red-faced from yelling at Felix and telling him (again) that his axe is not a hammer or something to use like a hammer. When Albert spoke up, John turned to him and immediately went back to his jovial self.
"Albert my lad, what can ol' John do for ye today?"
Albert drew his sword and laid it on the counter. John nodded and carefully examined the blade.
"Need a new sword eh? I'm not surprised considering how much training you're puttin' in over at the barracks these days. You know, I think what you need is not one sword but two. A primary blade and a secondary. Do you know how to wield knives? Daggers? Short swords?"
Albert shook his head for the knives and daggers, but he did know a few things about a short sword. After all, a short sword is just like a sword only slighly smaller for tighter spaces. John looked through the weapons and smiled.
"Here ya go. I know the militia pays you next week so consider this bought in good faith."
John presented Albert with a belt with two scabbards on it. One was for a longsword and the other was for a short sword. He saw that John had given him a Steel Sword and an Iron Short Sword.
"John, I can't take this, it's too much." The old smith harrumphed loudly.
"Trust me lad, I was in the militia in my younger years. The Western Woods and the Desert Trail are nothing to sneeze at. I'd send you off with more, but I've only got limited supplies of steel and iron to work with, and bronze won't do you much good out there anyway. Unlike this knucklehead who I have half a mind to sell him several Bronze Axes so that he doesn't destroy another of my iron or, Naga forbid, one of my Steel Axes."
Albert laughed at this, then nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure Felix uses the correct side of a Steel Axe on anything we come across." John mock sighed and relented.
"Alright, but if I catch one dent or nick, O-N-E, I'll use that axe to skin him alive then salt him."
Albert began laughing, much to Felix's chagrin. As he turned to leave, George walked in alongside Gordon. The smith smiled and nodded.
"Ah, Gordon, good. I was just about to send one of my boys after ya. Your order came in: one Silver Lance and one quiver of Short Spears. Also I fixed that nasty hole in your shield. The next time you think about picking a fight with a bear, don't. And George, I've got your new Steel Lance here and your Javelins ready as well. Oh and here while I'm thinking about it, give this bow to your brother and this sword to Kate. I have a feeling you're going to need them."
Albert gawked when he saw the weapons: a Killer Bow and a Killing Edge. Both were normally expensive weapons yet here was John just handing them out left and right. None the less, Albert walked over and took the bow and sword and handed them to George, who then left the smithy and went to the barracks where, no doubt, Cal and Kate were there cleaning their equipment.
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Albert and Gordon were waiting at the village gate for the rest of the squad. It was almost eleven by the sun dial next to the gate. Gordon's horse, Thunder, was pawing the ground, obviously sharing his rider's anxiety to be gone on patrol, no surprise as both horse and rider were known to be jittery when they weren't doing anything. Albert's horse, Queen, was a little more calm. Normally patrols didn't have horses along with them, however, since this was going to be a long patrol, they would be needing horses to cover the great distances they would travel.
Gordon, being the typical Paladin, was armored head to toe in his plate armor. Albert, being of a more 'travel light' mind only had an iron curaiss, his leather leggings, boots, and gloves, and a small iron sallet helm.
A few moments later, the others arrived. George atop his horse Blanchard, armed and armored in the half-plate armor preferred by cavaliers in the militia. Felix in his leather armor atop Ross, Kate and her horse Pit, and Cal more clutching than sitting in Lina's saddle. After a few more minutes, Miles' men also showed up. Albert nodded to Miles who rode up beside him.
Miles was the only knight in the militia. He wore a suit of plate armor and hefted a lance with ease. With him was Augustus, another cavalier who was well trained with both sword and lance, Daniel, one of the only two mages in the village, and finally Tonaar, one of the few considered 'rank and file' soldiers in the militia. Albert spoke to each of them in turn before Miles unfolded the map.
"So let me get the patrol route straight, my squad will cover the Northern Route, your squad will cover the Southern Route. At the Desert's edge, we'll meet up, join numbers and come back through the Center Route. Did I forget anything?"
Albert shook his head once and turned to his squad.
"Alright, you all heard the plan. Goerge, you and Gordon will ride forward, Kate, you and me will ride in the center on either side of Cal, Felix, you cover the rear. Okay everyone, take a look home, we won't be seeing it for a few days."
Everyone turned back and said a silent farewell to Vespa, turned their horses and started off together along the road out west.
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Okay everyone, Prologue I is up and complete. Hope you all like it. As always reviews are welcome!
OC'S in this chapter:
Albert Stahl: Journeyman: Level: 5. Sword Skill: 'C'. Equipment: Steel Sword, Iron Short Sword, Vulnerary.
The leader of the Vespa Militia 3rd Squad.
Felix Aricson: Fighter: Level: 5. Axe Skill: 'C'. Equipment: Steel Axe, Iron Axe, Vulnerary.
Albert's best friend and foster brother. The youngest son of Vespa's horse breeder, his joining the militia was only because he had no other option. His being assigned to Albert's squad was the commander's doing to keep the peace.
Kate Alwinn: Myrmidon: Level: 5. Sword Skill: 'C'. Equipment: Killing Edge, Iron Sword, Vulnerary.
The daughter of the Mayor of Vespa. Despite her father's wishes she joined the militia and took up a sword in order to prevent what happened to her mother from happening to anyone else. Trained alongside Albert, though uses a completely different sword style.
Callen 'Cal' Moss: Archer: Level: 5. Bow Skill: 'C'. Equipment: Killer Bow, Iron Bow, Vulnerary.
The youngest of the two Moss brothers. From an early age, Cal showed to have exceptional sight, able to bag a deer or boar with a bow and arrow at long distances. With a quick wit and a sharp tongue, he is as quick to leap to someone's rescue as he is to shoot an arrow at a bandit's head. Despite this, he is an atrocious horseman.
George Moss: Cavalier: Level: 5. Lance Skill: 'C'. Equipment: Steel Lance, Javelins, Vulnerary.
The oldest of the two Moss brothers. George has a reputation for being one of the best horsemen in the village and his skill in the saddle and with the lance proves it. He's always shielded his little brother from all threats be they wild animal or crazed bandit. Tends to be somewhat aloof when it comes to women.
Gordon Falson: Paladin: Level: 1. Lance Skill: 'B' Sword Skill: 'C'. Equipment: Silver Lance, Steel Sword, Short Spears, Vulnerary.
A veteran Paladin of the Royal Army and an old friend of Vesper Stanton. He has a reputation for being stoic and calm under any circumstances, yet he does not like to be kept waiting. His war-horse, Thunder, is of the exact same mindset, pawing the ground restlessly whenever he knows his rider is supposed to be somewhere else.
Vesper Stanton: Vanguard: Level: 12. Sword Skill: 'S', Axe Skill: 'A'.
A wanderer from the Knighdom of Gawain. While nothing is known about his past, none can say he is not honorable. He was the man who improved the training and the conditions of the militia. He personally trained Albert, Kate, and Felix on how to use their weapons properly.
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Classes Listed in Chapter:
(This is for those of you who do not know the classes in Fire Emblem.)
Journeyman: A commoner who has been trained in the ways of the sword in the hopes of living a life of adventure. Average stats but quick to learn. Uses swords. Tier 1 class.
Fighter: A soldier or thug who dedicates their lives to fighting with axes. High attack power, but low defence. Uses axes. Tier 1 class.
Myrmidon: A warrior who has devoted their lives to learning the ways of the sword. High attack power, speed, and skill. Uses swords. Tier 1 class.
Archer: Soldiers who use bows to rain death on the battlefield. High attack and skill but low defence and can only attack at range. Uses bows. Tier 1 class.
Cavalier: Mounted knights who can use a variety of weapons. High attack, physical defence, and mobility but no magic resistance. Can use any combination of swords, lances, axes, or bows. Most tend to use the sword and lance combination. Tier 1 class.
Paladin: Veteran Cavaliers who devote themselves to the pursuit of honor and chivalry. They have extraordinarily high attack and defence, mobility, and moderate magical resistance. Can use any combination of swords, lances, axes, and bows. (sword and bow, sword and lance, sword and axe, lance and axe, etc.) Tier 2 class.
Vanguard: Heroes who have performed legendary feats and risen to legendary status in the eyes of the commoners and nobles alike. High attack, defence, skill, and magic resistance. Uses swords and axes. Tier 3 class.
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Okay everyone, the newly modified Prologue Part 1 is up. Hope you all like it. As always reviews, favs, and follows are welcome!