Something that has been on my mind for a while, I'm a new writer so feel free to give me feedback.
"What is going on here?"
I remembered coming home after a day of work and heading right to bed. So why does it feel like my room is so bright and why is it so hot? Opening my eyes, my vision was a little blurry at first, but after I got my bearings I glanced around.
"This is definitely not my bed nor my room. Where am I exactly?"
Looking around, my back was up against a dead tree surrounded by sand on all sides.
"This must be a dream…" I muttered quietly.
Suddenly, I heard a loud growl nearby, quickly standing up, I saw what looked to be a wolf glaring at me with a hungry gaze. It must have snuck up on me when I wasn't looking. Frozen for a second, the wolf just stared at me before charging right at me. I tried jumping to the side, but immediately felt a sharp pain on my arm and saw a trickle of blood.
"Alright this is not a dream. That scratch actually hurt and this wolf is out to get me, I need to do something about this."
Looking at the wolf again, I tried to weigh my options. Looking at what I have on me, a wallet and a small pocket knife were all that I had on me. Although I am in decent shape, I don't know if I can handle fighting against a wolf, but at the very least I can defend myself with this.
The wolf seemed to smirk at the knife I pulled out, most likely thinking that I was easy prey. It charged at me again and I tried swiping once, but I missed by a mile and the wolf was rewarded with another cut to my side this time.
"Shit this isn't working, the wolf is way to fast for me to hit normally. I need to find a way to distract him and get a good hit in."
As if noticing my inner turmoil, the wolf was quick to go in again. I stuck out my arm to defend myself and the wolf was happy to oblige by biting into it. I yelled out from pain, but seeing the wolf stuck to my arm, I saw my moment and rammed my knife right into the wolf's eye. It howled in pain, but I pulled out the knife and continued to stab the wolf until it stopped moving. I gasped in pain as I pried my arm away from the wolf's jaws.
"Well that could have gone better, but at least I'm still alive."
While thinking to myself, I heard a noise in the distance, it sounded like a pair of footsteps. Looking around, I saw two men running over the dunes.
"Hey boy are you alright?" a voice yelled over the distance.
I can only raise my good arm tiredly and sat back down, tired from the earlier events.
Once they were a bit closer, I got a better look at the two men. The one who called earlier, was an older looking man sporting a tunic and short pants. The man next to him definitely looked like a fighter, he had his hand on a sheathed sword and had armor covering his chest and arms.
"These two are dressed kind of strangely, did I end up near a convention or something?"
"What happened to you lad?" The older man said while glancing at the wolf and my bloodied arm.
"I am not sure exactly, I went to sleep last night and suddenly woke up here so I am not exactly sure what is going on. I just got attacked by the wolf and had to defend myself." I said, pointing to the wolf and my knife.
"You look like you got put through the wringer kid," the fighter stretched his hand out to help me up. "The name is Gerald, I happened to be helping this old geezer get his merchandise to the next village." The man laughed loudly.
"Old Geezer! I'll have you know that the great merchant Merlinus, not some bumbling old geezer." Merlinus spouted off.
"Sure sure, whatever you say boss. Let's get you patched up kid, I have an extra vulnerary you can use here" Gerald exclaimed while pulling out what looked like a water pouch.
"Vulnenary? That sounds familiar. Wait, it can't be possible right?"
"Thanks." I took the pouch gratefully and drank it. It was a pretty bitter, but I felt my arm getting better and saw that the scratches from earlier were gone with the exception of a small line indicating they were ever there. "If you don't mind me asking, but where am I exactly?" I asked, hoping that they weren't going to say what I think they were.
"The heat must have gotten to you lad, but that's understandable. We are currently on route to the village of Obum near the outskirts of Plegia." Merlinus explained. "If you would like, we are already on the way to the village and we can take you along with us so that you can get your bearings straight my boy."
"So, it is true, I seemed to have been transported into the Fire Emblem world..."
"I would appreciate that if you two don't mind" I smiled. Based on Merlinus's statement, it looked liked this was the world of Awakening. Hopefully I will be able to get some more information on where I am exactly in regards to the timeline and work from there.
"Shouldn't be a problem kid, but before we head out, I don't think we caught your name. Probably don't want us calling you kid the whole trip there hahaha!" Gerald said while patting my shoulder.
"My name… these two look trustworthy and it should be fine to give them my real name."
"My name is Terry, it is nice to meet you two, I probably would have been lost out here without your help." I said, scratching my head.
"No worries, my boy, let us be off then!" Merlinus exclaimed while walking back over the dune.
Following them, I saw that there was a large cart already set to the side along a wide road.
"You mean I was literally a dune away from the main road? Talk about good luck I guess."
Sitting in the cart, I mulled over what my plan should be. I had no idea where I am in regards to the actual storyline, but since this is Plegia, I can probably get a good idea of their relations with Ylisse and work from there. While thinking, my thoughts were broken by a gruff voice to my side.
"By the way Terry, I noticed that you did not look like a Plegian nor like the Ylisseans across the border. Are you from Ferox maybe?" Gerald asked while walking beside the cart.
"What should I say here, I don't think I can fit in as a Feroxi warrior…"
"I am not entirely sure, since I was originally an orphan but I heard that my parents were from Valm." I said, lying through my teeth.
"Oh, Valm huh…" Gerald said while rubbing his chin. "I heard that the Valmese warriors were a fierce bunch. "From the looks of that wolf earlier, you looked like you have some good wits about you, I know a person in Obum that could give you a few pointers. Can't let that possible talent go to waste Terry."
"Uh I don't know about that, I only have a little bit of training with a knife as self-defense but have never really been trained for combat." I said.
"Nonsense my boy, it is never a problem to have more training, especially with these troubling times ahead of us." Merlinus exclaimed.
"Troubling times?"
"Yes, it seems that a new king of Plegia has recently been announced, they call him Gangrel. I have not heard much about him, but they say he rose through the ranks quickly through cold-hearted treachery and brutality. I fear that there are dark times ahead for Plegia if he is the one who will lead this country." Merlinus stated solemnly.
"Aye, although the man may be a good fighter, his heart is as black as the Plegian nights and not nearly as calming." Gerald said, scratching his head in thought.
"So Gangrel just became king, the game never really talked about when the man himself began to lead Plegia, but at the very least, there must still be some time before the main storyline begins then."
"If that is the case, maybe I should try to keep myself well trained for the future then." I noted. Glancing to Merlinus, it seemed that he was pleased with my decision and Gerald simply laughed.
Once we reached the village, Merlinus stated that he had to meet with the local merchants in order to stock up and move his wares. Glancing around, although they called it a village, Obum looked to be a decently sized town with various people walking along the main roadway. Gerald sitting next to me patted my shoulder and said to meet him at the pub once I finished any tasks I wanted to get done. I appreciated the gesture and waved him off as he melded into the crowd.
"I guess the first order of business would be possibly trying to gather some more information about the state of Plegia from the townsfolk"
I asked around, but for the most part, the gossip seemed to be focused on the new king and his affiliation with the Grimleal and the following of Grima.
"Aye, the new king looks and acts like a dastard, but if he gets the job done, so be it." An old man noted while sitting in front of his store. "He promised us a way to improve the funds of Plegia and boost our stifled trade" A nearby merchant stated. "As long as he doesn't enforce the ways of Grima on us, I don't mind him either way." A young man said while playing with his children.
For the most part, it seemed that the citizens of Obum were lukewarm to the new king but didn't know enough to say otherwise. Shrugging in though, I guess the next order of business would be getting some new clothing to fit in better and possibly consider a weapon. Visiting one of the nearby weapon stores, I noticed that they seemed to be organized based on quality of the weaponry, with the real cheap ones being tossed in barrels with the handles sticking out.
"Anything that you are looking for lad?" asked a large man sitting behind the counter. He certainly looked like the owner, bulging with muscles and his head shining from the lack of hair.
Thinking on his question, I need to consider what I was looking for exactly. Although I lied a bit to Gerald about my history, it was the truth when I said I had a little bit of knife training. Maybe something to supplement that style of fighting.
"Yes, I recently came in with a merchant earlier today and was told that I might want to arm myself a little bit better. He gave me some funds to work with and I was hoping I could get some advice on weapons that could go well with daggers or short swords." I stated, pointing towards the small knife I currently had.
"Hm, that is a pretty dinky knife you got there, better fit for a thief rather than a warrior. I have a good selection of daggers you may use along with some short swords as well. Feel free to look through my wares and find something that meets your fancy." The man grunted.
"Alright thank you." Glancing around, I saw there were quite a few daggers, some ranging from 100 gold all the way up to 3000 gold. Merlinus only gave me a budget of 500 gold so it wasn't much to work with. In the end, I decided to purchase a bronze dagger and sword.
"These two weapons add up to a little more than 500 gold lad, but since you seemed to be a fresh fighter, I can give you a discount." The man stated. I appreciated the kind gesture and nodded to him while he rung up the weapons. "Make sure to come back alive boy, Hagel always enjoys repeat customers!" The man yelled loudly.
Shifting a bit to get used to my new weapons, I decided to make my way to the pub Gerald mentioned earlier. I didn't get any new clothing, but I can probably make due with what I have in the meantime. Walking in, I noticed that Gerald was talking with woman who dressed similarly to Gerald.
"Terry, come over here, this is the person I wanted you to talk with!" Gerald shouted while swinging a pitcher of beer. I walked over and greeted Gerald and looked over towards his companion. "Her name is Mina, she is a mercenary that takes a decent number of jobs from Obum and the surrounding villages. I explained your circumstances with her and she was willing to give you some tips on fighting and defending yourself." Gerald stated.
"Hello Terry, Gerald told me about your struggle with the wolf and how you wanted to be a better fighter. I don't really fancy myself a teacher, but I can help you get your feet off the ground at least." Mina said, extending her hand out to me.
"I would appreciate that, thanks." I shook her hand and set myself down at the table.
"Terry, I noticed that you have both a dagger and a sword strapped to your waist there. Were you possibly interested in wielding both of them?" Mina asked, eyebrow raised at the weapons I held.
"I guess it does look strange that I have both weapons strapped to my side here"
"I didn't have that particularly in mind, but I was considering looking for a style that complemented my dagger training." I stated sheepishly rubbing my head.
"That's alright, I actually remember some Valmese warriors have had proficiency in using two blades so this may fit more with your heritage and innate style of fighting. From what I heard, it seems that Gerald and Merlinus will be heading out soon, but I can impart a good training regimen that I learned from some Valmese mercenaries I met a while ago and you can develop your own style from there." Mina explained.
"Gerald, you're leaving with Merlinus?" I asked glancing over to the man hunched over his beer.
"Aye, Obum is not the only village we have to go to, but this city is a good hub for work and trade, so I think it would do you well to learn from Mina here." Gerald stated while drinking from his mug.
"Alright, I'll learn what I can from Mina, thank you for helping me out Gerald and let Merlinus know I appreciated it as well." I nodded
"That I will Terry, I'll make sure to come visit you in my free time." Gerald mumbled. It looked like he was about to go to sleep with the way his face looked.
"Don't worry Terry, after my training is done, you'll be more than a good enough fighter." Mina said, her eyes glinting with what I can only assume was excitement.
"What did I get myself into."
6 months later
It has been a few months since Mina had left on her journey through Plegia and a few months since she left me with some parting notes to continue my training. Although I appreciated the opportunity to learn from a established mercenary, phantom aches and pains along with the scars I had along my arms and legs only made me shudder thinking about the hell she put me through.
"So why exactly am I doing this again?" I said glancing at the pack of wolves looking at me.
"Terry, you have been training for a month on this sword and dagger style, one of the biggest difficulties with this style is being able to fight multiple opponents at once. I hope that you'll be able to improve your instincts and know when danger is coming at you fast and hard. Learn how to disengage and prioritize the biggest threats." Mina stated calmly. "Anyways, I'll come in before you get hurt…too badly anyways.
"Wait repeat that last part again!?" I yelled before the surrounding wolves pounced on me.
Although the lessons I learned were invaluable, the methods left much to be desired.
Since Mina had left, I have basically been doing odd jobs from the citizens of Obum working as either a hunter or a delivery boy between villages. For the most part, I have been able to keep a steady income and even have my own place to live on the outskirts of the town. At the moment I was currently on a delivery to the village of Fastille along the border.
However, while I was running, I heard sounds of combat and what sounded like yelling off the side of the road.
"What could be going on over there. I should probably take a look and see what's happening."
Looking over the dunes, I was shocked to see that there seemed to be two groups fighting amongst each other. Both sides seemed to be wearing what appeared to be the standard black and purple robes of grimleal priests however, among them, there seemed to be a few wearing robes that showed themselves as high ranking members as shown with the more intricate clothing. Moving in closer I tried to listen in on what exactly was happening. Although it seemed evenly matched at first, one group was definitely beginning to lose ground if the number of bodies lying in the sands was anything to go by.
"Lady Roseanne! You need to escape while we hold them off!" One of the robed men yelled. Right as he said that though, a blast of dark magic caught him in the chest. He fell down screaming before he was silenced by another blast.
"That is impossible, we almost made it to the border, we can't let our struggles end here…" The woman who I assumed was their leader said while looking around as her fellow brethren were struck down.
"Give up traitorous scum! You will return what is rightfully ours and suffer for eternity under the watchful eyes of Grima!" One of the men shouted across the sands.
"Seems one group is definitely more antagonizing than the other. Is there something I can do here…" Looking over, the one who shouted earlier looked to be the leader of this group of grimleal priests. He seems to have isolated himself and sent all his men out, assured of his victory. I made my way around the battlefield hastily, keeping note on the position of the leader. Looking over the dune, I saw that the woman was trying her hardest to defend herself against the few grimleal that were able to reach her. "She seemed to be more than capable of handling multiple fighters, but why is she only using one arm to fight?"
"Welp, this is the best plan I got I guess." I jumped off the dune and was right over the head of the enemy priest. By the time the priest noticed there was something amiss, I was already on top of him with my blade digging deep into his shoulders and into his chest.
"What… Grima why…" The man tried turning around, but I quickly pulled my blade out and spun around to silence him. The surrounding priests were shocked, but I couldn't waste time. I immediately threw my dagger at another priest, catching him in chest. Before he could even yell for help I was on him, ripping the dagger from him and cleaving him with my sword.
"Kill Him!" One of the priests shouted. Several of them turned around the deal with me but were met with opposing fire from the woman on the other side. With the group pincered and without the guidance of their leader, the enemy grimleal were not able to organize their efforts and I was able to cut them down with the support of the allied grimleal priestess.
With the adrenaline gone from my veins, I looked around at all the bodies laying in the sands, I felt nauseous thinking about it.
"That was my first time taking a human life. It was the heat of the moment, but I can't believe it."
Glancing up, I looked for the grimleal woman from earlier, she seemed to have set herself alongside a tree and was glancing at me, as if asking me to come to her. I walked up slowly and got a better glimpse of her. Her face was dirtied from the recent combat, but it was easy to see that her hair was silver and she had piercing red eyes.
"It seems that the enemy is finally dead." She stated, her arms seeming to cradle her stomach.
"Yeah it seems so, I am sorry I tried the best that I could, but it seems that I couldn't save the rest of your men." I stated while glancing around at the burnt bodies near her side.
"It is alright they knew what they were doing and unfortunately met their ends here, the most important thing is that the grimleal do not get their hands on her." Roseanne whispered.
"Her?" I glanced around looking to see if there was someone else here. Only when I looked back at Roseanne did I notice that what she was cradling was not her stomach, but a small child.
"Yes, her name is Robin, she holds great importance to the grimleal, but I could not let them do what they planned for her. She is my daughter and the only true family I have left." Roseanne stated.
"Are you kidding me!? This is Robin! I thought I was pretty close to the Awakening timeline, but I am way off the mark!"
"Let's get you up and we can try taking refuge in Fastille so that you can heal your wounds." I said sticking my hand over to help her up. Unfortunately, Roseanne seemed content to just sit and began to shed some tears. Seeing my panicked face, she only shook her head.
"I wish that was the case, but it seems that the battle was more difficult that I imagined…" Roseanne moved Robin and only then did I see the gaping wound she had. It did not seem to be recent either. Even with no medical expertise I can tell that the it looked to be fatal. I was even surprised she was able to fight at all on such a terrible wound.
"We have constantly been in combat with the grimleal, if only we made it to the border, I could have at least entrusted Robin to my allies, but now they have all perished. The very least I can do is entrust Robin to your care and protect her from the grimleal." Roseanne explained while holding her wound.
I was speechless. I didn't know exactly what to do, but it seemed that my body was moving on its own and my arms slowly picked up Robin gently. SRoseanne, seeing this could only smile at me.
"I am glad." She whispered and closed her eyes. I was shocked for a moment, but moved to shake Roseanne awake. However, she remained still and I couldn't even see her breathing.
Even though she looked like she was sleeping, I knew that Roseanne had died and I could do nothing to really stop it. Looking over at Robin, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully, unaware of what just happened to her mother.
"I'm just a kid, barely even beginning to be an adult, how am I supposed to take care of a kid and protect her from the grimleal! Okay calm down…let us just take this one step at a time and figure out what I have to do here. I know Robin plays an important role in Awakening and I need to at least keep her alive until she meets Chrom. From there, the story should play out as is. Not the greatest plan, but it will do."
The first thing I should do is head back to Obum and try to get Robin somewhere safe. Looking at Roseanne's body, I knew I couldn't just leave it there. Knowing that the grimleal robes she wore were probably the ones Robin had in the future, I knew that they played a significant role if not at least have some sentimental value for Robin. I felt bad taking the robe, but I felt this is what Roseanne may have wanted. After burying her body, I made my way back to Obum.
"Now how do I raise a daughter?"